Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to ensure local Integrated Care Boards are giving adequate resourcing to (a) customer service, (b) complaints and (c) appeals teams.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
It is for integrated care boards (ICBs) to determine how to make best use of their resources to deliver their duties and responsibilities and meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.
Specifically on complaints, the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009 set out in law the minimum standards National Health Service organisations must adhere to in respect of their complaint handling arrangements.
When ICB responsibilities increased to include primary care commissioning in April 2023, additional complaints handlers were moved into ICB structures, to complement their existing complaints handling resource. As part of the 2026/27 national oversight framework, published on 11 June 2026, new reporting will commence to understand how well ICBs have discharged their duties, as referenced in complaints regulations.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of Local Authority’s experience of introducing Article 4 Directions covering Houses in Multiple Occupation; and whether any proposals will be brought forward to simplify this process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department engages regularly with local authorities about a range of planning matters, including those that have introduced an ‘Article 4’ direction.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals for a more flexible policy in relation to the use of Article 4 so local planning authorities can remove
permitted development rights where it is necessary to protect the amenity or well-being of an area, for instance to support the renewal of towns centres or where there is an overconcentration of small Houses in Multiple Occupation.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason Companies House is using Authorised Corporate Service Providers as an alternative method for HMRC contact.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) are agents that can verify the identities of their clients and file information with Companies House on their behalf. They are not an alternative method for HMRC contact.