Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the University and College Union news item entitled New analysis shows over 15,000 university job cuts as UCU launches UK wide strike ballot, published on 10 October 2025, what steps she is taking to help prevent job reductions in higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Higher education (HE) providers are independent. This means government is not involved in workforce matters as it is in other education sectors.
While government understands that HE providers must make difficult business decisions to safeguard their financial sustainability, we encourage providers to work with their staff to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 extend (a) support and (b) protection to leaseholders experiencing damp and mould problems outside of the scope of the Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Individual leases set out obligations for building maintenance and failure by the landlord to take action can mean a breach of the lease, which leaseholders may seek to pursue through an application to the County Court. Leaseholders can approach the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) for advice through that organisation’s website.
Accountable persons of high-rise buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022 must also prepare a safety case report to demonstrate that all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent building safety risks happening and reduce the seriousness if they do. This may include addressing damp and mould if it is the source of prolonged or uncontrolled water ingress. Furthermore, as part of its section 5 duties under the 2022 Act, the Building Safety Regulator must keep under review the safety of people in or about buildings in relation to risks as regards buildings, and the standard of buildings. Further information is available from the Regulator.
On 4 July, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. For an overview of the proposals set out in the consultation, I refer the hon. Member to the associated Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS780).
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, what fiscal steps he plans to take to help support small businesses with their business costs in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government's Plan for Small Businesses, published in July, sets out the measures that Government is taking to support small businesses across the UK. This includes legislation to end the scourge of late payments which costs the UK economy £11bn annually and proposals to increase access to finance through the British Business Bank.
The Department for Business and Trade provides core funding to 41 Growth Hubs across England, with £15 million (including £540,700 for Grow London Local) committed for 2025/26. Businesses in London can access advice and support for any stage of their business journey via Grow London Local, and business.gov.uk.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps his Department has taken with community organisations to help tackle (a) anti-Semitism and (b) anti-Muslim hatred.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In response to the concerning rise in both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, the Government is absolutely committed to rooting out these forms of hatred. We are working across government on security, education and working alongside local government.
An Antisemitism Working Group has been established to advise the Government on effective strategies to tackle hate against Jewish communities and will explore how the Government should engage with Jewish communities in relation to international, national, and local events that impact British Jews. In addition, the government continues to work with the independent advisor Lord Mann in combating antisemitism through meaningful engagement with diverse communities.
Regarding tackling anti-Muslim hatred, the Government established an independent working group to advise on a non-statutory definition of Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia. The working group have engaged widely to ensure their proposed definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of communities across the United Kingdom.
The government also funds the British Muslim Trust to deliver a comprehensive service to monitor anti-Muslim hatred and provide support to victims, and True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report to the police.
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 her Department is taking increase legal protections against violence and abuse at work for public transport workers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is committed to ensuring that public transport workers feel safe and are safe at work. There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker. The Department for Transport is working with industry and the British Transport Police on the railway to ensure it remains a safe environment for rail staff and passengers.
Through the Bus Services (No.2) Bill, we propose to mandate training for staff working in the bus industry, including drivers and those who deal directly with the travelling public, on how to recognise and respond to incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour on public transport. We intend to make clear that training will require a person to take steps to prevent crime or anti-social behaviour only where it is safe to do so.
The law is also clear that everyone should be protected from assault and harassment. In addition, there is a statutory aggravating factor for assaults against any public facing worker, including transport workers, which is provided by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
It is essential that staff continue to report any instances of abuse or violence to the police so it can be investigated and offenders brought to justice.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of the mobile phone industry on using technology to prevent stolen phones from being re-used.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Crime Survey for England and Wales data about the level of mobile phone victimisation (drawn from interviews conducted in the year to March 2023) shows a fall of over 70% in the rate (1.7% to 0.4%) and number (752,000 to 196,000) of owners experiencing mobile phone theft, when compared to findings from CSEW interviews conducted in the year to March 2010.
While mobile phone theft has fallen significantly across England and Wales, reports about the scale of phone theft in London are concerning. The Home Office is therefore working closely with police and industry to tackle mobile phone thefts, and will consider evidence suggesting where new action is needed. Recent meetings have taken place.
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, when he plans to respond to Question 24274, tabled by the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An answer to Question 24274 was published on 20 May 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.
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, whether she has had recent discussions with Janssen on the adequacy of supply of the ADHD medication Concerta XL.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, including Concerta XL tablets, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. This has involved asking that suppliers expedite deliveries to boost supplies of these important medicines, and addressing regulatory issues to ensure continuity of supply. As a result of our ongoing activity and intensive work, some issues have been resolved. We expect the disruptions to the supply of Concerta XL tablets to be resolved in May 2024.
The Department held a roundtable with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablet suppliers, including Janssen, in April 2024, to discuss the challenges they are facing, what they are doing, and what needs to be done to address these issues.
We have worked closely with specialist clinicians during this time to develop management advice for the National Health Service. The guidance includes advice for ADHD service providers and specialists to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice for the management of patients. This includes those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
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 she is taking to ensure patients have access to Concerta XL.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, including Concerta XL tablets, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. This has involved asking that suppliers expedite deliveries to boost supplies of these important medicines, and addressing regulatory issues to ensure continuity of supply. As a result of our ongoing activity and intensive work, some issues have been resolved. We expect the disruptions to the supply of Concerta XL tablets to be resolved in May 2024.
The Department held a roundtable with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablet suppliers, including Janssen, in April 2024, to discuss the challenges they are facing, what they are doing, and what needs to be done to address these issues.
We have worked closely with specialist clinicians during this time to develop management advice for the National Health Service. The guidance includes advice for ADHD service providers and specialists to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice for the management of patients. This includes those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report by Amnesty International entitled Myanmar: New data suggests military still importing fuel for deadly air strikes despite sanctions, published on 31 January 2024.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
We use a range of evidence to inform our response to the Myanmar military's continued import of aviation fuel that is used to carry out airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure. In 2023, the UK imposed six sanctions specifically targeting the import of aviation fuel into Myanmar. We continue to explore both sanction and non-sanction measures to tackle the military's ability to use air capabilities to target civilians.