Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if guidance is being updated to mandate the use of technology systems to support the delivery of Jess’s Rule across the NHS.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Jess’s Rule was published in September 2024 and rolled out across England as formal clinical guidance, developed with the Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS England. It supports and strengthens general practitioners’ clinical judgement when a patient returns three or more times with worsening symptoms or without a substantiated diagnosis.
Through the Frontline Digitisation programme, NHS England has provided £2 billion to National Health Service trusts to ensure trusts meet a core level of digitisation and have electronic patient records (EPRs) in place. EPR systems allow clinicians access to critical, real-time health related information, which supports the frontline to better treat and support patients. Following Cambridge University Hospitals' deployment of its EPR, automatic EPR alerts in 2018/19 saved at least 64 lives due to sepsis alerts improving the time it took to administer antibiotics.
We will not be updating Jess’s Rule to mandate the use of technology systems, as any supporting tools are for local services to decide, in line with existing governance arrangements. We will continue to keep Jess’s Rule under review, including the case for any future updates to national guidance.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 rollout of Jess’s Rule across the NHS; and if he will set out how technology is being used to make sure problems in care are being spotted and acted upon immediately.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Jess’s Rule was published in September 2024 and rolled out across England as formal clinical guidance, developed with the Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS England. It supports and strengthens general practitioners’ clinical judgement when a patient returns three or more times with worsening symptoms or without a substantiated diagnosis.
Through the Frontline Digitisation programme, NHS England has provided £2 billion to National Health Service trusts to ensure trusts meet a core level of digitisation and have electronic patient records (EPRs) in place. EPR systems allow clinicians access to critical, real-time health related information, which supports the frontline to better treat and support patients. Following Cambridge University Hospitals' deployment of its EPR, automatic EPR alerts in 2018/19 saved at least 64 lives due to sepsis alerts improving the time it took to administer antibiotics.
We will not be updating Jess’s Rule to mandate the use of technology systems, as any supporting tools are for local services to decide, in line with existing governance arrangements. We will continue to keep Jess’s Rule under review, including the case for any future updates to national guidance.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many registered social care provider applications were rejected by the CQC due to issues with policies and procedures (a) in England, (b) by region, and (c) by local authority in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Care providers entering and exiting is a normal part of a functioning market, and local authorities should have appropriate contingency plans in place depending on the services being provided. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities also have a temporary duty to ensure continuity of care in the event of business failure. This means that people continue to receive the care and support they need if their adult social care provider is no longer able to carry on delivering services.
New providers registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the first time may have their application rejected if they send an application which is incomplete, for instance one that is missing documents or missing information within required documents. The CQC does not hold data at the level requested but can confirm that over the past five years, 22,629 incomplete applications across all sectors have been rejected. The following table shows a breakdown for the past five years of rejected incomplete applications across all sectors:
Financial year | Volume |
2021 | 3,663 |
2022 | 3,835 |
2023 | 4,697 |
2024 | 2,976 |
2025 | 7,458 |
Grand Total | 22,629 |
New providers registering with the CQC for the first time may have their application refused. In these cases, a complete application is reviewed by the CQC’s registration team who refuse the application if they are not satisfied the registering provider is able to meet the requirements as per the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. The CQC does not hold data at the level requested but can confirm that over the past five years, 1,385 applications across all sectors have been refused. The following table shows the breakdown for the past 5 years of refused applications across all sectors:
Financial year | Volume |
2021 | 141 |
2022 | 236 |
2023 | 281 |
2024 | 307 |
2025 | 421 |
Grand Total | 1,385 |
Providers already registered with the CQC may apply to vary their conditions of registration, and in some cases this may lead to a refusal or rejection by the CQC. Over the past five years, 85,822 applications to vary a registration by an adult social care provider have been received by the CQC. The following table shows the breakdown for the past five years of applications to vary a condition by an adult social care provider:
Financial year | Volume |
2021 | 12,039 |
2022 | 14,550 |
2023 | 17,720 |
2024 | 21,511 |
2025 | 20,002 |
Grand Total | 85,822 |
Over the past five years, 23,454 applications to vary a registration have been rejected, because the information submitted was incomplete. The following table shows a breakdown of these rejections for the past five years:
Financial year | Volume |
2021 | 2,212 |
2022 | 2,899 |
2023 | 4,563 |
2024 | 8,276 |
2025 | 5,504 |
Grand Total | 23,454 |
Over the past five years, 405 applications to vary a registration have been refused outright. The following table shows a breakdown of these rejections for the past five years:
Financial year | Volume |
2021 | 43 |
2022 | 41 |
2023 | 79 |
2024 | 113 |
2025 | 129 |
Grand Total | 405 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings in the China Strategic Risks Institute report entitled The PRC’s Extraterritorial Legal Architecture, published in January 2026, regarding the risks of China's civil judgments being enforced in the UK against the public interest.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Decisions about recognition of foreign judgments are made by the UK’s independent judiciary, with safeguards against recognition and enforcement being available.
