theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor progress on access to new NHS-approved drugs for blood cancer patients. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE has been able to recommend a number of medicines for use in the NHS for the treatment of different types of blood cancer.

NHS England funds NICE-recommended cancer medicines from the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of a positive draft NICE guidance, bringing forward patient access by approximately five months than would otherwise be the case. All drugs on the Cancer Drugs Fund have reached expected uptake levels within three months of a positive NICE recommendation.
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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the safe disposal of needles in the context of the growing use of GLP-1 medicines; whether his Department has had discussions with pharmaceutical companies about meeting the costs of this disposal. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is important for sharps to be disposed of safely, to avoid risk of accidental needle-stick injuries to pharmacy or general practice staff, waste management operatives, and other members of the public. All sharps should be disposed in sharps bins, which can be obtained on prescription or purchased. Local authorities are obliged to collect clinical waste, including sharps bins, from householders upon request. Under section 45(3)(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 they may make a reasonable charge for this service.

The Department has had no discussions with the pharmaceutical industry about meeting the cost of this disposal.
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Amanda Hack:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that new NICE guidelines on PCOS are embedded in a nationally commissioned diagnostic pathway to reduce diagnostic delays. \p Karin Smyth: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published its clinical guideline on the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. The guideline is currently in development and NICE expects to publish the final guideline in November 2026. Once published, National Health Service commissioners will be expected to take the guideline fully into account in designing services that meet the needs of their local populations.
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Amanda Hack:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered prioritising the integration of PCOS care into Women's Health Hubs. \p Karin Smyth: Women’s health hubs bring together healthcare professionals and existing services to provide integrated women’s health services in the community, centred on meeting women’s needs across their life course.

As set out in the core specification on the GOV.UK website, women’s health hubs should provide assessment and treatment for menstrual problems, including but not limited to care for heavy, painful, or irregular menstrual bleeding, and care for conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome.

We are looking to integrated care boards to further expand their coverage of women’s health hubs to improve local delivery of services to women. We will support them in doing so, drawing on the learning from the existing women’s health hubs.
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Amanda Hack:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding investment in mental health support and screening within PCOS treatment plans. \p Karin Smyth: While we have no plans at present to make such an assessment, we know that more needs to be done to support women with gynaecological conditions, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support and to provide the right support at the right time to the right people, including women with PCOS. We are transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies.

For 2025/26, mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift of £688 million in real terms spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year.

In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers for children and adults by the end of this Parliament. 6,700 of these workers have been recruited since July, meaning we are more than halfway towards our target.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the national cancer plan for England will include targets to improve the diagnosis of myeloma. \p Ashley Dalton: It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.

To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment and ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the UK National Screening Committee will commence its next cardiac screening review. \p Ashley Dalton: The UK National Screening Committee is currently examining the evidence for screening for risks of sudden cardiac death and will open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on this in due course.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis rates of blood cancers in Shropshire. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer, including blood cancers, as early and fast as possible. We recognise that patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms (NSS) such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

To tackle late, emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS has implemented NSS pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England, including in Shropshire, with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment and ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
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Tom Gordon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders among healthcare professionals in (a) diabetes and (b) eating disorder services. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) Pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway. Pilot sites are delivering a national high level service specification alongside testing local novel approaches to improving care including to awareness raising of the condition amongst both diabetes and eating disorder health care professionals.

A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of Type 1 disordered eating amongst healthcare professionals.

NHS England works alongside its partners to support the delivery of key messages around diabetes education and awareness. This includes through a digital diabetes platform which is developing educational resources for T1DE.
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Tom Gordon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Integrated Care Boards will be required to provide sustainable funding for successful pilot projects on Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders to become regional centres of excellence. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England has provided up to £1.5 million a year for the five current Type 1 Disordered Eating pilots for three years. This funding is transferred to integrated care boards on an annual basis and in 2025/26 has been ringfenced.

Decisions on funding for future years have yet to be taken.
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Olivia Blake:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure Physician Associates are supported to transition into new roles within the NHS on equal bands to their current roles. \p Karin Smyth: The principal question of the Leng Review was to assess whether the roles of physician assistants (PAs) and physician assistants in anaesthesia, still legally known as physician associates and anaesthesia associates, are safe and effective. The review’s findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles to continue as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.

