This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Without the changes this Government made, courts would have had to halt trials and the police cancel arrests, undermining public safety.

Whilst measures like the SDS40 change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was only ever a temporary change as a bridge to a more sustainable solution. That is why the Sentencing Act has been passed, to deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited.

Following a review, the Prime Minister and Lord Chanceller have decided that rape and certain child sex offences will be excluded from the progression model and these sentences will retain their current release points. This is in addition to the 18,000 offenders who are already ineligible for earlier release under the model given they have either been found by a court to be the most dangerous or are serving a life sentence.

The department has now achieved 71.6% of the 6,500 additional teachers target. There are 4,654 more teachers - 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools in 2025/26 and 1,646 more teachers in further education, than in 2024/25. Latest data also reported one of the lowest leaver rates on record of 8.5% and a record 17,740 teachers returning to the classroom.

While the department does not routinely publish recruitment and retention rates at a regional level, trends in the full-time equivalent teacher workforce suggest that regions have broadly followed the national pattern over time.

Information on the school workforce in England, including teacher recruitment and retention, is published annually in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical release, available on GOV.UK.

The department has now achieved 71.6% of the 6,500 additional teachers target. There are 4,654 more teachers - 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools in 2025/26 and 1,646 more teachers in further education, than in 2024/25. Latest data also reported one of the lowest leaver rates on record of 8.5% and a record 17,740 teachers returning to the classroom.

While the department does not routinely publish recruitment and retention rates at a regional level, trends in the full-time equivalent teacher workforce suggest that regions have broadly followed the national pattern over time.

Information on the school workforce in England, including teacher recruitment and retention, is published annually in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical release, available on GOV.UK.

The department has now achieved 71.6% of the 6,500 additional teachers target. There are 4,654 more teachers - 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools in 2025/26 and 1,646 more teachers in further education, than in 2024/25. Latest data also reported one of the lowest leaver rates on record of 8.5% and a record 17,740 teachers returning to the classroom.

While the department does not routinely publish recruitment and retention rates at a regional level, trends in the full-time equivalent teacher workforce suggest that regions have broadly followed the national pattern over time.

Information on the school workforce in England, including teacher recruitment and retention, is published annually in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical release, available on GOV.UK.

While TOs are responsible for delivering Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) projects, Ofgem plays a key role in scrutinising delivery plans, setting the regulatory requirements and monitoring performance (including completion dates), against agreed outputs and milestones. As the independent regulator, Ofgem holds TOs accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of ASTI projects and can investigate potential non-compliance where delivery falls short of regulatory requirements. Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators.

The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number of police forces using polygraph tests, the frequency of their use, or their application in specific investigation types. Police forces are operationally independent of Government, and it is for chief constables, working with locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, to determine how best to deploy resources and operational tools.

The Home Office has commissioned research to explore the use of credibility assessment tools within offender management settings. This work identified that credibility assessment tools including polygraphs are being used in some policing and offender management contexts for risk management and intelligence-gathering, rather than evidential purposes. The research identified variation in adoption and use, as well as challenges relating to resources, training, validation and governance.

Through a focused law enforcement working group on Credibility Assessment, stakeholders from policing, the Ministry of Justice and the National Crime Agency have also discussed the need for robust validation, governance and standards surrounding the use of credibility assessment tools to ensure any wider adoption is evidence-led and consistent across organisations, helping to improve understanding of the key considerations associated with their use.

The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number of police forces using polygraph tests, the frequency of their use, or their application in specific investigation types. Police forces are operationally independent of Government, and it is for chief constables, working with locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, to determine how best to deploy resources and operational tools.

The Home Office has commissioned research to explore the use of credibility assessment tools within offender management settings. This work identified that credibility assessment tools including polygraphs are being used in some policing and offender management contexts for risk management and intelligence-gathering, rather than evidential purposes. The research identified variation in adoption and use, as well as challenges relating to resources, training, validation and governance.

Through a focused law enforcement working group on Credibility Assessment, stakeholders from policing, the Ministry of Justice and the National Crime Agency have also discussed the need for robust validation, governance and standards surrounding the use of credibility assessment tools to ensure any wider adoption is evidence-led and consistent across organisations, helping to improve understanding of the key considerations associated with their use.

The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number of police forces using polygraph tests, the frequency of their use, or their application in specific investigation types. Police forces are operationally independent of Government, and it is for chief constables, working with locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, to determine how best to deploy resources and operational tools.

The Home Office has commissioned research to explore the use of credibility assessment tools within offender management settings. This work identified that credibility assessment tools including polygraphs are being used in some policing and offender management contexts for risk management and intelligence-gathering, rather than evidential purposes. The research identified variation in adoption and use, as well as challenges relating to resources, training, validation and governance.

Through a focused law enforcement working group on Credibility Assessment, stakeholders from policing, the Ministry of Justice and the National Crime Agency have also discussed the need for robust validation, governance and standards surrounding the use of credibility assessment tools to ensure any wider adoption is evidence-led and consistent across organisations, helping to improve understanding of the key considerations associated with their use.

The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number of police forces using polygraph tests, the frequency of their use, or their application in specific investigation types. Police forces are operationally independent of Government, and it is for chief constables, working with locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, to determine how best to deploy resources and operational tools.

The Home Office has commissioned research to explore the use of credibility assessment tools within offender management settings. This work identified that credibility assessment tools including polygraphs are being used in some policing and offender management contexts for risk management and intelligence-gathering, rather than evidential purposes. The research identified variation in adoption and use, as well as challenges relating to resources, training, validation and governance.

