Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of eye care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services to meet local need. We are not aware of any issues with the availability of sight testing services. The decision to commission enhanced eye care services will be determined by local ICBs following a local needs assessment.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he made of the difference in uptake rates between maternal and infant RSV immunisations when developing the national immunisation programme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The policy for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) programme is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee. The JCVI considered RSV modelling that included different levels of uptake for maternal or infant immunisation. The JCVI advised that either antenatal maternal vaccination or infant monoclonal antibody immunisation strategies could be suitable for a universal United Kingdom programme and did not have a preference. Maternal vaccination became the UK programme from September 2024 following a competitive tender.
The JCVI had noted that protection of preterm infants would need to be looked at if the UK adopted a maternal vaccination programme. At the October 2024 meeting the JCVI advised that a programme to extend a potential offer of nirsevimab, a monoclonal antibody, to very and extremely premature infants could be cost effective.
Based on JCVI’s advice, the RSV selective immunisation programme for high-risk infants switched in September 2025 from using palivizumab to using nirsevimab, and was extended to include premature babies born at less than 32 weeks gestation.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of local authority housing-related debt rules on domestic abuse survivors who are placed in temporary accommodation and seeking social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local housing authorities can already take into account an applicant’s financial resources when considering their application, including debt and affordability checks.
We would expect local authorities to show consideration for the circumstances in which the debt was accrued.
Statutory guidance encourages local housing authorities to support victims of domestic abuse. The government is committed to keeping our statutory guidance under review, including how we support vulnerable groups such as victims of domestic abuse.
My Department will publish its homelessness strategy before the end of the year.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
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 the potential merits of adopting a national exemption for domestic abuse survivors from housing-related debt rules in social housing allocation policies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local housing authorities can already take into account an applicant’s financial resources when considering their application, including debt and affordability checks.
We would expect local authorities to show consideration for the circumstances in which the debt was accrued.
Statutory guidance encourages local housing authorities to support victims of domestic abuse. The government is committed to keeping our statutory guidance under review, including how we support vulnerable groups such as victims of domestic abuse.
My Department will publish its homelessness strategy before the end of the year.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure landlords let accommodation is fit for human habitation as set out in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
If rented houses or flats are not fit for human habitation, tenants can take their landlords to court under the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.
The court can make the landlord carry out repairs and put right health and safety problems. The court can also make the landlord pay compensation to the tenant.
The government is committed to ensuring that rented homes are safe, decent, warm, and free from damp and mould.
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and introduce a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes for the first time.
The Decent Homes Standard already applies to social housing. Enforcement in the social sector is being strengthened through the Social Housing Regulation Act, including through the implementation of Awaab’s Law, the first phase of which has already come into force.