theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Torcuil Crichton:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support Scotland's rural economy. \p Kirsty McNeill: Our recently announced trade deals will benefit key industries in rural, coastal and island communities, such as whisky and salmon.

Our forthcoming Industrial Strategy and drive to clean energy will ensure good quality jobs across Scotland.

Project Gigabit is improving broadband connectivity for homes and businesses, and only last week we announced thirteen upgraded phone masts to transform rural connectivity across the Scottish countryside.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Scottish Government on support for students who where studying at the Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television when it went into administration. \p Ian Murray: I was shocked and saddened to hear that the Scottish Institute of Theatre, Dance, Film and Television had gone into administration. My sympathy goes out to the staff that worked there and to the students who are facing considerable uncertainty over the future of their studies.

As education is a devolved matter, I would urge the Scottish Government to work with the administrators and the wider sector to ensure that affected students are able to continue their degrees.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in employer National Insurance contributions on wages in Wales. \p Jo Stevens: Raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions on tax, which is why we are asking employers to contribute more.

The changes broadly return NICs revenues as a proportion of GDP to the level they were before the previous government’s cuts to employee and self-employed NICs, but do so in a way that does not result in higher taxes in people’s payslips.

This Government has taken quick and sensible action to boost wages for millions of lower paid workers who are the backbone and future of our economy. Around 150,000 workers across Wales received a record pay rise through the UK Government’s increases to the living wage and minimum wage. For full time workers 21 and over, this will provide up to £1,400 a year more for these individuals and up to £2,500 a year more for full time workers between 18-20.

Real total wages have continually increased since this Labour Government was formed in July 2024, and are up 1.7% on the year for January 2025 to March 2025.

These increased incomes are set to boost financial stability for millions of families, improve spending power and deliver economic growth.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Electoral Commission's publication entitled FAQ sheet for qualifying foreign citizens in Wales (multiple languages), published on 15 June 2020, for what reason this information was translated into (a) Arabic, (b) Bengali, (c) Chinese and (d) Urdu. \p Sir Jeremy Wright: In 2020-21 the franchise was extended to allow qualifying foreign nationals resident in Wales to vote in Senedd and local elections.

The Electoral Commission’s role is to provide voters with the information they need to take part in elections. As part of this work ahead of the 2021 Senedd election, it translated resources into the five most commonly spoken foreign languages in Wales. This was intended to support newly enfranchised voters to participate in the election, and is in line with the Welsh Government’s approach to translation of resources for voters.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Dave Doogan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many full-time equivalent roles are being recruited at Great British Energy. \p Michael Shanks: Great British Energy (GBE) is currently developing its operating model and the capabilities it will need. Ultimately this will be a matter for GBE to determine, within their agreed budget.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 39631 on Armed Forces: Fylde, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) financial, (b) geographic and (c) cultural barriers to participation in the Cadet forces. \p Al Carns: We are committed to sustaining and growing the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Cadet Forces across the UK, including in the Fylde constituency. Uplift in Cadet numbers will benefit all regions of the UK, but it will be targeted at those communities most in need.

Given the fantastic benefits which can be gained from the Cadet experience we want more young people to be able to join and we aim to significantly grow both community and school Cadet numbers, expanding by 30% by 2030, with an ambition to reach 250,000 in the longer term.

To encourage young people to join, the Cadet Force headquarters run national and regional marketing campaigns showcasing the benefits of personal development, adventure, and community involvement. The Cadet Forces are also very active on social media with regular posts publicising activities and further information about joining is also posted on the Cadet Forces’ websites.

The Cadet Forces are inclusive organisations, committed to equality of opportunity for young people with activities heavily subsidised to ensure inclusivity. We are proud of the fact that we invest a significant amount in our Cadet Forces, and it is worth noting that if the cadet experience helps just 1% of cadets every year change their life outcomes so that they are in employment, education or training, the annual cost of the Cadet Forces is covered.

Independent research shows that participation in the Cadet Forces has significant positive impacts on young people. It increases their performance at school and improves their employment and career prospects and the impact is particularly strong for those cadets that suffer economic and other disadvantages.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Carla Denyer:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 52519 on Public Places: Non-binary People and Transgender People, if she will issue guidance on steps organisations should take (a) whilst the Government is considering the implications of the Supreme Court's recent judgement and (b) prior to the decisions to determine the final updated statutory Code of Practice for service providers and organisations. \p Dame Nia Griffith: The Government has set out our expectation that employers and other duty bearers follow the clarity the Supreme Court ruling provides. Where necessary, they should take appropriate specialist legal advice.

