Jas Athwal Portrait

Jas Athwal

Labour - Ilford South

6,894 (16.7%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 4th July 2024


Jas Athwal has no previous appointments


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Jas Athwal has voted in 241 divisions, and 2 times against the majority of their Party.

3 Dec 2024 - Elections (Proportional Representation) - View Vote Context
Jas Athwal voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 50 Labour No votes vs 59 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 138 Noes - 136
13 Jun 2025 - Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - View Vote Context
Jas Athwal voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 124 Labour Aye votes vs 181 Labour No votes
Tally: Ayes - 233 Noes - 254
View All Jas Athwal Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op))
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
(13 debate interactions)
Hamish Falconer (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(12 debate interactions)
Harpreet Uppal (Labour)
(3 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Home Office
(8 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(8 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Jas Athwal's debates

Ilford South Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Jas Athwal has not participated in any petition debates

Latest EDMs signed by Jas Athwal

17th July 2024
Jas Athwal signed this EDM on Thursday 25th July 2024

200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Tabled by: Helena Dollimore (Labour (Co-op) - Hastings and Rye)
That this House congratulates the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) on its 200th anniversary of saving lives at sea; thanks all crew members who have risked their lives to save over 140,000 lives at sea; and pays tribute to all volunteers past and present who support this vital work.
54 signatures
(Most recent: 30 Oct 2024)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 39
Liberal Democrat: 6
Plaid Cymru: 4
Conservative: 2
Independent: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Scottish National Party: 1
23rd July 2024
Jas Athwal signed this EDM as a sponsor on Tuesday 23rd July 2024

40th anniversary of Saint Francis Hospice

Tabled by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
That this House celebrates the 40 year anniversary of the opening of Saint Francis Hospice in the historic village of Havering-atte-Bower, Romford, Essex which serves a population of around one million across Essex and the east of Greater London, namely in Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Brentwood; recognises that …
8 signatures
(Most recent: 29 Jul 2024)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 3
Labour: 3
Reform UK: 1
Independent: 1
View All Jas Athwal's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Jas Athwal, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Jas Athwal has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Jas Athwal has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

Jas Athwal has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
3 Other Department Questions
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she has made any assessment of the potential merits of the free provision of period products in public buildings in England.

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.

Nia Griffith
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help end discrimination against ethnic minority people.

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.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
21st Feb 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of closing the gender pay gap for women in Ilford South constituency.

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.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Solicitor General, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Statistics on religion or belief for the Attorney General’s Office, as at 31 March 2024, are published on the Civil Service Statistics 2024 (Table A3). The Cabinet Office publish the information annually.

Lucy Rigby
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

Departments should be recording Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.

Departments are advised to refer to Civil Service Statistics 2024 Table A3 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector.

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.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

As of 31st May 2025, Department for Business and Trade (DBT) employs 63 civil servants who have self-declared as Sikhs. In DBT, Sikhs are recorded as a Religious Group, and not an Ethnic Group.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken to support high street businesses in Ilford South constituency.

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.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero currently has 34 employees who have declared their religion as Sikh.

In the HR system religions such as Sikh, are recorded under ‘religion belief’ and not ethnicity.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help reduce the need for imported electricity in the UK.

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.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
6th Nov 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of lifting the onshore wind ban on energy prices.

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.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology records Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.

Please refer to Table A3 of the Civil Service Statistics 2024 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help protect children from (a) deception, (b) bullying, (c) abuse and (d) harmful content online.

Our priority is the implementation of the Online Safety Act so children benefit from its protections.

The Act requires services to protect users from illegal content. Companies will also need to assess whether their service is likely to be accessed by children and provide safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity, such as abuse, bullying, and content that promotes eating disorders or self-harm. Measures include using age assurance and changing their algorithms to filter out harmful content.

The illegal content duties are now in effect and the child safety duties will be enforceable by this summer.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help reduce misogynistic content online.

The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content, including illegal misogyny.

Where this type of abuse is not illegal, services likely to be accessed by children must provide safety measures to protect them from harmful and age-inappropriate content and activity, including content which is hateful and abusive. Category 1 services will also need to remove legal misogynistic content, where it is prohibited in their terms of service.

The Act requires Ofcom, the regulator, to publish guidance about protecting women and girls online, which it published in draft for consultation on 25 February.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
12th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department taking to make government digital services as accessible as possible, including for those without strong digital skills.

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.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help protect grassroots sports venues in London.

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.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
12th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase participation in women’s sport in Ilford South.

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.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

According to the latest published Civil Service Statistics, as at 31 March 2024, 140 staff in the department, including associated executive agencies, recorded their religion as Sikh. These figures are published in Table A3 of the Civil Service Statistics 2024, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024.

Updated data as at 31 March 2025 is due to be published by the Cabinet Office in July 2025.

