Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of conducting (a) an independent review and (b) an inquiry into the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.
There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federation for England and Wales for the purpose of representing members of the police forces in England and Wales, and special constables. I hold regular meetings with the Federation and consistently challenge the leadership to show how they are responding to the issues outlined in the Independent Review which reported last year, as well as how they are reforming to improve their operation and representation of members.
Recognising widely-reported concerns about the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), we expect to see clear plans and rapid, demonstrable improvement in the PFEW’s operation. As we said in our White Paper, in the absence of such improvements, this Government stands ready to bring forward reforms to ensure that the interests of rank-and-file officers are properly, effectively and robustly represented.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Police Federation in representing its members.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.
There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federation for England and Wales for the purpose of representing members of the police forces in England and Wales, and special constables. I hold regular meetings with the Federation and consistently challenge the leadership to show how they are responding to the issues outlined in the Independent Review which reported last year, as well as how they are reforming to improve their operation and representation of members.
Recognising widely-reported concerns about the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), we expect to see clear plans and rapid, demonstrable improvement in the PFEW’s operation. As we said in our White Paper, in the absence of such improvements, this Government stands ready to bring forward reforms to ensure that the interests of rank-and-file officers are properly, effectively and robustly represented.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what level of oversight her Department has of the governance and reform of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.
There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federation for England and Wales for the purpose of representing members of the police forces in England and Wales, and special constables. I hold regular meetings with the Federation and consistently challenge the leadership to show how they are responding to the issues outlined in the Independent Review which reported last year, as well as how they are reforming to improve their operation and representation of members.
Recognising widely-reported concerns about the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), we expect to see clear plans and rapid, demonstrable improvement in the PFEW’s operation. As we said in our White Paper, in the absence of such improvements, this Government stands ready to bring forward reforms to ensure that the interests of rank-and-file officers are properly, effectively and robustly represented.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what comparative assessment he has made of England’s progress in providing universal access to Fracture Liaison Services with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland's.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Health is a devolved matter to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The Fracture Liaison Service database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by Fracture Liaison Services in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The Royal College of Physicians publishes an annual report on Fracture Liaison Services in England and Wales.
Due to differences in the way the data is recorded across the nations of the United Kingdom we have not made a comparative assessment.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of England by 2030.
Integrated care boards remain well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
The renewed Women’s Health Strategy sets an expectation that integrated care boards prioritise community-based models when commissioning new fracture prevention services.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make Fracture Liaison Services a mandated service for Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Integrated care boards remain well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
The renewed Women’s Health Strategy sets an expectation that integrated care boards prioritise community-based models when commissioning new fracture prevention services.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance is provided to exporters on demonstrating low diversion risk under the Sanctions End-Use Controls.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) provides guidance for businesses on Sanctions End-Use Controls and countering sanctions evasion through GOV.UK, which sets out how exporters can address diversion risk.
Exporters should evidence robust due diligence, including clear understanding of the end use and end user, transparent supply chains and consistent commercial and transport documentation.
DBT continues to support exporter compliance through regularly updated guidance and proactive stakeholder engagement to ensure businesses understand their obligations.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards are in place to ensure that data accessed or processed through the NHS Federated Data Platform cannot be repurposed, now or in the future, for immigration enforcement or other non‑health-related functions, including by third-party contractors or their overseas affiliates.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
Data held within the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) remains under the full control of the National Health Service at all times. The supplier does not control NHS data and is not permitted to access, use, or share data for its own purposes.
The supplier cannot view NHS data unless explicitly authorised by an NHS Data Controller. The supplier acts solely on the instruction of the NHS when processing data on the platform. The FDP and Associated Services contract includes strict confidentiality requirements, supported by governance arrangements to oversee delivery and the use of the platform.
It is a contractual requirement that data held within the NHS FDP cannot be accessed by supplier staff or contractors located outside the United Kingdom. These arrangements ensure that NHS data remains under UK jurisdiction and that all data processing takes place within the UK.
In line with the General Data Protection Regulation principles of transparency and accountability, NHS England has published information within the FDP Information Governance Framework. Data held within the FDP cannot be accessed or processed by non‑UK Government entities.
There are no products within the NHS FDP that hold immigration status or residency status. Immigration or residency data does not form part of NHS England data collections, nor does it form part of an individual’s health record.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are adequate (a) resources and (b) workforce capacity in community health services, particularly in areas served by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. The formula takes account of population, age, need, deprivation, health inequality considerations, and unavoidable costs, for example the increased costs caused by lower population density in rural areas. Therefore, the ICB allocations issued by NHS England for 2026/27 to 2028/29 will take account of the demographics of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System in providing a fair share of overall National Health Service resources. We recently published the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which is available at the following link:
This framework will help systems deliver neighbourhood health, which will improve people’s health and care outcomes, reduce health inequalities, and help them stay well at home, partly by strengthening primary and community care services. NHS England then wrote to ICBs and NHS providers setting out the expectations on local action to advance neighbourhood health in 2026/27 to 2027/28, including commissioning for population health, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/next-steps-on-neighbourhood-health-and-new-delivery-models/
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the ongoing restructuring of NHS England and the reduction in Integrated Care Systems on (a) the pace of service development and transformation and (b) access to healthcare services for rural and semi‑rural communities (i) in Leicestershire and (ii) elsewhere in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The new Department will operate in a leaner, more agile, and more efficient way and will empower staff at all levels of the health system. These reforms will give more power and autonomy to local leaders and systems, stripping away red tape and bureaucracy and providing more freedom to better deliver health services for their local communities.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out the need for a leaner national centre, one that sets clearer priorities, provides strategic direction, and supports local systems rather than relying on command and control. By integrating the Department and NHS England and significantly reducing duplication, the programme directly delivers this aspect of the 10-Year Health Plan vision, and compliments the other system changes happening at an integrated care board and provider level.
Delivery expectations are embedded throughout the plan, which will shift care from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention, which will benefit local constituencies.
We are moving towards fewer but larger integrated care boards, with a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to delivering care closer to home, and this includes rural and semi rural areas. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for Leicestershire, and will be brought together as part of the integrated care boards’ plans to improve population health locally. All integrated care boards will continue to focus on their role as strategic commissioners, supporting service transformation and development to deliver the priorities set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Alberto Costa (Conservative - South Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability for public sector bodies and organisations carrying out safeguarding functions on behalf of local authorities; and whether her Department plans to introduce new measures to improve transparency, oversight and consequences for procedural failures.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026’ sets clear expectations for how organisations must safeguard children. Inspectorates and regulators are key to ensuring organisations follow their statutory duties. Ofsted inspects early years provision, schools, further education and skills providers, and all children’s social care services including children’s homes, fostering agencies and adoption services.
Joint Targeted Area Inspections are multi-agency inspections carried out by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate Probation.
Out-of-school settings have a common law duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, alongside other statutory obligations relating to Disclosure and Barring Service requirements and health and safety legislation.
DfE will provide a formal response to the call for evidence on safeguarding in these settings in due course, following ongoing stakeholder engagement.
The department is establishing a Child Protection Authority to strengthen the child protection response regardless of where harm takes place.