The EHRC have opened their consultation on the draft updated statutory Code of Practice, seeking views from affected stakeholders. We encourage people to ensure their views are heard by submitting a response to the consultation by Monday 30th June. We will consider the final draft Code once it has been submitted and engage EHRC to ensure it provides the further certainty and clarity service providers need, in line with the ruling.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many people are employed in the Race Equality Unit; and how many of those people identify to each religious group. \p Seema Malhotra: The Race Equality Unit currently employs 9 people. Due to the number of employees within the Race Equality Unit being below 10 we are unable to publish the ethnic group information as it would enable individuals to be identified.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Peter Lamb:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans the Government has for introducing a women’s workplace health strategy. \p Seema Malhotra: This Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build an NHS fit for the future. Our focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as providing emergency hormonal contraception free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS from October 2025; taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan; and setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan.

More widely, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador who will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity are taking the first steps towards legally requiring large employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures; detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gap and support employees during the menopause.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the service provided by the (a) probate service and (b) probate service contractors. \p Alex Davies-Jones: Official statistics published by the Ministry of Justice show that despite continued high levels of receipts, the effectiveness of the service being provided continues to improve. Average waiting times are reducing and was 6 weeks, from receipt of the documentation needed across all types of grants, for grants issued during October to December 2024, down from 13 weeks for the same period in 2023 and the open caseload has reduced to 39,142 as at the end of December 2024, down from 77,904 at the end of 2023.

HMCTS administers the probate service with civil servants. When a third party provides a service, such as document scanning, HMCTS regularly meets with them to review performance against Service Level Agreements and has no concerns.

Average waiting times and open caseload for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via the Family Court Statistics: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-04)

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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to review sentencing for (a) careless driving that leads to (i) serious injury and (ii) death and (b) other driving offences. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Safety on our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. That is why the Department for Transport is committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. They will set out next steps on this in due course.

Provisions in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 increased the maximum penalty from 14 years’ imprisonment to life for the offences of causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, and causing death by dangerous driving. These measures came into force on 28 June 2022 and apply to offences committed on or after that date.

The Sentencing Council has reflected these changes in the sentencing guidelines and the starting point for cases falling into the highest level of seriousness is now 12 years’ imprisonment, a significant increase from the previous 8 years’ starting point. The sentence range for the most serious instances is now 8 to 18 years’ imprisonment.

Although the starting points and sentence ranges for this offence have increased, the courts still retain the discretion to impose a life sentence where the seriousness of the offence is such that they consider it more appropriate and proportionate.

We continue to work alongside the Department for Transport to ensure sentencing law for driving offences is appropriate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether hon. Members serving a custodial sentence at His Majesty’s Pleasure can have their Parliamentary (a) mail and (b) casework delivered to them at their new residence. \p Nick Smith: Royal Mail receives mail instructions from Members, such as deliver to desk, keep at Members’ Lobby or forward to an external address such as a home or constituency office.

The rules concerning the sending and receipt of mail from prison are the responsibility of the Home Office. In 1970 the Committee of Privileges considered the rights of hon. Members detained in prison, including their ability to send and receive mail, and concluded that “a Member of Parliament should not be given any special advantages by reason of being a Member”.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason the launch of the service to register Companies House authorised agents has been delayed. \p Justin Madders: Companies House is transforming its technology infrastructure in order to implement measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The decision was taken to postpone the full launch for a short period to allow time to address the issues and ensure the service will continue to operate to a high standard for customers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on workers rights of the British Hair Consortium’s report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: The economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025. \p Justin Madders: The industry plays an important economic and social role across the UK, which is why we are creating a fairer business rates system, increasing the Employment Allowance and transforming the apprenticeship levy.

We are committed to tackling false self-employment and will investigate evidence suggesting businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. The Employment Rights Bill will make widescale changes to employment law that will support growth in the UK, bringing greater security at work, greater pay, better staff retention, making jobs more secure and supporting women in work in every stage of life.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) high-end, (b) trade-based and (c) cash-based money laundering incidents were identified by Companies House in each year between 2020 and 2024. \p Justin Madders: Companies House does not hold this information. Prior to March 2024, Companies House had limited powers to analyse and share information. Whilst the investigation of suspected money laundering is not within its remit, where suspicious patterns of behaviour are identified that reflect the typology of money laundering, Companies House will share this information with relevant law enforcement partners, using data sharing powers which came into force in March 2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many requests were made by Companies House to query information (a) sent for acceptance to and (b) already published on the register using the new enforcement powers introduced in March 2024. \p Justin Madders: Since 4 March 2024 Companies House has been using its new powers to challenge, question and reject documents and to make enquiries about documents that have already been registered.