Those who are recorded as ‘Sikh’ are captured in the department’s HR system under ‘Religion’, not as an ethnic group.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) employers and (b) further education providers to help ensure the post-16 curriculum is aligned with the future needs of the UK workforce.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is looking at ensuring all 16 to 19-year-olds have access to rigorous and high-value qualifications and training, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in the changing workplace.

The Review has consulted employers and further education (FE) providers through events and meetings and has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.

The Review Group has now published its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. The interim report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.

The government will consider any changes it wishes to make to the curriculum, assessment and qualifications whilst the Review is conducted, and will respond to the final recommendations in autumn 2025.

The government has engaged extensively with stakeholders, including employers, FE providers, and their representative bodies, through its Review of Qualifications Reform and the establishment of Skills England. Employers and education providers have strongly supported aligning technical qualifications with occupational standards. They also welcome Skills England’s role in uniting businesses, training providers, unions, and both national and local government to assess the UK’s evolving workforce needs. This collaborative approach will help ensure that post-16 education and training remain aligned with current and future labour market demands.

Our recent apprenticeship reforms, which give businesses more flexibility to adapt to real training needs, have shown that we are committed to listening to what businesses and providers need to grow the workforce in support of our Plan for Change. The government is committed to continuing to listen as we work to drive further improvements to how qualifications and the wider skills system can supply the UK workforce with the skills it needs. This will include ongoing engagement work with FE providers, employers, and other skills system stakeholders on the development of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy, Technical Excellence Colleges, and the role of Skills England and the Growth and Skills Offer.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking encourage the take-up of STEM subjects at further education level.

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.
Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address period poverty in East London.

Nobody should have to miss out on education because of their period, which is why the department provides free period products to girls and women in their place of study, through the period products scheme. The scheme aims to remove periods as a barrier to accessing education, addresses pupils being unable to afford period products and aims to destigmatise menstruation.

Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 87% of post-16 organisations in England have used the scheme to order period products.

The department publishes statistics regarding the scheme’s operation, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
21st Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking through Young Futures Hubs to help tackle violence against women and girls.

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.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help meet (a) climate and (b) nature targets.

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.

Mary Creagh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on reducing pollution in (a) London and (b) Ilford South constituency.

Poor air quality continues to be the biggest environmental risk to human health. Responsibility for air quality is devolved in London, but we welcome the progress made in London to address air pollution and improve people’s health. Defra officials regularly meet with the Greater London Authority to discuss air quality.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with local authorities to help tackle fly-tipping.

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#.

Mary Creagh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

The Department invites employees to self-declare their diversity using pre-defined criteria including ‘prefer not to say’.

Of employees who completed their data as of 31 May 2025, there are currently 39 individuals who have recorded their religion as Sikh.

Mike Kane
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on improving the running of the Elizabeth line.

Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London (TfL) on a variety of issues. However, transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL has overall responsibility for the management of the Elizabeth Line which is operated by their current contractor MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited.

Simon Lightwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with the Mayor of London on improving accessibility on the London Underground.

Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including accessibility of their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground.

Simon Lightwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
12th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people to (a) purchase and (b) use electric vehicles.

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.

Lilian Greenwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

DWP staff are not required to disclose details of any religion, however, the information can be voluntarily provided and based on those responses, DWP as of May 2025 has 1207 employees that have declared as being Sikh (paid staff only). This level of data is recorded as ‘Religious Belief Breakdown’.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of youth unemployment in (a) Ilford South constituency and (b) London.

The information requested is published and available at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp

Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce levels of poverty among children in Ilford South constituency.

The Child Poverty Taskforce continues its urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy and is exploring all available levers across government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change. The Devolved Governments and Local Authorities are a key part of our approach to learning directly about the experience of poverty in different communities and solutions already underway.

The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform the Strategy.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April to boost the pay of three million workers. To further support struggling households, funding of £742 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve access to pension information and (b) introduce the Pension Dashboards Scheme.

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.

Torsten Bell
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
21st Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that employers support women managing menopause.

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.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.

In line with Office for National Statistics’ guidelines for collecting data on ethnic group, religion, and nationality, the Department records Sikhs as a religious group.

Employees of the Department are asked to self-declare diversity data, including on their religious group. Of these, 40 have declared as Sikh.

Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
2nd Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Public Health England's report entitled Commercial infant and baby food and drink: evidence review, published in June 2019, what steps he is taking to help tackle commercial baby foods with high levels of added sugar.

Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influence many aspects of wellbeing in later life.

A 2019 evidence review showed that babies and young children are exceeding their energy intake requirement and are eating too much sugar and salt. Some commercial baby foods, particularly finger foods, had added sugar, or contained ingredients that are high in sugar.

More recently, a report by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition highlighted that free sugar intakes are above recommendations, and that commercial baby food and drinks contributed to around 20% of free sugar intake in children aged 12 to 18 months. This does not align with recommendations that, in diets of children aged 1 to 5 years, foods including snacks high in free sugars should be limited, and that commercially manufactured foods and drinks are not needed to meet nutrition requirements.

