theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made of the potential impact of the proposals in the consultation on Earned Settlement on victims of domestic violence before its publication; and what steps she will take to ensure that protections for those victims, including the Domestic Violence Concession and Indefinite Leave to Remain routes, continue under any future settlement framework. \p Mike Tapp: We are committed to reducing Violence against Women and Girls.

The Immigration White Paper, published in May 2025, committed to retain safeguards to protect the vulnerable, including settlement rights for victims of domestic violence and abuse.

The current public consultation on the proposed earned settlement scheme seeks views on the proposal that vulnerable groups, including victims of domestic violence and abuse, should retain their ability to settle without being subject to a minimum qualifying period.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to mitigate the mental health impact of proposed changes to settlement routes. \p Mike Tapp: On 20 November, we launched a public consultation on our proposed earned settlement model.

This consultation provides a means for all members of the public to express any concerns about the proposed new system are considered as we finalise policy. We are also running a separate, focused survey of visa holders to make sure their specific concerns are fully captured.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas a) the Department for Culture Media and Sport, b) the Arts Council, c) the National Archives, d) the British Library, e) the British Museum, f) Historic England, g) the Imperial War Museum, h) the National Gallery, i) the Science Museum Group, j) the Victoria and Albert Museum, k) the Wallace Collection, l) the BBC, m) Channel 4, n) Historic Royal Palaces and o) the Royal Parks have sponsored since 4 July 2024. \p Mike Tapp: The requested data is not held centrally in a reportable format.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to paragraph 5.29 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, if she will provide an annual breakdown of the £15.3 billion cost of asylum accommodation over the next 10 years, according to information held by HM Government. \p Mike Tapp: The £15.3bn figure was cited in a NAO report from May this year, it relates to a broad estimate of spend on accommodation contracts across the period 2019 to 2029, not the next 10 years. Actual Asylum spend is published in our Annual Report and Accounts, and as per the Spending Review we are committed to bring spend down by £1.1bn a year by 28/29.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average queue time at passport control was at UK airports in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024. \p Mike Tapp: The specific data requested is not available in an accessible format but below are the relevant statistics taken from Border Force’s transparency data.

Of the 897,695 queue samples measured across the UK in 2025, 97.9% of queues were within Border Force’s service standards above the 95% target. These service standards are 25 mins EU/EEA and 45 mins non-EU/EEA.

For further transparency data, including 2024, please refer to the below GOV.UK link.

Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to the oral statement of 18 November 2025, Official Report, Column 614, on China Espionage: Government Security Response, how the proscription-type tool to disrupt proxy organisations will operate. \p Dan Jarvis: Earlier this year, the Independent Reviewer for State Threats Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, published a review evaluating what powers under terrorism legislation could be emulated to tackle state-based security threats to the UK. Mr Hall KC recommended introducing a State Threats Proscription-style Tool that would be effective in disrupting state-linked organisations.

Design of the tool will be informed by Mr Hall’s review and will focus on disrupting and deterring the most egregious state and proxy organisations carrying out hostile activity against the UK.

The Government are committed to taking forward this proposal as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2025, to Question 86768, on Radicalism: Expenditure, if he will list the individual sums given to each of those local authorities; and what was the methodology used to calculate those allocations. \p Dan Jarvis: The individual sums provided to each local authority that received dedicated Home Office funds for Prevent in financial year 2024/25 was provided as part of the response to PQ 86768 of 14 November 2025.

Funding for posts and dedicated projects is allocated as part of an annual bidding process, with funding allocations informed by factors including the amount of funding available, the level of threat, the level of funding provided for Prevent posts in the previous financial year, and inflation-related increases.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help support police forces to tackle rising levels of online fraud and scams. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government, working with City of London Police, has recently replaced Action Fraud with a new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cybercrime. The new service (Report Fraud) went live on 4 December. Report Fraud will provide better intelligence to support police and other partners with responding to online fraud and scams.

In addition, the Government has completed recruitment of the National Fraud Squad (NFS) of specialist posts, led by the NCA and City of London Police. The NFS will take a proactive, intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting the most serious fraudsters operating in the online space and targeting the UK public.

The Home Office has also undertaken a comprehensive review of the fraud training and skills landscape - we will implement the recommendations from this to ensure officers have the right skillset to respond to online fraud and scams.

More broadly, under the Online Safety Act, companies in scope must now tackle fraudulent content at source, or face the possibility of significant fines from the regulator.

