Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is considering designating Fujitsu as a high-risk vendor, in the context of the failures of the Horizon system.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The High Risk Vendor process is not one that the Department for Business and Trade is responsible for.
We welcome Fujitsu’s acknowledgement of their moral obligation to contribute to the cost of the Horizon scandal. Fujitsu have also announced they will voluntarily not bid for new contracts unless requested by Government. The contract with Fujitsu to supply the Post Office Limited’s IT system is time limited - we are working with the Post Office and Fujitsu to ensure the transition is as soon as practically possible.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing Fujitsu’s access to public sector contract opportunities, in the context of the Horizon IT failures.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to support displaced people to (a) build English language skills and (b) secure well-paid employment to support their ability to rent.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that the ability to speak English is key to helping people integrate into life in the UK, as well as supporting people to access education, employment and other opportunities. We regularly monitor the English language and employment support available to new arrivals alongside other government departments.
We have launched a competitive tender process for the delivery of a new programme to continue our English language and employment support for Ukrainians and Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders. This programme will provide support for up to 4,000 individuals. This builds on the success of the STEP Ukraine pilot which has supported over 13,000 Ukrainians, with an impressive 84% successfully completing the programme and 73% achieving a 100% in their English language test.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department has taken to support the integration of displaced Ukrainians following the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises that the ability to speak English is key to helping people integrate into life in the UK, as well as supporting people to access education, employment and other opportunities. We regularly monitor the English language and employment support available to new arrivals alongside other government departments.
We have launched a competitive tender process for the delivery of a new programme to continue our English language and employment support for Ukrainians and Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) visa holders. This programme will provide support for up to 4,000 individuals. This builds on the success of the STEP Ukraine pilot which has supported over 13,000 Ukrainians, with an impressive 84% successfully completing the programme and 73% achieving a 100% in their English language test.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the new Local Authority Housing Fund is available to support new arrivals across safe routes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The £950 million fourth round of Local Authority Housing Fund will primarily support local authorities in England to increase the supply of better-quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of Bed and Breakfasts for families with children.
It will also provide safe and suitable housing for those on the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), to fulfil the UK’s humanitarian duties to assist those who assisted British efforts in Afghanistan and are at risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the work of the Lung Health Check programme at the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is aware of the interesting data originating from Hull, which demonstrates that an appreciable number of people can be identified as having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through a targeted approach to those that have been through lung cancer screening. This work is informing policy considerations.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of the recommended NHS pay awards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Last year’s pay awards for NHS staff were among the biggest across the public sector. This year, we have announced above inflation, fully funded pay increases across all staff groups for a second year in a row. These thoroughly deserved pay rises demonstrate how this Government wants to work with staff in our shared ambition to rebuild the NHS. We have been able to fully fund these pay award thanks to the reforms we’ve made, including cuts to bureaucratic duplication and central running costs.Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many babies were born with conditions not picked up during screening tests in each of the last ten years for which data is available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. There is no specific field in the Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS) to capture screening results. Screening tests offered during pregnancy can be captured in MSDS via SNOMED codes, however information relating to screenings tests is not routinely collected or published. Therefore, data recorded in the MSDS via SNOMED codes is currently unlikely to cover screening test results, and mainly either describes whether the screening test was offered or took place, or whether it is entirely absent. Everyone who is eligible is invited to undertake antenatal screening during pregnancy. However, the offer relies on informed consent. Some parents may choose not to undertake screening tests. The current opt in rate is relatively high at around 70%.
No screening test is 100% accurate and they can have false positive and false negative results. In England, any laboratory undertaking screening tests as part of the National Health Service’s antenatal and newborn screening programmes is required to adhere to rigorous testing processes in line with individual screening programme handbooks and must also be accredited by the UK Accreditation Service to the International Organization for Standardization’s requirements for quality and competence in medical laboratories, ISO 15189:2022, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.iso.org/standard/76677.html
The UK National Screening Committee keeps all screening programmes under review. Work is ongoing to look at tests that could be included in antenatal screening programmes to increase detection or reduce the need for further invasive diagnostic tests.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of people with lower gastrointestinal cancers waiting beyond 62 days from urgent referral for their first definitive treatment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, including those with bowel cancer. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people, including those with bowel cancer, getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months. We have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with lower gastrointestinal cancers cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve survival rates for bowel cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so more patients survive, including those with bowel cancer. As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis and treatment, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.
Our reforms to cancer care will see more than 100,000 people, including those with bowel cancer, getting diagnosed faster, and thousands more starting treatment within two months. We have already hit our target of delivering two million extra operations, scans, and appointments seven months early.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with lower gastrointestinal cancers cancers, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.