Currently, agency workers can sign up to work for multiple agencies and, once they have done some work under that contract, are eligible to receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from each individual employer during periods of sickness absence. This will not change. Guidance on gov.uk already provides support to employers in verifying an employee’s eligibility to SSP.

The changes being made to SSP through the Employment Rights Act ensure that people who work through employment agencies and employment businesses have comparable rights and protections to their counterparts who are directly employed. The changes to SSP are limited and do not change the existing eligibility criteria beyond removing the waiting period and Lower Earnings Limit.

The Government intends to conduct a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Employment Rights Act within five years of implementation. The impact of the measures to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay will be monitored on employers and employees alike. This can include considering the impact on workers in the agency sector.

The department is committed to encouraging schools and local authorities to set up resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units to increase capacity in mainstream schools and is working with the sector to increase capacity and extend best practice across the system.

The department has announced £3 billion in high needs capital to create 50,000 places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This builds on the £740 million high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision, including setting up resourced provision or SEN units in mainstream schools. Dorset received a high needs provision capital allocation of £5,023,392 for 2025/26. Funding for individual SEN units or resourced provision is the responsibility of the relevant local authority, with minimum place funding governed by the high needs operational guidance.

The department is launching national SEN unit/resourced provision peer networks, as part of the regional improvement for standards and excellence universal service offer on inclusive mainstream, to support frontline practitioners so that children benefit from high quality and consistent provision.

The department is also working with the Council for Disabled Children and the National Association for Special Educational Needs to develop guidance to help mainstream settings deliver high quality support for children and young people accessing SEN units, resourced provision, and pupil support units.

The final draft, version 1.2, of the Part IX Drug Tariff (Med Tech in the community) Wave 1 categorisation was developed in collaboration with an Expert Reference Group and updated in line with stakeholder feedback over four iterations. The final version was published in October 2025 and can be found on the NHS Business Services Authority Website at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/manufacturers-and-suppliers/drug-tariff-part-ix-information

The Department is currently recruiting Independent Assessment Panels (IAPs) for Wave 1 and has agreed to ask them to review late feedback received from a company on the eye drops category. This is due to take place in February 2026 and will not require further input from industry as it has already been circulated for comment by them.

The Department has also offered to review Drug Tariff Committee feedback regarding the categorisation of medical devices that fall into waves 2 to 4.

The categorisation for waves 2 and 3 is currently being reviewed, and the Department expects to share the updated versions in early 2026 well in advance of the projected launch of waves 2 and 3 in 2027 and 2028 respectively. There are no confirmed plans for reviewing wave 4 at this time. The earliest launch would be in January 2029. All dates are subject to the outcome of the review of wave one.

The Department recognises that the categorisation is not stagnant and may need further amendments as medical devices continue to evolve and the IAPs are stood up. Companies can suggest further amendments when they apply to Part IX of the Drug Tariff or through the Drug Tariff Committee.

The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

As part of our plan to increase the cadets by 30% by 2030 we are looking at the cadet estate. Investment in the defence estate is long overdue and investment decisions more broadly on the defence estate will be made as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

The department has published a comprehensive suite of guidance to ensure that children in care have their needs identified and supported, as part of a dynamic and continuous cycle of care planning. This includes:

• The Children Act 1989 guidance, Volume 2.
• Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children (joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care guidance).
• Promoting the educational outcomes of looked-after children.
• The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice.

As part of this, each child must have a care plan, bringing together information from assessment across the dimensions of their developmental needs, incorporating a health plan and a personal education plan. Reviews must occur within 20 days of entering care, again within three months, and at least every six months thereafter, and can be brought forward if circumstances change significantly, including to account for significant health, medical events, or diagnoses.

The government does not prescribe any specific impact assessments that should be undertaken when councils decide to charge council tax premiums. However, we have published guidance setting out some of the steps they should take. This includes making an assessment of impacts on the local population, its communities, and the local economy. Councils are required to have regard to this guidance, which is available here.

Challenger 3 is currently undergoing demonstration phase trials to prove the performance of the tanks. Manufacturing will begin once the tank's performance is proven, rather than being tied to a specific deadline.

The project team will review the timeline regularly to ensure alignment with delivery milestones, operational needs, and emerging technical risks.

The Department has committed £17 million to improve CCTV connectivity on the railway. Network Rail are delivering the project and as they are currently in the start up phase of the project the details you have requested are not yet available.

An updated list of ministerial responsibilities is still in production.

