Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed retrospective changes to settlement requirements for European Communities Association Agreement visa holders on levels of migration for each of the next five years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was subject to a 12 week public consultation, which closed on 12 February 2026.
The consultation sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement, such as those currently on European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) visas. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the ECAA route will continue to apply. We will continue to meet our international obligations.
Details of the earned settlement model will now be finalised following the consultation and will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the economic contribution to the UK of (a) holders of European Communities Association Agreement Turkish Businessperson visas and (b) their businesses in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ’A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was subject to a 12 week public consultation, which closed on 12 February 2026.
The consultation sought views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement, such as those currently on European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) visas. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the ECAA route will continue to apply. We will continue to meet our international obligations.
Details of the earned settlement model will now be finalised following the consultation and will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support cross-Departmental coordination of the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Increasing support for young people to improve opportunities is a shared mission across Government. The National Youth Strategy led by DCMS and co-designed by young people and the youth sector, will set a cross-government direction for the next decade to provide young people with the skills, opportunities, and connections to enable them to thrive. It is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 20 years.
We have regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop this Strategy. The Strategy will be published later this year.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the development of the National Youth Strategy, including on aligning youth employment policy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Increasing support for young people to improve opportunities is a shared mission across Government. The National Youth Strategy led by DCMS and co-designed by young people and the youth sector, will set a cross-government direction for the next decade to provide young people with the skills, opportunities, and connections to enable them to thrive. It is the first cross-government strategy for young people in England in 20 years.
We have regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop this Strategy, including with the Department for Education and with the Department for Work and Pensions on the Youth Guarantee.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made on the potential merits of using (a) local and (b) regional newspapers for government advertising.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Government selects media channels for communications based on reaching target audiences effectively. The Government values the important role of local and regional newspapers and is developing a Local Media Strategy. As part of this, the Cabinet Office and DCMS are exploring how to better utilise local press for government advertising.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the ADHD taskforce in helping to reduce waiting lists for ADHD treatment in (a) Hertford and Stortford constituency, (b) Hertfordshire and (c) England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment and treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
The independent ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England, is bringing together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June. The ADHD taskforce's final report is expected to be published later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made on developing the National Youth Strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State was pleased to announce the new National Youth Strategy, stating the Department’s commitment to delivering a strategy by and for young people through the most ambitious listening exercise in a generation. We have launched our nation-wide survey, with over 10,000 responses to date, and are holding events across all regions with young people and the youth sector. Our Youth and Expert Advisory Groups are now established and guiding us in our development. We will publish the strategy in the summer, with an interim report in the coming months.
Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support is available for school-owned leisure centres that have had departmental funding removed following changes to the Educational and Skills Funding Agency.
Answered by Janet Daby
In previous years, some local authorities have applied to the department to request approval to allocate additional funding for schools with leisure facilities, as ’exceptional circumstances’ funding, within their local funding formulae. The department is not yet in a position to confirm how ’exceptional circumstances’ funding will operate for 2025/26 but will do so in due course.