Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the new local plan-making regulations will be introduced.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 November 2025 (HCWS1104).
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether an Equality Impact Assessment was conducted on the differential treatment of NHS staff who have taken partial retirement under the NHS partial retirement scheme.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no National Health Service partial retirement scheme. Partial retirement has existed as an option for some members of the NHS Pension Schemes since 2008. It was extended to members of the 1995 Section of the legacy NHS Pension Scheme in 2023.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when Section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions (Agenda for Change) handbook was last reviewed in relation to the partial retirement scheme introduced in October 2023; and whether his Department has any plans to update this section to ensure fairness for staff who took partial retirement.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Section 16 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, was last updated in 2015. This section sets out the contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by these terms and conditions and took effect in England from 1 April 2015.
We have no current plans to update this section. These provisions were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will estimate the number of newly-qualified nurses who lose their professional status because they have been unable to secure employment within two years of graduation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. It sets the standards that registrants must meet to demonstrate that they are capable of practising safely and effectively.
There is no requirement for nurses to be in employment in order to maintain their registration with the NMC. Registrants must pay an annual registration fee and revalidate every three years by submitting a range of evidence demonstrating their skills and adherence to the NMC Code of professional standards and behaviours. They must also demonstrate that they have practised for a minimum of 450 hours over the three year revalidation period.
The NMC publishes an annual leavers survey to understand why people leave its permanent register, alongside annual and mid-year registration data reports. The annual and mid-year registration data tables includes a breakdown of leavers by the years since initial registration, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/reports-and-accounts/registration-statistics/
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 differences between NHS and Civil Service redundancy provisions for staff who have taken partial retirement; and whether his Department has considered aligning NHS provisions with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme where partial retirement does not affect redundancy entitlements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This specific assessment has not been made. Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives. Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the Department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve mental health support and PTSD treatment services for serving and former police officers who have experienced trauma during their careers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of current and former police officers, and we are working closely with police leaders to ensure this.
On 26 January 2026 we set out a comprehensive wellbeing package as part of our White Paper, “From Local to National: A New Model for Policing”. As that sets out, we will mandate overarching national wellbeing standards to ensure that every member of the workforce receives consistent support. We will also strengthen trauma prevention and early intervention, including ensuring protected time for trauma and suicide prevention training, rolling out tools to identify exposure to traumatic incidents, and developing new evidence-based trauma interventions. And we will expand the roll out of the dedicated Mental Health Crisis Line so all officers and staff, former and current, can access mental health support and have committed to its funding long term.
We are continuing to provide funding to the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources for forces, which helps Chief Constables in their duty to ensure the wellbeing of their workforce.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure universities and employers are aware of the differences between awarded GCSEs and iGCSEs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
GCSEs are long-standing, credible and well-respected by students, teachers, parents, further and higher education providers, and employers. International GCSEs, which include iGCSEs, are different qualifications. International GCSEs were introduced to serve the large international market for British qualifications and are also offered by some independent schools. Unlike GCSEs, international GCSEs are not regulated by Ofqual or funded for use in state schools. International GCSEs have also not counted in school performance tables since GCSEs were last reformed.
In 2019, the department published an analysis of GCSE and international GCSE progress and attainment data, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/comparing-international-gcses-and-gcses-in-england-2018. The publication noted it is difficult to make precise judgements about how standards in these qualifications compare given the clear differences between them.