Jas Athwal

This Government's approach is to resolve the issue at the source by tackling the reasons women and girls are pushed into period poverty to start with. We are protecting women’s living standards, alongside the public services they rely on, so that no one has to go without life's essentials.

We are also continuing to make free period products available through several different avenues, including in schools and hospitals, to ensure that they are accessible to those most in need.

This government is clear that someone’s race or ethnicity should never be a barrier to success. We are taking a number of steps across government to address race inequalities through our mission-based programme of reform and our Plan for Change.

As set out in the King’s Speech last July, we are committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. We have been discussing our proposals with trades unions, employers and their representative bodies and others and

have published today a consultation on our proposals.

These measures will be part of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

This Government is committed to transforming the lives of working women across the country, regardless of geographical location; this includes going further and faster to close the gender pay gap.

Tackling the gender pay gap will put more money in women’s pockets and help deliver on our Plan for Change, increasing household income.

Amongst a range of measures in the Employment Rights Bill which will support the lives of all working people, we are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures. These action plans will detail the effective steps employers are taking to improve gender equality in their workplace, and narrow their gaps.

This government is taking tough action to reduce public sector fraud.

In January, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing government to investigate fraud, recover public money and sending fraudsters a clear message: you won’t get away with stealing public money.

The Bill was introduced on 22nd January, and is currently being examined at the Committee Stage.

Utilising emerging technology to counter fraud is vital. That’s why the Public Sector Fraud Authority uses advanced analytics and is developing artificial intelligence tools to help counter fraud experts better understand, prevent and detect fraud.

Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. We are delivering across government to create better conditions for high street businesses to thrive.

We have heard businesses’ concerns about the impact of anti-social behaviour in town centres, including in Ilford South. Last month, we introduced the Crime and Policing Bill, which will scrap the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting and do more to protect retail workers from assault. We are also introducing High Street Rental Auction powers for local authorities and over 100 Banking Hubs have now opened - providing essential banking services for businesses and high street users.

Last year the Business Secretary announced a new Business Growth Service which will make it easier and quicker for businesses across the UK to get the help, support and advice they need to grow and thrive. Our Small Business Strategy, to be published later this year, will set out this Government’s plan for further supporting small businesses across key areas, including on the high street.

The Government’s Clean Power 2030 action plan details the Government's strategy to protect people from increased energy bills caused by volatile global gas markets and accelerate our pathway towards greater energy independence through the deployment of clean energy.

Importing cheaper electricity during peak times reduces the need to turn on carbon-intensive domestic generation and enhances security of supply by providing access to a more diverse generation pool that complements our domestic energy mix.

The Government is committed to radically scaling up deployment of technologies such as onshore wind, as demonstrated by our lifting of the planning ban earlier this year.

A clean power system will protect consumers from global gas prices and fluctuations which, as a result of the failure of the party opposite, drove increases of over £1,300 in the electricity price cap for a typical household during the winter of 2022 / 2023.

The Government wants to put digital inclusion at the heart of how we deliver better designed, time-saving public services, to ensure as many people as possible can access public services digitally. Our ambition is for everyone in the UK to have the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in our modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.

On accessibility, there is a globally recognised standard for accessibility for Web Content, and though digital accessibility is an important part of designing an inclusive service, meeting the standards does not guarantee an inclusive service. We will be exploring how to extend the scope of the standards beyond central government into the wider public sector and looking at revising them to include inclusive service design.

Promoting digital inclusion is a priority for this Government, and we will be working closely with key partners in charities, businesses and local authorities to make sure that no one is left without the tools to engage fully in society. We hope to announce more on this soon.

This Government recognises that grassroots sports facilities are important to communities up and down the country. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to high quality facilities and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Sport England’s site Buddle provides free learning and support resources to inspire and strengthen clubs and community organisations offering sport and physical activity.

The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities. £123 million is being invested UK-wide via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme throughout 2024/25, including support for 20 projects in London.

The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport. We want to break down the barriers that exist and prevent women and girls from being active including but not limited to kit, facilities, time and cost. This Girl Can, which recently celebrated its ten year anniversary, is an inspiring campaign that has promoted women’s sport, challenged prejudice and made clear that sport is for everyone.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Separately, as a government, we are investing £123 million in inclusive grassroots sport facilities that will support more women and girls to take part in the sports that they love.

In the last financial year, 2023-24, Sport England awarded over £75,000 to Ilford South constituency.

Developing the skills of young people, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a critical enabler for the government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth.

To support young people with careers information, advice and guidance, the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), backed by over £30 million of government funding in 2024/25, coordinates a national network of careers hubs which now includes 95% of secondary schools and colleges.

The network includes 400 leading employers and around 4,000 business volunteers, including many representing STEM occupations. Our careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks, includes a clear expectation that all 11 to 18 year-olds should have at least one meaningful interaction with employers per year. This should include an encounter with a STEM employer or workplace, or a careers event focused on STEM, before year 11.