Through a focused law enforcement working group on Credibility Assessment, stakeholders from policing, the Ministry of Justice and the National Crime Agency have also discussed the need for robust validation, governance and standards surrounding the use of credibility assessment tools to ensure any wider adoption is evidence-led and consistent across organisations, helping to improve understanding of the key considerations associated with their use.

The Department monitors Southwestern Railway’s performance through a range of operational measures covering punctuality, cancellations, passenger experience and service quality. The principal operational performance metrics are:

• Punctuality (Time to 3), measuring the percentage of recorded station stops made within three minutes of the planned time.

• Reliability (All Stations Cancellations), measuring the percentage of planned station stops cancelled; and

• Passenger experience, including overall customer satisfaction and satisfaction with disruption handling.

Customer satisfaction metrics are:

• Service Quality Regime (SQR) measuring the condition, performance, and availability of a range of assets at stations and on trains.

• Overall Satisfaction and Satisfaction with Disruption Handling using the Voice of Customer survey.

In the latest reporting period, Southwestern Railway did not meet its punctuality or cancellations targets. It also did not meet its customer experience targets for overall satisfaction and satisfaction during disruption. Whilst a number of Service Quality station measures remained below benchmark, performance in all train areas exceeded the benchmark.

Whilst SWR’s performance before and after public ownership has been below standard passengers deserve, particularly with rolling stock issues and driver shortages inherited from the previous owning group, progress is being made under public ownership. Since their transfer to public ownership, SWR have unlocked their Arterio programme, with fifty-two daily service diagrams compared to just six when SWR entered public ownership.

To improve performance, Southwestern Railway and Network Rail's integrated Wessex team are focused on reducing delays and cancellations caused by infrastructure, fleet and operational issues. This includes investment in more reliable infrastructure, deployment of technologies to improve monitoring of track conditions, improvements to service recovery and disruption management through the Major Disruption Taskforce, and delivery of customer information improvements. The Department monitors progress through regular performance reviews and engagement.

Information on punctuality and reliability and improvement activity can be found on the SWR website.

DESNZ uses a combination of grants and other instruments, including loans, as most appropriate to deliver the intended outcomes and provide the best value for money. The majority of UK ICF will continue to be provided through grants. No existing ICF programmes, including the REDD+ Early Movers programme, have been switched from grants to loans linked with the recent announcement of £2 bus fares.

Yes, the government remains committed to its ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.

Housing and homelessness policy and legislation are devolved matters. The Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for homelessness policy, legislation and services in Northern Ireland, including the development of its own homelessness strategies. MHCLG's homelessness strategy applies to England only.

We continue to engage with counterparts in the devolved administrations to share learning and discuss issues of common interest, including homelessness.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Without the changes this Government made, courts would have had to halt trials and the police cancel arrests, undermining public safety.

Whilst measures like the SDS40 change provided the intended medium-term relief to the system, this was only ever a temporary change as a bridge to a more sustainable solution. That is why the Sentencing Act has been passed, to deliver a more sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis we inherited.

Following a review, the Prime Minister and Lord Chanceller have decided that rape and certain child sex offences will be excluded from the progression model and these sentences will retain their current release points. This is in addition to the 18,000 offenders who are already ineligible for earlier release under the model given they have either been found by a court to be the most dangerous or are serving a life sentence.

In March 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published an update to the energy efficiency standards in the Building Regulations: the Future Homes Standard (FHS).

Under this new standard, which will come into force from March 2027, all new homes will need to have excellent insulation, low carbon heating systems, and in most cases, solar panels to boost our energy security with clean, homegrown power. New homes built to these standards will be zero carbon ready, meaning they will become zero carbon once the national grid is fully decarbonised and will require no further retrofitting to meet net zero.

My Department regularly reviews research and evidence related to various aspects of the private rented sector.

The government has no plans to introduce rent controls in the private rented sector.

Rent inflation in England has been easing since the end of 2024. Average rents in England increased by 3.4% in the 12 months to June, down from a peak of 9.2% in November 2024. In England, annual rent inflation was lowest in London, at 2.2%.

According to National Energy System Operator (NESO), as of 24 July, the Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) Register included 81.7GW of generation capacity that has been built. 284.64GW of generation capacity has received revised ‘Gate 2’ connection offers (confirmed connection location and date) under the reformed connections process. The TEC Register will be updated by NESO as connection offers are accepted or declined.

The Government is switching £400 million of grant funding set aside for future international climate finance projects into loans, providing more flexible ways to meet the Government’s international climate objectives. Discussions with partner countries on international climate finance take place as part of normal programme development and delivery processes. Any engagement relating to future investments will depend on the design and approval of individual investments.

The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) represents a critical evolution in forests finance. Switching funding that had been set aside for international climate finance projects from grants into loans allows DENSZ to make £400m of financial transactions available to support the government's intention to invest in international climate finance projects, which could include projects such as TFFF. I will keep the House updated on the Government’s decision to invest into TFFF.

The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) represents a critical evolution in forests finance, which is why the Government has been pleased to steadfastly support its development, including by pledging £2.5m to support the establishment of the Fund. Switching funding that had been set aside for international climate finance projects from grants into loans allows DESNZ to make £400m of financial transactions available to support the government's intention to invest in international climate finance projects, which could include projects such as TFFF. I will keep the House updated on the Government’s decision to invest in TFFF.