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, if his Department will update the Processed Cereal–based Foods and Baby Foods for Infants and Young Children (England) Regulations 2003.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influences many aspects of well-being in later life.
It is vital that we maintain the highest standards for foods consumed by babies and infants, which is why we have regulations in place that set nutritional and compositional standards for commercial baby food. The regulations also set labelling standards to ensure consumers have clear and accurate information about the products they buy. We continue to keep these regulations under review to ensure they reflect the latest scientific and dietary guidelines.
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 recent discussions he has had with NHS England on improving access to speech and language therapy for people with Primary Progressive Aphasia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving care for everyone with dementia, including those with primary progressive aphasia.
That is why we have funded the work of the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help to simplify best practice for busy system leaders and create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia.
A number of experts, including those with expertise in speech and language therapy and dementia care, provided independent, desktop analysis of the tool, and this invaluable feedback was integrated into the revised edition. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool is available at the following link:
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to hold discussions with (a) PETA and (b) other animal protection organisations on its cross-Departmental strategy to phase out animal testing.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year, and is engaging animal welfare organisations in developing this plan. The Government will also be hosting a roundtable with representatives from these organisations to discuss the strategy, including PETA.
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 he is taking to reduce the time taken for patients with musculoskeletal conditions to be treated in Leeds North East constituency; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling chiropractors to treat musculoskeletal conditions on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans by either the Department or NHS England to review the use of chiropractors in the treatment of individuals with musculoskeletal conditions.
Where there is demand, integrated care boards are able to make independent decisions on which health professionals they employ and may commission a limited amount of such treatment.
Cutting waiting lists forms a key part of the Government’s mission to reform the National Health Service.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance rates until 2026.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed annually, usually at an Autumn fiscal event.
At last year’s Autumn Budget, the decision to maintain LHA at current levels for 2025/26 was taken after a range of factors were considered, including rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, rate increases in April 2024 and the wider fiscal context. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25, and approximately £7bn over 5 years.
Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the challenging fiscal context.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help support the sustainability of independent hair salons on high streets; and whether she has made a recent assessment of the contribution of such businesses to local communities.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government recognises the important economic and social value of the hair and beauty industry to high streets and local communities, and we want to support these businesses that help make our town centres successful.
That is why we have committed to reforming business rates from 2026-27 with a permanently lower multiplier for retail, leisure and hospitality properties, including hair and beauty salons.
The Government will also protect the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all and employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.
We have also introduced new powers to help fill persistently vacant properties and make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable through High Street Rental Auctions, supporting independent hair salons to access commercial property opportunities.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the VAT threshold on the financial sustainability of small hair salons; and what steps she is taking to help ensure the consistency of the (a) tax and (b) regulatory environment for hair salons.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. The Government will continue to bear in mind businesses’ views of this threshold.
In March the Chancellor published a regulation action plan, this set out this Government's approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth. We are continuing to look at the regulatory environment for all businesses in the round as we implement the actions in the plan.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of apprenticeship starts in the hairdressing sector in Leeds since 2024; and what steps she is taking to support salons to provide apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin or progress a successful career in the hairdressing industry.
There have been over 135 starts in hairdressing and barbering apprenticeships within the Leeds local authority across the 2023/24 academic year and the 2024/25 academic year, up until January 2025.
To support smaller employers access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, or have been in local authority care. Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care.
Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance contributions for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund budget for 2025–26 on (a) adoptive families and (b) the stability of adoption placements.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The overall budget for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) will be £50 million in the 2025/26 financial year, which has not been reduced from in the 2024/25 financial year. The changes made to the criteria for the ASGSF will enable the budget to be utilised by more children and families. This will ensure that each child can still access a significant package of support required for individual children and help to prevent breakdown of adoptive placements. Children who have previously been supported by the ASGSF can continue to access the fund under the new arrangements. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
The department is committed to ensuring value for money and continuously evaluates contracts. Regular reviews are conducted to assess effectiveness. The ASGSF management contract has undergone open re-procurement during its term of operation. The department assess all its tenders on their merits, with the sourcing strategy for this service following Green Book guidance. We will also be reviewing the most effective and efficient way of managing the fund in future years.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children previously supported by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund continue to have access to therapeutic services following the reduction in the fund’s budget for 2025–26.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The overall budget for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) will be £50 million in the 2025/26 financial year, which has not been reduced from in the 2024/25 financial year. The changes made to the criteria for the ASGSF will enable the budget to be utilised by more children and families. This will ensure that each child can still access a significant package of support required for individual children and help to prevent breakdown of adoptive placements. Children who have previously been supported by the ASGSF can continue to access the fund under the new arrangements. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
The department is committed to ensuring value for money and continuously evaluates contracts. Regular reviews are conducted to assess effectiveness. The ASGSF management contract has undergone open re-procurement during its term of operation. The department assess all its tenders on their merits, with the sourcing strategy for this service following Green Book guidance. We will also be reviewing the most effective and efficient way of managing the fund in future years.