Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Whether his Department has produced (a) written advice and (b) guidance setting out the rationale for laying the provision relating to frozen overseas state pensions under the Negative procedure.

The provisions in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2026 cannot be included in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 because the powers on which the Up-rating Order relies are insufficiently wide to include these provisions. The Regulations are subject to the negative procedure, and this is a convention that has been in place for a number of years.

With reference to Regulation 3 of the Social Security Up-Rating Regulations 2026 laid on 6 March, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the provision relating to frozen overseas state pensions by Order rather than Regulations.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2026 are in general consequential on the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026. The provisions in the Up-rating Regulations cannot be included in the Up-rating Order because the powers on which the Up-rating Order relies are insufficiently wide to include these provisions.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will hold a consultation on hunting with hounds.

In the Animal Welfare Strategy, published 22 December 2025, Defra confirmed its intention to consult in early 2026 on how to deliver a ban on trail hunting. The planned consultation will invite respondents to raise any matters which they consider relevant and will provide an opportunity to submit views on how to deliver an effective ban.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of laying the provision relating to frozen pensions as a standalone instrument.

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2026 are in general consequential on the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 and can only be laid once the Up-rating Order has been approved by Parliament. The Up-rating Regulations were laid on 6 March 2026 and will come into force on the same date as the Up-rating Order on 6 April 2026. This is a convention that has been in place for a number of years.

What assessment has she made as to the suitability of the teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.

Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession. To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.

What plans she has to review teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.

Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession. To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.

What steps are being taken to ensure those being migrated onto Universal Credit will receive transitional protection.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all eligible customers moving from legacy benefits to Universal Credit receive the Transitional Protection to which they are entitled. Transitional Protection is a safeguard designed to support a smooth financial transition from legacy benefits to Universal Credit for those required to move. Customers who make a Universal Credit claim in response to a Migration Notice, and who would otherwise receive a lower award on Universal Credit than they received on their legacy benefit, will receive Transitional Protection. To be eligible for Transitional Protection, customers must claim Universal Credit by the deadline set out in their Migration Notice, or within one month of that deadline (the “grace period”). The Department keeps detailed records of all customers who have been issued with a Migration Notice and their associated deadlines to ensure eligible customers are correctly identified.

When he will give an update on the Eastwood Park Detention Centre Settlement Scheme.

The Government extends its deepest sympathy to all those who suffered mistreatment during their time at Eastwood Park Detention Centre. The abuse of children and young people is wholly unacceptable, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting victims and survivors who bravely come forward.The Eastwood Park Detention Centre Settlement Scheme commenced on 14 January 2025 for a period of 12 months, and to ensure that every victim and survivor has sufficient time to come forward, the Government has extended the scheme by a further 18 months until 14 July 2027. This extension underlines our continued commitment to ensuring that all those affected are able to access the support and redress available to them.Since January 2026, we have received a further 392 claims, and we continue to receive new claims at a steady rate. To date, 1582 claims have been received including 510 claims settled with damages paid. Of the 510 claims settled, the average payment is £3,326.00.Since the period in which these events occurred, safeguarding practices across the secure estate have been fundamentally transformed. The creation of the Youth Custody Service, together with strengthened safeguarding frameworks, child-specific policies, and enhanced oversight arrangements, has significantly improved protections for vulnerable young people. These reforms ensure that the serious failures of the past cannot be repeated.All reports of historic abuse at former Detention Centres, including Eastwood Park, have been subject to police investigation. These investigations have led to the conviction and imprisonment of several former staff members, and the Government will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities should any further evidence come to light.

What rationale does her Department use to support the use of SATS for SEND children.

Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area.The key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in special educational needs (SEN) and trials with hundreds of Year 6 pupils. Children with SEN have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they are able to participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools are able to utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEN and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel, which included an expert in SEN, published their final report in November, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.

What assessment has her Department made as to the impact of having to sit SATS on SEND children.

Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area.The key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in special educational needs (SEN) and trials with hundreds of Year 6 pupils. Children with SEN have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they are able to participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools are able to utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEN and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel, which included an expert in SEN, published their final report in November, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of using AI to process asylum applications.

To date, Asylum & Human Rights Operations have piloted the use of two AI tools to assist with the process of deciding asylum claims. Evaluation of both AI tools has been published on GOV.UK.The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise asylum interview transcripts. On average, the test group reviewed transcripts 23 minutes quicker than the comparison group (a 32% time saving). The Asylum Policy Search (APS) tool is an AI search assistant that finds and summarises country policy information. Those in the test group saved on average 37 minutes per case, researching country policy information compared to the comparison group. This is broken down into time savings of approximately 12 minutes at pre-interview stage and approximately 25 minutes at decision-writing stage.The tools were designed as an aid for decision-makers to improve efficiency but do not, and cannot, replace any part of the decision-making process. APS has been rolled out and is accessible to all Asylum decision makers and ACS is awaiting operationalisation. Further tooling is being worked on including an asylum letter writing assistant for caseworkers.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to include the needs of children in care in the development of his Department's policy.

