To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automated analytical tools are used to process data submitted by sponsor employers for visa sponsorship purposes.
Home Office
AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Spons...
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the differences between the UK and EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms on the competitiveness of UK industries.
Treasury
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced from 1 January 2027. CBAM is a new tax which will ensure that highly traded, carbon intensive goods which are imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufactu...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual expenditure by the National Institute for Health and Care Research on research workforce development programmes, including fellowships, training awards and capacity-building initiat
Department of Health and Social Care
Through the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the Department invests in building research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, and support services to support research across all aspects of human health, including dementia, cancer,...
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that automated or AI-supported decision-making relating to sponsorship licences is transparent, fair, and subject to human oversight.
Home Office
AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Spons...
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her planned timetable is for publishing the (a) scope, (b) methodology, (c) sectoral coverage and (d) other details of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Treasury
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced from 1 January 2027. CBAM is a new tax which will ensure that highly traded, carbon intensive goods which are imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufactu...
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the risk of carbon leakage under the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, particularly in relation to imports from countries with high carbon intensity production.
Treasury
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced from 1 January 2027. CBAM is a new tax which will ensure that highly traded, carbon intensive goods which are imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufactu...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of pupils in each local authority receiving SEN support for literacy and dyslexia, particularly in relation to (a
Department for Education
The department continuously seeks to update and build its evidence base on the prevalence of different types of special educational needs (SEN). The department publishes annual statistics on the primary and secondary types of need for pupils receiving SEN...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to guarantee the number of additional domestic connections that must be provided if the third runway at Heathrow is built.
Department for Transport
As part of the ongoing review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) we are considering whether any changes are required to the existing position on domestic connectivity. We plan to consult on any changes to the ANPS by the summer.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of policy measures adopted in Germany to improve energy efficiency and waste heat utilisation in data c
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
To address the growing energy demands of AI, the AI Energy Council was established. The Council offers expert insights into preparing the UK’s energy system to manage AI’s energy footprint, as well as harnessing AI’s potential within a modern energy syste...
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To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to speed up housing delivery on stalled sites where planning has been granted but development has not started.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
In May 2025, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built. It can be found on gov.uk here. On the same day, we launched a technica...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations from Ofcom's consultation on a new crisis measure under the Online Safety Act, includ
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Online Safety Act already places significant transparency duties on regulated services. We welcome Ofcom’s proposal to build on this with post-crisis analyses, and strengthen platforms’ coordinated approach during crisis periods.We look forward to rec...
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To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in implementing the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights in its report Transnational repression in the UK, published on 30 July 2025.
Home Office
The Government carefully considered the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ report on transnational repression (TNR) and responded formally on 30 October 2025.We continue to engage with international partners, victims and civil society...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the expected growth in datacentre capacity, measured in MW, from today to 2030.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Growth in data centre electricity demand is inherently uncertain, reflecting factors such as phased build out, utilisation rates, efficiency improvements, and the extent to which activity may displace or offset demand elsewhere in the economy. DESNZ will ...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards on the availability of affordable commercial rental space for start-ups.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
The Government has not identified evidence that Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards have reduced the availability of affordable commercial rental space for start-ups. The department’s Impact Assessment has shown that costs for building improvements would ...
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Department for Education
The department continuously seeks to update and build its evidence base on the prevalence of different types of special educational needs (SEN). The department publishes annual statistics on the primary and secondary types of need for pupils receiving SEN...
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To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to align the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism with (a) the EU and (b) other international partners to (i) minimise trade frictions and (ii) administrative burdens for UK busi
Treasury
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced from 1 January 2027. CBAM is a new tax which will ensure that highly traded, carbon intensive goods which are imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufactu...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the resilience of NHS data systems to unauthorised access and attempted data breaches.
Department of Health and Social Care
All organisations with access to National Health Service patient data and systems must use the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to provide annual assurance that they are practising good data security and that personal information is handled cor...
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Small and medium sized housebuilders are essential to meeting the government’s housing ambitions and supporting local economies. The government is acting to support SME housebuilders by increasing their access to land, providing further financial assistan...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking to tackle disinformation and misinformation online.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Defending Democracy Taskforce coordinates and drives forward a whole-of-Government response to protecting the integrity and security of our democratic processes from a full range of threats.DSIT leads the UK’s policy on disinformation and uses both le...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps she has taken to end the use of animals in scientific research for human medicine and products.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Government’s strategy to replace animals in science sets a long-term goal of eliminating their use in all but exceptional circumstances. It focuses on building a research and innovation system that develops and validates alternative methods, including...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what percentage of Gross National Income the Government spent as Official Development Assistance in the calendar years (a) 2024 and (b) 2025; how much UK Official Development
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
If my Hon. Friend is seeking the provisional Official Development Assistance (ODA): Gross National Income (GNI) ratio for 2025 (and final ratio for 2024) this information can be found within the Statistics on International Development at this link: https:...
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Ministry of Justice
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) holds required staffing levels which are subject to regular amendment and managed at a local and regional level. As a result of this discretion, HMPPS does not present vacancy data due to variability in r...
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Department for Transport
In 2025-2026, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s contact centre answered 8,929,400 customer contacts, of which 964,576 were answered via webchat. The webchat service provides customers with an online option to support them when they are usin...
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Ministry of Justice
His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) currently deploys 492 licensed search dogs across prisons in England and Wales. These dogs form a key part of the Department’s approach to tackling the supply of illicit items, including drugs, mobile t...
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To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with representatives from prisons on allowing prisoners to have virtual visits with their children through longer and high-quality video calls.
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Ministers have frequent discussions with prison staff on all aspects of the prison experience. His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) encourages prisons to make the experience of those visiting prisoners the ‘best it can be...
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