No figure for filings that have been queried prior to before registration is available.

To the year ending 4 March 2025, Companies House removed:

Personal information was redacted from 49,800 incorporation documents. A further have been removed from the register. These actions have affected 100,400 companies in total.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many requests were made to Companies House to (a) remove and (b) change director details in each year between 2020 and 2024. \p Justin Madders: No figure for requests to remove or change director details is currently available.

Companies House does hold data on removals of officer addresses. To the year ending 4 March 2025, Companies House removed 66,900 officer addresses.
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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Companies House has key performance indicators to measure the quality of information on the registry. \p Justin Madders: Work is underway to develop key performance indicators and establish baselines to measure the quality of information on the Companies House register. The need for this work has been triggered by the implementation of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA).

The key performance indicators will include assessments of compliance levels, adherence to data standards and measurement of the value of the information on the Register.

Companies House are also investigating ways to estimate false, misleading and inaccurate information in line with the Registrar’s objectives under ECCTA. This will be based on the threats outlined in the Strategic Intelligence Assessment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the cost to UK businesses of having agents in individual EU member states. \p Justin Madders: The European Commission is responsible for interpreting EU legislation and has published business guidance and an impact assessment of the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). We recommend businesses refer to this guidance for advice on the requirement for an EU based ‘agent’, referred to as a Responsible Economic Operator or responsible person, by the European Commission.

DBT have published guidance on the application of GPSR in Northern Ireland, which we will keep under review. We continue to engage businesses directly to assess the regulation’s impact and ensure they are supported to trade across the UK and with the EU.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps with the Midlands Engine to support regional (a) investment and (b) private sector collaboration. \p Sarah Jones: Midlands Engine have undertaken a range of valuable work and have supported collaboration on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level.

At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it would consult on its minded to decision not to extend funding for the six pan-regional partnerships beyond the agreed allocations to the end of the 2024-25 financial year. We are currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the continued availability of in-person post office services in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire. \p Gareth Thomas: The Government protects the sustainability of the branch network in South Holland and the Deepings and Lincolnshire, by providing funding on the basis that Post Office meets minimum access criteria to ensure that, across the country, 99% of the population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office. The Government works to ensure Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with the published access criteria. Along with the annual £50 million subsidy, we are providing a further £37.5 million this year to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to publish information on the remaining issues set out in paragraph 46 of the policy paper entitled The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, published on 22 January 2025. \p Justin Madders: The Government is committed to upholding the highest standards of fire safety for domestic upholstered furniture and ensuring only safe products are placed on the UK market. Officials in the Department for Business and Trade have begun extensive, targeted stakeholder engagement to inform decision making on the issues outlined in the policy paper. Following this engagement process, the Government will publish an update on the remaining issues.
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Marie Goldman:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory country-of-origin labelling for the (a) manufacturing facility and (b) parent company on non-food products. \p Sarah Jones: We have no current plans to introduce country-of-origin marking requirements on non-food products and it is a commercial matter for business to decide where they source their products and to assess to what extent the origin might affect the potential market for those products.

More broadly, the government encourages traders to include helpful information on goods on a voluntary basis, particularly where this may be in the best interests of the consumer or represents a unique selling point for a business, as long as the additional information is true and not misleading in any way.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Tony Vaughan:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits regulating the price of family holidays during school holidays. \p Justin Madders: Industry traders tell us many factors are considered when travel companies price holidays, including demand at specific times. Demand is cyclical and most businesses trade all year round, with pricing in periods of high demand reflecting this. On the other hand, during periods when the industry is keen to attract and confirm bookings, traders often offer incentives like early booking discounts or free child places.

The Government will continue to engage with the industry; encouraging competitiveness, price transparency and innovation to promote growth and to ensure that consumers can choose the best deals that suit them.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the resilience of the independent hospitality sector to absorb the rising costs of (a) national Insurance, (b) alcohol duty, (c) energy prices and (d) food prices. \p Gareth Thomas: The government will protect the smallest businesses and charities by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that in 2025/26, 865,000 employers (43%) will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all.

The alcohol duty cut on qualifying draught products impacts approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall cut in duty bills of over £85million a year.

Since 19 December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises with fewer than 50 employees have been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and other manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates.

