Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her Department's policy is on the future of the Rare Disease Collaborative Networks; and whether the NHS will to continue to support their work in improving access to specialist expertise and care for people living with rare diseases.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has completed its review of Rare Disease Collaborative Networks (RDCNs) and communicated the findings and next steps to existing networks. The review confirmed the important value of RDCNs in connecting specialist expertise and supporting improved pathways, earlier diagnosis, care coordination, and more equitable access to expert advice.
NHS England will continue to support the work of RDCNs, with a focus on supporting collaboration, promoting learning, increasing visibility, and use of data and registries.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria local authorities are expected to apply when assessing eligibility for overnight respite care for disabled children, and whether her Department holds data on regional variation in approval rates.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for assessing the needs of disabled children in their area and deciding what services should be provided to meet those needs. There is no nationally prescribed set of eligibility criteria for overnight respite care. Decisions are made by local authorities based on an assessment of the individual child and family's needs and their statutory duties under the Children Act 1989.
The department’s guidance 'Short breaks for carers of disabled children' makes clear that local authorities should provide a range of short break services to meet local needs and publish information about the services available. Decisions about access to specific services, including overnight respite care, are for local authorities to make based on individual assessments. The department does not hold data on access to overnight respite care for disabled children and does not collect information on regional variation in access to such care.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average waiting time for children with disabilities to receive an occupational therapy home safety assessment from local authority Children's Social Care teams.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not made an estimate of the average waiting time for children with disabilities to receive an occupational therapy home safety assessment from local authority children's social care teams.
Responsibility for assessing and meeting the needs of disabled children rests with local authorities, which determine local arrangements for the provision of occupational therapy assessments and support. The department does not collect data on waiting times for occupational therapy home safety assessments delivered by local authority children's social care teams, NHS England publishes waiting-list and waiting-time data for community health services, including children's occupational therapy services. This data does not identify waiting times for local authority children's social care occupational therapy assessments specifically.
Statutory guidance is clear that children's social care assessments should be undertaken in a timely manner, with the pace of assessment determined by the child's individual needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the end of the EU Pet Travel Scheme on UK pet owners travelling to the EU; and whether the movement of pets will form part of discussions on strengthening the UK's trading relationship with the EU.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government remains committed to concluding the SPS agreement ahead of the next UK-EU Summit on 20 November 2026. Instead of getting an Animal Health Certificate each time they travel, pet owners will be able to get a multiuse pet passport valid for travel to the EU.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what quality assurance arrangements are in place for final complaint responses issued by the Department.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not measure complaints timings as described in the question (i.e. average response times). We recognise that response times to hon. Members’ enquiries on behalf of constituents have not been consistently adequate in recent months, as higher complaint volumes and increasingly complex cases have affected our response times. However, the Department is actively addressing these pressures and driving improvements in both timeliness and efficiency.
The Department is taking urgent action to reduce complaint backlogs and improve response times, with a clear focus on resolving issues as quickly as possible, including at the earliest point of contact where appropriate.
To support this, we have deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams and prioritised activity to reduce outstanding volumes and strengthen performance monitoring to improve timeliness. We have introduced senior oversight and improving case management processes to support faster and more consistent responses.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department’s service standard aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer; however, the Department seeks to keep customers informed of progress and expected timescales.
The Department is clear that hon. Members must be able to rely on timely and accurate information when representing their constituents. Improving response times remains a key operational priority, and these measures are intended to restore performance to the expected standard.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average response time was for complaints handled by Complaints Resolution Managers in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not measure complaints timings as described in the question (i.e. average response times). We recognise that response times to hon. Members’ enquiries on behalf of constituents have not been consistently adequate in recent months, as higher complaint volumes and increasingly complex cases have affected our response times. However, the Department is actively addressing these pressures and driving improvements in both timeliness and efficiency.
The Department is taking urgent action to reduce complaint backlogs and improve response times, with a clear focus on resolving issues as quickly as possible, including at the earliest point of contact where appropriate.
To support this, we have deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams and prioritised activity to reduce outstanding volumes and strengthen performance monitoring to improve timeliness. We have introduced senior oversight and improving case management processes to support faster and more consistent responses.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department’s service standard aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer; however, the Department seeks to keep customers informed of progress and expected timescales.
The Department is clear that hon. Members must be able to rely on timely and accurate information when representing their constituents. Improving response times remains a key operational priority, and these measures are intended to restore performance to the expected standard.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the number of miscarriages a patient is required to experience before they are routinely offered care, tests and treatment to help prevent further pregnancy loss.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Miscarriage can have a devastating impact on women and their families, and we are determined that they receive the support they need.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is chairing the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce to develop a national action plan that will reform maternity and neonatal services to deliver lasting change for women, families, and their babies.
The taskforce will consider all aspects of those current services, including miscarriage care. Within this, we will carefully assess the findings from the Tommy’s Graded Model of Miscarriage Care pilot study as committed to in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a standardised methodology for identifying special educational needs and disabilities, ahead of the roll-out of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund and other targeted SEND funding announced in the Schools White Paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the importance of consistent identification of special educational needs and disabilities, so that children and young people receive the right support as early as possible. We are improving the evidence base for identifying needs, while emphasising that access to support in education should not depend on a diagnosis.
To support greater consistency across the system, we are working with an expert panel to develop National Inclusion Standards. These standards will provide educators with evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches to help identify need and support children and young people with additional needs. By 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to develop the Standards and strengthen the underpinning evidence base.
In addition, we are investing £4 million in research led by UK Research and Innovation to develop and roll out approaches to early identification, strengths and needs assessment, and support in education settings by 2028.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure schools apply a consistent, nationally defined methodology for identifying and determining whether a child has (a) special educational needs and (b) a disability, beyond those with an Education, Health and Care Plan, in the context of the Schools White Paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the importance of consistent identification of special educational needs and disabilities, so that children and young people receive the right support as early as possible. We are improving the evidence base for identifying needs, while emphasising that access to support in education should not depend on a diagnosis.
To support greater consistency across the system, we are working with an expert panel to develop National Inclusion Standards. These standards will provide educators with evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches to help identify need and support children and young people with additional needs. By 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to develop the Standards and strengthen the underpinning evidence base.
In addition, we are investing £4 million in research led by UK Research and Innovation to develop and roll out approaches to early identification, strengths and needs assessment, and support in education settings by 2028.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the National Inclusion Standards being developed as part of the Schools White Paper will include a standardised, nationally defined methodology for schools to identify and determine whether a child has (a) special educational needs and (b) a disability, beyond those with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the importance of consistent identification of special educational needs and disabilities, so that children and young people receive the right support as early as possible. We are improving the evidence base for identifying needs, while emphasising that access to support in education should not depend on a diagnosis.
To support greater consistency across the system, we are working with an expert panel to develop National Inclusion Standards. These standards will provide educators with evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches to help identify need and support children and young people with additional needs. By 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to develop the Standards and strengthen the underpinning evidence base.
In addition, we are investing £4 million in research led by UK Research and Innovation to develop and roll out approaches to early identification, strengths and needs assessment, and support in education settings by 2028.