Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools in response to recent changes to the Ofsted Inspection Framework.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The consultation on Ofsted’s new framework closed on 28 April, and the responses are currently being analysed. Ofsted’s new school report cards, which will be introduced from November, will provide more detailed and granular information about each school’s strengths and areas for improvement. They will provide a more complete picture of performance, which is needed to help support school improvement.

The department is also strengthening our tools for faster and more effective school improvement by launching new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. Supported by over £20 million in the 2025/26 financial year, RISE teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve, and a universal service which will act as a catalyst for collaboration and improvement across all schools.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help support employers to create inclusive workplace environments that support people with hidden disabilities to (a) secure and (b) stay in work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce.

The Disability Confident Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. The scheme covers all disabilities, including hidden disabilities.

In addition, DWP has a digital information service for employers, (www.support-with-employee-health-and-disability.dwp.gov.uk), which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health, plus guidance on legal obligations, including statutory sick pay and making reasonable adjustments.

In January this year, we launched an expert academic panel to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel will consider the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate, making their recommendations to employers and government in the summer.

The Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review, considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie Mayfield will deliver his final report in the autumn.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to engage with mental health service users on the development of mental health policy.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

A significant number of mental health service users have taken part in our 10-Year Health Plan engagement. 28% of participants on the Change NHS website reported waiting to access mental health services as a challenge they have experienced, while one in six said they had accessed mental health services in the last 12 months. Over 100 people with a mental health condition attended our public and staff deliberative events and 170 mental health organisations contributed to the Change NHS website, in addition to the organisations who attended our national partners council meetings and other meetings. The 10-Year Health Plan will be published shortly, and this will set out how the overall health system will run.

The Mental Health Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will modernise the Mental Health Act so that it is fit for the 21st century, ensuring that people with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care. The bill reflects the recommendations of Professor Sir Simon Wessely’s Independent Review into the Mental Health Act of 2018. The review’s advisory panel comprised of individuals with lived experience, advocacy organisations, professionals and representative bodies, and representatives from the statutory system. The Government ran an extensive public consultation on the proposals in the Mental Health Act White Paper, which received over 1,700 total responses and more than 1,119 individual responses. Since July 2024, we have further engaged with a range of key stakeholders and we will continue to engage, and consult widely, on the development of the Mental Health Act Code of Practice, the statutory guidance which will inform practice under the bill.

In addition, ministers and officials meet regularly with a range of stakeholders who represent the interests of mental health service users, about future plans for mental health services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Independent Sentencing Review, published on 22 May 2025, whether the introduction of an identifier at sentencing for domestic abuse perpetrators will enable the Government to exclude offenders who have committed domestic abuse from being included in an early release scheme.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

On 22 May, the Lord Chancellor set out the Government’s in-principle response to the Independent Sentencing Review’s findings and recommendations, which will help to ensure that prisons never run out of space again and dangerous offenders can be kept off the streets. This includes a recommendation to introduce a statutory requirement for courts to record judicial findings of domestic abuse at sentencing to better identify them.

The Government remains committed to ensuring that this better identification leads to more effective risk management and stronger victim protection, as part of our landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent (a) hate crime and (b) harassment towards people with hidden disabilities.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are clear that all hate crimes, including those targeting disability, are completely unacceptable. There must be zero tolerance for every form of hate crime in Britain and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these appalling offences.

The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal called True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report what has happened to them. We also continue to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime.

The Equality Act 2010 provides strong protection from harassment for people who meet the Act's definition of disability, which can include hidden conditions. Protection from harassment related to a person's disability applies in a variety of settings such as employment and when accessing goods and services. A person who thinks they have been harassed may take their case to a court or an employment tribunal.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce delays in processing Personal Independence Payment assessments.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service.

We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant.

The latest statistics show that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 16 weeks at the end of January 2025. This is because we’re:

• using a blend of phone, video and face-to-face assessments to support customers and deliver a more efficient and user-centred service;
• using customer information and supporting evidence, where possible, to make decisions without the need for a formal health assessment;
• continuing to recruit Assessment Provider health professional resource to meet demand; and
• prioritising new claims, whilst safeguarding claimants awaiting award reviews, who have returned their information as required, to ensure their payments continue until their review can be completed.

In addition, the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising Health and Disability benefit services to create a more efficient service, to reduce processing times and improving trust in our services and decisions. As part of this, from July 2023, a limited number of claimants have been able to begin their claim for PIP entirely online.

Methanol poisoning, UK traveller safety and education in schools

Fracking moratorium and onshore fossil fuel exploration

Democracy in Hong Kong

Disturbance from small aircraft

Chinese Embassy

Impact of EU 90/180 day rule on UK citizens

Support for farmers

UK Government recognition of the state of Palestine

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Andy Slaughter (Chair); Josh Babarinde; Matt Bishop; Pam Cox; Linsey

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Andy Slaughter (Chair); Josh Babarinde; Matt Bishop; Pam Cox; Linsey

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Andy Slaughter (Chair); Josh Babarinde; Matt Bishop; Pam Cox; Linsey

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Andy Slaughter (Chair); Josh Babarinde; Matt Bishop; Pam Cox; Linsey

Found: Progress of the bill 13 Commons Library Research Briefing, 9 June 2025 • Lisa Smart MP and Josh Babarinde

Found: _158 Lisa Smart Josh Babarinde Christine Jardine Ben Maguire Luke Taylor Vikki Slade .

Found: _158 Lisa Smart Josh Babarinde Christine Jardine Ben Maguire Luke Taylor Vikki Slade .

Found: ” _24 Josh Babarinde Caroline Voaden Alex Brewer ★.

Found: _158 Lisa Smart Josh Babarinde Christine Jardine Ben Maguire Luke Taylor Vikki Slade .

Found: _158 Lisa Smart Josh Babarinde Christine Jardine Ben Maguire Luke Taylor Vikki Slade .

Found: _NC84 Lisa Smart Josh Babarinde Christine Jardine Ben Maguire Luke Taylor .

Found: _NC84 Lisa Smart Josh Babarinde Christine Jardine Ben Maguire Luke Taylor ★.

Found: Barron Paul Davies Cat Smith Gareth Snell Apsana Begum Freddie van Mierlo Sarah Green Josh Babarinde

Prostate Cancer APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: the APPG on Prostate Cancer Calvin Bailey MBE MP, Ben Obese-Jecty MP, Dr Peter Prinsley MP, Josh Babarinde

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: creating a new offence of domestic abuse to help tackle violence against women and girls in Wales – Josh Babarinde

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: sitting at 9:30am Legislation – Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill – Second reading – Josh Babarinde

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: MP - Whether the Government plans to support the Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill – Josh Babarinde

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Commons Monday 17 March Main Chamber, sitting at 2:30am Adjournment – Domestic Abuse Offences – Josh Babarinde

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: at 9:30am Private Members Bill - Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill: Second Reading – Josh Babarinde

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Main Chamber, sitting at 9:30am Domestic Abuse (Aggravated Offences) Bill: Second Reading – Josh Babarinde

Hospitality and Tourism APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Dem Chichester Joe Robertson Conservative Isle of Wight East Jon Pearce Labour High Peak Josh Babarinde