AI is at the heart of the government’s plan to transform how we deliver public services. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government, both published January 2025, the UK government has a vision to support the UK’s leading position in the global AI sector through a safe, effective, efficient and ethical adoption of AI in the UK’s public sector.

DSIT has conducted some analysis of the early impact of AI in the public sector. A cross-government pilot of 20,000 civil servants found tools like Microsoft Copilot save an average of 26 minutes per person per day while a trial of AI coding assistants found that public sector engineers reported 56 minutes saved per day.

A number of trials across departments demonstrate the breadth of efficiency gains AI can deliver. Early trials of Incubator for AI’s Consult have showed a significant reduction in processing time for government consultations, while their Extract tool cuts the time needed to convert old planning documents into digital data from 1–2 hours to 40 seconds. Other efficiency gains include NHS Ambient Voice, which enables doctors to spend almost 25% more time directly interacting with patients.

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology regularly engages with Cabinet colleagues on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into public services. AI is at the heart of the government’s plan to transform how we deliver public services, improving outcomes for citizens and public sector workers through responsible adoption.

This work is guided by the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Blueprint for a Modern Digital Government, which set out a vision for safe, effective and ethical use of AI across government. Departments are supported through resources such as the AI Knowledge Hub and a cross-government AI Community of Practice, which share best practice and practical guidance.

We are following a “scan, pilot and scale” approach to embedding AI, including through the Prime Minister’s AI Exemplars and the AI Frontiers Portfolios. These initiatives are testing high-potential use cases – from AI diagnostics in healthcare to tools that streamline planning applications and probation casework – and sharing lessons learned to accelerate adoption.

AI also plays a central role in delivering the Cabinet Office-led productive and agile state agenda. This means reducing bureaucracy and duplication, streamlining approval processes and improving accountability for Civil Service performance. By automating routine tasks and enabling smarter workflows, AI helps free up staff time for citizen-facing work and supports faster, more efficient decision-making. Our collaboration with the Cabinet Office ensures that AI adoption aligns with this vision and accelerates progress towards a modern digital government.

Rape and sexual offences are amongst the most harmful crimes in society and can have a devastating impact on victims, their loved ones and our communities. Therefore, it is essential that every police force has the right specialist capability to properly investigate these crimes and to deliver justice for victims.

The Home Office’s assessment is that half of the forces in England and Wales do not have a specialist rape and sexual offence team. However, we are committed to ensuring that by the end of this parliament every police force has one.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases. Helping patients get a final diagnosis faster is one of the four priorities of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. We published the annual England action plan in February 2025, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance this priority. This year's plan updated on research we have commissioned to better understand what causes delays in diagnosis; the Generation Study to pilot whole genome sequencing of newborns in the National Health Service; and the work of the NHS Genomic Medicine Service.

The current NHS Newborn Blood Spot Screening Programme enables early identification, referral and treatment of babies with 10 rare but serious conditions. In the United Kingdom, new screening programmes and modifications to existing screening programmes are recommended by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC recommended newborn screening for hereditary tyrosinaemia type 1 in June 2022. The NHS began to offer it routinely in October 2025. An in-service evaluation (ISE) of screening for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency was launched in 2021 and closed on 27 October 2025. At the June 2023 UK NSC meeting, the Committee supported the need for a new independent model for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and agreed to plan for the SMA ISE. Evidence was published in August 2025, and is available at the following link:

https://nationalscreening.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/07/uk-nsc-publishes-sma-screening-evidence-documents/

Planning and development work to shape the ISE of newborn screening for SMA is ongoing.

The SPEAR Capability 3 programme is currently undergoing a review. A Review Note is planned to be submitted in Quarter 1 2026 to revise its approval, which will determine the delivery of Initial Operating Capability.

As set out in the Industrial Strategy, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will support eligible manufacturing frontier industries within ‘IS-8’ manufacturing sectors and manufacturing foundational industries that provide key inputs to those frontier sectors, subject to meeting a threshold of electricity intensity. The Department for Business and Trade has recently launched a consultation outlining the proposed methodology for identifying eligible businesses within these parameters. The consultation document includes an indicative list of eligible industries.

The Department of Business and Trade recently launched a consultation on the proposed approach to eligibility for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. The final approach to eligibility will be published in due course following the consultation’s closure in January.

I confirm that the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero will publish a Reformed National Pricing delivery plan early next year. Some elements of Reformed National Pricing are already under way, including building network infrastructure, and we intend to proceed with other measures, such as reform of transmission charges, as soon as possible in this Parliament.