The Government will set out a comprehensive Fraud Strategy early in the New Year. It will include measures to both protect consumers and disrupt criminal networks and ensure that the UK remains the most difficult environment possible for fraudsters to operate in.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 19 November 2025 on China Espionage: Government Security Response, Official Report, column 614, if she will set out the proposed changes to the security guidance for candidates in the devolved and local elections. \p Dan Jarvis: The Joint Election Security and Preparedness Unit develops and distributes candidate security guidance ahead of every election. This includes best practice on personal and physical security; information on the role of the police; cyber security; and routes for candidates to report online abuse. The refreshed guidance will be distributed in January.

The guidance will include a link to recently published NPSA guidance to protect democratic institutions from foreign interference and espionage threats.

Election preparedness is a priority for the Defending Democracy Taskforce which established the Joint Election Security and Preparedness (JESP) Unit as a permanent function which sits jointly between Cabinet Office and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). JESP is dedicated to protecting UK elections and referendums and coordinating work across government to respond to issues including foreign interference, protective security, and cyber threats as they emerge.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 19 November 2025 on China Espionage: Government Security Response, Official Report, column 614, if she will set out the proposed changes to the maximum penalties for election interference offences. \p Dan Jarvis: Foreign interference in British politics is a growing danger to our democracy, and it is imperative that we tackle this problem.

The changes announced in our Elections Strategy will keep our elections secure by boosting transparency and accountability in politics, closing down loopholes for foreign funding, and significantly increasing penalties by giving the Electoral Commission the power to impose fines up to £500,000 per offence.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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Rachel Hopkins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether financial resources will be made available to charities and voluntary groups organising public events in order for them to comply with the provisions of the Terrorism (Protection Of Premises) Act 2025. \p Dan Jarvis: The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 will strengthen protective security and preparedness by requiring those responsible for certain premises and events, including those run by charities and voluntary groups, to consider how they would respond to a terrorist attack.

Whether the Act applies to particular premises or events will depend on several factors. Premises may be in scope if they consist of at least one building, are wholly or mainly used for one or more of the uses specified in Schedule 1, and 200 or more people can reasonably be expected to be present at the premises at the same time.

Events may be in scope if they take place in a building or on land, 800 or more people are reasonably expected to be present at the same time, and it is accessible to members of the public with measures in place to check that attendees satisfy a condition of entry (e.g. that they have paid, have a ticket or pass, or are members or guests of a club, association or similar body).

Therefore, smaller events or those not limited by such access control may not be in scope.

The Government recognises the importance of non-profit and volunteer-run events and is committed to supporting those responsible to prepare for the Act’s commencement, which will not be before April 2027.

As part of this support, the Home Office will publish statutory guidance before the Act comes into force. This guidance will assist those responsible to understand the Act’s requirements and will be designed to be easy to follow, requiring no particular expertise nor the use of third-party suppliers.

The person responsible for an event or premises that falls within scope of the Act will need to determine which procedures and/or measures are reasonably practicable. One size will not fit all, and the Act’s reasonably practicable requirement will enable businesses to consider what is proportionate to their circumstances.

For these reasons, the Government does not consider financial support necessary to deliver the Act’s requirements.

Further information on the Act, including on what constitutes a qualifying event or a qualifying premises, may be found in factsheets on Gov.UK - Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: factsheets - GOV.UK.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children were referred to Prevent in each year from 2015 to date by age. \p Dan Jarvis: Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.

The number of referrals to the Prevent programme that concern children, grouped by age for the financial year 2024/25 has been published in the latest annual Prevent statistics publication: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. Data can be found on Table 4 within the annual data tables accompanying the publication.

The number of referrals to the Prevent programme that concern children, grouped by age and financial year since 2016/17 has been published in the annual 2023/24 Prevent statistics publication: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV.UK. Data can be found on Table 4 within the annual data tables accompanying the publication.

For the year 2015/16, the official statistics publication reports that there were 4274 referrals for individuals under 20 years old (56% of all referrals). A break down specifically of referrals for children is not available for this year. The statistics can be found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme, April 2015 to March 2016.

The number of referrals reported includes individuals who had been referred more than once during the year. The number of individuals referred is not routinely reported in the official statistics.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 94151 on Terrorism: Victims, if she will take steps to ensure those involved in carrying out acts of terrorism are not (a) invited to the inaugural event in 2026 and (b) included in any commemoration. \p Dan Jarvis: On 21 August each year, the nation will come together in remembrance and recognition of victims and survivors of terrorism.

