Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 improve training for (a) health visitors and (b) community healthcare professionals on the needs of (i) preterm babies and (ii) their families.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. To achieve this, we must ensure families have the support they need to give their babies and children the best start and the building blocks for a healthy life. This will take time, but we are committed to building a health service fit for the future with the workforce it needs. The training provided to health visitors specifically, and community healthcare professionals more generally, is outlined below.
To practice as a health visitor, a registered nurse must complete the Specialist Community Public Health Nurse qualification. Health visitor training includes a requirement for staff to be able to assess the impact of complexity and comorbidity and their impact on children and loved ones, which includes prematurity.
The Government has laid out in the Plan for Change its commitment to strengthen health visiting services. A strengthened health visiting service will enable the needs of premature babies and their families to be better supported.
NHS England has worked in partnership with key stakeholders, for instance the Tiny Lives Trust charity and clinical psychologists, to develop online learning specifically for community healthcare professionals, including health visitors. This training covers subject matters such as professionals’ work with families as they transition from neonatal units to home, as well as psychologically informed neonatal care.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) prison and (b) probation staff have undertaken suicide prevention training.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All new prison officers receive training in suicide and self-harm prevention as part of their seven-week Foundation training course.
For existing prison staff, there is a dedicated training module on suicide and self-harm. The training provides an understanding as to the context of self-harm and suicide within prisons, as well as the purpose and implementation of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process which is used to support prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm.
Responsibility for delivering this training sits locally with prisons, therefore it is not possible to accurately assess the overall numbers who have received this training, due to local variations in how training is recorded.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for Probation Staff as part of the current core national offer. One is a Zero Suicide Alliance package for all staff. The other is a package aimed at new entrant learners undertaking Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) and new Probation Service Officers which was developed internally as part of a broader Introduction to Mental Health.
The Introduction to Mental Health learning is designated as required for those undertaking the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) and new Probation Service Officers (PSOs) in sentence management, both in custody and the community and is also accessed by established staff. The product contains knowledge modules around suicide and self-harm awareness.
The core national offer referenced is a comprehensive learning package which was recently introduced. Staff who were in post prior to this would have completed other core learning programmes.
It is important to note that whilst we collate completion figures for the current core learning, this does not represent the totality of suicide and self-harm prevention learning received by staff.
This is due to regionally organised activities and previous learning opportunities where data is not nationally held.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is providing suicide prevention training to (a) all and (b) newly recruited (i) prison and (ii) probation staff.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All new members of prison staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and all staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management also receive specific training relating to those roles. An e-learning module has recently been made available for all staff to access on postvention support following a self-inflicted death in custody.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for probation staff: a Zero Suicide Alliance package for all staff, and a package aimed at new entrant Professional Qualification in Probation and Probation Service Officers which was developed internally as part of a broader introduction to mental health.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made representations to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to encourage increased funding for research into preterm birth (a) prevention, b) treatment and (c) long-term outcomes.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and over the last five years, NIHR research programmes invested in 77 research awards focusing on preterm birth which, across their full duration, totalled £93 million of funding.
In addition, in March 2024 the NIHR launched a £50 million research challenge with an explicit focus on maternity inequalities, including those observed in preterm birth rates. This initiative will increase the evidence base, to drive actions to reduce maternity inequalities and lead to better outcomes for women and their babies.
The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of maternal health, including research into the prevention, treatment, and longer-term outcomes of preterm birth.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his policy on arms trade with Israel.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have continued to review export licences for items to Israel and assess that there are no extant licences for items that might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law. This is subject to the specific measures set out to Parliament excluding exports to the global F-35 programme from the scope of the suspension. There are a number of export licences which we have assessed are not for use by the Israeli Defense Forces in military operations in Gaza and therefore do not require suspension. These include military items such as components for trainer aircraft or components for air defence systems, and other, non-military, items such as food-testing chemicals, telecoms, and data equipment.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK-made F-35 parts have been used in airstrikes in Gaza since 18 March 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's robust export licensing criteria states that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). In September 2024, following an IHL review, we have suspended certain export licences to Israel where we have assessed there is a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. The suspension of relevant export licences for Israel will be kept under review and we hope to see evidence of sustained improvements that address concerns relating to IHL. We would not comment on speculation about future export licencing decisions.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the International Criminal Court’s granting of arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and former defence minister.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We respect the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern. As the Foreign Secretary said last week, we urgently want to see a return to a ceasefire. Our focus is on urging all parties to return to talks, implement the ceasefire agreement in full and work towards a permanent peace.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) quality of overnight accommodation for parents in neonatal units.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We understand that not all neonatal estates allow parents to be fully involved in their babies' care, and the impact this has on providing the appropriate level of care to meet a baby's needs.
NHS England has conducted a survey to understand compliance with current estates standards, which includes the requirements for neonatal parental accommodation. This information will inform future investment decisions regarding maternity and neonatal estates.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 expand access to (a) neonatal outreach services and (b) specialist perinatal mental health support for families of preterm babies following hospital discharge.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 1 April 2025, commissioning responsibilities for neonatal services in England have been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs). The neonatal service specification sets out the standards for neonatal provision. It states that a neonatal unit-based outreach service, or other designated neonatal unit staff, should coordinate pre-discharge planning for complex or long stay patients or patients with any safeguarding concerns.
ICBs are encouraged to develop locally tailored plans to expand access to neonatal outreach and specialist mental health services. The neonatal specification also outlines that clinical psychologists have a role in providing specialist psychological assessments and interventions to support the mental health of babies and families.
In addition to this, NHS England’s guidance sets out that all women who have given birth should be offered a postnatal check-up with their general practitioner (GP) after six to eight weeks. This check-up provides an important opportunity for women to be listened to by their GP in a discreet, supportive environment, and for women to be assessed and supported not just in their physical recovery post-birth, but also their mental health.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
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 NHS Trusts implement interventions set out in (a) the guidance entitled Saving Babies’ Lives Version Two: A care bundle for reducing perinatal mortality, published on 15 March 2019, and (b) other best practice guidance on preterm birth care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All trusts are now implementing Version 3 of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which was published in May 2023, and provides maternity units with detailed guidance to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal deaths, and preterm births.
The National Health Service has taken action to reduce variation in maternal and neonatal care through the Maternity Incentive Scheme, and through implementation of the latest version of the bundle, which is one of the safety actions that trusts must comply with. As of April 2024, during the fifth year of the scheme, 104 out of 120, or 87% of, providers were considered to be on track to fully implement Version 3 of the bundle. We are delivering other key initiatives to reduce preterm birth, such as: