Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who is the Minister responsible for the implementation of the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Baroness Hayman of Ullock was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with responsibility for animal welfare for England.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered banning the issuance of Penalty Charge Notices on Airport land.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Penalty charge notices are reserved for local authorities, not the private land to which you refer.
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 requires the government to introduce a Code of Practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities. Private parking facilities means facilities for the parking of vehicles on ‘Relevant Land’.
‘Relevant Land’ is defined at paragraph 3 schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedom Act 2012. Landowners, including airports, will be responsible to check if their land is in scope.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people with health conditions into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to championing the rights of, and helping, disabled people and people with health conditions. More people with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work through our Pathways to Work offer which includes the Connect to Work Supported Employment programme, and through the expansion across England of our groundbreaking programme WorkWell.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting up a whistleblowing route or digital hotline to allow driving instructors to report those who are reselling tests for profit.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country. DVSA has zero tolerance for those who exploit learner drivers.
There are already various avenues through which individuals might raise concerns to the DVSA. For example, people can contact DVSA’s instructor conduct team if they have concerns about the service or behaviour of an individual approved driving instructor. People might also raise concerns to DVSA’s intelligence unit via enquiries@dvsa.gov.uk.
The nature of any concerns received can vary, for example some might be about an individual whereas others might be regarding businesses. When any intelligence is received DVSA will initially assess this to fully understand the nature of the matter being raised. This ensures the matter is then passed to the relevant team to take forward.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve multi-disciplinary team care for people with Huntington’s disease and (b) encourage the use of specialist inpatient units, community multi-disciplinary teams and advisory services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out the Government’s ambition to establish Neighbourhood Health Centres in every community. Neighbourhood health will bring more care into local communities, tailoring services to meet those needs through local co-ordinated teams, addressing not just clinical needs but wider support needs, and ensuring that services can be accessed as easily as possible for each individual.
The NHS England revised Specialised Neurology Services (Adults) – service specification is due to be implemented from 2026 onwards and also outlines a comprehensive model of care, detailing the requirements for specialised neurology services and outlining the expectations of a system-wide approach. This includes access to specialist inpatient units for those patients with the most complex presentations, as well as multi-disciplinary team working and advice and guidance. The document is available at the following link:
NHS England Neurology Transformation Programme is developing a neurology transformation toolkit, including a document outlining a model of care for integrated neurology care. This document outlines the impact of care coordination and case management functions in supporting more equitable and efficient care for people with long-term neurological diseases, including Huntington’s disease.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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
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:
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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
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:
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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
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:
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
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).
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of road closures to prevent vehicles disturbing standing water that has collected after heavy rainfall on properties at risk of flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The organisational responsibilities and operational processes for local road closures due to flooding are generally held by the Highways Department of the relevant local authority and the Emergency Services. Local private roads are the responsibility of the relevant landowner.
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. Section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 allows for local highway authorities to close roads temporarily when there is likelihood of danger to the public or the possibility of serious damage to the highway.
The Environment Agency works with local authorities in advance of potential flooding to advise them about current and predicted water levels, the local authority will then decide on whether to close roads. In many cases the extent of roads likely to be affected by flooding is well understood and arrangements to manage closures well-rehearsed.