The National Day will acknowledge and support victims and survivors of terrorism.

The Government will continue to closely engage victims and survivors ahead the inaugural event in 2026, to shape national day plans and ensure their needs are met.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the (a) effectiveness of the legal and regulatory framework and (b) use and coverage of facial recognition technology by police forces in England. \p Sarah Jones: The Government supports the wider adoption of facial recognition technology across all police forces.

Although there is a legal basis for police use of facial recognition, we want to bring forward a new bespoke legal framework, to build public trust and enable the wider, responsible use of facial recognition across police forces. To help shape this, the Home Office launched a public consultation on 04/12/2025 on the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. The consultation responses we receive will inform the development of this new bespoke framework.

In terms of existing coverage, retrospective facial recognition is already used by all UK police forces. There are over 25,000 searches carried out each month on the Police National Database (PND) to help identify suspects after an incident or event.

Live facial recognition is used on a regular basis by some forces and is available to all forces via a small national capability made up of 10 mobile units.

The Home Office invested £12.6 million in facial recognition last year, with £2.8 million spent on national live facial recognition capabilities

This year, £6.6 million is being spent supporting the adoption, evaluation, and responsible rollout of facial recognition technology. This includes £3.9 million for the development of a new, national facial matching service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criminality data informs efforts to clamp down on the establishment of (a) vape shops (b) barber shops in England. \p Sarah Jones: Addressing cash-based money laundering is one of the strategic priorities of the National Economic Crime Centre, which sits within the National Crime Agency. In March 2025, the NECC led a three-week intensification campaign (Operation MACHINIZE) against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses which saw 380 premises visited, 84 warrants, 35 arrests, and the seizure of illicit goods.

This was followed by a second phase of activity (Operation MACHINIZE 2) throughout October which involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House. The operation saw: 2734 premises visited and raided, 924 individuals arrested, over £10.7m of suspected criminal proceeds seized and over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed.

The Home Office is working closely with partners to use the learning from this operation to build on and develop long-term solutions.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed how alcohol labelling reforms could support local public-health and community-based initiatives aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, particularly in areas with significant health inequalities. \p Ashley Dalton: In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthening and expanding existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.

Clear and consistent labelling is expected to increase awareness of the health risks and to empower consumers to make more informed choices, complementing local public health strategies and community-level interventions.

The Government also committed to supporting community level innovations where they have shown promise in reducing alcohol harm. Officials are working at pace to take forward these commitments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has assessed the importance of including accessible behaviour-change and drinking moderation tools, including links to digital health support, as part of the new mandatory alcohol labelling standards. \p Ashley Dalton: In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government committed to strengthening and expanding existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages.

Department officials are currently working at pace to develop the policy. We are reviewing all available evidence and engaging with stakeholders to assess the potential content of the mandatory labels.

The Government currently provides drinking moderation tools like the new NHS Healthy Choices Quiz which is designed to help people to improve their health and wellbeing. It asks a range of lifestyle questions, including those about alcohol consumption, provides an overall score out of ten, and directs people to relevant National Health Service support services such as the Drink Free Days app.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

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Melanie Onn:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of potential merits of introducing routine finger-prick blood glucose testing or urine testing for children who display one or more recognised symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. \p Ashley Dalton: A national task and finish group has been established by NHS England which brings together key experts from across the health system, including academia/research and leading national clinicians, to jointly assess the opportunities and challenges that are associated with a national screening programme for diabetes and to inform future national policy.

Through our National Institute for Health and Care Research, we have supported the establishment of the Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes, or “ELSA” study. This study is exploring the feasibility and benefits of screening for type 1 diabetes.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) staff training on support for and (b) support available to deaf residents in care homes. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is taking steps to improve the quality of adult social care, which will include deaf people in care homes.

The Department is committed to enhancing the skills of staff working in adult social care. To this end, the Department launched the Adult Social Care Learning and Development Support Scheme in September 2024, providing funding for eligible care staff to complete training courses and qualifications. In April 2025, the Department also published the expanded and revised Care Workforce Pathway. The pathway guides workers in building their careers in adult social care by signposting training and development opportunities, highlighting routes for progression, and giving proper recognition to the highly skilled, complex care and support they provide.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are performing against their duties under the Care Act 2014, including their duties relating to the access and provision of care and support for deaf people. The CQC also monitors, inspects, and regulates adult social care services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. For deaf individuals, this includes providing care that is responsive to their communication needs.
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Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will review the current eligibility criteria for NHS-funded COVID-19 vaccinations, in light of the emergence of a new variant and rising hospitalisations. \p Ashley Dalton: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation carefully considered the latest evidence on the risk of hospitalisation and mortality in specific groups, as well as cost-effectiveness analysis, in order to provide the Government with advice on the autumn 2025 programme. The evidence indicates that whilst the risk from COVID-19 is now much lower for most people, adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and those who are immunosuppressed are those at highest risk of serious COVID-19 disease.