The review recommendations include ensuring that PAs have the opportunity for ongoing training and development in the context of a formal certification and credentialling programme.

Professor Leng will be undertaking a temporary and continuing role to support the implementation of the recommendations, which will include driving wider discussions with a range of system partners including NHS England, the General Medical Council, royal colleges, professional bodies, and higher education institutions to consider further the changes needed to implement the recommendations.

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. Our forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan will look at how to get the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care, and we will consider the findings of the Leng Review when developing the plan.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring adequate numbers of NHS employees are available to administer Tofersen. \p Karin Smyth: I have had no such discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases, and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. If a positive recommendation is made, then NHS commissioners will be under a legal duty to fund the treatment for all eligible patients in England.
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Vicky Foxcroft:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients with a high body mass index are able to access joint replacement surgery in line with NICE guidelines. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has made no specific assessment of this criterion alone.

As with all surgery, body mass index would be considered as part of a holistic, personalised, perioperative evaluation of the risks versus the clinical need for joint replacement surgery of an individual patient. However, body mass index should not be considered in isolation and in and of itself should not act as a barrier to surgery.

For example, blanket body mass index thresholds for surgery should not be in place or used as a means of determining eligibility for surgery.

As part of the NHS Elective Reform Plan there is a commitment to expand access to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery.
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Cameron Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce geographical cost differences for (a) abiraterone and (b) similar drugs in England. \p Karin Smyth: The procurement of abiraterone for secondary care is currently part of NHS England’s generic wave tender structure. NHS England tenders two regions out of six at a time to encourage competition and to ensure supply chain resilience, awarding the top two compliant suppliers onto the framework each time. Prices may vary between regions, but within NHS England’s terms and conditions there is a price review mechanism whereby any price changes can be matched/applied in other regions. Also, within the tender there is a price limiter criterion which is applied so that only bids that are in line with market norms will be compliant.
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Mr James Frith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing free prescriptions for inhalers to people with asthma who are moving into adulthood. \p Karin Smyth: There are no plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate.

There are extensive arrangements in place in England to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with asthma may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme, which provides help based on a comparison between a person’s income and their requirements.

People who need to pay and who need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC). PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as needed for a set cost. An annual PPC costs £114.50 and will save money if they need 12 or more items in 12 months. To help spread the cost, people can pay for an annual PPC through 10 monthly direct debits, which works out as just over £2 per week. A three month PPC for £32.05 is also available.
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Vicky Foxcroft:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure new Neighbourhood Health Services support people living with (a) arthritis and (b) other musculoskeletal conditions. \p Stephen Kinnock: Improving health and work outcomes of people with arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions will help deliver the Government’s missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.

The 10-Year Health plan sets out our vision for a neighbourhood health service. Neighbourhood teams will bring together professionals, including nurses, doctors, social care staff, pharmacists and health visitors, to provide comprehensive care that fits around people’s lives. Neighbourhood health approaches can help ensure that people with MSK conditions receive more personalised and coordinated support, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and enabling earlier, community-based interventions. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and involve NHS, local authority and voluntary sector services.

People with MSK conditions will also soon be able to bypass their general practitioners (GPs) and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions including arthritis, backpain and joint pain, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals and freeing up general practices.

We have launched the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, which will support systems across the country by driving innovation and integration at a local level, to accelerate improvements in outcomes, satisfaction and experience for people by ensuring that care is more joined up, accessible and responsive to community needs.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on reducing backlogs at (a) Royal United Hospital Bath and (b) Southmead Hospital. \p Karin Smyth: As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. Waiting list data is available for the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, which encompasses the Royal United Hospital Bath, and the North Bristol NHS Trust, which encompasses the Southmead Hospital.

As of July 2025, the total elective waiting list for the Royal United Hospitals Bath Foundation NHS Trust was 41,010, with 57.7% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks. The total elective waiting list for the North Bristol NHS Trust was 44,047, with 65.8% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks.

Planning Guidance for 2025/26 sets a target that 65% of patients wait for 18 weeks or less by March 2026, with every trust expected to deliver a minimum 5% improvement on current performance over that period. Comparing from April 2025 to July 2025, the latest available data, performance against the 18-week standard has worsened by 2.9% at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, and improved by 2.6% at the North Bristol NHS Trust.
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Cat Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much ringfenced funding will be provided to children’s hospices in each year from 2026-7 to 2029-30. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.

