Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will made an assessment of the potential impact of SARs not being disclosed by NHS hospital trusts within the statutory one month timeframe.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) provide individuals with the right to access their personal data, subject to relevant exemptions. A subject access request must be responded to within one month of receiving the request. The response time may be extended by a further two months if the request is complex, or if the individual has submitted a number of requests, provided the organisation informs the requestor within the one-month period and provides reasons for the delay.
NHS England has produced guidance for patients and service users on making a Subject Access Request (SAR), and for professionals to ensure they can respond to requests in a timely manner. It can be found here: https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/subject-access-requests/
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the data protection legislation independently of government, and is accountable to Parliament.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the ICO's statutory duty to enforce SAR disclosures are met within a one month timeframe.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) provide individuals with the right to access their personal data, subject to relevant exemptions. A subject access request must be responded to within one month of receiving the request. The response time may be extended by a further two months if the request is complex, or if the individual has submitted a number of requests, provided the organisation informs the requestor within the one-month period and provides reasons for the delay.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the data protection legislation independently of government, and is accountable to Parliament.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will accept the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s compensation recommendations in full as part of his review on compensating women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the State Pension age.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. The process to retake the decision is underway.
We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impacts of the decision to reject JNCC's recommendations on seals' ability to rest undisturbed at haul out sites, following JNCC's Seventh Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our grey and harbour seals face a range of threats and pressures, including potential impacts from disturbance at haul out sites. However, the best available evidence indicates that the effects of disturbance can be variable and are highly site specific and context dependent, with evidence of UK-wide population level impacts less certain.
Although the decision was made to reject JNCC’s recommendations following the seventh quinquennial review of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, seals remain protected under a suite of legislation which make it an offence to take, injure, capture, or kill seals. Seals are also safeguarded from disturbance where they are a notified feature of designated conservation sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence her Department considered in deciding to reject the proposed amendments to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, recommended following JNCC's Seventh Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Through the seventh quinquennial review, JNCC and the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies provided independent, science-based recommendations on species conservation. In considering that advice Defra took a broader perspective, including reflecting existing legal duties and the practical implications of changing a species’ protection. After a careful review of the entirety of JNCC’s advice, for many species there was no clear evidence of how legal protection afforded under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 would benefit them, or what the implications would be. However, the data and evidence provided within the advice is invaluable to Defra in shaping wider government activity and action which will benefit species conservation and recovery.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of (a) speech and (b) language therapists in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services, including speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
North Cornwall Speech and Language therapist services are commissioned through the National Health Service, local authorities, educational institutions, independent providers, and the non-profit sector across multiple settings within geographical areas.
Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) workforce for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly includes:
We recognise the impact that long waits to access speech and language therapy can have on the individual, their families, and carers and we are working closely with NHS England to improve timely access to community health services and on actions to reduce long waits. We have also published for the first time an overview of the core community health services, in Standardising Community Health Services, which includes speech and language therapy, and that integrated care boards should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many liability orders have the Child Maintenance Services applied for in respect of non-resident parents who have repeatedly failed meet their child maintenance payment obligations in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service may seek a Liability Order only when a Paying Parent has not met their obligations and other measures have been exhausted. In England and Wales, such orders may enable referral to enforcement agents, previously known as bailiffs, to recover arrears. In Scotland, enforcement proceeds through the Scottish civil court system.
The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 6.1 of the accompanying National tables provides the information about enforcement actions used by the CMS. The table shows quarterly statistics for liability order applications and enforcement agent referrals for England & Wales, between October 2015 and September 2025.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of bailiff action have occurred as a result of outstanding child maintenance payments in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service may seek a Liability Order only when a Paying Parent has not met their obligations and other measures have been exhausted. In England and Wales, such orders may enable referral to enforcement agents, previously known as bailiffs, to recover arrears. In Scotland, enforcement proceeds through the Scottish civil court system.
The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 6.1 of the accompanying National tables provides the information about enforcement actions used by the CMS. The table shows quarterly statistics for liability order applications and enforcement agent referrals for England & Wales, between October 2015 and September 2025.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-resident parents who have repeatedly failed to meet their child maintenance payment obligations have had their driving licenses disqualified as a consequence in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The 2012 child maintenance reforms are designed to increase cooperation between separated parents and to ensure that children receive appropriate financial support. Where family-based arrangements are not suitable, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates a statutory scheme and applies a Payment Compliance strategy to address nonpayment. The CMS uses firm enforcement measures - such as liability orders, deductions from earnings, account deductions, passport and driving licence removal, and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment - when parents who have the means to pay choose not to. These powers are applied proportionately and in the best interests of children, and their deterrent effect ensures that their use remains low.
The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 6.2 of the accompanying National tables provides the outcome information where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents for non-compliance. The table shows quarterly statistics for both suspended and immediate prison sentences and driving disqualifications for England & Wales and for Scotland, between July 2019 and September 2025.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-resident parents who have repeatedly failed to meet their child maintenance payment obligations have been sent to prison in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The 2012 child maintenance reforms are designed to increase cooperation between separated parents and to ensure that children receive appropriate financial support. Where family-based arrangements are not suitable, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates a statutory scheme and applies a Payment Compliance strategy to address nonpayment. The CMS uses firm enforcement measures - such as liability orders, deductions from earnings, account deductions, passport and driving licence removal, and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment - when parents who have the means to pay choose not to. These powers are applied proportionately and in the best interests of children, and their deterrent effect ensures that their use remains low.
The Department regularly publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics, with the latest statistics available to September 2025. Table 6.2 of the accompanying National tables provides the outcome information where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents for non-compliance. The table shows quarterly statistics for both suspended and immediate prison sentences and driving disqualifications for England & Wales and for Scotland, between July 2019 and September 2025.