Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of restricting student visa access for women and girls from Afghanistan on the ability of those people to access education.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK has a proud tradition of supporting education, equality, and human rights, and we remain dedicated to helping the people of Afghanistan. Our current £151 million aid program (equivalent to 13.3 billion Afghanis) provides vital life-saving support to the country’s most vulnerable people, especially women and girls. We are committed that at least 50% of those reached by UK aid in Afghanistan are women and girls.
As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. These new safe and legal routes will start this autumn with a student refugee route, with the first arrivals in Autumn 2027. Dedicated humanitarian routes are the appropriate way to combine compassion and control with securing our border.
In the past 3 years more Afghan students claimed asylum than we issued new student visas in each year. This does not achieve the appropriate balance between compassion, control and a secure border.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Written Statement of 2 March 2026 on Asylum changes, HCWS1373, what recent steps her Department has taken to introduce community sponsorship.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme to enable community groups to sponsor refugees and displaced persons.
Work is underway to deliver the named community sponsorship route. The Government is working with a range of stakeholders to design and develop the new pathway.
Further details, including timeframes for the launch of the route, will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 improve early diagnoses of Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of a timely diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and the impact that early identification has on people’s long‑term outcomes. We remain committed to delivering the National Health Service constitutional standard for 92% of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring lists and waiting times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard.
National programmes like NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) support faster diagnosis by using clinically‑led, data‑driven reviews to identify delays and unwarranted variation in neurology services. GIRFT provides evidence‑based recommendations to streamline referral and outpatient pathways, improve data quality, and share best practice between NHS trusts. This helps increase specialist capacity, reduce waiting times for assessment, and ensure more timely access to diagnosis for people with suspected Parkinson’s disease.
Additionally, by delivering the shifts outlined in the 10‑Year Health Plan, we can free up specialist capacity by increasing community‑based provision, reducing administrative burden through digital tools, and supporting earlier identification and management of neurological conditions like Parkinson’s. This will allow neurologists and geriatricians to focus on more complex cases and improve diagnostic timeliness.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with international partners on (a) support for the Myanmar Cooperation Treaty and (b) efforts to establish a Myanmar-led pathway towards a democratic settlement.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave on 10 February in response to Question 109884.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to (a) help stop executions and (b) promote human rights in Saudi Arabia.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 December in response to Question 97116.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has had recent discussions with representatives of Royal Mail on pay and working conditions for employees.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.
All employers must comply with their legal obligations to ensure that their workforce receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled. However, Royal Mail is an independent business, and the government has no role in its operational decisions.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to help ensure the safety of people in Cyprus.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has made clear that the UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus, and British military personnel and civilians based there. The UK had already deployed additional military capabilities to the region, in January and February, to defend our interests and has deployed further assets. I spoke to Foreign Minister Kombos again this week to assure him of our support for the security and safety of the people of Cyprus.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in reference to the her Department's White Paper entitled A new vision for water, whether her Department has made further consideration of an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for the water industry.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is considering a range of reforms, to fix our broken water system. Delivering better outcomes and a more sustainable approach to drainage and wastewater management is a key consideration.
Extended Producer Responsibility can be an effective means of raising the funds to tackle pollution, and the government has undertaken initial investigation of Extended Producer Responsibility for wastewater.
Whilst Extended Producer Responsibility could be an effective means of raising revenue, we want to better address the root causes of pollution head on. Shifting the focus towards ‘pre-pipe’ solutions, such as rainwater management and tackling sewer misuse. For example, in November 2025, the government legislated to ban the supply and sale of wet wipes containing plastic in England.
Additionally, over the next five years, over £10bn is being spent on storm overflows investment in England, improving over 2,500 storm overflows to reduce spills. In addition, nearly £5bn is being invested in upgrades at wastewater treatment works to remove phosphorus.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the decision as to whether to grant a licence to the Rosebank oil field project will be made.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State is responsible for determining whether to agree to the grant of consent for development of the project under the Environmental Impact Assessment regulations for offshore oil and gas and will make a decision in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a legal right to basic banking services for charities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Charities make a valuable contribution across the country, and it is important that they can access suitable banking services.
Decisions about the provision of banking services, including whether to offer accounts to particular organisations, are primarily commercial matters for banks who must meet strict financial crime and customer diligence obligations. Charities and community groups often have more complex account structures (for example, multiple trustees), making their banking needs more expensive and operationally demanding. The varying complexity and features of non-personal accounts, together with financial crime obligations, mean there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for the sector.
At the Government’s encouragement, however, UK Finance - working with banks and charity representative groups - have produced the Voluntary Organisation Banking Guide, which supports charities and community groups in accessing banking services. This includes an account finder tool for charities and community groups.
The Government continues to monitor evidence on access to banking services, including for charities and community groups, while recognising the need to balance customer protection with providers’ obligations to prevent financial crime and maintain the integrity of the financial system.