Written questions by Whittome.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of redundancy arrangements for NHS staff who take partial retirement.

This specific assessment has not been made. Where National Health Service staff have taken partial retirement, they retain continuous service. As a result, some staff may be entitled to receive a statutory redundancy payment that exceeds their contractual redundancy entitlement, in which case, the statutory payment will apply. Entitlement to redundancy payments ultimately depends on what is set out in an employee’s employment contract and whether their contract refers to Section 16 of the Agenda for Change terms. Different rules may apply to NHS staff who are not employed on Agenda for Change terms in England.Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of long working hours and workforce burnout on staff wellbeing, retention and safe staffing levels within the NHS.

We know from engagement on the 10-Year Health Plan that many National Health Service staff feel disempowered and overwhelmed. Tackling this and providing proper support for staff is a top priority. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for staff, ensuring they have the conditions they need to thrive, including access to high quality health and wellbeing support.The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will have a focus on supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. This includes the development of a new set of staff standards for modern employment, which will reaffirm our commitment to improving retention and are likely to focus on flexible working, improving staff health and wellbeing and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace. Additionally, we will roll out Staff Treatment Hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a) waiving and b) subsidising the cost of the first six to eight (i) preliminary and (ii) core examinations for junior doctors.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential merits of waiving or subsidising the cost of the first six to eight preliminary and/or core examinations for resident, previously “junior”, doctors.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, made two offers to the British Medical Association (BMA) Resident Doctors Committee in 2025 to try to resolve its ongoing industrial disputes. These including provisions to reimburse fees for mandatory royal college examinations to resident doctors in England. However, the BMA rejected these offers.The Government remains determined to put an end to the damaging cycles of disruption caused by strike action and is holding talks with the BMA to resolve the disputes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she made of the potential impact of electric shock collars on the welfare of dogs.

The Government is concerned about the possible welfare implications of the use of electric shock collars.As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra will consult on whether to ban the use of electric shock collars later in this Parliament.

What steps he is taking to reduce diagnostic waiting times for gynaecological conditions in Nottingham; and if he will make additional funding available to support gynaecological services.

Reducing diagnostic waiting times, including for gynaecology, is a key part of the Government’s health mission. That is why we are transforming diagnostic services and are taking steps to support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including those tests typically used in gynaecology services such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound.As set out in the Elective Reform Plan, we plan to build up to five more community diagnostic centres (CDCs), as part of £600 million capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26. The plan also commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations. In August 2025, we confirmed that 100 CDCs were delivering these extended services.There are already two CDCs located within the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board. These are Broad Marsh CDC in Nottingham and Mansfield CDC in Mansfield, which offer patients across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire key diagnostic tests, including MRI and ultrasound.More generally, to support gynaecological services, we are prioritising gynaecology pathways as part of the launch of NHS online. This will give people on certain pathways, such as those with severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems, the choice of getting specialist case from their home and provide additional capacity to cut waiting times.

Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to increase funding for women and girls in sports.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity. The This Girl Can campaign, run by our Arm’s Length Body Sport England, has inspired millions of women and girls to get active. 1.6 million women are expected to be active as a result of the campaign by 2028. We are committed to delivering best in class facilities, with the significant investment of £98 million in 2025/26 and a further £400 million over the next four years in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities. We are expecting to more than double the share of primetime slots dedicated to women’s and girls’ teams at Government-funded facilities across England over the next five years, with a clear long-term target of reaching equal access as demand grows. We are working to drive a Decade of Change in women’s sport, kicked off by the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and we are using the Women's Football Taskforce and Women’s Sport Taskforce to drive progress across the sector.Further to this, we are increasing visibility of women’s sport, including delivering a drumbeat of UK hosted major events, including this year’s Women's T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 and the Tour de France/Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart 2027, while also supporting the bid for the 2035 FIFA Women's World Cup.We want to support women and girls at every stage of their lives to get involved in sport.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory nutrition and practical cooking education in all schools.

Mandatory nutrition and practical cooking education is already included within the national curriculum. Additional elements of nutrition education can also be covered within science and relationships, sex and health education. The national curriculum aims to teach children how to cook and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. Schools also have flexibility within the broad framework of the national curriculum to tailor curriculum subjects to meet the needs of their pupils.In response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department has set out that we will enhance the identity of food education by clearly distinguishing cooking and nutrition, which will be renamed food and nutrition, as a distinct strand within design and technology. We are also legislating through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require academies to follow the national curriculum, to ensure that pupils in academy schools also benefit from these changes alongside those in maintained schools.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the ability of schools and academies to reclaim VAT under Section 33 of the VAT Act 1994 to further education colleges.

Further Education (FE) funding is vital to ensure people are being trained in the skills they need to thrive in the modern labour market. The 2025 Spending Review provided an additional £1.2 billion per year by 2028-29 for skills and £1.7 billion of capital funding to help colleges maintain the condition of their estate. In addition, the Government is providing £375 million of capital investment to support the FE system to accommodate increasing student numbers.For their non-business activity, FE colleges are unable to reclaim VAT incurred. We operate several VAT refund schemes for schools and academies which are designed variously to ensure that VAT is not a burden on local taxation, and that academies are not disincentivised to leave LA control. FE colleges do not meet the criteria for either scheme.In relation to business activity, FE colleges enjoy an exemption from VAT which means that they do not have to charge VAT to students, but cannot recover it either.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 on independent students who require accommodation between June and September.

