Parliamentary questionsSee all

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to prevent public contracts being awarded to companies that blacklist workers.

The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 contain exclusion grounds which allow contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from procurements where their tender does not comply with labour law or where the supplier is guilty of grave professional misconduct....

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of alkaline hydrolysis as an alternative to cremation on the UK's ability to achieve its energy security and net zero emissions targets.

The Government currently has no plans to make such an assessment. At present, burial and cremation are the only regulated funerary methods in England and Wales. However, we are aware of the growing interest in alternative funerary methods. The Law Commiss...

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of a four-day working week on gender equality.

The government routinely considers the implications of evidence from a range of sources when assessing policies on working practices. The government has no plans to implement a four-day week but has recently introduced the Employment Relations (Flexible W...

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Millions to take home more cash as new guidance on Tipping is published, published on 22 April 2024, what assessment she has made of the potent

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act will require employers to pass all tips on to workers, without deductions. The implementation date for the Act, and the accompanying statutory Code of Practice, was revised from 1st July to 1st October to ensure suf...

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Competition and Market Authority investigation into the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three Mobile.

The Competition and Markets Authority is the UK’s independent competition regulator and its merger investigations are independent of Government.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many chapters of a prospective free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council have been concluded.

Six rounds of negotiations have been successfully concluded as part of negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Department for Business and Trade regularly engages with the GCC at both Chief Negotiator and minist...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has plans to distinguish between (a) studio and (b) one bedroom apartments in Local Housing Allowance rates.

A one-bedroom rate for the calculation of Local Housing Allowance is defined as accommodation where the tenant has the exclusive use of only one bedroom and exclusive use of a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet and a room suitable for living in. This includes ...

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to increase domestic steel production to levels that would make the UK self-sufficient.

The Government recognises the importance of steelmaking in the UK. However, there are many types of steel products needed by consumers, and it is not always economically viable for any nation to be wholly self-sufficient. This means that the UK imports ce...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the benefit cap on people living in regions with high housing costs outside of Greater London; and if he will make an assessment of the pote

No assessment has been made and there are no current plans to change the policy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 24 of the report by the Edge Foundation entitled Advancing British standards? Exploring public attitudes towards a baccalaureate-style 16-18 education system, published in April 2024, wha

​​The Advanced British Standard (ABS) is designed to provide students with greater breadth and access to a single menu of high quality and distinct subjects, each with a clear purpose. Students will have the freedom to take a mix of technical and academic...