Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the impacts on first-time buyers of non-qualifying leaseholder status being tied to a property in perpetuity, in cases where a prior leaseholder owned multiple properties.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Freeholders can charge holders of non-qualifying leases a share of remediation costs incurred, in line with the terms of the lease. However, all leaseholders may still be able to recover remediation costs from a former owner, developer or associated company via a Remediation Contribution Order (RCO) and they may also be protected under the Developer Remediation Contract.
This Government recognises that many people are not fully protected by current rules. We know leaseholders are not responsible for the creation of historic building safety defects, and we are considering how to go further to protect leaseholders from current and future building safety issues, especially those groups left out of existing protections.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ending of the Renters' Rights transition period on levels of homelessness.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government published its Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Act on 22 November 2024, which can be found on gov.uk here. This found that the potential impact of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 on levels of homelessness would be a reduction in the number of households at risk of becoming homeless and a reduction in homelessness duties owed.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 address rates of postpartum haemorrhage in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is working to improve the timely clinical response to obstetric haemorrhage through the Maternal Care Bundle, which aims to improve the management of haemorrhage through timely identification, escalation, and response to obstetric bleeding, along with ongoing, multidisciplinary review and learning.
Significant improvements in data coverage and data quality over recent years mean that in September 2025, 92% of National Health Service trusts were included in the analysis of Maternity Services Data Set birth and postpartum haemorrhage information, compared with 30% in September 2020. The referenced increase in postpartum haemorrhage rates may be influenced by this improvement in reporting in addition to any rise in clinical incidence. The Maternal Care Bundle will further improve the identification of haemorrhages over 1,500 millilitres by requiring providers to cumulatively measure blood loss, which is likely to further increase the reported rate in future years.
We will translate the recommendations from Baroness Amos’ National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, and Donna Ockenden’s national recommendations, into a single, national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This includes careful consideration of the action required to improve the safety and experiences of women, babies, and families.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
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 ensure adoption of innovations aimed at treating postpartum haemorrhage more effectively.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is working to improve the timely clinical response to obstetric haemorrhage through the Maternal Care Bundle, which aims to improve the management of haemorrhage through timely identification, escalation, and response to obstetric bleeding, along with ongoing, multidisciplinary review and learning.
Significant improvements in data coverage and data quality over recent years mean that in September 2025, 92% of National Health Service trusts were included in the analysis of Maternity Services Data Set birth and postpartum haemorrhage information, compared with 30% in September 2020. The referenced increase in postpartum haemorrhage rates may be influenced by this improvement in reporting in addition to any rise in clinical incidence. The Maternal Care Bundle will further improve the identification of haemorrhages over 1,500 millilitres by requiring providers to cumulatively measure blood loss, which is likely to further increase the reported rate in future years.
We will translate the recommendations from Baroness Amos’ National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, and Donna Ockenden’s national recommendations, into a single, national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This includes careful consideration of the action required to improve the safety and experiences of women, babies, and families.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether improving postpartum haemorrhage outcomes will be included in the forthcoming maternity and neonatal action plan.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is working to improve the timely clinical response to obstetric haemorrhage through the Maternal Care Bundle, which aims to improve the management of haemorrhage through timely identification, escalation, and response to obstetric bleeding, along with ongoing, multidisciplinary review and learning.
Significant improvements in data coverage and data quality over recent years mean that in September 2025, 92% of National Health Service trusts were included in the analysis of Maternity Services Data Set birth and postpartum haemorrhage information, compared with 30% in September 2020. The referenced increase in postpartum haemorrhage rates may be influenced by this improvement in reporting in addition to any rise in clinical incidence. The Maternal Care Bundle will further improve the identification of haemorrhages over 1,500 millilitres by requiring providers to cumulatively measure blood loss, which is likely to further increase the reported rate in future years.
We will translate the recommendations from Baroness Amos’ National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, and Donna Ockenden’s national recommendations, into a single, national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This includes careful consideration of the action required to improve the safety and experiences of women, babies, and families.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of his Department current response times to Members' enquiries.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recognises that response times to enquiries from Members of Parliament have been impacted by increased volumes and the complexity of cases requiring detailed investigation.
