Asked by: Josh Dean (Labour - Hertford and Stortford)
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 support people over the age of 50 out of work to return to work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement, and we recognise the wealth of skills and experience that older workers bring both to the workplace and the economy. The Department is committed to supporting people over the age of 50 out of work to return to work through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression.
We provide additional dedicated support for customers aged 50 and over in Jobcentres, including through our 50PLUS Champions, who ensure that the specific needs of this age group are recognised and met. This includes facilitating engagement with local employers, promoting age inclusive policies, and supporting work coaches to deliver activity locally. We also offer the Midlife MOT, which helps individuals assess their health, skills and finances, and directs them to appropriate guidance to support their return to work. In addition, our Employer and Partnership Teams work closely with local employers and partners to expand the opportunities, training and employment support available to jobseekers aged 50 and over.
As part of our wider plans to Get Britain Working and create a new Jobs and Careers Service, we are reforming employment support to make it more inclusive and better tailored to individuals. This includes strengthening the support we offer to people aged 50 and over to help them move back into good, meaningful work and progress in work.
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, whether her Department is taking steps to increase revenue funding for youth services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.
The strategy is supported by more than £500 million in funding from DCMS over the next three years, including £150 million in revenue funding. Additionally, the government’s ‘Every Child Can’ programme is backed by £132.5m of dormant assets to break down barriers for disadvantaged young people to access to culture, sport and enrichment opportunities
Through working with philanthropists, social impact investors, and businesses to unlock match funding, we aim to increase the revenue funding available for youth services and support them further.
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, whether she plans to introduce new duties on councils to deliver youth services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As set out in the National Youth Strategy, we will explore reviewing the current local authorities’ statutory duty for youth services and how to empower local authorities to better deliver on their responsibilities for youth services.
DCMS recognises the importance of ensuring that Local Authorities are appropriately supported to deliver safe and effective youth provision. DCMS has committed £70 million over the next three years to support local authorities to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people and create a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs.
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 discussions she had with Cabinet colleagues on the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
On 10th December 2025, we published ‘Youth Matters’, the first cross-government Strategy for young people in England in 15 years. Backed by £500m of DCMS funding over the next 3 years, the Strategy will ensure every young person has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.
We regularly engaged with Cabinet colleagues to develop the Strategy and are continuing to work closely to ensure successful delivery and sharing of evidence, including through interministerial meetings on the Young Futures Hubs and a thematic Value for Money review to better align government youth provision spending with the Strategy.
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.