Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October to Question 84069 on Physician Assistants, if his Department will set out a timeline for reviewing existing guidance for employers.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England is currently considering next steps for supporting the wider National Health Service and relevant stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the Leng Review, starting with those focused on patient safety, as requested by the Government.

We will continue to work closely and collaboratively with partners across the NHS, the clinical professions, and their representative bodies so that patients receive safe, effective, and compassionate care in line with the relevant legal and clinical processes. As part of this, NHS England will be working with NHS Employers over the coming months, supported by colleagues in the regions, to consider what guidance and support can be provided to the system to implement those recommendations related to the employment of physician assistants.

As further information to support implementation of the recommendations is available, it will be published at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/response-to-recommendations-from-the-independent-review-of-physician-associates-and-anaesthesia-associates/

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve safety standards in the construction industry.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In line with its published Strategy 2022 to 2032, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) focuses on the most effective and efficient ways to improve the health and safety performance of all industries in Great Britain, including construction. HSE uses a variety of approaches in the construction industry.

HSE visits construction sites where they have intelligence to suggest risk is not being managed adequately and investigates incidents in line with their published selection criteria. Planned inspection visits target work related health risks, the biggest cause of lost time and longer-term worker injury and address safety risks where present.

As well as site visits, HSE engages with construction through a variety of channels including delivering industry talks, stakeholder events and engaging with the media and publishing targeted articles. HSE works with and through stakeholders that represent a cross section of the industry including the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) and Working Well Together (WWT).

There are dedicated HSE webpages and a range of freely available guidance to enable the construction industry to comply with health and safety law and keep themselves and others safe. HSE circulate a monthly construction e-bulletin which has 140,000 subscribers and, where needed, addresses specific safety risks.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to (a) review and (b) amend carer's allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government keeps all aspects of Carer’s Allowance (CA) under review to see if it is meeting its objectives.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a statutory duty to review State Pension and benefit rates each year based on a review of trends in prices and earnings growth in the preceding year. In April 2025 the rate of Carer’s Allowance increased by 1.7% to £83.30 per week.

We have taken steps to improve the way CA operates and to support those who can combine their caring responsibilities with some paid work, including changing the weekly CA earnings limit to match 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since CA was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive CA between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result of investment worth around £500 million.

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell; Dan Carden