The CEC has also worked in partnership with employers and multi-academy trusts to co-design curriculum resources linking a range of careers to specific curriculum points across all national curriculum subjects, including STEM subjects. This helps students to understand how STEM subjects are the pathways to certain careers.

The government’s Skills for Careers website brings greater coherence to the careers offer. This provides a single platform to access information about skills training options and careers, illustrating pathways to STEM occupations, including via further education.

The department is also setting up Skills England to bring together central government and regional and local organisations, businesses, training providers and unions, to help meet the skills needs of the next decade, aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy.

This will be underpinned by Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) that support our aim to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs.

We also continue to support learners who wish to have a career in STEM through our technical education offer. This includes making available:

• T Levels in STEM subjects, including in engineering, science, digital and media. Thousands of young people have succeeded on T Levels and progressed to university, employment or apprenticeships.
• Over 350 employer-designed apprenticeship standards in STEM subjects.
• Higher Technical Qualifications in STEM occupations, for example a foundation degree in Biomedical Sciences, HNC in Electronic Systems or HND in Space Technologies.

The government has set an ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. To achieve this, we plan to reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending and prevent abuse from happening altogether.

This focus on prevention also sits at the heart of the Young Futures programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures prevention partnerships.

Young Futures Hubs will be set up across the country, bringing together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling young people to thrive.

Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will bring local partners together to intervene earlier to ensure that vulnerable children at risk of being drawn into a variety of crime types, including anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls, are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

Officials from across government, including the Department for Education, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice are working together using their various bodies of evidence of what works to shape Young Futures Hubs.

The Government is committed to delivering for nature and climate. We are taking action to meet our Environment Act targets, to restore and protect our natural world, and one of the government’s five missions is to make Britain a clean energy superpower, delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating to net zero across the economy.

The Government has concluded a rapid review of the existing Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23), including progress on Environment Act targets. The Government published a statement of the rapid review’s key findings on 30 January 2025, to be followed by publication of a revised EIP later this year. This will include delivery information about how we will meet our ambitious targets.

The Government will also publish an updated plan that will outline the policies and proposals across Defra sectors needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution on a pathway to net zero, in due course.

To support our climate and nature targets we have pledged up to £400 million for tree planting and peatland restoration over the current [2024/25] and next [2025/26] financial year.

Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights local communities and the environment.

Local authorities have enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping, including fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, and prosecution action which can lead to significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers and we are also taking steps so that we may develop further guidance to support local authorities to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.

We committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment, and other actions to tackle fly-tipping, in due course.

In the meantime, Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

The Government will provide £120m of additional funding to extend the Plug-in Van Grant and the Plug in Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Grant next financial year. Grants for motorcycles, taxis, and trucks are currently available until at least the end of this financial year. All grants are kept under review to ensure the best value for taxpayer’s money.

Zero emission vehicles will receive favourable Benefit in Kind tax rates until at least 2030. They are also exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) until April 2025, after which electric vehicles will still have preferential first year rates of VED in comparison to the most polluting vehicles.

The Government is committed to accelerating the rollout of charging infrastructure, to ensure electric vehicles are easy to use. There are currently over 74,000 publicly available charging devices and the Government has introduced the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 to improve consumer experience of charging infrastructure.

The Government ensures everyone has access to free impartial pension guidance through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Their MoneyHelper service provides guidance to the public on all areas of UK pensions. In September 2024, MaPS launched a new digital service to give individuals more choice on how to access guidance from Pension Wise, which is part of MoneyHelper.

Pensions dashboards will improve access to pensions information by allowing people to view information about their pensions, including the State Pension, securely and in one place online. This will help promote greater engagement with pensions information, empowering people to better prepare for retirement. MaPS oversees the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) which is responsible for designing and implementing the digital architecture that will make pensions dashboards work.

The PDP continues to test the connection journeys with around 20 volunteer participants. This activity will help support the connection of pension schemes and providers to the dashboards digital architecture from the end of April 2025, in line with the published timetable. The connection of schemes and providers in line with the dates in guidance will enable MaPS and the PDP to undertake user testing, in turn helping to inform the launch of dashboard services at the earliest possible point. Further information on dashboards delivery progress is set out in the update report, published biannually on the PDP’s website: www.pensionsdashboardsprogramme.org.uk/progress-update-report.

The Government has introduced the Employment Rights Bill which [if passed] would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this we have committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. The Secretary of State has also appointed Mariella Frostrup as the Government’s independent Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause.

Government keeps the rates of benefits, state pension and statutory pay under review.

Parental pay is reviewed annually at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. From April 2025, subject to parliamentary approval, the rate will increase by September 2024's CPI figure of 1.7%, from £184.03 to £187.18 per week

Parental pay is only one element of the support available for parents. Depending on individual circumstances, additional financial support, for example, Universal Credit, Child Benefit and the Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available.

The Government has committed to conduct a review of the whole parental leave system. This review will focus on ensuring that parental leave offers the best possible support to working families. Work is already underway on planning for its delivery.

