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 his Department will ensure that people with (a) severe multiple disadvantage and (b) other rare conditions are included in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of services after the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch organisations.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dr Dash’s report on patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. The review recommends bringing together the work of local Healthwatch organisations with the engagement functions of integrated care boards and providers to ensure patient and wider community input into the planning and design of services.
These changes will improve quality, including safety, by making it clear where responsibility and accountability sit at all levels of the system. The changes will make it easier for staff, patients and service users, including those with severe multiple disadvantage and other rare conditions, to feed directly into the system to improve quality of care. We believe that patients and users will have a stronger voice once it is heard inside the system.
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 funding will be ringfenced for independent patient advocacy and engagement services at local level after the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding for independent patient advocacy and funding for local Healthwatch is currently not ring-fenced, and the Department has no plans to introduce a ring fence in future years.
The abolition of local Healthwatch arrangements, and transfer of their functions to integrated care boards for health, and local authorities for social care, will require primary legislation. The timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament and will happen when Parliamentary time allows.
Funding considerations will be undertaken after legislation has received parliamentary approval.
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 steps he will take to ensure that patients have access to independent statutory mechanisms for raising concerns about health and care services following the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch organisations.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The report by Dr Penny Dash, published in July, recommended bringing together the work of local Healthwatch organisations, and the engagement functions of integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers, to ensure patient and wider community input into the planning and design of services. The recommendations in the report were accepted, in full, by the Government.
The abolition of local Healthwatch arrangements, and the transfer of their functions to ICBs and local authorities will require primary legislation. The timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament and will happen when Parliamentary time allows.
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 recent steps his Department has taken to approve the use of sepiapterin for people with phenylketonuria.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.
The MHRA has several licensing routes that are available to companies to support access of innovative medicines or medicines with unmet need to patients. Sepiapterin is currently not approved by the MHRA, however, it will assess any market authorisation applications for sepiapterin against the high standards of quality, safety and efficacy should an application be received.
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, what steps he is taking to improve sanction processes for private parking companies that repeatedly (a) generate upheld complaints and (b) lose appeals.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector.
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance on the operation and management of private parking facilities.
My department recently consulted on the new Code and an accompanying compliance framework for private parking companies. As part of this framework, we are developing an independent Certification Scheme to audit the parking industry’s compliance with the new Code. The scheme will operate as a third-party certification process, whereby only organisations accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service as Conformity Assessment Bodies will be able to certify private parking companies.
Parking operators who fail to comply with the Code risk losing access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data. This data includes information on vehicle keepers, so any company blocked from accessing it would be unable to pursue parking charges.
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 steps his Department has taken to ensure that vulnerable patients receive appropriate NHS transport services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) are designed to provide transport for patients who have particular clinical or mobility needs that necessitate such support, which may include elderly or vulnerable patients. The eligibility criteria for NEPTS have been set nationally by NHS England, and the details are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf
The Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is available for eligible patients and provides financial support to facilitate journeys to and from National Health Service funded secondary care. Details on the eligibility for HTCS is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/.
Local integrated care boards (ICBs) hold responsibility for the implementation of patient transport services at a local level, including monitoring and improving against performance targets. ICBs are best placed to work and consult with their local stakeholders, health and care organisations, and local authorities to decide how to best meet and deliver for the needs of their local population.
NHS England is funding and co-ordinating a range of Patient Transport Pathfinder projects to explore more effective approaches to supporting patients with their NHS travel needs.
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 steps his Department has taken to monitor NHS transport service performance standards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) are designed to provide transport for patients who have particular clinical or mobility needs that necessitate such support, which may include elderly or vulnerable patients. The eligibility criteria for NEPTS have been set nationally by NHS England, and the details are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf
The Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is available for eligible patients and provides financial support to facilitate journeys to and from National Health Service funded secondary care. Details on the eligibility for HTCS is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/.
Local integrated care boards (ICBs) hold responsibility for the implementation of patient transport services at a local level, including monitoring and improving against performance targets. ICBs are best placed to work and consult with their local stakeholders, health and care organisations, and local authorities to decide how to best meet and deliver for the needs of their local population.
NHS England is funding and co-ordinating a range of Patient Transport Pathfinder projects to explore more effective approaches to supporting patients with their NHS travel needs.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will consider how people with life-long disabilities caused by receiving sodium valproate in utero will be affected by welfare reforms when planning those reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our Pathways to Work Green Paper, we set out plans to remove the WCA and move to using the PIP assessment as the single assessment for additional financial support for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions in England and Wales. To ensure that PIP and the PIP assessment are fair and fit for the future, we have launched the Timms Review.
The Review will look at PIP, the assessment criteria, and the wider role the assessment could play in providing access to the right support at the right level. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.
It will be for the Review’s leadership group – building from the Terms of Reference – to set its strategic direction, priorities and workplan. It will also oversee a programme of participation and engagement that brings together the full range of views and voices.
PIP assessments and Work Capability Assessments are not medical consultations and do not require Healthcare Professionals (HP) to diagnose conditions or recommend treatment. Instead, they are functional assessments designed to evaluate how an individual’s health conditions or impairments - including those caused by receiving sodium valproate in utero - affect their ability to carry out daily living activities and/or their capability for work
HPs conducting assessments are trained specialists in disability analysis. Their focus is on understanding the functional impact of a claimant’s condition, rather than its clinical diagnosis. All HPs receive specific training on assessing the effects of physical and mental health conditions.
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 steps his Department is taking to improve NHS hospital transport provision.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) are designed to provide transport for patients who have particular clinical or mobility needs that necessitate such support, which may include elderly or vulnerable patients. The eligibility criteria for NEPTS have been set nationally by NHS England, and the details are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf
The Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is available for eligible patients and provides financial support to facilitate journeys to and from National Health Service funded secondary care. Details on the eligibility for HTCS is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/.
Local integrated care boards (ICBs) hold responsibility for the implementation of patient transport services at a local level, including monitoring and improving against performance targets. ICBs are best placed to work and consult with their local stakeholders, health and care organisations, and local authorities to decide how to best meet and deliver for the needs of their local population.
NHS England is funding and co-ordinating a range of Patient Transport Pathfinder projects to explore more effective approaches to supporting patients with their NHS travel needs.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of new Energy Performance Certificate regulations on (a) holiday lets and (b) the tourism sector.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector, including proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C or equivalent by 2030. We have sought views on whether short-term lets should be included in the scope of our changes, to help ensure a consistent standard across all private rented properties.
As outlined in the consultation government has proposed to maintain a range of exemptions available to landlords to ensure that required investment is fair and proportionate. Government remains committed to taking an evidence-based approach and will consider the balance between supporting tourism and reaching Net Zero goals.
A government response to the consultation will be published in due course.