Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish departmental spending data for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 on (a) non-NHS entities part of the NHS Workforce Alliance; (b) providing consultancy and advice; (c) providing advice on managing agency supply; and (d) providing data analysis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish spending data for the financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 on approved non-NHS entities providing NHS patient care as part of the Insourced Services framework.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of wave power to the UK's renewable energy mix; and what steps his department is taking to support its deployment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Carbon Trust estimates the UK’s total wave resource to be around 230 TWh/year, with an exploitable resource of 40–50 TWh/year. However, wave energy is not yet commercially viable. The Government monitors progress closely and supports innovation through research funding programmes operated by UK Research and Innovation. As set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, emerging technologies may have a role to play in the longer term, subject to cost reduction, performance improvement and demonstrated scalability.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish (a) the analysis identifying the need for additional 16 to 19 places in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham and (b) the impact assessment on existing providers that was used to support the approval of the Eton Star Oldham free school.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Mainstream free school projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria focusing on assessing the need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer and whether they would risk negatively impacting other local schools or colleges.
As part of one of the largest city regions outside London, Oldham benefits from a large pool of potential learners. Well developed transport links will allow the school to attract learners from across a broad geographical area.
Conditions attached to the school will ensure both Eton and Star work with local schools and colleges to ensure the new school sits coherently within the existing local offer, with a focus on improving GCSE outcomes and progression rates into post-16 provision across the local area, as well as into top universities.
The responsibility for undertaking a Section 10 consultation prior to the school opening sits with the Academy Trust. The Secretary of State will take the findings into account when considering whether to enter into a funding agreement.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish (a) the the consultation timetable on the Eton Star Oldham free school and (b) the expected date for the publication of its findings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Mainstream free school projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria focusing on assessing the need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer and whether they would risk negatively impacting other local schools or colleges.
As part of one of the largest city regions outside London, Oldham benefits from a large pool of potential learners. Well developed transport links will allow the school to attract learners from across a broad geographical area.
Conditions attached to the school will ensure both Eton and Star work with local schools and colleges to ensure the new school sits coherently within the existing local offer, with a focus on improving GCSE outcomes and progression rates into post-16 provision across the local area, as well as into top universities.
The responsibility for undertaking a Section 10 consultation prior to the school opening sits with the Academy Trust. The Secretary of State will take the findings into account when considering whether to enter into a funding agreement.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing transitional arrangements for current applicants when changing the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and leaders of local authorities, to increase tram services in towns and cities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Government recognises the valuable role that tramways and mass transit networks can play as part of a truly integrated transport system, in the right circumstances, in our cities.
Responsibility for mass transit systems (including tramways) is devolved in England, where each local authority owns and is responsible for the operations and financial sustainability of its own system.
The Department works closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of strategic projects which include mass transit proposals, such as those being explored by the Cambridge Growth Company. This partnership helps ensure transport and housing priorities are considered together to support sustainable development.
Government has confirmed £15.6 billion in funding through Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlements for our largest city regions to deliver their local transport priorities, which may include mass transit.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of the target for additional renewable energy will be met by the erection of 1800 hectares of solar panels on vertical surfaces.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are not aware of any project in development that plans to install large numbers of solar panels on vertical surfaces. However, we are looking to increase deployment of all types of solar, including through applications such as plug-in solar which can be installed on the walls of buildings.
Plug-in solar can provide opportunities for households to adopt solar more cheaply. Currently, UK regulations do not allow plug-in solar to be used in the UK, but the government has commenced a safety study with the aim of unlocking opportunities for its deployment over the next few years.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide updated guidance to police forces on the enforcement of speed limits, in the context of the number of deaths caused by drivers exceeding the speed limit.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Excess speed remains a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads. Anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face sanction.
Current National Police Chiefs’ Council National Guidance on Speeding Enforcement advocates proportionality in applying the law and discretion to take account of the individual circumstances of each speeding offence and take the action they consider appropriate.
Enforcement measures range from informal advice, the offer of a speed awareness course or fixed penalty, and where speeding results in a fatality to court prosecution.
Asked by: Debbie Abrahams (Labour - Oldham East and Saddleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that schools have an active travel plan to increase the number of children who walk or cycle to school (including those who walk the last half-mile).
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 places a duty on local authorities to promote sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in their area. Sustainable travel in this context is that which improves the physical wellbeing of users, the environmental wellbeing of the area, or both.
On 12 December, Active Travel England announced £626 million of funding for local authorities from 2026/27 to 2029/30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes. This will enable more children to walk and cycle to school. It is in addition to almost £300 million funding for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26 announced in February. This includes £30 million to provide Bikeability cycle training to children and £8.5 million for Cycling UK, Living Streets and Modeshift to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling initiatives in schools and communities. The Modeshift STARS Education scheme supports schools and local authorities to develop and monitor school travel plans.