Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing free Covid-19 vaccine boosters to people with long Covid.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The JCVI stated in its advice for the autumn 2024 COVID-19 vaccination programme that there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of additional vaccine doses, beyond the primary vaccination, on the risk, progression, and outcome of post-COVID syndromes. The JCVI advised that better data is needed on the impact of additional vaccine doses on the occurrence and severity of post-COVID syndromes in the current era of omicron sub-variants of the COVID-19 virus, and high population immunity. This advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-autumn-2024-vaccination-programme-jcvi-advice-8-april-2024/jcvi-statement-on-the-covid-19-vaccination-programme-for-autumn-2024-8-april-2024

On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programmes in spring 2025, autumn 2025, and spring 2026. This advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026

The Government has accepted the JCVI’s advice on eligibility for the spring 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme, to include those aged 75 years old and above, those aged six months old or above with immunosuppression, and those living in care homes for older adults. The Government response is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/advice-accepted-on-spring-2025-covid-19-vaccination-programme

The Government is considering the advice for autumn 2025 and spring 2026 carefully, and will respond in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support people with long Covid.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has invested £314 million since the start of the pandemic to provide care and support for people with long COVID. This includes establishing specialist clinics throughout England to assess adults, children, and young people who are experiencing long-term effects of COVID-19 infection. A further £86.7 million of funding was included in integrated care board core allocations for 2024/25, and specific regional funding was also allocated for assurance and system support.

These services offer physical, cognitive, and psychological assessment, and, where appropriate, refer patients onto existing services for treatment and rehabilitation. Further information can be found via the National Health Service website, at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/post-covid-syndrome-long-covid/

Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council, we have invested over £57 million on research into long COVID, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The funded projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical care.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support disabled households with additional energy costs from (a) medical equipment and (b) home adaptions.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households which are struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power, particularly those where energy costs are high out of medical necessity. The Department’s Warm Home Discount (WHD) provides a £150 rebate off winter energy bills for eligible low-income households. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The Warm Home Discount regulations expire in 2026, and we will want to consider all options for future bill support beyond this point.

In the interim, I appreciate that one of the biggest practical barriers to providing help to households that need it, is the availability of the right data to target financial support and advice. The Department is working closely with other government departments to unlock the data that will enable us to target support more effectively to those who need help with their energy bills.

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 tackle homelessness in (a) Broxtowe Constituency and (b) the East Midlands.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has increased funding for homelessness services across England by £233 million to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. This includes funding allocations for Broxtowe and the East Midlands. Allocations have been published on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support (a) fathers and (b) partners take (i) paternity leave and (ii) unpaid parental leave in Broxtowe constituency.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Through the Employment Rights Bill, the government will make Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave 'day one' rights. This will bring an extra 32,000 fathers and partners into scope of Paternity Leave and an extra 1.5 million parents into scope of Unpaid Parental Leave. We will also remove the requirement that Paternity Leave and Pay must be taken before Shared Parental Leave and Pay.

The parental leave system needs improvement and we have committed to conduct a review to ensure that it best supports working families. Work is already underway on planning for its delivery.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on pay uplifts for NHS staff for the 2025-2026 financial year; and what steps he is taking to engage with UNISON to resolve disputes to NHS pay structure.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 22 May 2025, the Government announced that it was formally accepting the 2025/26 headline pay recommendations for National Health Service staff in England from the NHS Pay Review Body, the Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration, and the Senior Salaries Review Body. These awards will be backdated to 1 April 2025, and staff can expect to receive their awards from August.

All Agenda for Change (AfC) pay points in England will be uplifted by 3.6% for 2025/26. We have also accepted the recommendation to provide the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to deliver changes to the AfC pay structure. We will work with the NHS Staff Council so that we can implement the changes by 1 April 2026.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to tackle the illegal use of e-bikes.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Only e-bikes that comply in full with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 can be legally used on public roads. This is the case regardless of whether the e-bike has been modified.

Where an e-bike does not comply with these Regulations, it counts as an e-moped or motorbike and must therefore be registered, taxed and insured. The rider must wear a safety helmet and hold the appropriate driving licence. Enforcement is a matter for the police.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to prevent the use of illegally modified e-bikes.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Only e-bikes that comply in full with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 can be legally used on public roads. This is the case regardless of whether the e-bike has been modified.

Where an e-bike does not comply with these Regulations, it counts as an e-moped or motorbike and must therefore be registered, taxed and insured. The rider must wear a safety helmet and hold the appropriate driving licence. Enforcement is a matter for the police.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support universities in stabilising their financial positions.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To support universities in stabilising their financial positions, the Office for Students (OfS) will continue dedicating significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability. The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as the substantive Chair of the OfS, where he will play a key role in strengthening this commitment while also expanding opportunities in higher education (HE).

Additionally, we have made the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, aligning with inflation.

The department will outline its plans for HE reform in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, set to be published this summer.

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Found: Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane Derek Twigg Marsha De Cordova Monica Harding Juliet Campbell