Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking (a) to protect the right to peaceful protest and (b) to prevent politically motivated prosecutions against peaceful protesters.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy. It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law. This Government is committed to protecting and preserving that right.
The decision to prosecute an individual is a decision for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who are operationally independent of Government.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to consult claimants before making any future changes to (a) Personal Independence Payments, (b) Work Capability Assessments and (c) the Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are working to develop proposals for health and disability reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. This will launch a public consultation on the proposals.
This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, where appropriate, with disabled people and representative organisations.
Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits. We look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to provide funding for social rented housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In October 2024, the government announced £500 million in new in-year funding for the Affordable Homes Programme. As a result of significant demand from housing providers across the country, that additional funding is already oversubscribed.
In February 2025, the government announced a further allocation of £300 million to the Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the near-term delivery of more social and affordable housing, delivering up to 2,800 new homes with more than half being Social Rent homes.
We have asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding.
At the multi-year Spending Review later this year, the government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to support SEND transport services following the increase to employers National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Eastbourne to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure consistency of waiting times for pessary ring treatment for prolapsed bladders in (a) East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, (b) Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust and (c) other NHS Trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to return to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for pessary ring treatment for bladder prolapse, wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) by March 2029. As a first step, we have delivered early an additional two million operations, scans, and appointments across elective services.
There are a range of efforts underway, nationally and in East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust and Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust, to reduce the time patients are waiting for care. The Elective Reform Plan sets out actions to reform outpatient care, which is a key part of the National Health Service’s approach to cutting waiting times for patients, including in high volume specialisms such as gynaecology.
Women’s health hubs have a key role in shifting care out of hospitals and reducing gynaecology waiting lists. NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board, which covers East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, has launched Women’s Health Hubs in five locations, namely Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton and Hove, Worthing, and Horsham. Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust is hosting a new Women’s Health Hub model, as part of a new South West London initiative to improve care and reduce waiting times for women. Suggested core services for hubs include pessary fitting and removal, including for pelvic organ prolapse.
The Government remains committed to improving women’s health and we are working with NHS England on how we take forward the women’s health strategy by aligning it to the Missions and forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will reverse the Government’s decision not to provide pension compensation to women who were born in the 1950s and 1960s.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We carefully considered the Ombudsman’s findings to ensure our decision was fair and based on the evidence.
We have accepted the Ombudsman’s finding that there was a 28-month delay in sending out letters and for this we have apologised. However, we do not agree with the Ombudsman’s approach to injustice or remedy. Full details of the Government’s decision are available here: Government response to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age communications and associated issues - GOV.UK
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve the accessibility of NHS hospital services for the elderly and (b) reduce the social stigma associated with seeking medical help.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the Government’s Health Mission, our goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind. The Government has introduced ambitious reforms aimed at enhancing patient access to services, such as the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025. We will set out further reforms to improve the National Health Service in the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan. Further information on the Elective Reform Plan is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/reforming-elective-care-for-patients/
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to provide funding for the Safeline counselling service for male survivors of sexual abuse after March 2025.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) was recommissioned in 2023, under Government Commercial Function processes. Grant awards were made to successful applicants following an open competition. Grant amounts were dependent on the population formula amount allocated to the Police and Crime Commissioner area, and the application score. On 2 December 2024, I confirmed to RASASF grant recipients, including Safeline, that grant awards would be maintained through 2025-26 at 2024-25 levels.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to Automated External Defibrillators in residential areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in in September 2023, the Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.
The Department selected a joint bid from Smarter Society as its independent partners to manage grant applications. Smarter Society has reviewed funding applications against requirements specified by the Department. Although no decision has been made to develop a national strategy to place defibrillators in high need areas, these requirements are to ensure that resources are allocated to where there is the greatest need, for instance remote communities with extended ambulance response times, places with high footfall and high population densities, hotspots for cardiac arrest including sporting venues and venues with vulnerable people, and deprived areas.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to introduce medal recognition for emergency services personnel injured in the line of duty.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is happy to consider proposals for new medals for members of the emergency services who get injured in the line of duty. It is only right that we recognise the sacrifices made by these personnel, and it is important to make sure this is done in a proportionate and effective manner.
Any official medal for emergency services personnel is a gift from the Government, on behalf of His Majesty The King to recognise individuals within the service. The creation of a new medal requires cross Government consensus and approval from the Committee on The Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (“HD Committee”), before advice is put to HM The King to make his final decision.