Therefore, a more targeted vaccination programme aimed at individuals with a higher risk of developing serious disease, and where vaccination was considered potentially cost-effective, was advised for autumn 2025.

The latest UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) data in the national flu and COVID-19 surveillance report supports the current eligibility, showing that there is a strong association between age and COVID-19 hospitalisation rates. The highest hospital admission rate for COVID-19 in the report published on 27 November 2025 was in those aged 85 years old and over.

Currently XFG and its sub lineages, sometimes called the ‘Stratus’ variant, are the most prevalent SARS-CoV-2 lineages in England. This lineage is closely related to previous variants that circulated in the United Kingdom. At this time there is no indication that XFG causes more serious disease, or that the vaccines being used in the autumn 2025 campaign will not be effective against it. The UKHSA will continue to monitor both COVID-19 outcomes and variant prevalence as we enter the winter season.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a Modern Service Framework for respiratory health. \p Ashley Dalton: Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.

The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeline is for the establishment of the naloxone supply network coordinators. \p Ashley Dalton: Naloxone is a lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, including highly potent synthetic opioids which are growing in prevalence in the United Kingdom. It is more important than ever to increase access to naloxone products, which will save lives.

Last year, the Department amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to further expand access to naloxone. The legislation enabled more services and professionals to supply this medication, making it easier to access for people at risk, and for their loved ones.

Route 1 of the legislation increased the number of services and professionals specified in regulations who can provide take home naloxone. However, not all services and professions had an agreed statutory definition across the four nations of the UK. As such, route 2 of the legislation set up the legal framework, which includes supply network coordinators, for the creation of a registration service for services and professions who fall outside the definitions listed in route 1 to apply and to be able to provide take home naloxone. These legislative changes were the first step in expanding access to naloxone, which has resulted in naloxone being more readily available to supply in the community. Since these changes came into effect, the Government has worked with the devolved administrations and front-line services to explore the set-up and delivery of this registration service. We have encountered operational difficulties in establishing supply network co-ordinators in England which has delayed implementation. However, we have identified further legislative amendments to increase access to take-home and emergency use naloxone and, as such, we intend to launch a public consultation by the end of this year.

The Department has also published guidance, Supplying take home naloxone without a prescription, that sets out essential practical information such as who can supply naloxone, the products available, how to use naloxone and other basic lifesaving tools, and the training required. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supplying-take-home-naloxone-without-a-prescription
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Dr Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve time to diagnosis for children and young people with suspected Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. \p Ashley Dalton: Services for children with suspected juvenile idiopathic arthritis are commissioned in line with the national service specification for paediatric rheumatology services.

The national service specification helps to reduce waiting times for diagnosis by mandating clear referral pathways and rapid access to specialist paediatric rheumatology teams. It sets national standards requiring timely triage of suspected cases, prioritisation of urgent referrals, and availability of multidisciplinary expertise for early assessment. The specification ensures consistency across regions, minimises delays caused by local variation, and supports faster initiation of diagnostic tests and treatment planning.

Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitments to expand community diagnostic centres for quicker access to tests, introduce digital tools to support early symptom monitoring and triage, and improve the integration between primary care and specialist services will further streamline referral pathways and ensure children receive timely assessment and treatment.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will commit extra funding for social prescribing, including to support individuals to engage in nature-based interventions and activities. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government has underlined its commitment to taking a preventive approach to address health inequalities.  We are determined to improve people’s physical and mental health to support them to live longer and healthier lives and we recognise the role that social prescribing can play in this.

