Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of uprating the maximum income threshold for free school meals eligibility for children in families with No Recourse to Public Funds in line with the eligibility criteria introduced on 4 June 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, to the answer of 24 September 2025 to Question 76012.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in families subject to No Recourse to Public Funds have received the concession on access to free school meals since 2022 by (a) region and (b) year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, to the answer of 24 September 2025 to Question 76011.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the post by the Israeli Government’s Arabic-language X account, published on 25 August 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief globally. We condemn all instances in which social media is used to incite violence, hatred, or discrimination, including on the basis of religion or belief.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with trade unions on the (a) pay and (b) conditions of NHS support staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has had recent meetings with a number of general secretaries and health leads from trade unions representing staff on the Agenda for Change contract, including Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and GMB. Those meetings have focused on ways Government can continue to work with trade unions to improve working conditions for National Health Service staff, including NHS support staff, and how we can address concerns with pay within the current economic context.
The Department regularly discusses workforce policy and staff experience matters for NHS support staff through the Social Partnership Forum, which is a national forum where NHS employers, trade unions, and the Department work together on issues that affect the NHS. In addition, the Department also engages with the NHS Staff Council, which has responsibility for maintaining the Agenda for Change system of pay and terms and conditions.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions her Department has had with food and drink wholesalers on reforming the business rates system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury releases a quarterly record of Minister’s meetings with external individuals and organisations. This can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
At the Autumn Budget, the Government published the Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, which set out priority areas for reform. This paper invited stakeholders to help co-design a fairer business rates system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century.
The Government will publish an interim report that sets out a clear direction of travel for the business rates system, with further policy detail to follow at Autumn Budget 2025.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service on the time taken to process Subject Access Requests.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Compliance with data protection obligations, including the handling of Subject Access Requests (SARs), is the responsibility of individual police forces. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) produces guidance for organisations on how to comply with data protection law.
The Data (Use and Access) Act received Royal Assent in June 2025 and includes some changes to data protection obligations while maintaining high standards of protection for personal data. As part of the development of that legislation, Home Office officials engaged with policing stakeholders in the usual way.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Metropolitan Police has made on abolishing the Gangs Matrix Database.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on their website that they discontinued the Gangs Matrix on 13th February 2024.
Data was retained for 12 months to ensure the force could serve any Right of Access requests and the data was deleted on 13th February 2025.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has met with representatives of the Motorcycle Action Group to discuss the role of motorcycling in national transport policy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department will publish the Integrated National Transport Strategy later this year and set the long-term vision for transport across England, putting people and the journeys they make at the heart of how transport is planned, built and operated. We have conducted extensive engagement with stakeholders and members of the public at an official level to inform the Strategy and heard directly from motorcyclists and motorcycle representative groups including Motorcycle Action Group (MAG). As the Strategy is still in development, I am unable to comment on specific policy questions, but the insights gathered through our engagement activities have been analysed and are being considered as the Strategy continues to evolve.
On 20 January, I attended the first part of the first meeting of the reconstituted Motorcycle Strategic Focus Group (MSFG), chaired by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, to demonstrate my support and commitment to the motorcycling community and to the work of that group, of which MAG is a member and were in attendance. I think that the MSFG is best placed for MAG to feed in their concerns and requests about Government policy as it affects motorcyclists.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for motorcyclists.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving road safety is a key priority of this Government. For road users who choose to travel by motorcycle, the Department remains committed to ensuring that they are equipped with the specialist skills necessary to stay safe on the road.
Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Department is developing the Government’s Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support the transition of motorcyclists from petrol and diesel vehicles to zero-emission alternative.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government supports the transition of L-category vehicles to zero emission and has been helping people transition to zero emission motorcycles. The Plug-in Motorcycle Grant helps bridge the price gap between zero emission and petrol motorcycles and will continue until at least April 2026 for L3-category motorcycles.