First Time Buyers: Finance
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what fiscal measures are in place to support first-time buyers entering the housing market.
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting people into home ownership, includin...
Driving Tests
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 121843, when the Department expects to publish further details of the options assessment alongside amendments to The Motor Vehicles Regulations 1999.
The options assessment was further developed into a De Minimis Assessment. This can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/326/resources.
Work Capability Assessment: Medical Examinations
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to increase the capacity of the Health Assessment Advisory Service to carry out Work Capability reassessments; and what service level agreements are in place to ensure that Serco
We have increased the recruitment and training of additional healthcare professionals across all suppliers, alongside improvements to workforce planning to better match resources to demand. Assessments are delivered through a multi-channel approach ensuri...
Radicalism: Prosecutions
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) prosecuted for chanting any variations of "Globalise the Intifada".
The Government does not hold the data requested.
Police Cautions
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current review and oversight mechanisms in cases where the police issue a conditional caution without a charging decision being made, particularly in ci
The use of conditional cautions is governed by a clear statutory framework and established safeguards. They are provided for under sections 22 and 23 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and are subject to the Ministry of Justice’s Code of Practice for adult ...
Family Courts: Access
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership's report entitled Child Safeguarding Practice Review: Sara Sharif, published on 13 November 2025, whether his Department plans to review the accessibilit
What happened to Sara Sharif was a tragedy. Whilst Sara’s father and stepmother are rightly serving life sentences for their appalling crimes, it is clear that our response must not stop there.We recognise the challenges raised by the Local Child Safeguar...
Domestic Abuse: Family Proceedings
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 127202, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential base underpinning the report entitled Assessing Risk of
The Government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential basis underpinning the Harm Panel Report. The report was based on a call for evidence which received over 1200 responses from individuals and organisations, as well a...
Domestic Abuse: Family Proceedings
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 127202, whether his Department has evaluated whether conclusions drawn from the evidence base underpinning the Cafcass harm review have been proportionate
The Government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the adequacy of the evidential basis underpinning the Harm Panel Report. The report was based on a call for evidence which received over 1200 responses from individuals and organisations, as well a...
Family Proceedings
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of routinely collected, disaggregated data on ethnicity, religion, and immigration or settlement status in private family law cases i
The Government recognises that the Family Courts must support all court users and that accurate demographic data is essential to that. That is why protected characteristics data, including data on ethnic group and religion, is routinely captured by the ne...
Family Proceedings
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will require courts, in private family law proceedings involving allegations of domestic abuse or child protection concerns, to collect and make available anonymised and aggregated data disaggre
The Government recognises that the Family Courts must support all court users and that accurate demographic data is essential to that. That is why protected characteristics data, including data on ethnic group and religion, is routinely captured by the ne...
Family Proceedings
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are currently used by his Department to ensure that private family law policy and guidance are evidence-based, representative of the wider population, and compliant with the Public Sector Equality
The Government recognises that the Family Courts must support all court users and that accurate demographic data is essential to that. That is why protected characteristics data, including data on ethnic group and religion, is routinely captured by the ne...
Hospitality Industry: Tax Burden
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of the overall tax burden on hospitality businesses.
The Government recognises the important contribution that businesses in the hospitality sector make to local communities, the high street and the wider economy across the UK. The potential impacts of changes on this sector are carefully considered as part...
Food: Prices
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of rising food prices on household finances in the past 12 months.
The Government recognises that rising food prices can put pressure on household budgets, particularly for those on lower incomes. The Government monitors food price pressures through the Office for National Statistics’ inflation statistics and wider evide...
Income Tax
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people paying the higher rate of income tax in the most recent tax year.
In 2023/24, the number of people estimated to have paid the higher rate of income tax can be found in Table 3.4 of HMRC’s Personal Income Statistics, linked below: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69f1f12d2fae53a03709682f/Collated_Tables_3_1...
Capital Gains Tax
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue was generated from capital gains tax in the last financial year.
Capital Gains Tax receipts in the 2025 to 2026 tax year were £22.2 billion. This figure is provisional until aligned to HMRC’s annual report and accounts due to be published in Summer 2026. This figure, along with receipts data for other tax years and oth...
Driving Tests
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will conduct an assessment of the current pressures facing the DVSA to manage ADI tests to ensure that a candidate can complete the process before the expiry of their theory test certificate.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has seen unprecedented numbers of applications from people wishing to become approved driving instructors (ADI) - a 152% increase since 2018-19. Alongside this, the pass rate for the part 3 test has declined,...
Stamp Duty Land Tax: Fines
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 29 April 2026, to Question 129861, on Stamp Duty Land Tax: Fines, what is the average amount of time to determine (a) a compliance check and (b) an appeal.
There will be many factors that impact the length of time a compliance check remains open, including complexity and whether the customer wishes to appeal HMRC’s decision and enters a dispute resolution process.
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long on average it takes for applications to be completed for a) the War Pension Scheme and b) the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes annual statistics for the War Pension Scheme (WPS) and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) on the GOV.UK website. The following tables show the average and median clearance times for applications/appeals to be c...
Armed Forces: Pay
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce final pay figures for the 2026/27 Armed Forces pay round.
The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) has submitted its report and recommendations. The details of this year’s pay award will be confirmed as soon as possible, and any pay award will be backdated to the start of the Armed Forces pay year on 1 April 20...
Armed Forces: Pay
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the impact on armed forces personnel from any delay in announcing the 2026/27 Armed Forces pay round.
The Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body (AFPRB) has submitted its report and recommendations. The details of this year’s pay award will be confirmed as soon as possible, and any pay award will be backdated to the start of the Armed Forces pay year on 1 April 20...
Tinnitus
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to exempt VAT on class 1 medical devices that suppress the impact of tinnitus.
VAT is a broad-based tax, and the Government keeps all taxes under review. Under existing rules, certain medical devices may qualify for a reduced or zero rate of VAT when supplied for the personal use of a disabled person or for use in qualifying healthc...
Defence: Investment
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the Defence Investment Plan has not yet been published.
We are working to finalise the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). We will publish it as soon as we can, but our aim is to ensure decisions in the DIP are robust and support the development of both current and future capabilities, helping to drive the transfor...
Roads: Horse Riding
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the forthcoming update to the Manual for Streets will include specific guidance on the integration of horse riders within street design; and whether illustrative diagrams will include equestrians.
Work to update the Manual for Streets is underway. The scope and content including diagrams is in development and no final decisions have been made.
Cycling and Walking: Finance
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's planned timetable is for publishing the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy 3.
We will be publishing the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy shortly.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Codes of Practice
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, by what date she will publish the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s draft code of practice and guidance.
I refer you to the Minister for Women and Equalities Written Ministerial Statement issued on 21 May.