In early February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, including Hospice UK, Marie Curie, Sue Ryder, Together for Short Lives, MacMillian, and the Association for Palliative Medicine, where we had a productive conversation about improving palliative and end of life care in England. Long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length at this meeting.

On visits to hospices, I have also heard from staff on their thoughts on how palliative and end of life care could be improved.

We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating large food businesses to publish nutrient profile models on their products. As part of considerations around mandatory healthiness targets, the Food Data Transparency Partnership (FDTP) was created in 2023. This was a shared programme of work across the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency. The FDTP was paused at the General Election and is being reviewed alongside other obesity policies.

The UK Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) is used as the underpinning model for The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 and The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024. A product will be in scope if it falls within one of the product categories in the schedule to these regulations and scores four or above for food, or one or above for drink when applying the 2004 to 2005 NPM using the 2011 technical guidance. We do not require businesses to publish information related to the NPM.

NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.

National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.

NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.

National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.

Ilford South sits within the North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB). Since June 2018, there has been an increase of 45 full-time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) in the ICB; in the London region, there has been an increase of 411 FTE GPs; and across England there has been an increase of 4,636 FTE GPs.

In January 2025, an estimated 1.1 million appointments were delivered in the North East London ICB, an increase of 3.75% from January 2024. In the London region, there was a 2.64% increase over the same period, and across England there was a 1.76% increase.

We are uplifting the 2025/26 GP contract by £889 million, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. This will help to increase capacity in the system so patients can access the care they need. Alongside this increase in funding, the contract contains measures to improve access to services, continuity of care and GP recruitment.

Promoting human rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Pakistani Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister, during my visit to Pakistan in November 2024. Our High Commission in Islamabad also regularly raises human rights issues, including minority rights, with the Pakistani authorities at the highest levels. For example, on 3 March 2025, our High Commissioner in Islamabad raised the rights of the Ahmadi community in a meeting with Prime Minister Sharif. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in accordance with international standards.

The UK Government is committed to pushing the Government of India for faster progress to resolve Jagtar Singh Johal's case. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr Johal's case with his Indian counterpart on several occasions, most recently on 5 March. The Prime Minister raised Mr Johal's case with Prime Minister Modi on 18 November 2024 and raised it with the Indian External Affairs Minister on 4 March, during his visit to the UK.

Banking has changed significantly in recent years with many customers benefiting from the ease and convenience of remote banking. However, the Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to constituents and businesses in Ilford South and across the UK and is committed to championing sufficient access for all. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 200 hubs have been announced so far, and over 100 are already open.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 granted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the responsibility and powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Under the FCA’s regime, LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network, is responsible for undertaking access to cash assessments. When a cash access facility such as a bank branch closes, or if LINK receives a request directly from a community, LINK assesses a community’s access to cash needs and can recommend a new service, such as a banking hub.

Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.

The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme opened to applications on 4 February 2025, which enables Ukrainians in the UK under the Ukraine visa schemes to apply for a further 18 months’ temporary permission to remain in the UK.

We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine to assist in the rebuilding of the country. It is important our approach respects these wishes.

This is why the temporary sanctuary Ukraine visa Schemes do not lead to settlement in the UK.  We continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under consistent review in line with developments in the ongoing war.

There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements.

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

That’s why we are delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing, putting 13,000 neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities by the end of the Parliament .

We will also equip the police to crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets and in communities. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we have introduced tougher powers to tackle repeat offending, including the new Respect Order to tackle the most persistent ASB offenders.

On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London and leading tech companies to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves.

As a result of the summit, representatives from policing and tech agreed to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the organised criminal networks driving this problem and to instigate new work to tackle the problem.

To aid police investigations and recovery of stolen goods, our Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to those premises and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. We are also committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing and through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales provides national estimates of the number of victims of mobile phone theft in England and Wales; this data is not broken down to sub-national geographies.

On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London and leading tech companies to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves.

As a result of the summit, representatives from policing and tech agreed to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the organised criminal networks driving this problem and to instigate new work to tackle the problem.

To aid police investigations and recovery of stolen goods, our Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property which has been electronically geolocation tracked to those premises and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. We are also committed to strengthening neighbourhood policing and through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales provides national estimates of the number of victims of mobile phone theft in England and Wales; this data is not broken down to sub-national geographies.

The Government recognises the vital role that interagency working plays in helping to prevent crime. We have committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will embed partnership principles in a network of new Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships.

Prevention Partnerships will drive local multi-agency partnership working, and encourage police, local authorities and other agencies to work in partnership to reduce a young person’s likelihood of becoming involved in crime. This will include effective information sharing between agencies and improved consistency in joined up-working.

Driving down drug-related crime is another key prevention strand of our work. We ensure join-up at a local level through over 100 Combating Drugs Partnerships, which are multi-agency forums that bring together a range of partners at the local level including local authorities, health and police to address drug use and harms.