We continue to work closely with HM Treasury on the challenges facing high street and other businesses.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Alex Ballinger:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has plans to review the processes for recording tracking histories at Royal Mail's Heathrow distribution centre. \p Justin Madders: Royal Mail is an independent business and therefore concerns about operational matters should be directed to its management.

The government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial or operational decisions, including its processes for recording tracking histories at its Heathrow distribution centre.
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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who will be affected by the increase in the national minimum wage in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency in (i) Birmingham and (ii) Solihull broken; and what the average uplift to annual wages will be for people earning the minimum wage. \p Justin Madders: The recently published Impact Assessment estimates the number of workers who will be affected by the increases in the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage, broken down by region and country. More granular estimates by local authority and parliamentary constituency are subject to greater data reliability issues due to survey response rates.

A full-time worker earning the National Living Wage will see their gross annual earnings rise by £1,400 per year. A full-time worker earning the 18-20 National Minimum Wage will see their gross annual earnings rise by £2,500 per year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Juliet Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long service users in (a) Broxtowe, (b) Nottingham and (c) the East Midlands are waiting for dyslexia assessments. \p Stephen Kinnock: Data on waiting times for dyslexia assessments is not held centrally.

Assessments for dyslexia in children are currently provided by an educational psychologist or an appropriately qualified specialist dyslexia teacher. If a parent thinks their child may be dyslexic, as a first step they should speak to their child’s teacher or their school's special educational needs co-ordinator about their concerns. They may be able to offer additional support to help the child if necessary.

Adults who wish to be assessed for dyslexia are advised to contact a local or national dyslexia association for advice. Further information on dyslexia assessments is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/diagnosis/
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether provisional results have been shared with him from Frontier Economics' independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. \p Stephen Kinnock: Frontier Economics were commissioned to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding by the previous administration. The interim report has been shared with ministers and has informed the offer that Community Pharmacy England is currently being consulted on. The final project is nearing completion, and will be shared in full with ministers, before being published.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of unpaid carers (a) are given practical support and (b) are signposted to information and advice following a Carer’s Assessment. \p Stephen Kinnock: Local authorities (LAs) have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. Under the Care Act 2014, they are required to undertake Carer’s Assessments to support people caring for their family and friends who appear to have a need for support and to meet their eligible needs on request from them.

In 2023/24, 360,815 carers were either supported or assessed by LAs in England. Of these, 107,935, or 30%, were provided with direct support, either via a direct payment, a managed personal budget or LA commissioned support; 199,750, or 55%, were provided with direct support in the form of information, advice, and other universal services or signposting; and 53,125, or 15%, were not provided with direct support following an assessment.

Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service is clear that a fresh approach to supporting and involving unpaid carers is required to improve outcomes for carers, people needing care and the NHS.

The Government recognises the challenges facing the adult social care system. That is why the Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.

The Commission will start a national conversation about what working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.

We will carefully consider these findings as part of our 10-year plan for reforming and modernising the NHS and as we develop plans to reform adult social care, including through the National Care Service.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Sally Jameson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of social workers; and what plans he has for a national social work recruitment campaign. \p Stephen Kinnock: We support the supply of social workers with the right skills, knowledge, and values to support vulnerable adults, children and families. We currently fund the Social Work Bursary, Education Support Grant and the mental health graduate programme Think Ahead to support the recruitment of social workers and the Assessed Year in Employment to support retention of newly qualified social workers.

There are presently no plans for a national social worker specific recruitment campaign. However, the Local Government Association, SOLACE, regional employers organisations, and councils across the country launched the ‘Make a Difference, Work for your Local Council’ campaign and Social Work England runs the ‘Change the Script’ campaign, which support recruitment and retention of social workers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Sarah Olney:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of Pharmacy First funding had been spent as of 26 November 2024. \p Stephen Kinnock: Verified data to the end of November 2024 shows that £82 million has been spent in the 2024/25 financial year on the seven common clinical pathways and associated incentive payments, and on expanding blood pressure and contraception services. A comprehensive view of all spending against the Pharmacy First budget will be available after the end of the financial year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed three-year implementation period for social care reforms on social care providers. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are launching an independent commission into social care, chaired by Baroness Louise Casey. It will be undertaken in two phases, beginning in April 2025. Phase one, reporting in 2026, will identify the biggest challenges in adult social care and recommend practical changes to improve people’s lives over the next decade, and will help build the foundation for a National Care Service. Phase two, reporting by 2028, will make longer-term recommendations for the transformation of adult social care.

