Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with dyslexia achieved a grade five or above in (a) English and (b) Maths GCSE in Ashfield constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested is not held centrally. The department holds information on pupils’ special educational needs by 12 types of primary need. Dyslexia is usually included in the wider category of primary need ‘specific learning difficulty’.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of notifying residents when asylum seekers are housed in their vicinity.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 23 June to Question 59362.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of informing residents when convicted paedophiles move into local communities.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
At present, registered sex offenders are managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). Section 327A of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 places a duty on MAPPA Responsible Authorities – comprising the police, probation and prison services - in each local criminal justice area to consider disclosing information to members of the public about the previous convictions of any child sex offender managed by the Responsible Authority.
Further, the police can and do disclose information regarding child sex offenders (whether MAPPA managed or not) to relevant persons when they believe a child is at risk, utilising their common law disclosure powers as formalised by the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, also known as ‘Sarah’s Law’.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we will strengthen the Child Sexual Offender Disclosure scheme by placing it on a statutory footing. This means that chief officers will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the published police guidance.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 reduce waiting times for operations at King's Mill Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
King’s Mill Hospital is the largest hospital within the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The trust has secured additional outpatient, diagnostic, and operating capacity to help reduce waiting times for operations.
This has been done by working closely with the local independent sector and third parties, increasing clinical staffing levels in certain specialities, and using mutual aid with neighbouring National Health Service partners within and outside of the integrated care system.
These interventions have resulted in a sustained improvement in the proportion of patients on a referral to treatment pathway who are receiving treatment within 18 weeks.
Between the end of June 2024 and the end of April 2025, the total waiting list at the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has decreased by 1.1%, from 35,717 to 35,317. The percentage of patients waiting within 18 weeks has increased by 3%, from 60.7% to 63.7%.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require British trained (a) doctors and (b) nurses to give a minimum of five years’ service to the NHS before working abroad.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no current plans to introduce tie-ins for doctors and nurses working in the National Health Service. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review.
Later this year, we will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, to treat patients on time again. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the reasons for the Office for Budget Responsibility's projected fall in tobacco revenue between (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24; and if she will review the tobacco excise model.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes commentary on tobacco duty receipts with the Tobacco Bulletin - Tobacco statistics commentary April 2025 - GOV.UK. The 12% decrease in tobacco duty receipts between 2022/23 and 2023/24 was primarily driven by falling cigarette receipts (£7,568 million to £6,535 million).
The Office for Budget Responsibility discusses drivers of tobacco duty receipts in relation to the tobacco duty forecast on their webpage - Tobacco duties - Office for Budget Responsibility.
Receipts are driven by inflation (CPI and RPI), real household consumption and underlying trends in tobacco consumption.
The downward trend in tobacco consumption has accelerated in recent years, partly reflecting changing attitudes and the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes.
The Office for Budget Responsibility regularly reviews its forecasting methodology.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the (a) reasons for trends in and (b) potential impact of smoking rates on the level of duty paid on tobacco sales in the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility discusses drivers of tobacco duty receipts in relation to the tobacco duty forecast on their webpage - Tobacco duties - Office for Budget Responsibility.
Receipts are driven by inflation (CPI and RPI), real household consumption and underlying trends in tobacco consumption.
The downward trend in tobacco consumption has accelerated in recent years, partly reflecting changing attitudes and the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes.
HMRC publishes commentary on tobacco duty receipts with the Tobacco Bulletin - Tobacco statistics commentary April 2025 - GOV.UK. The 12% decrease in tobacco duty receipts between 2022/23 and 2023/24 was primarily driven by falling cigarette receipts (£7,568 million to £6,535 million).
The Office for National Statistics publishes commentary on adult smoking habits in the UK where they have reported a reduction in the estimated proportion of current smokers in the UK from 12.9% in 2022 down to 11.9% in 2023.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the International Committee of the Red Cross on delivery of humanitarian supplies to Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains deeply concerned about Israeli hostages held by Hamas. We fully support the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) efforts to secure humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law. The ICRC is the only humanitarian actor with the mandate and neutrality to carry out this role and it is vital they are granted access, as set out in the Geneva Conventions. The UK continues working with international partners to press for hostage release and improved humanitarian access.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure fair and timely compensation payments for wrongly (a) accused and (b) convicted sub-postmasters.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of 2 June 2025, £1.039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a more than fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.
We continue to seek the views of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to ensure fairness and consider ways we can speed up redress.
We are taking a variety of measures to increase the pace of the delivery of redress across our schemes. For example, we recently announced that we are reintroducing facilitated discussions in the GLO scheme – as requested by claimants’ lawyers. This should provide significant help in increasing further the pace at which compensation can be paid.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure all wrongly (a) accused and (b) convicted sub-post masters are offered compensation.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of 2 June 2025, £1.039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a more than fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.
We continue to seek the views of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to ensure fairness and consider ways we can speed up redress.
We are taking a variety of measures to increase the pace of the delivery of redress across our schemes. For example, we recently announced that we are reintroducing facilitated discussions in the GLO scheme – as requested by claimants’ lawyers. This should provide significant help in increasing further the pace at which compensation can be paid.