Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in (a) England, (b) London, and (c) West Ham & Beckton constituency.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, committed to a zero-tolerance approach to ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every force working with communities to develop a local anti-social behaviour action plan. We will also put 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities so that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.

This Government will strengthen the powers available to relevant agencies to tackle ASB. We recently announced Respect Orders, which will be introduced in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill. Respect Orders can be applied for by police and local councils and are issued by the courts. They will enable courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breach will be a criminal offence meaning officers can arrest and take action quickly to disrupt ongoing ASB. Breaches will be heard in the criminal courts who will have a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.

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 tackle health inequalities in (a) England, (b) London, and (c) West Ham and Beckton constituency.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The United Kingdom faces significant health inequalities, with life expectancy varying widely across and within communities. The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups.

Existing initiatives to reduce inequalities in relation to health services in England include NHS England’s ‘Core 20 Plus 5’, which focuses on improving the five clinical areas at most need of accelerated improvement in the poorest 20 percent of the population, along with other underserved population groups identified at a local level, including groups that share protected characteristics, and socially excluded groups such as people experiencing homelessness.

The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ London Regional Team provides system leadership for population health and reducing health inequalities across London. Partners are working together to deliver the Health and Care Vision for London, which sets out a shared ambition to make London the healthiest global city, and the best global city in which to receive health and care services. The Vision aims to tackle issues that cause poor health and health inequalities.

The Mayor of London has set out his aims and objectives for addressing health inequalities in London. This sets the direction of travel for collaborative working by the Mayor of London, partners and communities to tackle health inequalities.

Newham Local Authority received £34.2 million in Public Health Grant funding in 2024/25. This provides services such as stop smoking, drug and alcohol treatment, health visiting/school nursing, sexual health, and NHS Health Checks among others, all of which contribute to addressing health inequalities. Newham Local Authority, the National Health Service and other partners are working together to improve health equity and address the social determinants of health, including through the ‘50 Steps to a Healthier Newham’ Strategy and the Newham Centre for Health Equity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of GP provision in (a) England, (b) London and (c) West Ham and Beckton constituency; and what steps he is taking to improve patient access.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We know that patients are struggling to see a general practitioner (GP) and we are committed to improving GP provision and access to appointments across the country, including in the West Ham and Beckton constituency.

In October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified GPs across England. This will both increase the number of GPs employed and the number of appointments delivered in general practice, benefitting thousands of patients that are struggling to receive the care they desperately deserve. This will also secure the future supply of GPs and take pressure off the existing workforce. Additionally, we have announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP contract for 2025/26, the largest uplift in years, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. We are currently consulting the profession on key proposals to improve access, continuity of care and GP recruitment.

Found: Current membership Cat Smith (Labour, Lancaster and Wyre) (Chair) James Asser (Labour, West Ham and Beckton

When a division is called in the House of Commons, Members present on the Estate who wish to cast a vote must then proceed to the division lobbies located adjacent to the Chamber to do so.  During the Covid-19 pandemic, due to social distancing requirements, Members were able to vote electronically in some divisions in the House (then known as ‘remote voting’),  but these arrangements lapsed in mid-2021 alongside other pandemic-era procedures. Several other legislatures around the world – including the House of Lords – currently operate some form of electronic voting arrangements, therefore providing different models that could be compared to those in the House of Commons which require a physical presence in a certain location for a valid vote to be cast.