Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) treating stipends for PhD students as income for the purposes of calculating benefit entitlement and (b) not treating when calculating entitlement to free childcare hours on PhD students.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Student parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds regardless of family circumstances.

Students who work in addition to studying may be eligible for 30 hours free childcare if they meet the income requirements. PhD stipends are non-taxable income and therefore do not count towards the income requirements of the 30 hours childcare entitlement.

Students in full time higher education are eligible for the childcare grant to support childcare costs for children under 15, or under 17 if they have special educational needs. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/support-while-you-study.

Parents eligible for Universal Credit childcare offer can be reimbursed up to 85% of registered childcare costs each month, up to the maximum amounts (caps).

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of targeted interventions to improve breast cancer screening uptake among underserved groups.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has returned to normal operation following disruption from COVID-19 and subsequent recovery measures.

NHSBSP is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data for 2023/24 showing the number of women who are up to date with their screening has increased to the highest on record, to 4.61 million.

Breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023/24 improved to 70%, an increase from 64.6% in 2022/23, which is the first time the NHSBSP has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Specifically, regarding North West Leicestershire, measures to improve uptake include implementation of a timed appointment system which gives patients a specific date and time for their screening appointment, rather than asking them to contact the service to arrange one themselves. Evidence has shown that timed appointments improve participation and help reduce health inequalities. In addition, workforce structure is being reviewed to ensure a resilient staffing establishment capable of managing the higher demand from the timed appointment system.

More broadly, the integrated care board works with NHS England to support an increase in breast screening across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rugby. This includes:

• video shared via a link in a text message outlining the benefits of breast screening, targeted at women who have not attended their previous screening appointment
• a multidisciplinary project to address the requirements of women with a serious mental illness to attend for their breast screening
• working with primary care liaison nurses to support women with learning disabilities to attend for their breast screening

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the backlog and other impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the breast cancer screening programme has been completed.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has returned to normal operation following disruption from COVID-19 and subsequent recovery measures.

NHSBSP is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data for 2023/24 showing the number of women who are up to date with their screening has increased to the highest on record, to 4.61 million.

Breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023/24 improved to 70%, an increase from 64.6% in 2022/23, which is the first time the NHSBSP has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Specifically, regarding North West Leicestershire, measures to improve uptake include implementation of a timed appointment system which gives patients a specific date and time for their screening appointment, rather than asking them to contact the service to arrange one themselves. Evidence has shown that timed appointments improve participation and help reduce health inequalities. In addition, workforce structure is being reviewed to ensure a resilient staffing establishment capable of managing the higher demand from the timed appointment system.

More broadly, the integrated care board works with NHS England to support an increase in breast screening across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rugby. This includes:

• video shared via a link in a text message outlining the benefits of breast screening, targeted at women who have not attended their previous screening appointment
• a multidisciplinary project to address the requirements of women with a serious mental illness to attend for their breast screening
• working with primary care liaison nurses to support women with learning disabilities to attend for their breast screening

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to support areas with lower than national average attendance to breast cancer screening appointments, such as North West Leicestershire.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP) has returned to normal operation following disruption from COVID-19 and subsequent recovery measures.

NHSBSP is seeing improvement in uptake nationally with annual data for 2023/24 showing the number of women who are up to date with their screening has increased to the highest on record, to 4.61 million.

Breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023/24 improved to 70%, an increase from 64.6% in 2022/23, which is the first time the NHSBSP has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic.

In February 2025, NHS England launched the first ever National Health Service breast screening campaign nationally to widespread media attention. It ran across television, radio, social media, and outdoor advertising during February and March, targeting women of breast screening age, with a focus on those least likely to attend, including younger women, those in deprived areas, ethnic minorities, and disabled women.

Specifically, regarding North West Leicestershire, measures to improve uptake include implementation of a timed appointment system which gives patients a specific date and time for their screening appointment, rather than asking them to contact the service to arrange one themselves. Evidence has shown that timed appointments improve participation and help reduce health inequalities. In addition, workforce structure is being reviewed to ensure a resilient staffing establishment capable of managing the higher demand from the timed appointment system.

More broadly, the integrated care board works with NHS England to support an increase in breast screening across Leicester, Leicestershire, Rugby. This includes:

• video shared via a link in a text message outlining the benefits of breast screening, targeted at women who have not attended their previous screening appointment
• a multidisciplinary project to address the requirements of women with a serious mental illness to attend for their breast screening
• working with primary care liaison nurses to support women with learning disabilities to attend for their breast screening

Seventy years of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Found: Leicestershire) Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat; Torbay) Damien Egan (Labour; Bristol North East) Amanda Hack

Found: Debbie Abrahams (Chair); Rushanara Ali; David Baines; Lee Barron; Johanna Baxter; Mr Peter Bedford; Amanda Hack

Submit Evidence (by 12 Feb 2026)

Nearly one million young people aged 16–24 are not in employment, education or training (NEET). This is a worrying statistic given the harm that being NEET can do to young people’s prospects and wellbeing. To tackle this problem, the Government has recently transferred the skills remit to DWP and announced measures such as the Youth Guarantee and apprenticeship reforms. The Work and Pensions Committee’s inquiry, which seeks to complement the independent Milburn Review into Young People and Work, will explore the causes of economic inactivity and how to help young people into work, education or training, and scrutinise the Government’s plans.

Members of the Education and Work and Pensions Select Committees have decided to undertake an inquiry that will consider how the Government can ensure it will deliver a successful Child Poverty Strategy.