Addressing the complex, deep-rooted challenges facing adult social care will take time. The commission will work with people who draw on care, their families, staff, politicians, providers, and the public, private, and third sector, to make clear recommendations for how to reform the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population.

In parallel, the Government is also committed to short-term progress, as we recognise that the issues facing adult social care are pressing. We are making up to £3.7 billion of additional funding available for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. This represents an increase to core local government spending power in 2025/26 of 6.8% in cash terms.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 29833 tabled by the hon. Member for Wokingham on 6 February 2025. \p Stephen Kinnock: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to Questions 29832 and 29833 on 11 March 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent pharmacy closures. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible front door to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes embedding the Pharmacy First service.

We are working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible, to support them in dispensing medicines to patients and in offering a range of clinical services, including Pharmacy First.

We will announce the outcome of the consultation in the normal manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of increased National Insurance contributions on pharmacies. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented from April 2025. The Government will provide support for departments for additional employer National Insurance contribution costs for public sector employers only, and the level of funding will be confirmed at Main Estimates shortly.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Stuart Andrew:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme Consultation on the ability of patients to access medication for ADHD. \p Stephen Kinnock: As required by law, NHS England has assessed the impact of the proposed NHS Payment Scheme. This is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/25-26-NHSPS-Consultation-notice-C-impact-assessment.pdf

This impact assessment includes consideration of the impact on patient choice, as well as an assessment of the impact on patients, in line with NHS England’s public sector equality duty.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients will continue to benefit from the Right to Choose their provider at the point of referral. None of the proposed changes to the NHS Payment Scheme included in the consultation would change this.

Local integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for planning service provision in their local area, including for ADHD assessments and medication. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, considering how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase funding for services for children with eating disorders. \p Stephen Kinnock: Too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit an extra 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services to cut waiting times and ensure that people can access treatment and support earlier.

We will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school in England, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We are also rolling out Young Futures Hubs in every community to provide open access mental health support for children and young people. These commitments will provide appropriate support for children and young people with a range of mental health needs, including eating disorders.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to increase the availability of assessments for ADHD in West London. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience, experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer of 2025.

In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop an ADHD data improvement plan to inform future service planning. NHS England has also conducted detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, capturing examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services. NHS England is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the dates on which (a) he and (b) the Minister of State for Care has met with (i) Community Pharmacy England and (ii) the National Pharmacy Association since 4 July 2024. \p Stephen Kinnock: Ministers regularly engage with external stakeholders on a variety of issues, including but not limited to pharmacy. Details of ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure community pharmacies receive support to stay open. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

We are now working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. We will announce the outcome of the consultation in the usual manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to (a) correlate data between people (i) with mental health conditions and (ii) reported as perpetrators of domestic abuse and (b) share that data with police authorities. \p Stephen Kinnock: We know that the proportion of domestic homicide reviews where mental health concerns have been identified has risen in recent years. It is important that all parts of the system, including health, policing and justice services, work together to deal with this and protect domestic abuse victims. Following recent discussions with the Home Office and NHS England, we are considering what options might be available to help achieve this.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for the Government, we have a mission to halve this violence in a decade. We are working across Government to deliver a transformative approach to this, underpinned by a new strategy to be published later in 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution by the Leader of The House of the 27 February 2025, Official Report, column 954, when he expects the NHS England ADHD taskforce to be ready to report with recommendations. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are supportive of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce that NHS England has established, which is working to bring together those with lived experience, experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer of 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-11)

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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to establish a full investigation into exploitation within social care. \p Stephen Kinnock: We have seen unacceptable increases in unethical practices and exploitation in the adult social care sector. The Government is delivering legislation to improve employment rights, and the Fair Work Agency in the Employment Rights Bill will bring together existing state enforcement functions and, over time, take on enforcement of a wider range of employment rights.

The Department also continues to work closely with regulators, local authorities, other departments, and enforcement bodies to share concerns and intelligence about illegal or unethical practices in adult social care. The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority investigates reports of worker exploitation and illegal activity, such as human trafficking, modern slavery, forced labour, as well as offences under the National Minimum Wage Act, working with HM Revenue and Customs, and the Employment Agencies Acts, working with the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. The Home Office has also begun delivery of new measures, meaning that any business employing overseas workers found guilty of serious employment law breaches, such as failing to comply with National Minimum Wage, will have action taken against them, up to and including having their visa sponsorship licences refused or revoked.