We cannot yet confirm what the funding for 2026/27 and beyond will be, or how it will be administered.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56880 on Health Professions: Regulation, when he plans to publish a consultation on a draft legislative framework for the General Medical Council which would enable them to consider fitness to practise concerns arising from allegations of sexual misconduct that are more than five years old. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to modernising the regulatory frameworks for all healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom.

As a first step, we aim to consult on secondary legislation to modernise the General Medical Council’s regulatory framework in late 2025 and to lay this legislation before Parliament in 2026. This will be followed by further legislation which will modernise the governing legislation of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and of the Health and Care Professions Council, within the current parliamentary period.

The Department will continue to work with regulators, the devolved administrations, and other key partners as we develop more consistent, efficient, and effective regulatory frameworks.
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Imran Hussain:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to use Public Private Partnerships in the development of Neighbourhood Health Centres under the NHS 10-Year Plan. \p Karin Smyth: The Government announced in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy and in the 10-Year Health Plan that we will explore the feasibility of using new public private partnerships (PPPs) to deliver certain types of primary and community health infrastructure, including Neighbourhood Health Centres.

A decision whether to use PPPs in these circumstances will be taken by Autumn Budget 2025, based on co-development of a model and business case between the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority and the Department.

The Department conducted a successful preliminary market engagement exercise over summer 2025, and this is feeding into the business case, which is still in development. Companies and organisations involved in the preparation of the business case cannot be shared due to this being commercially sensitive.

Any new PPP models will be subject to further market-testing and will build on lessons learned from past government experience, models currently in use elsewhere in the United Kingdom, and the March 2025 National Audit Office report, Lessons Learned: private finance for infrastructure. Any new model will include tighter monitoring of financial information during procurement and operational phase of the project.

Guidance on publication of business cases, written by HM Treasury is available on GOV.UK. A decision as to whether this business case requires publication once completed will be taken in due course and in line with the published guidance.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on the balance of academic and practical training in nurse education programmes. \p Karin Smyth: No recent discussions have taken place. Higher education institutions and practice placement providers develop the content of programmes and determine the balance of academic and practical learning in line with the outcome standards set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Nursing students are required to complete 2,300 hours of practice learning as part of their pre-registration programme, 600 of which can be completed through simulated training. The NMC is currently conducting a review of nursing and midwifery practice learning requirements.
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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department undertook stress testing in relation to the delivery schedule for the New Hospital Programme Schemes under the New Hospital Programme Review, published on 20 January 2025. \p Karin Smyth: As set out in the Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision support analysis (MCDA) tool was used to help prioritise schemes to support the development of funding options. Key data, including the criteria for clinical outcomes, deliverability, cost, and the estate conditions from each of the hospitals falling within the scope of the review, was inputted into the tool. The input data and scoring mechanism within the MCDA was reviewed by NHS England and Department colleagues to validate its appropriateness. The Plan for Implementation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementation

As part of the analysis, schemes were prioritised into upper, middle, and lower third scoring, which was then stress tested using the professional expertise and judgment of clinical, programme, construction, and finance colleagues from within the New Hospital Programme (NHP), the Department, and NHS England, to identify and overlay other factors of concern into the final options by reviewing the output of the MCDA and completing a further degree of testing to validate the results.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has determined that the Plan for Implementation provides a comprehensive explanation of how the MCDA tool was used in the NHP review. This decision notice is available at the following link:

https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2025/08/ic-381127-f6x5/
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of doctors leaving the UK due to a lack of specialty training posts. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has not made such a specific estimate. Data is published by NHS England on numbers of doctors leaving active service across National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards, but information collected on broad reasons for leaving is not detailed enough to report on drivers such as access to specialty training.

The General Medical Council (GMC) publishes data on staff leaving the register in its annual State of Medical Education and Practice in the United Kingdom publication. This shows that the proportion leaving the register in 2024 has remained stable at approximately 4% a year. When asked about reasons for leaving, the three main reasons cited to the GMC where ‘wanting to practice abroad’, ‘retirement’ and ‘wanting to live abroad’.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the quality of the treatment available to people with Leukemia in Lincolnshire. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to improving cancer care and access to innovative treatment in all regions of England, including for people suffering from Leukaemia in Lincolnshire. The National Health Service has exceeded its pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments, having now delivered over five million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to diagnosis and treatment.