The Department funds social prescribing link workers in primary care through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.  In March 2025, the Department agreed a further year of grant funding for the National Academy for Social Prescribing, securing £1.5 million to advance and expand social prescribing.  Future funding allocations have yet to be confirmed.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs leads on green social prescribing and, together with Natural England, has recently invested £300,000 to track the uptake and impact of green social prescribing using primary care data. The evidence will inform future policy for the spread and scale of nature-based health interventions.
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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have received checks under the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check and NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme per month in each of the last three years. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Health Service is currently rolling out the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme to people with a history of smoking. The following table shows the number of participants who attended an appointment through the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme each month, between April 2022 and September 2025:

2022

2023

2024

2025

January

NA

24431

38190

49260

February

NA

27193

38381

43158

March

NA

27862

35690

41974

April

11565

20839

36195

38596

May

14773

21163

40231

42980

June

15630

27469

40214

47289

July

17391

29646

47658

48012

August

17499

28690

40884

42756

September

17921

29738

46855

51898

October

19477

26367

47881

Data not available

November

22292

25482

47888

Data not available

December

18193

28187

40828

Data not available

Annual Total/Annual Total to Date

154741

317067

500895

405923

Source: the NHS England Lung Cancer Screening Programme.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Government funding for public health is not use to promote disinformation about vaccines. \p Ashley Dalton: National Health Service bodies and upper tier and unitary local authorities in England are responsible for making effective, appropriate use of the resources allocated to them, including funding for public health. Local authorities receive a Public Health Grant from the Department, totalling £3.884 billion in 2025/26. This grant, other than funding allocated to Greater Manchester authorities via their retained business rate arrangement, is ring-fenced for use on public health functions, and the local authority Director of Public Health must certify annually that the funding has been used for appropriate purposes. NHS England commissions national NHS public health services, including national immunisation programmes. It does so to evidence-based standards and is accountable for performance to the Department.

The Government is focused on combating vaccine misinformation as part of its 10-Year Health Plan, working with local authorities and community groups to support vaccine trust.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) treatment and (b) prevention of cardiovascular diseases that disproportionately impact women, including (i) Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection, (ii) Myocardial Infarction with Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries and (iii) Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. \p Ashley Dalton: In 2023, 31% of those who died prematurely from cardiovascular disease (CVD) were women. We are committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years through improvements in prevention and treatment.

To accelerate progress towards this ambition, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) in 2026. The CVD MSF will support consistent, high quality and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_202

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are currently being treated for Mesothelioma. \p Ashley Dalton: The latest data for England from Cancer Waiting Times shows that for the month of September 2025 the number of people that started first or subsequent treatment for Mesothelioma after a decision to treat was 168, and the number of people that started their first treatment for Mesothelioma following referral was 107.

We have now launched our first Men’s Health Strategy which includes targeted support to address health inequalities in ex-mining and industrial communities, who often face persistent respiratory and cardiovascular disease burdens. We will expand the existing Respiratory Pathways Transformation Fund initiative by investing an additional £1 million to develop targeted case-finding initiatives in former coalfield areas to help us to identify the individuals who need support to access appropriate local services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_203

Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has been made of the total number of food hygiene officers in English local government for each year from 2010 to date. \p Ashley Dalton: Local authorities must ensure they perform official controls on all food businesses regularly, on a risk basis and with appropriate frequency. The Food Law Code of Practice provides these food hygiene intervention frequencies with a higher risk and/or non-compliant will receive an intervention more frequently than those compliant or lower risk.

Data pertaining to the average time between food hygiene visits undertaken for hot food takeaway venues in England is not held by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as we do not categorise food establishment in that way. This data could be gathered individually from local authorities.

Data reported to the FSA on the number of authorised food hygiene officers in England by local authorities via their returns data is as follows:

- 1,178 authorised officers were in post at the end of 2021/22;

- 1,605 authorised officers were in post at the end of 2022/23;

- 1,797 authorised officers were in post at the end of 2023/24; and

- 1,828 authorised officers were in post at the end of 2024/25.

This information does not include regulatory support officers or trainees working towards suitable qualifications. Prior to 2021/22 only questions relating to full time equivalent posts were requested from local authorities in relation to their resources.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_204

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve integration between NHS services and social care provision in Lincolnshire. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department is committed to improving integration between health and social care services nationally and locally. Our vision for neighbourhood health will see local government and the National Health Service working more closely together, with a revitalised role of Health and Wellbeing Boards and reform of the Better Care Fund (BCF).

Through the BCF, approximately £9 billion is being invested in 2025/26 to enable NHS bodies and local authorities to pool budgets and deliver joined-up care. This includes setting shared goals to reduce delayed discharges, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions, and support people to live independently at home.

