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 her Department has made of the potential impact of GP practices refusing shared care agreements on patients facing long waiting times for specialist care, including for ADHD and gender identity services; and what guidance her Department issues to Integrated Care Boards to ensure consistent access to shared care prescribing across primary care.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October 2026, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area, including in relation to shared care agreements.
The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication but we will set out the full action that we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, including in relation to the issues raised by the Hon. Member. This response is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises
Separately, in his Review of adult gender dysphoria services published on 18 December 2025, Dr David Levy recommended that NHS England and integrated care boards should work with adult gender dysphoria services and general practitioner (GP) representative bodies to establish sustainable local arrangements for hormone prescribing and access to longer-term health monitoring. NHS England and the Department are leading the system-wide response to the review.
The General Medical Council has published guidance which supports integrated care boards and National Health Service organisations in developing and using shared care agreements, and helps GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities.
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 discussions she has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities on ensuring that the Government’s approach to ending rough sleeping reflects the different ways in which women experience rough sleeping.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question 31523 on 15 October on this matter.
Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Minister for Women and Equalities, and the Secretary of State for the Home Department are committed to working together on matters relating to women experiencing rough sleeping.
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 her Department has made of trends in the level of variation between Integrated Care Boards in the commissioning of long-term stoma care services and access to specialist stoma nursing for adults.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government is committed to supporting people living with a stoma to access high quality, safe, and personalised care. Living with a stoma can have a profound impact on an individual’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life, and we recognise the importance of ensuring that people receive the products, clinical support, and advice that best meet their needs.
Through the National Health Service, stoma appliances continue to be available on prescription, supported by specialist clinicians who play a vital role in helping people to manage their condition and live independently. The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up.
However, the Department is aware that patient experience varies. Patient choice can be impacted by the prescribing and dispensing models in place, and this has an impact on patient experience and quality of life.
Through NHS England, the Department is currently reviewing the provision of stoma and continence products and services. The aim is to improve patient outcomes, support informed choice, and ensure people are receiving the most appropriate products and care throughout their lives.
The review has so far focussed on understanding the current arrangements from a system, supplier, and patient perspective. The review is in progress, and the next step is to engage stakeholders on what could or should change and therefore potential solutions. It is therefore too early to determine the recommendations resulting from the review.
A completion date has not yet been set, however the Department will comply with any requirements to publish the outcome of any consultation undertaken as part of the review.
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many additional driving examiners the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency plans to recruit in the next 12 months; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of staffing levels at test centres serving West London.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April 2025, the Government announced measures to increase practical car driving test capacity, including recruiting and training 450 driving examiners, expanding examiner training capacity, offering additional paid testing and deploying other suitably qualified Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) staff to conduct tests.
DVSA uses overtime and flexible working to provide additional appointments outside normal working hours, including in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays, where there is demand and examiner availability. Its Additional Testing Allowance scheme, introduced in June 2025, had delivered more than 138,000 additional tests by the end of September 2026, including 30,873 in September 2026.
DVSA keeps recruitment requirements under review rather than setting a separate fixed recruitment target for each rolling 12-month period. The number of driving examiners is now at its highest level since November 2017. In the 12 months to September 2026, DVSA conducted more than 2.16 million car driving tests, the highest rolling 12-month total on record.
Demand continues to exceed available capacity at some test centres serving West London. Uxbridge currently has 11 full-time driving examiners, with nine at Yeading and eight at Southall. Three recruits are expected to join Yeading and one to join Southall, subject to successfully completing their training. DVSA is also recruiting for nearby centres, including Isleworth, Chertsey, High Wycombe and Slough, and can deploy examiners from other areas to centres with higher waiting times.
These measures, together with additional out-of-hours testing and changes to the booking service, are intended to increase the number of tests available, target capacity where demand is greatest and reduce waiting times.
DVSA has published detailed data on car driving test waiting times and availability by county, region and test centre, including for Uxbridge, to provide greater transparency. Further information is available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to expand out-of-hours, evening and weekend driving test slots.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April 2025, the Government announced measures to increase practical car driving test capacity, including recruiting and training 450 driving examiners, expanding examiner training capacity, offering additional paid testing and deploying other suitably qualified Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) staff to conduct tests.
DVSA uses overtime and flexible working to provide additional appointments outside normal working hours, including in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays, where there is demand and examiner availability. Its Additional Testing Allowance scheme, introduced in June 2025, had delivered more than 138,000 additional tests by the end of September 2026, including 30,873 in September 2026.
DVSA keeps recruitment requirements under review rather than setting a separate fixed recruitment target for each rolling 12-month period. The number of driving examiners is now at its highest level since November 2017. In the 12 months to September 2026, DVSA conducted more than 2.16 million car driving tests, the highest rolling 12-month total on record.