The National Cancer Plan, due for publication later this year, will include further details on how the NHS will improve care for cancer patients and ensure patients receive high-quality treatment in a timely fashion. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, including the design of services and the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group has a budget to approve new treatments. \p Karin Smyth: The Clinical Priorities Advisory Group is an advisory committee that makes recommendations on the relative priority of treatments to be commissioned subject to the available discretionary investment. It is not a decision-making body and does not allocate funds or have a budget for approving new treatments. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/cpag/
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Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the financial cost of heritage crime in each of the last 10 years. \p Sarah Jones: This Government recognises the distress and disruption that heritage theft and vandalism can cause to local communities. We have supported the work of Historic England which leads on a number of initiatives to tackle heritage crime, particularly theft from church roofs and other buildings primarily in rural locations.

We all have a part to play in preventing heritage crime. For example, the Heritage Watch scheme, a project brought together by Historic England and Country Eye Ltd encourages communities and other partners to get involved in protecting heritage buildings, by knowing how to spot the signs a crime has taken place and making it easier for local residents to report these crimes.

There is no separate recording code to disaggregate ‘heritage crime’ from the broader range of offences involved, such as theft, vandalism, arson and anti-social behaviour. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other agencies with a range of powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, including damage to heritage sites caused by vandalism or graffiti.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) encourage and (b) support the recruitment of armed forces veterans into the police. \p Sarah Jones: The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to effectively tackle crime. We are clear that visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in the police.

We recognise that there are important opportunities for those leaving the military to join police forces. We value these people’s commitment to public service.

Following the introduction of the Police Constable Entry Programme military veterans have a range of options to join the police depending on the qualifications they may hold and the resettlement credits available to them.

Decisions about police recruitment, including how recruitment and selection processes are run, are a matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners and are therefore managed locally by forces.
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Ian Lavery:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) race and (b) religious hate crimes took place in Blyth and Ashington constituency between September (i) 2024 and (ii) 2025. \p Sarah Jones: The Home Office publishes official statistics on hate crimes at the Police Force Area level. The latest published information for the year ending March 2024, including for Northumbria Police, can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK

Information on hate crimes recorded by the police in the year ending March 2025 is due to be published on the 9 October.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of aligning Section 2 shotgun licensing with Section 1 high-powered firearms. \p Sarah Jones: We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns. We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation in due course and this includes the possible impact of any changes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any dedicated funding has been provided to the Metropolitan Police to support the Ninja Sword Surrender Scheme. \p Sarah Jones: The Ninja Sword Surrender Scheme ran for four weeks between 1 to 31 July 2025. The scheme allowed owners of ninja swords to surrender them at designated police stations in England and Wales and, if they wished, submit a claim for compensation, which was forwarded to the Home Office for consideration.

The scheme was directly funded by the Home Office, and no specific funding was given to police forces including the Metropolitan Police.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_347

Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee on North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. \p Sarah Jones: The commitments set out in the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee are now making a difference to the service communities receive from their neighbourhood policing teams.

As a result of the Guarantee, communities are now benefitting from enhanced police visibility and responsiveness.

Avon and Somerset Police have been allocated £4,574,856 from the £200 million neighborhood policing fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, Avon and Somerset Police’s projected growth over 2025/26 will be 70 Police Officers (FTE).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_348

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of police workforce shortages on response times to emergency calls. \p Sarah Jones: The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. We are committed to giving forces the resources they need to keep the public safe.

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.

This includes fully covering the costs for the 2024/25 pay award, the increase in the employer national insurance contributions, £376.8 million for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles.

It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate all the resources at their disposal to provide responses to emergency calls alongside all the other services and support they provide to communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_349

Rachel Gilmour:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding for specialised rural crime teams. \p Sarah Jones: Rural crime can also have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector. This financial year we are providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit, a national policing unit which help forces tackle rural crime priorities and is a great example of farmers and police working together at national and local level.

