Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to mark Play in Healthcare Week 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of supporting children's right to play as games and play help build social-skills and support children’s wellbeing. In October 2025, the Starlight Children's Foundation will mark Play in Healthcare Week, celebrating 50 years of play and highlighting its importance for children in healthcare settings. Together with NHS England, Starlight co-published the Play Well Toolkit, which is designed to help services enhance the quality of health play provision.
The Department remains supportive of the Starlight Foundation and NHS England’s work to champion that toolkit and promote child-centred care across healthcare settings and encourages work to publicise its use during this week.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England are taking to support the widest possible implementation of the Play Well Toolkit.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s wellbeing. The Play Well toolkit that was recently jointly launched by NHS England and the charity Starlight helps services to identify opportunities to improve health play services.
While funding decisions for health play services remain the responsibility of local commissioners, the Department remains supportive of NHS England’s work to continue to champion the toolkit and the importance of child-centred care across healthcare settings.
To support implementation, NHS England is promoting the Play Well toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards.
A range of communication channels have been used to raise awareness, including engagement with services via professional bodies, messaging via the Chief Nursing Officer, and a forthcoming blog post and press release in partnership with Starlight. Starlight will be co-leading a webinar with NHS England this month to raise awareness of the toolkit.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory follow-up ultrasounds after surgery related to miscarriage in (a) general and (b) cases of pregnancy being over 10 weeks gestation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic and we are determined to make sure all women receive the right care.
An assessment has not been made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory follow-up ultrasounds after surgery related to miscarriage in (a) general and (b) cases of pregnancy being over 10 weeks gestation.
Best practice guidance for the care of women following surgical management of miscarriage is based on evidence about what will give the best outcomes of care. Ultrasound following the procedure is only clinically indicated in a small proportion of cases. Performance of ultrasound post procedure is determined by clinical need and judged on a case-by-case basis both before and after 10 weeks gestation.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on improving sexual and reproductive health by implementing the programme entitled Strengthening grassroots organisations and countering efforts to roll back.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is working with other governments globally to protect and progress sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) including through diplomacy and ODA programming. In December 2024, the Prime Minister announced the Grassroots and Counter Rollback Programme, which includes support to high-level cross country political coordination to defend and progress SRHR. The programme also works with other government donors in support of pooled funds, including the Robert Carr Fund, which strengthens, connects and amplifies bottom-up efforts to change laws and policies, improve accountability and expand access to services, including for the most marginalised people.
The Foreign Secretary appointed Baroness Harman as Special Envoy for Women and Girls on 08 March 2025. She met international counterparts and programme partners at a Wilton Park meeting on SRHR in June 2025.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
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 merits of maintaining levels of funding commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. We have long been a strong supporter of the Global Fund and are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment this year in partnership with South Africa. Over the coming months, we will work through decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used, and the impact on specific programmes, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote (a) the sexual and reproductive health and rights and (b) other rights of women and girls globally.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are strongly committed to standing up for the rights of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We are proud of the UK's long history as an influential global leader on gender equality and SRHR. We will continue to use our diplomacy with partners to defend and champion these fundamental rights in international fora. We will also make strategic use of our funds and technical partnerships.
For example, in December 2024, the Prime Minister announced the Grassroots and Counter Rollback programme. This strengthens local and national civil society organisations' and movements' ability to expand access to SRHR and counter rollback. It focuses on neglected issues, including safe abortion, and marginalised groups whose rights and access to services are denied or being attacked. As the largest donor to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership (£60 million in 2024), the UK continues to ensure SRHR commodities reach where they are needed most.
On International Women's Day, I appointed Harriet Harman to be the new UK Special Envoy on Women and Girls, progressing our foreign policy and development objectives to protect women and girls' rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, access to education and freedom from gender-based violence. Following this appointment, she spoke at a UK co-hosted event at the Commission on the Status of Women to galvanise renewed action to end child marriage. She also launched a Signature Initiative to champion the vital role of women's rights organisations and drive a focus on supporting them across our policy and programming.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will continue funding the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health Programme, implemented by MSI Reproductive Choices and IPPF.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Official Development Assistance (ODA) is one of multiple levers to achieve this. Over the coming months, we will work through how the ODA budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and consideration of equalities impact assessments ahead of making decisions on budgets for individual programmes in the autumn.
The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA requires significant shifts in the shape and scale of the work we do. However, we will continue to work with international and national partners and use targeted funding, technical partnership and diplomatic engagement to provide leadership on SRHR.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of community provision of palliative care in Stafford constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs, including the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, which covers the Stafford constituency, are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that, in future, services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are in place to (a) monitor and (b) hold accountable (i) CAFCASS and (ii) family courts in private law proceedings where safeguarding concerns for children are identified; and what procedures there are to ensure action is taken in cases involving known risks to prevent serious harm.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As a Non-Departmental Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the oversight and assurance arrangements for Cafcass are carried out in accordance with the Arms-Length Body Code of Practice. Specific areas of oversight are also covered in the Framework Document between the Ministry of Justice and Cafcass, which broadly sets out sponsorship governance arrangements, financial management and performance reporting. Cafcass is subject to regular inspection by Ofsted. The most recent inspection took place in January 2024 and key findings are available here.
The judiciary is independent, and the Government therefore does not hold them to account, however support is available in the family courts where safeguarding concerns are identified and to ensure that action is taken to protect children.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2024 to Question 11995 on Park Homes: Sales, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the 10 percent commission on the sale of park homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44299 on 16 April 2025.