Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to speed up Ofsted's voluntary register processing time for home child carer applications.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Friern Barnet directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to (a) encourage Electric Vehicle ownership take-up and (b) improve access to EV charging.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is investing £7.5 billion to support industry and drivers to switch to zero emission vehicles, including the £2 billion Electric Car Grant which has helped over 190,000 drivers choose an electric car. We work closely with industry to address concerns and misconceptions about electric vehicles and promote consumer confidence.
Government and industry are delivering charging infrastructure to match rising demand. There are now more than 123,000 public chargers across the UK, and the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund will deliver another 100,000 charge points in England.
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, what progress her Department is making on implementing the Animal Welfare strategy.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out the priority issues that this Government will address, focusing on the changes and improvements that Defra aim to achieve by 2030 to improve the lives of millions of animals across the UK.
This Government is determined to deliver these reforms and has already undertaken a number of consultations on phasing out cages for laying hens, improving lamb welfare and trail hunting. Defra are now analysing the responses to these consultations. A call for evidence on gamebirds was also recently published.
This Government has published Animal Welfare Committee Opinions on breeding in commercial livestock and responsible sourcing of fur. The department have also held the first meeting of the fur working group to explore concerns and the different ways in which they could be addressed.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency has been commissioned to conduct a review of the evidence relating to mole traps; corvid traps; and the spring traps listed on the Spring Trap Approval Order as it applies in England. This review is underway and is expected to conclude by April 2027.
As set out in the strategy Defra are working with industry, keepers and farmers to improve resilience to a changing climate. This summer, the department met with the pig sector on this and also with the meat chicken industry to discuss the impact of the heatwaves and to hear from them about the effectiveness of the mitigations they have put in place since the 2022 heatwave.
Defra is continuing to progress implementation of the strategy in a phased way.
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, what assessment she has made of the impact of data centres on the natural environment.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency works with government and the data centre sector to ensure environmental considerations are reflected in planning and decision-making. They also engage with developers and planning authorities to help identify environmental constraints and opportunities at an early stage, supporting sustainable development while protecting water resources, habitats and wider environmental quality. Where appropriate, developments are also subject to environmental permitting, abstraction licensing or other regulatory requirements.
All new developments, including data centres, must consider local environmental impacts, such as water availability. New data centres will only be supplied with water where the relevant water company assesses that sufficient water resources are available.
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, what steps she is taking to help restore nature and biodiversity.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is investing in action for habitats and species to achieve biodiversity targets set in the Environment Act and Environmental Improvement Plan. Since 2023, action has been taken on an area twice the size of the Isle of Wight to create or restore wildlife-rich habitat
The new £30 million Wildlife-rich Habitat Fund is expected to deliver thousands of hectares of new habitat across England’s Protected Landscapes and we announced our largest ever investment in threatened species recovery. £90 million over three years, including £60 million for the Species Recovery Programme and £30 million for recovery on the national forest estate.
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 he is taking to resolve industrial disputes in his Department and ensure adequate consultation with unions.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) engages regularly and constructively with all its recognised trade unions on workforce matters. The Department is also meeting Public and Commercial Services (PCS) specifically on the dispute at their request, with the aim of addressing concerns through constructive dialogue. The FCDO remains of the view this dispute was triggered prematurely, given the restructure process is ongoing and no staff have yet been placed at risk of redundancy. Our restructure process was designed specifically to minimise the potential need for redundancy. The restructuring programme is necessary to ensure the FCDO can deliver on its objectives, remain within its financial settlement and respond more effectively to evolving global challenges.
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 progress is being made to improve diagnosis and care for people with osteoporosis.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 15 July to Question 17293.
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 he is taking to promote compliance with international humanitarian law in Mongolia.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Mongolia share a deep commitment to democracy and democratic values. Earlier this year, the former Minister for the Indo Pacific visited Mongolia and, together with Deputy Foreign Minister Gombosuren Amartuvshin reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the principles of the UN Charter, international law, and democratic values. The sides also renewed calls for all countries to refrain from using force against the territorial integrity and sovereign independence of any state.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help improve recruitment and retention of staff in London's Probation Service.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Recruitment and retention of probation staff remains a key priority and as a result, we have seen growth in the qualified probation officer workforce. We exceeded our commitment to onboard 1,300 trainee probation officers in 2025/26, successfully onboarding 1,389. We continue to deliver on our priorities to increase staffing and improve the quality of delivery, with a further commitment to onboard at least 1,300 trainees in 2026/27. The recruitment of most other probation roles is driven nationally through centralised recruitment to ensure a consistent approach. Since July this year, this is supported by a centralised forecasting model, which ensures targeted engagement with all regions, including London, to improve the service’s recruitment planning.
HMPPS addresses retention through a coordinated strategy, oversight process and evidence-based interventions. Exit interview insights, the retention toolkit and targeted deep dives at high-attrition sites help identify and address the drivers of attrition, while the Retention Delivery Committee supports nationally aligned action and the sharing of best practice.
Alongside national measures, London Probation has implemented a regional Recruitment and Retention Plan, supported by a wider London Plan, to address recruitment, retention and workforce sustainability challenges. Activity includes targeted recruitment campaigns, support for staff progression and professional development, measures to improve the recruitment process, and initiatives to retain experienced staff within the Probation Service.
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 discussions he has had with international partners on tackling the surge in settler violence in the West Bank, including promoting compliance with international law.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 8 September in relation to Israel and Palestine.