Under our Safer Streets Mission reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft, anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will also ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses. This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by Spring next year, as part of our ambition to deliver 13,000 neighbourhood officers into police forces across England and Wales by the end of this parliament.

We worked closely with policing to develop the Neighbourhood Policing Programme. Our approach to delivery in 2025/26, which is year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible, and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands police forces face. The precise workforce mix is therefore a local decision.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_350

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage male victims of domestic abuse to report that abuse to the authorities. \p Jess Phillips: This Government is committed to ensuring that male victims and survivors get the support that they need and are encouraged to come forward to report abusive and violent crimes - such as stalking, domestic abuse, and sexual violence - to the authorities.

The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice fund organisations, including Respect, Galop, SignHealth, and Hourglass, which provide essential support to male victims. This includes the Men’s Advice Line, run by Respect, which offers vital support to male victims of domestic abuse. We continue to work closely with these organisations to raise awareness of the services available for male victims, addressing the barriers to reporting and ensuring that men feel supported when seeking help.

In February 2025, the Home Office announced £13.1 million funding to launch a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). The Centre will improve the police response to VAWG, creating a change in policing attitudes to ensure that officers respond effectively to VAWG crimes, including controlling and coercive behaviour, and offer all victims consistent protection.

We are working tirelessly across government to deliver the VAWG Strategy as soon as possible, which will set out commitments for all victims, including for men and boys that are victims of abuse.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_351

Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve efficiency in DBS processing for prospective teachers. \p Jess Phillips: As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent and responsible for the service it provides. It currently operates to formalised service standards of completing 85% of Basic check applications within 2 days, 85% of Standard check applications within 3 days, and 80% of Enhanced check applications within 14 days.

Its latest performance against these service standards is available at DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Prospective teachers are likely to require an Enhanced level DBS check which must be sent to police forces for local intelligence checks. It is important from a safeguarding perspective that the DBS allows sufficient time for these robust checks to take place, as these are ultimately in place to protect the most vulnerable groups in society.

Whilst the vast majority of Enhanced checks are processed within target, there are a small number of police forces that have been experiencing difficulties in meeting their target times due to extra demand. The DBS has been working closely with these affected forces to improve performance, including by providing funding for overtime and additional staff whilst the forces recruit and train new staff to process the checks. The DBS is also facilitating workload sharing between police forces so that forces with capacity can provide assistance to those forces that are struggling.

This work should help to further improve efficiency in DBS processing of Enhanced checks for all, including for prospective teachers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_352

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) police forces and (b) local partnerships to protect (i) hospitality and (ii) high street businesses during peak seasons. \p Sarah Jones: This Government wants town centres to be vibrant, welcoming places where businesses thrive and people feel safe and come to shop, socialise and live.

Police and Crime Commissioners are leading on targeted action to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour that blights our town centres and high streets as part of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative. The work is being delivered in partnership with councils, schools, health services, business, transport providers and community groups all playing a role over the summer. Under the initiative, partners have used targeted enforcement, visible policing and place-based interventions to reduce retail and street crime and anti-social behaviour in over 500 town centres and high streets across England and Wales.

Devon and Cornwall Police have listed 30 locations as part of the Safer Streets Summer Initiative and have delivered interventions to tackle retail crime including Safer Business Action Days, targeted training for police and shop staff, and wider adoption of ShopWatch and DISC radio communication systems.

In addition, the Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of this funding, Devon and Cornwall Police are in receipt of £1m.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-13 conversation_353

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of modern slavery and labour exploitation in the hospitality sector. \p Jess Phillips: The Government takes reports of labour exploitation in the hospitality sector very seriously, and we remain committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery – wherever it occurs.

The Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) has a statutory duty under the Immigration Act 2016 to undertake an annual assessment of the scale and nature of non-compliance in the labour market. Sectors which include hospitality were not identified as a high risk for non-compliance in the DLME’s 2025-26 annual Labour Market Enforcement Strategy.

The Government is establishing the Fair Work Agency (FWA) through the Employment Rights Bill. The FWA will bring together the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Team. This will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation. The Fair Work Agency will have strong powers to investigate and take action against a range of labour market abuses, including serious exploitation and modern slavery in the hospitality sector. Once established, the FWA will take on the DLME’s role of assessing non-compliance in the labour market.