Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the levels of people released from prison without settled accommodation on rough sleeping and homelessness.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of our National Plan to End Homelessness, we have outlined our ambition that no one should leave a public institution into homelessness. On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity, and has since invested £874 million to tackle rough sleeping this winter and beyond.
According to our data, found here, in June 2026, 413 people sleeping rough over the month had left prison in the last 85 days, 5% of total people sleeping rough over the month. Fuller detail is available in the published data.
With the Ministry of Justice, we have committed to a 50% reduction in the proportion of people who become homeless on their first night out of prison and are subject to probation supervision by the end of this Parliament, as well as an overall increase to the number of prison leavers in settled accommodation at 3 months after release.
To ensure people leaving custody have access to appropriate accommodation, we are working with the Ministry of Justice and the HMPPS to strengthen pre-release planning and partnership work at a local level where it will have the greatest impact.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 with the Secretary of State for Justice to ensure that people leaving custody have access to appropriate accommodation as part of the Government's strategy to end rough sleeping and homelessness.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As part of our National Plan to End Homelessness, we have outlined our ambition that no one should leave a public institution into homelessness. On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity, and has since invested £874 million to tackle rough sleeping this winter and beyond.
According to our data, found here, in June 2026, 413 people sleeping rough over the month had left prison in the last 85 days, 5% of total people sleeping rough over the month. Fuller detail is available in the published data.
With the Ministry of Justice, we have committed to a 50% reduction in the proportion of people who become homeless on their first night out of prison and are subject to probation supervision by the end of this Parliament, as well as an overall increase to the number of prison leavers in settled accommodation at 3 months after release.
To ensure people leaving custody have access to appropriate accommodation, we are working with the Ministry of Justice and the HMPPS to strengthen pre-release planning and partnership work at a local level where it will have the greatest impact.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the written answer of 16 September 2026 to Question 28822 on Shipping: Training, how many merchant ships currently participate in the Tonnage Tax Scheme; and if she will list the number of qualifying vessels by flag of registration.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Based on the information received from participating company groups, the last complete information available is for October 2025. There were 955 vessels within Tonnage Tax distributed as follows:
UK 301
Belgium 12
Denmark 17
Finland 2
Greece 1
Italy 1
Malta 71
Netherlands 2
Norway 25
Portugal 4
Spain 1
Antigua & Barbuda 7
Bahamas 90
Bermuda 14
Brazil 3
Cayman Islands 1
Gibraltar 6
Hong Kong 16
Isle of Man 54
Japan 1
Liberia 179
Madeira 9
Marshall Islands 77
Panama 41
St Vincent & the Grenadines 1
Singapore 18
Vanuatu 1
United States 2
Ecuador 1
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of people recalled to prison as a result of (a) accommodation-related licence breaches and (b) the absence of suitable housing.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department recognises that access to effective post-release support, particularly accommodation, plays an important role in helping people comply with licence conditions and avoid recall.
The Probation Service works closely with individuals before and after release to support successful resettlement and reduce the risk of recall. This includes robust pre-release planning and support to address any practical barriers to compliance with licence conditions, including accommodation needs. We continue to improve accommodation support for prison leavers. Subject to consideration by Probation, our Community Accommodation Service can be used to provide a community-based alternative for recall instead of prison.
Prison leavers at risk of homelessness can also be supported through the Community Accommodation Service (CAS3), which provides up to 12 weeks of transitional accommodation and support to help people stabilise on release and move towards settled housing. HMPPS also employs 50 Strategic Housing Specialists across England and Wales to help reduce homelessness on release and strengthen local accommodation pathways.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 help build more council homes in Liverpool Riverside constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Since coming into office, this government has taken a number of steps to reinvigorate council housebuilding including fundamental reform of the Right to Buy scheme; a 10-year social housing rent settlement at CPI+1%; Social Rent convergence; and funding to increase skills and capacity within councils to build.
At the Budget, the Chancellor extended the preferential Public Works Loan Board rate for a further year until 2027/28.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has carried out an assessment of Palantir’s human rights record as part of the FDP contract review process.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All procurement processes managed by the Department of Health and Social Care are conducted in line with Cabinet Office guidance on these issues, and with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023. In addition, all relationships with suppliers are informed by the mutual expectations set out in the Supplier Code of Conduct, published in June 2023, and available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplier-code-of-conduct/supplier-code-of-conduct-html
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2026 to Question 32110 on Merchant Shipping: Training, if she will ensure that officials engage with the maritime trade unions on the recommendations from the Review of the Effectiveness of Funding for UK Seafarer Training.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is actively considering the recommendations from the review of the Effectiveness of Funding for UK Seafarer Training and assessing the feasibility, costs, and benefits of individual recommendations. As part of this we are reorganising the overall governance and delivery arrangements across the seafarer training and modernisation work programme. This reorganisation is aimed at making sure there is appropriate representation and engagement from across industry and with important stakeholders, including the unions, and that membership is well placed to successfully deliver the work programme priorities. Programme governance spans the Ratings Review, the Cadet Training and Modernisation (CT&M) work programme, and taking forward the recommendations of the Review of Effectiveness of Funding for UK Seafarer Training.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2026 to Question 32110 on Merchant Shipping: Training, if she will ensure that the Maritime and Coastguard Agency formally includes the National Union for Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers in the (a) implementation work and (b) governance structure overseeing implementation of recommendations from the Ratings Review.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is actively considering the recommendations from the review of the Effectiveness of Funding for UK Seafarer Training and assessing the feasibility, costs, and benefits of individual recommendations. As part of this we are reorganising the overall governance and delivery arrangements across the seafarer training and modernisation work programme. This reorganisation is aimed at making sure there is appropriate representation and engagement from across industry and with important stakeholders, including the unions, and that membership is well placed to successfully deliver the work programme priorities. Programme governance spans the Ratings Review, the Cadet Training and Modernisation (CT&M) work programme, and taking forward the recommendations of the Review of Effectiveness of Funding for UK Seafarer Training.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the impact of overseas deployment of staff in his department on the ability of their children to access higher education funding.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
We are aware that a small number of children of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) staff have been refused student finance or classified as international students because their parent's overseas service was not considered to meet the residency requirements in current student finance regulations. While the number of cases is low, we understand the significant financial strain on affected families and that uncertainty over access to higher education funding could deter staff from undertaking essential overseas service. It is our view that children of Crown Servants should not be disadvantaged by their parent's overseas service on behalf of the government. That is why the Department has been working closely with the Department for Education to find a long-term, legislative solution.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions she has had with NHS leaders on improving outcomes for people with rare genetic diseases and conditions over the longer term.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare genetic conditions and diseases, such as GNB-1.
Through the UK Rare Diseases Framework, we support access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs as a priority. This has included NHS England developing a strategic approach to commissioning advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) to facilitate rapid access to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved therapies.
We continue to invest in ATMPs through initiatives such as the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. With £17.9 million of new funding via the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Advanced Therapy Treatment Centres are driving forward work to enhance the United Kingdom’s environment for ATMP clinical trials and to progress research within the NHS to ensure patients can get safe access to these innovative therapies.
NIHR’s ‘Be Part of Research’ programme allows individuals to see if there is any current research taking place into their conditions, and express their interest in taking part. Further information on NIHR’s ‘Be Part of Research’ is available at the following link:
https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/