Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to consult on the implementation of Unemployment Insurance Benefit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We announced the introduction of a new contributory benefit, provisionally called ‘Unemployment Insurance' (UI) in the Pathways to Work green paper, and consulted specifically on the time limit and what support should be available whilst on UI. We published our summary of responses to the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation on 30 October 2025. We are now considering responses and will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of how much the NHS budget will need to grow to keep pace with patient need, drug prices, inflation and private finance debt in each of the next five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The financial pressures and the cost of new commitments for the National Health Service are analysed as part of the Spending Review process. The outcome of the most recent Spending Review is given in the policy paper Spending Review 2025, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html
As set out in the document, this level of funding growth will support the NHS to deliver on the Government's priorities, including delivery of the Government’s Plan for Change commitment, meaning that by the end of this Parliament, 92% of patients will start consultant led treatment for nonurgent conditions within 18 weeks of referral.
At the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government protected the NHS envelope announced at the 2025 Spending Review. This will see the NHS in England receive an over £15 billion real terms increase in annual resource budgets by the end of the period, between 2025/26 and 2028/29.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of renegotiating current private finance debt to fund neighbourhood health centres with any potential savings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Private finance initiative contracts are not held by the Department. Contracts are held between the local National Health Service trust and their respective private finance company.
The Department’s Private Finance Centre of Best Practice (CoBP) team, together with the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, provides expert support and advice to public authorities with private finance initiative contracts, to improve the performance of existing contracts and manage their expiry.
The Department focuses on supporting trusts to assess the costs and performance of their contracts, to help maximise support for frontline services and make every penny of our NHS funding count. The Department supports trusts on a case-by-case basis considering all options available whilst maintaining contractual compliance. The contracts were let for a prescribed period of time, with the terms set at the outset with limited areas for renegotiation. The CoPB team, however, continues to assess opportunities to refinance debt where possible and where it would provide value for money.
As set out in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy (the Strategy) and the 10-Year Health Plan, in addition to significant capital investment, the Government would explore the feasibility of using new Public Private Partnership (PPP) Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs).
The Budget, published on 26 November 2025, builds on the Strategy and the 10-Year Health Plan by confirming that the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme will deliver new NHCs through upgrading and repurposing existing buildings and building new facilities through a combination of public sector investment and a new model of PPPs.
To ensure the NHC PPPs are managed transparently and are fiscally sustainable, these partnerships will be budgeted for as if they are on a balance sheet.
Delivering new NHCs through a combination of public investment and PPPs will also allow, for the first time, for evidence to be built and compared between different delivery models.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the (a) vetting and (b) due diligence carried out for employees of the British Embassy in Tel Aviv includes assessments of whether they (i) reside in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and (ii) have (A) membership of and (B) ties to Israeli settler organisations; and what her Department's policy is on the employment of people in sensitive roles with conflicts of interest.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been the longstanding policy under successive governments not to comment on personnel and security matters in relation to individual members of staff.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what her Department's policy is on the employment of staff at (a) the British Embassy in Tel Aviv and (b) other government missions that reside in illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian Territory.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been the longstanding policy under successive governments not to comment on personnel and security matters in relation to individual members of staff.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will conduct an urgent inquiry into the continued employment of Gila Ben-Yakov Phillips at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv; and if she will publish the findings of the inquiry.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been the longstanding policy under successive governments not to comment on personnel and security matters in relation to individual members of staff.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish the (a) due diligence and (b) vetting reports produced for the appointment of members of staff at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been the longstanding policy under successive governments not to comment on personnel and security matters in relation to individual members of staff.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will undertake a review of the (a) due diligence, (b) selection and (c) security protocols for staff at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv; and if she will make it her policy to publish the findings of the review.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It has been the longstanding policy under successive governments not to comment on personnel and security matters in relation to individual members of staff.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, why income that was disregarded under Employment Support Allowance is now being considered as income on Universal Credit for Council Tax and Social Care purposes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit does not replicate previous legacy benefits. Therefore, customers migrating to Universal Credit may be subject to different rules, including different treatment of income and how it is disregarded in assessing their benefit entitlement.
Treatment of income and income-related benefits for purpose of council tax reduction or adult social care charges is not set by the Department, this is set respectively by local authorities and the Department for Health and Social Care.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding that her Department provides to the British Library, in the context of its industrial dispute with the Public and Commercial Services Union.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
As an arms-length body of the department, the British Library’s funding is considered in the round as part of Spending Review arrangements and departmental business planning.
The British Library is operationally independent of government and the day to day management of the Library - including staff pay - is a matter for organisation to determine. DCMS is aware negotiations are taking place on this dispute and hopes for a speedy response.