To address this, the Department has deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams, prioritised the reduction of backlogs, strengthened performance monitoring, introduced enhanced senior oversight, and improved case management processes to support faster and more consistent responses.
As a result of these measures, the Department has begun to reduce outstanding backlogs and increase case-handling capacity, helping to improve response times for hon. Members.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer, but customers are kept informed of progress and expected timescales.
The Department is committed to ensuring that hon. Members receive timely and accurate information on behalf of their constituents and is taking urgent action to restore performance to expected standards.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many cases have prosecuting powers been ceded from his Department to US military courts, in relation to prosecuting offences against serving US military personnel, for each year of the last decade.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Visiting Forces Act (1952) sets out the legal basis in the UK for how jurisdiction for criminal offences is decided between the UK civil authorities and any NATO or designated non-NATO Visiting Force military court martial. This is implemented in practice by the independent police and Crown Prosecution Service, assessing the merits of each claim for jurisdiction by a Visiting Force in accordance with the domestic legislation. Any data on such cases would not be held centrally.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps his Department is taking to prioritise the bringing about of increases to the charging rate for the offence of coercive and controlling behaviour.
Answered by Andy Slaughter - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The introduction of controlling or coercive behaviour as a criminal offence in 2015 marked a fundamental shift in the criminal justice response to abuse, from focusing on individual incidents to recognising patterns of behaviour that entrench control, isolate victims and inflict serious psychological harm.
Controlling or coercive behaviour cases often involve complex patterns of abuse that can be difficult to evidence, especially when victims are traumatised or unable to speak out.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) continues to take action to improve outcomes in these cases, with the number of domestic abuse flagged controlling or coercive behaviour offences charged and reaching a first hearing in the magistrates' court increasing year on year, rising from 763 in 2017 to 6,510 in 2025.
CPS guidance makes clear that prosecutors should actively identify and consider controlling or coercive behaviour offences, recognising the cumulative impact of abusive conduct. Prosecutors are encouraged to charge controlling or coercive behaviour alongside individual incidents where appropriate, ensuring that the full extent of the alleged offending is placed before the court.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department has provided for organisations undertaking interfaith community activities in Tower Hamlets.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Interfaith relations are vital for strong, cohesive communities.
The government is funding Inter Faith Week in November, which will provide a national platform for fostering positive interfaith relations across our communities and schools. Alongside this, the government supports grassroots interfaith relations via our funding to Near Neighbours and Schools Linking, which promote dialogue, youth engagement, and neighbourhood cohesion across different backgrounds and faiths. Both programmes operate in Tower Hamlets.
Last year, Tower Hamlets received £25,000 through the Common Ground Resilience Fund (CGRF). Tower Hamlets was one of 30 local authorities funded through the CGRF to support activity to reduce divisions and build resilience against community tensions by strengthening social connections and bringing people from different backgrounds together, including those of different faiths. The Department has also supported VCSE organisations through the Common Ground Award, part of the CGRF, which provided funding to 211 organisations in 2025/26 undertaking activities that build social connections across and between different communities. Four VCSE organisations in Tower Hamlets received a combined £39,900 through this programme.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the trends in the levels of anti-Muslim hate crime nationally, and what assessment she has made of the sufficiency of government data reporting on anti-Muslim hate crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime, including anti-Muslim hate crime, and to ensuring the safety and protection of all communities.
The Home Office publishes official statistics on police-recorded hate crime in England and Wales, including religious hate crime by targeted religion. The latest release is available on GOV.UK: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK
In the year ending March 2025, there was a 19% rise in religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims (from 2,690 to 3,199 offences, excluding Metropolitan Police Service data). There was a clear spike in these offences following the Southport murders and subsequent disorder in August 2024.
The Home Office keeps hate crime data under review and works closely with the police to improve the quality and coverage of police-recorded hate crime data.