The department is conducting a Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers provisions in the Act. However, the assessment cannot be completed until the statutory guidance, which we intend to publicly consult on, and secondary legislation is settled.

The department is continuing to engage with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the assessment to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) regularly reviews its operations and procedures to ensure they remain effective.

Current priorities are outlined in the DBS’s Business Plan 2026-27 and the DBS’s 2025-28 Strategy, including specific references to the use of innovative technology, improving information sharing and risk management.

With many individual workstreams underway, there are currently no plans to undertake a separate review of opportunities to strengthen and modernise safeguarding arrangements.

Machine learning is not currently used for electricity grid management. Any future energy required will depend on how machine learning will be used.

The UK Government contracted Europe Economics to research whether future electricity demand from AI data centres will add to overall UK energy demand, or whether it will replace electricity currently used elsewhere in the economy (Europe Economics study). We have also recently procured a follow-up study in order to extend the methodology from the Europe Economics work to further 10 use cases.

The Department has not produced an estimate of the data-centre capacity required specifically for the grid applications identified in the Interim AI Adoption Plan: Clean Energy.

The Government is, however, undertaking broader analysis of the potential growth in demand from AI and data centres as part of ongoing work on energy demand projections, electricity network planning and AI infrastructure policy.

As part of our NATO First approach to deterrence and defence, we are committed to strengthening NATO’s nuclear mission and ensuring the Alliance’s posture remains fit for purpose across the entire spectrum of conflict.

The nuclear weapons allocated to the NATO dual capable aircraft nuclear mission are US nuclear weapons. The US retains control and custody over them, in full compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Cost differences associated with the swap from F-35B to F-35A in logistics, infrastructure and training are understood and have been considered in cost estimates.

Borrowers who are permanently unfit for work because of their disability can apply to the Student Loans Company to have any outstanding loan cancelled.

More broadly, no student loan borrower earning under the repayment threshold is required to make any repayments towards their student loan. Student loan repayments are based on a borrower’s income, not the rate of interest or the amount borrowed. Any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends. Debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

An equality impact assessment, including analysis of the impacts of Plan 5 student loans on particular protected groups, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

With regards to the Drug Tariff reimbursement prices, the community pharmacy reimbursement arrangements do not guarantee that every contractor will be paid the cost of every item, however, concessionary prices mitigate losses for individual products, while medicine margin arrangements ensure contractors are paid more than their overall purchasing costs.

Where the market price of a medicine suddenly increases, concessionary prices can be granted in that month, increasing the reimbursement price above the published Drug Tariff reimbursement price. This arrangement helps to ensure that pharmacy contractors can continue to obtain sufficient stock for their patients. In addition, we introduced a ‘retrospective top-up payment for concessionary prices’, which provides an additional payment to contractors when the margin survey indicates that despite a concessionary price, there was an under payment for a specific product.

Medicine margin is the difference between the reimbursement price and the price the pharmacy was charged by the supplier. As part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2026/27, pharmacies can retain £1.1 billion as medicine margin to contribute to their payment for pharmaceutical service provision. The Department assesses the medicine margin retained by pharmacies across purchases through a quarterly survey. These arrangements ensure that pharmacies are paid above what it cost them to purchase medicines and the allowed amount of medicine margin to contribute to their payment for pharmaceutical service provision.

VAT rules do allow drugs and medications that are dispensed by a registered pharmacist against a prescription issued by a qualifying health professional to be zero rated for VAT. High-factor sunscreen is already on the NHS prescription list for certain conditions and is provided VAT-free when dispensed by a pharmacist to these patients. However, items which are not prescribed by a health professional and dispensed by a pharmacist do not qualify for the relief, even though they may have health benefits.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.

Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

The current timetable is for the government's response to the consultation on Adoption Support to be published in the autumn.

In relation to self-funded support, adoptive parents may commission services directly, provided that the organisation delivering those services is registered with Ofsted. For children living under kinship care arrangements, families may self-fund support from any provider and there is no requirement for that provider to be registered with Ofsted. As always, there is the option for local authorities or regional adoption agencies to ‘top-up’ the Fair Access Limit from their own funds.

Note: There were no applications partially approved.

The current timetable is for the government's response to the consultation on Adoption Support to be published in the autumn.

In relation to self-funded support, adoptive parents may commission services directly, provided that the organisation delivering those services is registered with Ofsted. For children living under kinship care arrangements, families may self-fund support from any provider and there is no requirement for that provider to be registered with Ofsted. As always, there is the option for local authorities or regional adoption agencies to ‘top-up’ the Fair Access Limit from their own funds.

Note: There were no applications partially approved.

The current timetable is for the government's response to the consultation on Adoption Support to be published in the autumn.

