Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce knife crime on public transport.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government’s ambition to halve knife crime within a decade is integral to its Safer Streets Mission The Government are working to achieve this by investing in what we know works and will have the greatest impact - focusing relentlessly on where knife crime is most concentrated, with the interventions that work.
My Department is working across government and with partners, including the British Transport Police (BTP), the transport industry and local authorities, to contribute to the knife-crime reduction ambition and help everyone feel and be safe when travelling. The BTP, who are responsible for policing the railway, is a member of the Knife-Enabled Robbery Group which is successfully reducing knife robberies in the areas most affected by knife crime. BTP has played a key role in this work through joint deployments with other forces in knife crime hot spots, such as transport hubs.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving levels of public awareness of the potential risk of knife attacks whilst travelling on trains.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department have a range of security measures in place across the railway to keep the travelling public and staff safe. Thankfully, knife attacks on trains are very rare and therefore we do not believe a specific public awareness campaign would be proportionate to the risk- we continue to monitor closely. We do however run our very successful ‘See it. Say it. Sorted’ campaign to encourage all passengers to report any suspicious behaviour.
The British Transport Police (BTP), which is responsible for policing the railway, are a member of the Home Office Knife-Enabled Robbery (KER) Group which is successfully reducing knife robberies in the areas most affected by knife crime. BTP have played a key role in this work through joint deployments with other forces in knife crime hot spots, such as transport hubs.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many letters to her Department relating to the British Council have received a substantive response since 5 July 2024; and what the average response time was.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister responsible, I have had a number of meetings with the leadership team within the British Council, details of which are routinely disclosed in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's quarterly publications of ministerial transparency data. My office also deals with a large amount of correspondence relating to the British Council and my other areas of responsibility, all of which we seek to respond to as promptly as possible.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings she has held with the (a) Chief Executive and (b) Chair of the British Council since 5 September 2025.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister responsible, I have had a number of meetings with the leadership team within the British Council, details of which are routinely disclosed in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's quarterly publications of ministerial transparency data. My office also deals with a large amount of correspondence relating to the British Council and my other areas of responsibility, all of which we seek to respond to as promptly as possible.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support civilians in the West Bank, in the context of recent reports of an increase in violent attacks by settlers.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer my Hon Friend to the answers that the Foreign Secretary and I gave on this issue during the recent session of departmental oral questions on 20 January.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Question 100196, what steps her Department is taking to bring forward legislation to end the sale of peat for horticultural use; and whether she plans to accelerate the proposed implementation timeline.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Maidenhead, Joshua Reynolds, on 18 December 2025, PQ UIN 100196.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report published by Breast Cancer Now, entitled Setting the Bar too High, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the opportunity cost‑neutrality requirement within NICE’s severity modifier on access to treatments for secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The severity modifier was introduced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in January 2022 as part of a number of changes intended to make its methods fairer, faster, and more consistent. The severity modifier was designed on the principle of opportunity cost neutrality to ensure that introducing additional weighting for severe conditions did not increase overall National Health Service spending or displace more care than the previous end-of-life modifier.
NICE has been monitoring how the severity modifier is being applied and found that it has resulted in a greater proportion of medicines recommended than under NICE’s previous methods. The latest figures indicate 87.0% of decisions taken since the severity modifier was implemented have recommended use of the treatment, compared with 82.5% when the end-of-life modifier was being used. For advanced cancer treatments specifically, 84.8% of decisions have been positive since the introduction of the severity modifier, compared to 69.1% under NICE’s previous methods.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for ADHD assessments for children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally in England, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people of all ages, including children and young people, are experiencing delays accessing such assessments.
NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. The final report was published on 6 November 2025, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan for England will make the NHS fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support, including for children and young people, such as those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). In 2026, the Government will bring forward a Schools White Paper, which will detail our approach to SEND reform, ensuring joined-up support, including education and healthcare providers working together.
In respect of ADHD, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline does not recommend a maximum waiting time for people to receive an assessment for ADHD or a diagnosis, however it sets out best practice on providing a diagnosis.
Through the NHS Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local integrated care boards and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
The Secretary of State announced on 4th December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role will organisations representing cyclists and pedestrians play in shaping the work of the Road Safety Board and Expert Advisory Panel.
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. Delivery of the Strategy will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport. This will be supported by an Expert Advisory Panel, which will provide insight from those working directly with road users and communities.
The Board and Expert Advisory Panel are currently under development and decisions regarding membership and format will be made in due course.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when will the Department publish further guidance on how cycling and walking will be reflected in delivery of the Road Safety Strategy.
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. Roads aren’t just for motorists; it is vitally important that everyone using our roads is kept safe including cyclists and pedestrians.
The strategy builds upon ongoing work in this area. On 12 December 2025 we announced that we are allocating £626 million for local authorities from 2026-27 to 2029-30 to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes, enough for 500 miles of new walking and cycling routes and 170,000 more active trips per day.
This is in addition to the almost £300 million funding for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26 which we announced in February 2025. This will help local authorities to provide high-quality and easily accessible active travel schemes across England and will enable more children to walk and cycle to school.
In November 2025 the Government launched a consultation to develop the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3). The consultation sought the views of stakeholders on a national vision, statutory objectives and underlying performance indicators. The consultation closed on the 15th of December, and the Government is now considering the responses to the consultation with the final strategy to be published in the spring.