Demand continues to exceed available capacity at some test centres serving West London. Uxbridge currently has 11 full-time driving examiners, with nine at Yeading and eight at Southall. Three recruits are expected to join Yeading and one to join Southall, subject to successfully completing their training. DVSA is also recruiting for nearby centres, including Isleworth, Chertsey, High Wycombe and Slough, and can deploy examiners from other areas to centres with higher waiting times.
These measures, together with additional out-of-hours testing and changes to the booking service, are intended to increase the number of tests available, target capacity where demand is greatest and reduce waiting times.
DVSA has published detailed data on car driving test waiting times and availability by county, region and test centre, including for Uxbridge, to provide greater transparency. Further information is available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for a practical driving test in (a) Uxbridge, (b) London and (c) England in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April 2025, the Government announced measures to increase practical car driving test capacity, including recruiting and training 450 driving examiners, expanding examiner training capacity, offering additional paid testing and deploying other suitably qualified Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) staff to conduct tests.
DVSA uses overtime and flexible working to provide additional appointments outside normal working hours, including in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays, where there is demand and examiner availability. Its Additional Testing Allowance scheme, introduced in June 2025, had delivered more than 138,000 additional tests by the end of September 2026, including 30,873 in September 2026.
DVSA keeps recruitment requirements under review rather than setting a separate fixed recruitment target for each rolling 12-month period. The number of driving examiners is now at its highest level since November 2017. In the 12 months to September 2026, DVSA conducted more than 2.16 million car driving tests, the highest rolling 12-month total on record.
Demand continues to exceed available capacity at some test centres serving West London. Uxbridge currently has 11 full-time driving examiners, with nine at Yeading and eight at Southall. Three recruits are expected to join Yeading and one to join Southall, subject to successfully completing their training. DVSA is also recruiting for nearby centres, including Isleworth, Chertsey, High Wycombe and Slough, and can deploy examiners from other areas to centres with higher waiting times.
These measures, together with additional out-of-hours testing and changes to the booking service, are intended to increase the number of tests available, target capacity where demand is greatest and reduce waiting times.
DVSA has published detailed data on car driving test waiting times and availability by county, region and test centre, including for Uxbridge, to provide greater transparency. Further information is available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Danny Beales (Labour - Uxbridge and South Ruislip)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase driving test capacity and reduce candidate waiting times.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In April 2025, the Government announced measures to increase practical car driving test capacity, including recruiting and training 450 driving examiners, expanding examiner training capacity, offering additional paid testing and deploying other suitably qualified Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) staff to conduct tests.
DVSA uses overtime and flexible working to provide additional appointments outside normal working hours, including in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays, where there is demand and examiner availability. Its Additional Testing Allowance scheme, introduced in June 2025, had delivered more than 138,000 additional tests by the end of September 2026, including 30,873 in September 2026.
DVSA keeps recruitment requirements under review rather than setting a separate fixed recruitment target for each rolling 12-month period. The number of driving examiners is now at its highest level since November 2017. In the 12 months to September 2026, DVSA conducted more than 2.16 million car driving tests, the highest rolling 12-month total on record.
Demand continues to exceed available capacity at some test centres serving West London. Uxbridge currently has 11 full-time driving examiners, with nine at Yeading and eight at Southall. Three recruits are expected to join Yeading and one to join Southall, subject to successfully completing their training. DVSA is also recruiting for nearby centres, including Isleworth, Chertsey, High Wycombe and Slough, and can deploy examiners from other areas to centres with higher waiting times.
These measures, together with additional out-of-hours testing and changes to the booking service, are intended to increase the number of tests available, target capacity where demand is greatest and reduce waiting times.
DVSA has published detailed data on car driving test waiting times and availability by county, region and test centre, including for Uxbridge, to provide greater transparency. Further information is available on GOV.UK
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, further to her Department's Impact Assessment on ICBs as strategic commissioners, published on 14 May 2026, what specific mechanisms will be used to provide enhanced oversight of Integrated Care Board specialised commissioning to monitor compliance with national standards and service specifications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have nothing to add at this time to the answer that I gave the Hon. Member on 8 September to Question 25186, but when there are further details to provide, I will ensure that he and other Hon. Members are updated in the usual way.
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, pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2026 to question 25186, when the regulations determining which specialised services will be commissioned by the Secretary of State and which by Integrated Care Boards will be published; and whether these regulations will be subject to public consultation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have nothing to add at this time to the answer that I gave the Hon. Member on 8 September to Question 25186, but when there are further details to provide, I will ensure that he and other Hon. Members are updated in the usual way.
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 the future responsibilities and functions of the seven Offices for Pan-ICB Commissioning will be in supporting Integrated Care Boards to commission specialised services; and when detailed guidance on this will be published.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have nothing to add at this time to the answer that I gave the Hon. Member on 8 September to Question 25186, but when there are further details to provide, I will ensure that he and other Hon. Members are updated in the usual way.