Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that applications for naturalisation are concluded within a reasonable timeframe and; what progress her Department has made in reducing the backlog of applications for citizenship in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The service standard for the processing of a straightforward application for British citizenship is six months.

The most recent Migration Transparency data published in August 2025 shows that 99.36% of straightforward applications were decided within service standard: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

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 support those living with type 1 and 2 diabetes with the (a) cost of living and (b) the long term impact of those conditions in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

To improve the provision of services for the treatment of type 1 and 2 diabetes in the Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency, the North Central London Integrated Care System has commissioned a long-term conditions service. This supports the identification of individuals with diabetes and at high risk of a worsening condition, personalised care planning, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Community-based support includes diabetes specialist nurses, virtual clinics, and education for patients with diabetes who are starting GLP-1 medications or insulin therapy.

In north central London, the National Diabetes Prevention Programme is delivered by Living Well Taking Control. The programme offers a structured nine-month behavioural intervention designed to support individuals with diabetes in adopting healthier eating habits, increasing physical activity, achieving weight reduction, and sustaining long-term lifestyle changes. Those needing insulin and other medicines to manage diabetes are also entitled to free prescriptions.

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 the provision of services for the treatment of type (a) 1 and (b) 2 diabetes in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

To improve the provision of services for the treatment of type 1 and 2 diabetes in the Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency, the North Central London Integrated Care System has commissioned a long-term conditions service. This supports the identification of individuals with diabetes and at high risk of a worsening condition, personalised care planning, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Community-based support includes diabetes specialist nurses, virtual clinics, and education for patients with diabetes who are starting GLP-1 medications or insulin therapy.

In north central London, the National Diabetes Prevention Programme is delivered by Living Well Taking Control. The programme offers a structured nine-month behavioural intervention designed to support individuals with diabetes in adopting healthier eating habits, increasing physical activity, achieving weight reduction, and sustaining long-term lifestyle changes. Those needing insulin and other medicines to manage diabetes are also entitled to free prescriptions.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) energy companies correctly bill consumers by default and (b) any billing mistakes are corrected promptly and without significant delay.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem, as the independent regulator, is responsible for ensuring good consumer outcomes, including accurate billing by energy companies. The government committed in its manifesto to strengthen the regulator to require higher standards of performance and ensure there is automatic customer compensation for failures.

On 10 November Ofgem published plans to overhaul customer service standards, including a review of its Guaranteed Standards of Performance. These set minimum standards of performance that all suppliers must meet for specific services. If they fail to do so, they must pay £40 automatic compensation to affected consumers. In addition, the Government is consulting on reforms to the role and powers of the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that consumers have fairer, faster access to redress when things go wrong. This includes removing the barriers which prevent consumers from accessing the Ombudsman’s services, such as low levels of awareness and long waiting times.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that a diplomatic path is pursued by the USA and Venezuela.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The bilateral relationship between the USA and Venezuela is a matter for those countries. The UK will continue to work with our international partners to achieve a peaceful, negotiated transition in Venezuela that ensures the will of all Venezuelans is respected.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals to remove entitlement to the Universal Credit Health element for those aged under 22 on levels of food bank need.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No such assessment has been made.

An Impact Assessment was published alongside the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which can be found here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to work closely with local authorities in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency to further progress the building of social housing.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58440 on 17 June, the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771), and the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people entitled to a civil service pension are paid on time and without fault.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) is one of the largest in the UK, currently paying pensions to approximately 730,000 members every month. The scheme administrator processes an average of 6,000 retirements each month.

The Cabinet Office, as the Scheme Manager, holds the administrator (MyCSP) accountable for meeting contractual performance levels to ensure members are paid on time. Over the last 6 months, MyCSP achieved 100% of its key service level agreements for retirement processing. We continue to monitor performance closely and work to ensure that any errors are identified and addressed as quickly as possible.

The government has taken significant steps to improve both oversight and enforcement. A new administration contract has been awarded to Capita, which goes live on 1st December 2025. This new contract includes significantly tighter and more rigorous contractual performance indicators, enhanced service levels, reduced processing times, and a new financial penalty scale to ensure accountability and improve the member experience.

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 the transition from analogue to digital across NHS services in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The analogue to digital shift across National Health Services in Hornsey and Friern Barnet involves national initiatives like upgrading IT systems, developing integrated care systems, and utilizing digital tools for patient care.

Our goal is to make NHS healthcare more convenient, personalized, and efficient, creating a seamless experience for patients that is inclusive and accessible for all, and that provides staff with better access to information.

Found: Harriett Baldwin; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Luke Murphy; Catherine West

Found: Coghlan; Bobby Dean; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Luke Murphy; Catherine West

Found: Chair); Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Catherine West

Found: Chair); Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Catherine West

Found: Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Catherine West

Found: Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; Jim Dickson; John Glen; John Grady; Dame Siobhain McDonagh; Catherine West