Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reconsider the criteria for covid vaccination eligibility, in the context of levels of prevalence of new variants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy on the groups eligible for vaccination programmes is based on the advice of the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, meaning hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity, following recovery from infection, and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant.
The JCVI carefully considered the latest evidence on the risk of hospitalisation and mortality in specific groups to provide the Government with advice on the autumn 2025 programme. A more targeted vaccination programme aimed at individuals with a higher risk of developing serious disease was advised for autumn 2025.
On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on who should be offered vaccination in autumn 2025. On 26 June 2025, the Government decided, in line with this advice, that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in autumn 2025 to the following groups:
- adults aged 75 years old and over;
- residents in a care home for older adults; and
- individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables three or four in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Green Book.
The UKHSA advises that currently, XFG and its sub lineages, sometimes called the ‘Stratus’ variant, are the most prevalent in England. This lineage is closely related to previous variants that circulated in the United Kingdom. At this time there is no indication that XFG causes more serious disease, or that the vaccines being used in the autumn 2025 campaign will not be effective against it. The UKHSA will continue to monitor both COVID-19 outcomes and variant prevalence as we enter the winter season.
This means that while the JCVI keeps the available data under regular review, there are no plans to offer vaccination through the national programme outside these JCVI advised groups for autumn 2025. All those individuals who are eligible are encouraged to take up the offer of vaccination.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had any discussions with the Bank of England on the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority proposal to reduce data reporting for banks.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor and I meet regularly with the leadership of the Bank of England to discuss a range of topics, including its work to streamline data reporting requirements for banks and other firms regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The government has today published an update on the Regulation Action Plan which welcomes actions the PRA has proposed or implemented to reduce some of the requirements on the firms it regulates.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the additional costs disability payment proposal from the Commission on Social Security; and whether he has had discussions about the ACDP proposals with relevant authorities.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I am aware of the Commission’s report and welcome its contribution to these important discussions.
The Commission’s paper is one of many proposals which the Timms Review will be able to consider. Once the Review’s core leadership group is in place, it will have the ability to set its focus and to draw on evidence from diverse perspectives.
As part of this work, the Review will seek input from the diverse views and voices and consider a wide range of evidence and sources.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Bank of England on the use and reliability of stablecoin in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury and Bank of England are maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue on the legal and regulatory treatment of stablecoins in support of the Government's objective to make the UK a global destination for digital assets.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has given the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield in grants in the last five years.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS has not provided any funding directly to the National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCMME) in the last five years. The Department provides funding to the Science Museum Group (SMG) with agreement that SMG in turn provides an annual grant payment to NCMME. This provision of grant funding is managed directly between SMG and NCMME and the annual amounts are published as part of the SMG accounts.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on levels of budget deficits at NHS trusts in Yorkshire in 2024-2025; and what estimate he has made of levels of funding for each NHS trust in Yorkshire in 2025-2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are three integrated care boards (ICBs) in Yorkshire: the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB; the NHS South Yorkshire ICB; and the NHS West Yorkshire ICB. All trusts in these ICBs are projecting to deliver their plan or surpluses, apart from the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, which have provisional overspends against their plans of £19.6 million and £7.5 million respectively. Final figures for all trusts and ICBs will be published in due course, following external audit and validation. ICB allocations for 2025/26 were published on 30 January 2025, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2025-26/
The three ICBs have agreed balanced plans across their systems, including providers. Routine in-year reporting data on progress against the plans by organisation is not yet available. The following table shows the total allocation for all three ICBs:
ICB | Total allocation |
NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB | £3,646,033,000 |
NHS South Yorkshire ICB | £3,108,129,000 |
NHS West Yorkshire ICB | £5,266,745,000 |
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38543 on Water Companies: Infrastructure, whether he has made an estimate of how much DPC schemes costs will increase household water bills.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bill impacts will be considered as part of Ofwat’s DPC approval process. In providing its consent to a water company to enter into a DPC contract, Ofwat will take into consideration the impact on customer interests, including the impact on bills. For example, through its pathfinder DPC project for United Utilities' Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project, Ofwat included the estimated bill impact during the AMP8 period in United Utilities published Price Review 2024 Final Determination.
Ofwat will share future estimated bill impacts when projects have progressed, and the estimations have been made. Ofwat's initial indication based on pathfinder is that there could be savings for customers of between 6% and 40% through delivering a scheme as a DPC.
The full programme of all major projects is listed in PR24 Final Determinations: Major Projects Development and Delivery, but bill impacts will not be known until companies have finished the procurement process and final bids are received and approved.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025, to Question 38543 on Water Companies: Infrastructure, if he will publish his calculations on the savings by delivering the scheme through DPC.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Bill impacts will be considered as part of Ofwat’s DPC approval process. In providing its consent to a water company to enter into a DPC contract, Ofwat will take into consideration the impact on customer interests, including the impact on bills. For example, through its pathfinder DPC project for United Utilities' Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project, Ofwat included the estimated bill impact during the AMP8 period in United Utilities published Price Review 2024 Final Determination.
Ofwat will share future estimated bill impacts when projects have progressed, and the estimations have been made. Ofwat's initial indication based on pathfinder is that there could be savings for customers of between 6% and 40% through delivering a scheme as a DPC.
The full programme of all major projects is listed in PR24 Final Determinations: Major Projects Development and Delivery, but bill impacts will not be known until companies have finished the procurement process and final bids are received and approved.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of her Department's officials have been seconded from (a) the Institute for Economic Affairs, (b) the Policy Exchange, (c) the Adam Smith Institute and (d) Labour Together since July 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby
There have been no staff working in the department since July 2024 who were seconded from the Institute for Economic Affairs, the Policy Exchange, the Adam Smith Institute, or Labour Together.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of his Department's officials have been seconded from (a) the Institute for Economic Affairs, (b) the Policy Exchange, (c) the Adam Smith Institute and (d) Labour Together since July 2024.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Since July 2024 no staff have been seconded into Defra from the Institute for Economic Affairs, the Policy Exchange, the Adam Smith Institute or Labour Together. The response to the request is Nil staff.