MHCLG works closely with the Department for Education on policy development for children’s social care and is responsible for making funding available to local government for children’s social care service delivery through the Local Government Finance Settlement. As a government, we are driving the biggest transformation of children’s social care in a generation with the Families First Partnership programme – backed by a historic £2.4 billion through the multi-year Settlement’s Children, Families and Youth Grant. This historic investment demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention and will support councils working across the safeguarding partnership to deliver children’s social care reform, making a real, tangible difference to children and families. Alongside this programme of reform, helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this Government. Together with the Department for Education, MHCLG will develop a cross-government action plan to reduce the proportion of care leavers under 25 experiencing homelessness. And MHCLG has introduced regulations, which came into force on 10 July 2025, so that young care leavers under 25 will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to restrict the use/sale of non-essential single-use plastic products.

The Government recognises the scale and impact of plastic pollution on the environment and is focused on preventing and reducing plastic and other litter entering the environment. We have a number of restrictions on unnecessary single use plastic products, and we will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, in line with circular economy principles, to reduce the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encourage reuse solutions.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether the £6 million payout from Perenco for the oil spill in Poole Harbour is adequate to offset environmental harm.

The £6 million figure covers the pollution cleanup, compensation for verified claims, collaboration with the relevant authorities to develop and implement a remediation plan, and funding for local environmental improvement projects in the Poole Harbour area. It does not include lost income while the pipeline was out of operation, nor the additional upgrades made on-site to reduce the risk of a similar incident in the future. An Enforcement Undertaking (EU) undergoes a rigorous review at both local and national levels within the Environment Agency to ensure it complies with policy, is applied consistently across the country, and accurately reflects the seriousness of the pollution and the operator’s level of responsibility. Here are the Impact Reports published following oil spill by Poole Harbour Commissioners.

Whether receiving statutory maternity leave will be considered receipt of public funds and impact a mother’s length of settlement route under the earned settlement model.

Proposals for introducing an earned settlement model, as set out in the Command Paper “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” (CP1448), were subject to a public consultation, which opened on 20 November 2025 and closed on 12 February 2026.Contributory benefits and statutory payments are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. As such, individuals subject to a no recourse to public funds condition but who have paid the necessary National Insurance contributions or have relevant periods of employment or self-employment can access these benefits.As part of this consultation, we also sought views on the potential impact of the proposed changes, including whether those on maternity leave should be exempt from certain requirements.Implementation of the earned settlement arrangements will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Whether her Department holds information that shows introducing an earned settlement model would lead to an increase in people departing the UK.

Proposals for introducing an earned settlement model, as set out in the Command Paper “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” (CP1448), were subject to a public consultation, which opened on 20 November 2025 and closed on 12 February 2026.In addition to the consultation, the Department has undertaken research with existing visa holders to understand the potential behavioural impacts of an earned settlement approach.We are carefully considering the responses to the consultation and any behavioural evidence.Implementation of the earned settlement arrangements will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment was he has made of the potential risks of granting Tesla permission to supply electricity to households and businesses.

Supply licence applications are a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator. Applications for supply licences are considered by Ofgem based on their merits and assessed in line with published guidance, which is available here: Ofgem Licencing Guidance. Companies granted licences are required to comply with all conditions contained within them and the Government and Ofgem take action to address any non-compliance.

What steps she is taking to protect transport workers a) jobs b) pay c) pensions d) conditions and e) travel facilities in the context of the transition to Great British Railways.

In accordance with TUPE regulations, existing train operator staff transferring to the public-sector operator do so with their contractual terms and conditions protected. The trade unions (TUs) will be consulted at the earliest opportunity, if any changes to their members’ terms and conditions are being proposed as part of the transition to Great British Railways (GBR). In the meantime, we are keeping TU leaders informed on matters through the Rail Engagement Group. Regarding pensions under GBR, I can confirm that we plan for the Railways Pension Scheme to continue to be the primary vehicle through which most rail employees build up their pension provision. The protections within the 1993 Railways Act remain unchanged by the Railways Bill currently going through parliament.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Israel–Iran confrontation and escalating hostilities in Lebanon on (a) regional stability in the Middle East, (b) the humanitarian and political situation inside Lebanon and (c) the risk of wider regional escalation involving additional states and non-state actors.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 17 March, and her answers to the questions raised in response.

What steps are being taken to ensure that nursery places are available to children with a range of special needs in Poole constituency.

We want every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms we announced in February, will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.Alongside this, we will work with local authorities to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places. This will provide parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.