My Department has made no such assessment. The Renters’ Rights Act introduces a new mandatory ground which will allow landlords renting HMOs to full-time students who occupy on either joint or individual tenancy agreements to seek possession ahead of each new academic year, facilitating the ongoing yearly cycle of short-term student tenancies. Students living in one or two bed (non-HMO) properties will have the same security of tenure as tenants in the wider private rented sector. As is the case now, we would encourage students who wish to remain in their accommodation over summer to discuss with their landlords.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed cap on salary sacrifice benefits on younger workers' pensions.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice. Everyone using salary sacrifice will still benefit from the tax advantages available up to the £2,000 cap. The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year. Of employees making pension contributions through salary sacrifice, those under the age of 30 are far more likely to be protected by the £2,000 cap than those above the age of 30.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of freezing Local Housing Allowance rates in 2026–2027 on low-income renters; and when he plans to review Local Housing Allowance rates.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are annually reviewed at Autumn Budget.In his Written Statement following Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions confirmed that LHA rates will remain at current levels in 2026/27 (HCWS1101). A range of factors were considered, including rental levels across Great Britain, the challenging fiscal context, and the impact of current levels of housing support.To support our commitment to reduce child poverty, we prioritised removing the two-child limit which will bring 450,000 children out of poverty.Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to advocate for Jagtar Singh Johal’s release since 4 March 2025.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 December in response to Question 97066.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will provide local authorities with funding from the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging scheme to tackle ground litter.

This Government remains committed to tackling litter. However, payments to Local Authorities for tackling ground litter are currently outside the scope of the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) regulations. The deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers will have an impact on single-use packaging waste and commonly littered items. Plastic bottles and cans account for 55% of litter volume and DRS is expected to significantly reduce the number of items littered. The scheme is due to rollout in October 2027. We will review payments for binned and littered waste when the impact of DRS is evaluated.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of introducing a 15-year route to settlement on migrants on low wages.

The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation. The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessment, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment she has made of the benefits of introducing additional taxation on large SUVs.

Vehicles used or kept on public roads pay Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). Cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 pay a variable first year VED rate according to the emissions of the vehicle, before moving to a standard annual rate after the first year. For certain vehicle classifications, such as heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), VED liability is calculated in accordance with the vehicle's weight in order to reflect in part the road damage caused by heavier vehicles. However, this is not the case for cars, due in part to their relatively lower impact on road damage compared to heavier vehicles. When making changes to the tax system, the Government considers a range of trade-offs, such as complexity in the tax system and administrative burdens. The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage trainee doctors to take up rehabilitation as a specialism.

We are committed to training the staff we need, including rehabilitation specialists, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.As of September 2025, there are 490 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the speciality of rehabilitation medicine in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is 24, or 5%, more than last year, 116, or 31.2%, more than 2020, and 232, or 90.2%, more than in 2010. This includes over 164 FTE consultants. This is seven, or 4.3%, more than last year, 15, or 10%, more than in 2020, and 50, or 43.8%, more than in 2010. Fill rates for ST3 level rehabilitation medicine have been increasing. 94% of training posts were filled in 2025 compared to 54% in 2023 and 60% in 2024.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of partial retirement for NHS staff on redundancy entitlements; and what discussions his Department has had with NHS representatives on ensuring staff were informed of the employment and redundancy implications of partial retirement.

Partial retirement does not mean that National Health Service staff are ineligible for redundancy payments. However, taking partial retirement may change the way in which contractual redundancy payments are calculated.The rules concerning the calculation of redundancy payments for NHS staff who have previously taken pension benefits, are determined in accordance with their contracts of employment, and statutory redundancy entitlements.Redundancy terms for NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract are set out under section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions of Service handbook. This also applies to NHS staff whose redundancy terms refer to section 16. This section states that service used for the purposes of calculating previous pension benefits will not count for the calculation of a contractual redundancy payment. Statutory redundancy entitlements are unaffected.The Department commissions NHS Employers to provide guidance for employers on a range of topics, including NHS redundancy arrangements and retirement options for NHS staff.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to a) support civil society and democratic institutions in Iraq, and b) counter the influence of the Popular Mobilisation Forces.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to Question 55773, and add that our Ambassador in Baghdad, and our Consul General in Erbil, regularly meet with civil society to underline the UK's enduring commitment to human rights. The UK welcomes the peaceful Iraqi elections that took place on 11 November. We look forward to a smooth transition of power and hope to see a new Government with a clear approach to protecting Iraq's stability and security.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to require housing developers to deliver homes for social rent as part of their developments.

The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including proposals designed to further support the delivery of social housing. These include reforms to the viability system and specifying a minimum proportion of social rent housing that would be required of major development unless otherwise specified in development plans. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a taskforce on improving access to travel insurance for people with cancer.

The government does not intend to establish a taskforce on travel insurance for people with cancer at this time. However, the government recognises the important role of insurance products, including travel insurance, in building the financial resilience of consumers and protecting them when things go wrong. The government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy seeks to close gaps in protection and ensure that the insurance sector is well-placed to support the financial wellbeing of households and vulnerable customers. In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, requires firms to treat customers fairly. Since 2021, the FCA also requires firms providing travel insurance to signpost consumers to a directory of specialist providers if they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium based on a pre-existing medical condition. The FCA has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules. Different insurers may take a different view of the relevant factors in determining the price of insurance based on their differing claims experience. The government would always encourage consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) can offer guidance on how to look across the insurance market for suitable products and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers. BIBA can be contacted at: www.biba.org.uk/find-insurance/.