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.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve preventative HIV care in London.

The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030. The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England, and partners are developing the new HIV Action Plan for England, which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address improving preventive HIV care and HIV health promotion campaigns across England, including in London.

HIV testing is partly funded by local authorities through the ringfenced Public Health Grant (PHG). In 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the PHG to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.

The London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP) and Sexual Health London (SHL) are key organisations at the centre of London’s HIV prevention efforts, working to reduce new HIV diagnoses and improve access to testing. The LHPP promotes early testing and prevention, particularly among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, through its Do It London campaigns and targeted outreach. In parallel, SHL offers free, easy-to-access sexually transmitted infection testing for Londoners aged 16 years old and over via online self-sampling and local collection points.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle racial inequalities in access to healthcare.

We have set a Health Mission with the aim of tackling the social determinants of health, focusing on prevention, and ensuring that everyone lives longer, healthier lives. The Government recognises that racial health inequalities are linked to broader socioeconomic factors. Tackling these disparities is central to building a fairer health system where outcomes are not dictated by race or background. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of where they are born or their financial circumstances, can live longer, healthier lives, spending less time in poor health.

We are working to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas by addressing the social determinants of health. This includes measures to reduce socioeconomic inequalities that disproportionately affect ethnic minority communities, ensuring everyone can live longer, healthier lives.

We will also take a cross-Government approach to tackle the root causes of health inequalities. By prioritising prevention, shifting care closer to communities, and intervening earlier in life, we are committed to raising the healthiest generation of children in our nation's history.

The National Health Service’s Core20PLUS5 approach targets health inequalities by focusing on the most deprived 20% of the population, the Core20, and specific inclusion health groups and ‘PLUS’ populations, including ethnic minorities. Integrated care boards are responsible for implementing this approach, aiming to reduce inequalities in health outcomes and improve equitable access to healthcare treatments and services.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
17th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the effectiveness of HIV health promotion campaigns in reaching (a) under served and (b) at risk communities.

The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030. The Department, the UK Health Security Agency, NHS England, and partners are developing the new HIV Action Plan for England, which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address improving preventive HIV care and HIV health promotion campaigns across England, including in London.

HIV testing is partly funded by local authorities through the ringfenced Public Health Grant (PHG). In 2025/26, we are increasing funding through the PHG to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 5.4% cash increase and a 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.

The London HIV Prevention Programme (LHPP) and Sexual Health London (SHL) are key organisations at the centre of London’s HIV prevention efforts, working to reduce new HIV diagnoses and improve access to testing. The LHPP promotes early testing and prevention, particularly among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, through its Do It London campaigns and targeted outreach. In parallel, SHL offers free, easy-to-access sexually transmitted infection testing for Londoners aged 16 years old and over via online self-sampling and local collection points.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating large food businesses to publish nutrient profile models on their products.

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.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for community mental health hubs in London in each of the next three financial years.

Thus far, government funding to support Early Support Hubs from 2024/25 has allowed hubs to expand their current service offer to reach at least 12,000 additional young people.

The Department has confirmed a one-year contract to support and evaluate these hubs, helping to lay the foundations of the mental health offer for young people, including through expanding the workforce, introducing Young Futures Hubs, and rolling out Mental Health Support teams to more schools.

This new funding for 2025/26 will enable Early Support Hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported. Funding decisions for 2026/27 are subject to future Spending Reviews.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make clean air a public health priority.

Improving the environment where we live, work, and play is critical to support everyone to live longer healthier lives. We know that air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom and so tackling it plays a crucial role in the shift from treatment to prevention of ill health.

Leading our Health Mission, the Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government on ways to reduce the health harms of air pollution, including with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support their plans for cleaner air.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent childhood obesity.

The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we have announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose.  We are also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Mar 2025
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) Ilford South constituency; and what steps he is taking to improve patient access.

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.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) counselling and (b) psychological support for patients who receive a diagnosis of terminal illness.

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.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle inequalities in access to end of life care services.

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.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to undertake further research into the adverse health effects of ultra-processed foods.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is investing in research on the health impacts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This includes a new research call launched in July 2024 on the health and health inequality impacts of interventions that effect consumption of UPFs.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
10th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce obesity rates amongst children under the age of 16 in East London.

The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government, and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.

The Government has already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on TV and online from 1 October 2025, announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and is committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old.

We are also working collaboratively across Government to deliver a resilient food system that promotes health and food security. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.

Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities regional teams work closely with local partners including local authorities and the NHS to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and tackle obesity. In London, there is Every Child a Healthier Weight Delivery Plan. This helps to drive partnership action on healthy weight across the NHS, local and regional government and wider partners. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.adph.org.uk/networks/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Every-Child-a-Healthier-Weight-Delivery-Plan-ECAHW-Final090523.pdf

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)