There are various grounds on which a judge may refuse to recognise or enforce a foreign judgment, including for example where the foreign court acted without jurisdiction, the proceedings involved a breach of natural justice, or recognition would be contrary to public policy.
The Government engages regularly with the judiciary and stakeholders about the operation of frameworks for recognition and enforcement.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help prevent the principle of judicial comity from being used by the People’s Republic of China to conduct transnational repression against diaspora groups through UK civil courts.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Decisions about recognition of foreign judgments are made by the UK’s independent judiciary, with safeguards against recognition and enforcement being available.
There are various grounds on which a judge may refuse to recognise or enforce a foreign judgment, including for example where the foreign court acted without jurisdiction, the proceedings involved a breach of natural justice, or recognition would be contrary to public policy.
The Government engages regularly with the judiciary and stakeholders about the operation of frameworks for recognition and enforcement.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will review the assumption of judicial independence used to recognize civil judgments from Hong Kong, in light of the National Security Law and other developments.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Decisions about recognition of foreign judgments are made by the UK’s independent judiciary, with safeguards against recognition and enforcement being available.
There are various grounds on which a judge may refuse to recognise or enforce a foreign judgment, including for example where the foreign court acted without jurisdiction, the proceedings involved a breach of natural justice, or recognition would be contrary to public policy.
The Government engages regularly with the judiciary and stakeholders about the operation of frameworks for recognition and enforcement.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 regulate non-surgical aesthetic procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 7 August 2025, the Government announced its plans to introduce measures to improve the safety of the cosmetics sector. This included prioritising the introduction of legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.
In addition, the Government also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme in England for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed. To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.
The proposals will be taken forward through secondary legislation and therefore will be subject to the parliamentary process before the legal restrictions, or licensing regulations, can be introduced. We are now working with stakeholders to develop detailed plans and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in the spring.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to help improve victims’ confidence in the justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are putting victims first with a record £550 million investment in specialist support services over the next three years, alongside reforms to ensure our justice system delivers swift, fair justice.
We will soon be consulting on a new Victims’ Code which, once launched, will help to ensure victims know their rights.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 bring down NHS ADHD assessment waiting lists.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. The purpose of the review is to provide advice and recommendations to the government on evidence on trends in mental health conditions, ADHD and autism in the population over the last decade, including how these changes have affected demand for NHS mental health, ADHD and autism services, including assessment.
The independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Through the Medium Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
NHS England also published management information on ADHD waits at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan, and has also issued technical guidance on 3 June 2025 for those who submit ADHD data, to improve recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waits data.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet the plastics manufacturing industry to discuss upskilling and the training of existing employees.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and ministers often meet with stakeholders regarding a range of matters. We are currently focusing our skills plans on the Government Priority sectors aligned to the industrial strategy which focuses on eight priority sectors.
We continue to engage with industry to support the upskilling and training of employees. The reforms set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper support adult skills training for industries across our economy through the Growth Skills Levy, which received an additional £725m of investment at Budget 2025, the Adult Skills Fund, and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) which will be available from academic year 2026/27.
Government provides a range of support that can help employers develop their workforce including apprenticeships, the growth and skills levy and free courses for jobs. In addition, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) can bring significant benefits to existing employees. HTQs can help employees move into higher-paying technical or managerial roles without needing a full degree. The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) allows employees to access funding for these courses flexibly over their lifetime, reducing financial barriers.