Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve patient safety for people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking a range of actions to improve patient safety for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
We are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism across the health and adult social care workforce. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care.
NHS England’s Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme works to tackle the root causes of unsafe and poor-quality inpatient care, supporting the cultural changes needed to create environments where people can flourish.
The Mental Health Bill, which is currently in Parliament, will limit the scope to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals. and put existing NHS England policies on a statutory footing to improve community support. There is funding in integrated care board baselines during 2025/26 to improve community support provision and reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people, in line with the NHS Operational Planning Guidance.
More widely, the Government is committed to advancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture across the National Health Service. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will usher in a new era of transparency, a rigorous focus on high-quality care for all and a renewed emphasis on patient and staff voice.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to p.15 of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, what his Department's timetable is for publishing further details on the national maternity and neonatal taskforce; and whether that taskforce will focus on multiple pregnancies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will be chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and will take forward the recommendations from the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal care to develop a national plan to drive improvements.
The taskforce will be made up of a breadth of independent clinical and international expertise, including those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health, as well as family and staff representatives, charities and campaigners.
Once the independent investigation is underway, my Rt. Hon. Friend will work with families and external partners to set up the taskforce including its terms of reference and membership. These will be published in due course.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, what steps his Department is taking to support dispensing general practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that the services of dispensing practices play an important role in meeting the needs of rural communities, by ensuring patients receive their medicines promptly and conveniently.
Every year, the Department and NHS England consult with the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding the services general practices will provide, and the funding they will receive in return for these services. This includes the services, and relevant remuneration, of dispensing practices.
We have committed to substantive General Practice (GP) contract reform within this Parliament following acceptance of the 2025/26 contract by the England General Practitioners Committee of the BMA. As part of this, we expect to consider a breadth of topics, including dispensing practices.
On 3 July 2025, we published the 10-Year Health Plan, which announced the plan to introduce two new contracts, for neighbourhood providers and multi-neighbourhood providers, which will encourage GPs to work over larger geographies. We will begin to make these new contracts available in 2026, and more details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
What steps her Department is taking to improve technological innovation in Yorkshire and the Humber region.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government is committed to supporting technological innovation across the UK.
That is why we have earmarked at least £30 million for each of West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire through our new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. This will empower local leaders to grow high-potential innovation clusters and unlock their innovation potential.
This builds on UKRI’s wider investment in the Yorkshire and the Humber region which totals almost £1 billion active projects.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure that Disabled Students’ Allowance funding for completed Non-Medical Help support is paid in the event of a provider’s insolvency.
Answered by Janet Daby
In the event of a provider’s insolvency, the Student Loans Company would act in accordance with the instructions issued by the appointed liquidator or administrator in relation to the payment of any outstanding invoices. The department remains fully committed to ensuring that Disabled Students Allowance funding for completed Non-Medical Help support is administered appropriately, and to minimising any potential disruption to students.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the powers of traffic commissioners.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Traffic Commissioners perform important and independent regulatory, compliance and tribunal roles for the road freight and public transport sectors. A functional review conducted by the Ministry of Justice, published in May 2023, found the function generally effective and offered proposals for improvement. My Department are considering these alongside other reform options.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the Patient Safety Commissioner has made on their work on Sodium Valproate and surgical mesh implants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex area of work, involving several Government departments, and it is important that we get this right. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on the number of ransomware attacks against schools and colleges in the last three years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Educational settings in England are responsible for maintaining their IT systems and cyber security. There is currently no mandatory reporting requirement legislation for schools to report a cyber attack and no central register of cyber attacks exists. However, the department has been notified of 53 ransomware cases across the sector over the last 3 years.
The department has a small, dedicated sector cyber security team to support the education sector. The team provides appropriate guidance and advice, via regular targeted and broad communications, to help schools adhere to and maintain good cyber security standards. The department provides guidance for schools and colleges on how to help protect against a cyber incident, which can found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/cyber-security-standards-for-schools-and-colleges.
The department also works closely with the National Cyber Crime Security Centre (NCSC) and Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) to ensure that up-to-date cyber security guidance is shared with schools, colleges and universities.
Further guidance on cyber security for schools can be found at: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/cyber-security-schools.
The department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) has more than 9,900 member schools, which is 52% of eligible schools in England, and is including cover for cyber incidents as standard from the 2022/23 membership years. In the event of a cyber incident, RPA members have access to a 24/7 Incident Response Service.
The department’s dedicated sector cyber security function provides advice in response to cyber security enquiries and incident reports from the sector, liaising with the affected institution following an incident to advise on steps to mitigate the threat and provide guidance on recovery.
The department adheres to the NCSC guidance on payment of ransoms and does not encourage, endorse nor condone the payment of ransom demands in response to a ransomware attack. This guidance is outlined at: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/mitigating-malware-and-ransomware-attacks.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent people under 18 years old from committing anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, to intervene early and ensure this cohort is identified and offered support in a more systematic way, as well as creating more opportunities for young people in their communities.
Prevention Partnerships will identify children and young people who are vulnerable to being drawn into crime and violence such as knife crime and ASB and divert them by offering them suitable support in a more systematic way.
The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, sets out our plan to reduce ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every police force across England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also delivering on our commitment to bring back and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional officers are visibly out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make our streets safer.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support regional crime units to tackle (a) fraud and (b) cybercrime.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A new National Fraud Squad (NFS) has been established, consisting of a network of 400 new investigators across the National Crime Agency, City of London Police and Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs). The NFS is transforming the law enforcement response by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting the most serious fraudsters, domestically and overseas, jointly with government and industry.
The Home Office has provided funding to create a coordinated police Fraud Protect Network, made up of local, regional and national law enforcement officers and is designed to reduce the threat of fraud and revictimisation by providing consistent safeguarding advice to the public.
The Home Office also funds the Regional Cyber Crime Units (RCCUs) across England and Wales. These regional policing teams investigate and pursue serious cyber offenders, including supporting organisations during live ransomware attacks to get them back online as soon as possible. They also support businesses by providing cyber security support to help them reduce their vulnerability and threat of attack.