Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 requiring planning permission to change residential homes to short-term lets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
While short-term lets can benefit local economies, the government recognise that excessive concentrations of them impact on the availability and affordability of homes for local residents to buy and rent, as well as local services.
We are considering what additional powers we might give local authorities to enable them to respond to the pressures created by short-term lets as well as second homes.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the proposed mandatory national register for short term lets will be introduced.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to the introduction of the new national short-term lets registration service as soon as possible. The service entered user testing at the end of October 2025 to ensure it is robust, easy to use and meets the needs of the scheme, ahead of its public launch in 2026.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of delays to coroner proceedings in excess of 18 months on eligibility for Bereavement Support Payments.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delays to coroner proceedings do not change eligibility for Bereavement Support Payment. DWP encourages those who are eligible for Bereavement Support Payment to make a claim even if they do not yet have a death certificate. DWP will work with the customer to establish what alternative evidence they can provide, such as an interim death certificate.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to extend the two year limit on the tax free payment of a pension lump sum following the death of a spouse when the withdrawal is delayed by a coroner's investigation.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the distress that bereavement and any subsequent investigations can cause. The two‑year limit for tax‑free pension death benefits is a long‑standing feature that supports prompt payment and consistent administration. The Government keeps all tax policy under review, but has no current plans to amend the existing two‑year limit.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the extent and impact of mortgage providers rejecting mortgages for leasehold properties with ground rent over 0.1% of the sale price.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 74455 on 15 September 2025.
In addition, measures in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which came into effect in December, will prevent long leases with grounds rents of £250 (or £1,000 in London) from repossession under provisions in the 1988 Housing Act.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the New Road Safety Strategy will be published.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. This target will focus the efforts of road safety partners across Britain, with measures to improve road design, protect vulnerable road users, and review motoring offences. All of this will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on children and families of local pauses to neurodevelopmental assessments under the NHS Right to Choose pathway; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that interim support is available to families whose referrals have been affected.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and it recognises the need for early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to neurodevelopmental assessments.
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 autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
Patients’ right to choose is set out in legislation. Patients being referred to a mental health professional, including for neurodevelopmental assessments, have the right to be treated by any clinically appropriate provider who holds a contract for the provision of NHS services.
ICBs are responsible for ensuring that their processes comply with the legal right to choose. This includes any qualifying contract requirements and clinical appropriateness or eligibility criteria. ICBs also have a duty to publicise and promote choice and can provide local referral guidance to support referrers and ensure that referrals into any NHS funded service are appropriate.
There has been no change to the existing legal right patients have to choose the provider and team who will provide their elective care in certain cases. These rights extend to any provider in England who holds a contract with an ICB, or NHS England, for the service/s the patient requires, as per the NHS Choice Framework. This includes independent sector providers who deliver NHS funded care. Neurodivergent services are already in scope of this legislation.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of adding veterinary medicine to the list of second-degree courses eligible for tuition fee loans, including the potential impact on (a) access to the veterinary profession and (b) the UK’s veterinary workforce.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To ensure the student finance system remains sustainable, students who already hold a qualification at an equivalent or higher-level qualification (ELQ) to that of their current course are not normally eligible for tuition fee or maintenance loans. An exception has been made to these rules to encourage access to certain professions, including veterinary medicine. Students undertaking a full-time second degree in veterinary medicine starting before 1 January 2027 will qualify for maintenance support for the duration of their course.
This position will change under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, which will replace higher education student finance loans from 1 January 2027. An additional loan entitlement will be made available for a limited number of priority subjects, such as medicine. These are courses required to address priority skills needs and that align with the government’s Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 ensure that patients with the rare genetic form of Motor Neurone Disease within Hampshire have timely access to Tofersen; and what assessment he has made of regional disparities that prevent this being available across the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation. If NICE is able to recommend tofersen in draft guidance, NHS England is committed to exploring an interim funding agreement with Biogen to use the Innovative Medicines Fund to expedite NHS commissioning of the treatment as soon as a positive recommendation is made by NICE.
No assessment has been made of the extent of regional inequities in the provision of early access programmes for innovative treatments and people living with SOD1 motor neurone disease. Participation in company-led early access schemes is decided at an individual NHS trust level, and under these programmes, the cost of the drug is free to both the patients taking part in it, and to the NHS, although NHS trusts must still cover administration costs and provide clinical resources to deliver the EAP. NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes, providing advice on potential financial, resourcing, and clinical risks. ICSs should use the guidance to help determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council to clinical technologists and sonographers on (a) workforce recruitment and retention, (b) diagnostic capacity and (c) patient safety within NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is clear that the professions protected in law must be the right ones and that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public.
There are no current plans to extend statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council to clinical technologists or sonographers.