In Lincolnshire, local Health and Wellbeing Boards are required to agree plans under the BCF framework to provide timely and coordinated support for people with complex needs. These plans prioritise effective discharge from hospital and recovery in the community.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_205

Damien Egan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve recruitment and retention of general practitioners in Bristol North East. \p Stephen Kinnock: Since October 2024 we have funded primary care networks with an additional £160 million to recruit recently qualified general practitioners (GPs) through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). In the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) 44 GPs have been recruited via the scheme since October 2024.

Within the 2025/26 GP Contract, a number of changes have been confirmed to increase the flexibility of ARRS and allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. This includes GPs and practice nurses included in the main ARRS funding pot, an uplift of the maximum reimbursable rate for GPs in the scheme, and no caps on the number of GPs that can be employed through the scheme.

We are investing an additional £1.1 billion into GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest cash increase in over a decade and will facilitate the recruitment of GPs. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole.

The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB also has a successful GP and Nurse fellowship scheme to support retention of staff.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_206

Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the value for money of management and service charges paid by GP surgeries to related parties in England. \p Stephen Kinnock: General practice surgeries are independent contractors, and as private businesses it is within their own remit to consider the value for money of management and service charges paid to related parties in England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_207

Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate has been made of the number of recorded incidents of (a) verbal abuse (b) physical assault (c) sexual assault and (d) harassment against staff in (i) GP practices (ii) pharmacies (iii) dentists in England. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department does not hold data on the number of recorded incidents in these settings, which are each independent contractors to the National Health Service.

We know how challenging disgraceful incidences of abuse and violence can be for staff. The Government is clear that there is never a justification for this unacceptable behaviour towards healthcare staff, who have the right to work free from fear of abuse or assault.

There is a range of NHS commissioned services available to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff across settings.

Incidents of criminal behaviour should be reported to the police. In May 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service updated guidance to prosecutors which will bring swifter justice against those that assault our frontline workers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_208

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department intends to publish the acquired brain injury action plan. \p Ashley Dalton: I attended the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum’s (UKABIF’s) annual summit in Manchester on 3 November 2025, where I discussed our forthcoming acquired brain injury (ABI) plan with a number of stakeholders, patients with lived experience and healthcare professionals with a specialist interest in ABI.

The Government’s ABI action plan will be published in the first half of 2026. It will be a landmark step in delivering the joined-up approach that people with ABI deserve.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_209

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many diagnoses have been made for diabetes so far in 2025. \p Ashley Dalton: The information requested is available from the National Diabetes Audit which provides a count of the number of people with a general practice record of diabetes. The latest published data from the audit for April 2024 to March 2025 is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-diabetes-audit/core-q4-24-25/national-diabetes-audit-nda-2024-25-quarterly-report-for-england-integrated-care-board-icb-primary-care-network-pcn-and-gp-practice
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_210

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to provide long-term funding arrangements for the Nursery Milk Scheme and the School Milk Subsidy Scheme to ensure continuity of provision for early years and primary education settings. \p Ashley Dalton: The Nursery Milk Scheme is operated by the Department of Health and Social Care and provides reimbursement to early years childcare settings to cover the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to all children under the age of five years old who attend the setting for more than two hours per day. The School Milk Subsidy Scheme is the responsibility of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and partly finances the cost of similar milk provision to children in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. There are no current plans to change these schemes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_211

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase the availability of defibrillators in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire. \p Ashley Dalton: Over 110,000 defibrillators are registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the independent automated external defibrillator (AED) database. The Department’s Community AED Fund delivered 3080 new AEDs to local communities between September 2023 and February 2025. The Department has no current plans to fund the purchase of additional AEDs, as local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating and maintaining AEDs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-09 conversation_213

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a dedicated whistleblowing line for NHS staff and patients to report issues with language barriers in the National Health Service. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Speak Up Direct, funded by the Department, is a dedicated, independent helpline offering confidential advice, signposting, and guidance to National Health Service and social care staff on raising work-related concerns. Additional support includes Freedom to Speak Up Guardians, with over 1,300 now available across healthcare settings in England, and a Freedom to Speak Up policy that sets minimum standards for NHS organisations in England.

The NHS complaints process enables patients to give feedback or raise concerns about any aspect of their care.

Translation and interpretation services are available for patients who need language support. Additional support is available for individuals who may have difficulty understanding their care or communicating their needs. Patient advocates can speak on their behalf, facilitate decision-making, clarify care procedures, and help safeguard patient rights.