In relation to self-funded support, adoptive parents may commission services directly, provided that the organisation delivering those services is registered with Ofsted. For children living under kinship care arrangements, families may self-fund support from any provider and there is no requirement for that provider to be registered with Ofsted. As always, there is the option for local authorities or regional adoption agencies to ‘top-up’ the Fair Access Limit from their own funds.

Note: There were no applications partially approved.

Advances in technology have the potential to boost our economy and undertake dangerous jobs such as highways maintenance, but it's important the safety of pedestrians and vulnerable road users is put first.

We have announced that we intend to trial pavement robots using powers the Government is seeking through the Regulating for Growth Bill and these trials will have a clear definition of pavement robots.

A key part of the trial will be understanding the impact on pedestrians, particularly the most vulnerable groups.

This will be done with a view to creating a clear, lawful route to market for pavement delivery robots that protects the safety of pedestrians and vulnerable road users. No permanent regulations will come into force without detailed public consultation and a full assessment of the impacts.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 4726 on 8 June 2026 and UIN 12434 on 30 June 2026, and to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 22 June 2026 (HCWS132).

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 July 2026 to Question 546.

Before 6 April 1978, it was a well-established principle of occupational pension schemes, including those for the Armed Forces, that to be eligible to claim part of the scheme member’s pension upon the member’s death, a widow/er had to be married to the scheme member at the time they were in service. After 6 April 1978, when the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 came into force, this principle ended and provision was made for the payment of pensions to widow/ers who married service members after they had retired from service. However, the pension was paid only for any service that the member had after April 1978.

The changes did not extend to providing survivor benefits (i.e. to widow/ers) for members who left before 6 April 1978 and married after that date. Individuals receive the benefits in accordance with the scheme rules in place at the time of their retirement. It is a principle of public service pensions policy, and one that has been upheld by successive Governments, that improvements to pension schemes are not made retrospective. Retrospection would add significantly to the cost of introducing any meaningful improvements to the schemes.

Our environmental improvement plan provides a stable, long-term framework for investment and a guide for the developing the technologies and skills to deliver it. We recognise the importance of the ecology sector in supporting project pipelines for Biodiversity Net Gain, the Woodland Carbon Code and other schemes.

The Environment Agency is developing an Ecology Discipline within its Science Profession, restructuring its ecologists’ technical development and aligning their capabilities to the Government Science and Engineering Profession. This will clarify professional standards, define technical capabilities, and help workforce planning to ensure it has the skills needed to deliver nature recovery and green economic growth. It will help the retention of skilled staff by enabling career paths to be mapped across different ecological functions. We will continue to monitor the ecology sector and potential need for additional measures.

The Government is currently consulting on the proposed subject content of a new Natural History GCSE: New natural history GCSE to grow next generation of green careers - GOV.UK. This new qualification will help students build a strong understanding of the natural world, alongside the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience to build careers in the ecology sector.

The Government remain grateful to the British public for the generosity shown to Ukrainians who sought sanctuary in the UK. The Ukrainian scheme provides a substantial offer of support and demonstrates our commitment to the Ukrainian people. The Government have been clear from the outset that the offer of sanctuary is temporary, and that position has not changed. We continue to consider future arrangements for Ukrainians in the UK and will provide an update on longer term arrangements in due course.

Information requested on trends in the level of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD) in England is not held centrally.

It is for integrated care boards to commission mental health services to meet the needs of their local population, including the needs of people with complex PTSD. The impact of trauma is widely recognised, including its potential lifelong consequences for people’s mental health, wellbeing, and life chances. Trauma-informed practice has therefore taken on growing prominence across the system as a way of improving how services recognise and respond to these experiences.

The department is not required to complete a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) because personal data will be processed locally. Should this change, the department will conduct and publish a DPIA.

To date, pilot data has been processed locally. The next stage of piloting is under development and individual organisations’ responsibilities are still being determined.

Using the NHS number as the consistent identifier is separate from any health-related information or datasets. From piloting to date, improving connectivity enabled significant improvements in accuracy of records as well as easier location and retrieval of key information relevant to safeguarding children so reducing risk of falling through cracks between public services.

Responsibility for data governance of any data linkage initiative sits with the relevant data controllers. There are many instances of data linkage in place to support safeguarding and welfare of children. In the case of the consistent identifier project, the department, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the NSHSHS Executive are working closely together to ensure that any use of the NHS Number during pilot activity has appropriate governance in place.

Palantir or subsidiaries are not currently involved in work to pilot the Consistent Identifier. Any future organisation which wishes to connect and store the Consistent Identifier will have to satisfy the strict information governance criteria associated with storing and processing that number.