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 ensure Hong Kong culture is celebrated in the UK.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Hong Kong British National (Overseas) Welcome Programme supports integration into the UK for BN(O) status holders and their families to help them successfully settle into their new communities. Hong Kong culture is celebrated through events such as Lunar New Year celebrations, which can be hosted or funded by our delivery partners, particularly the Strategic Migration Partnerships, which host the Welcome Hubs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the number of British National Overseas Hong Kongers aged 14 to 21 who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities without access to student loans.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK, and in the case of persons with settled status, be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Subject to meeting the other relevant eligibility requirements, persons with the status of British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)) will be able to qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK (usually after five years). Most persons who acquire settled status will automatically meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. There are no plans to exempt Hong Kong BN(O)s from the requirement that applies to other British Nationals that they must be settled in the UK before becoming eligible for student funding.

The department has not made an assessment of the number of persons with BN(O) status, or persons of any other nationality, who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider reducing the British National Overseas visa holders' requirement for home fee status to three years of continuous residence.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK, and in the case of persons with settled status, be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course.

Subject to meeting the other relevant eligibility requirements, persons with the status of British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)) will be able to qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK (usually after five years). Most persons who acquire settled status will automatically meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. There are no plans to exempt Hong Kong BN(O)s from the requirement that applies to other British Nationals that they must be settled in the UK before becoming eligible for student funding.

The department has not made an assessment of the number of persons with BN(O) status, or persons of any other nationality, who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities.

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 help make it easier for patients with chronic urinary tract infections to receive referrals from their GPs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidelines for the referral of patients who present with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/urinary-tract-infection-lower-women/management/recurrent-uti-no-haematuria-not-pregnant-or-catheterized/

There are specific referral criteria for women, compared to men and children. There are also guidelines in place for those who present to Pharmacy First. If the patient has had a history of UTIs, they are asked to see their general practice (GP) surgery, rather than being prescribed antibiotics by the pharmacy.

Patients with recurrent UTIs should be referred to secondary care to exclude other causes, perhaps through an ultrasound scan or a cystoscopy. Once cleared, patients may be prescribed prophylactic antibiotics.

The number of lower urinary tract symptom service clinics are locally managed and commissioned by integrated care boards, in accordance with local population need.

While there are no current plans to train GPs and urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic UTIs, NHS England’s UTI reduction workstream was established as part of the delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis, and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice, and through interventions for different population groups.

NHS England has also been working with other public bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency, to strengthen the guidance regarding the appropriate use of diagnostics, including dipsticks. GPs can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring the accuracy of the tests used.

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 provide training for (a) GPs and (b) urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic urinary tract infections.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidelines for the referral of patients who present with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/urinary-tract-infection-lower-women/management/recurrent-uti-no-haematuria-not-pregnant-or-catheterized/

There are specific referral criteria for women, compared to men and children. There are also guidelines in place for those who present to Pharmacy First. If the patient has had a history of UTIs, they are asked to see their general practice (GP) surgery, rather than being prescribed antibiotics by the pharmacy.

Patients with recurrent UTIs should be referred to secondary care to exclude other causes, perhaps through an ultrasound scan or a cystoscopy. Once cleared, patients may be prescribed prophylactic antibiotics.

The number of lower urinary tract symptom service clinics are locally managed and commissioned by integrated care boards, in accordance with local population need.

While there are no current plans to train GPs and urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic UTIs, NHS England’s UTI reduction workstream was established as part of the delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis, and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice, and through interventions for different population groups.

NHS England has also been working with other public bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency, to strengthen the guidance regarding the appropriate use of diagnostics, including dipsticks. GPs can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring the accuracy of the tests used.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the number of lower urinary tract symptoms service clinics.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidelines for the referral of patients who present with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/urinary-tract-infection-lower-women/management/recurrent-uti-no-haematuria-not-pregnant-or-catheterized/

There are specific referral criteria for women, compared to men and children. There are also guidelines in place for those who present to Pharmacy First. If the patient has had a history of UTIs, they are asked to see their general practice (GP) surgery, rather than being prescribed antibiotics by the pharmacy.

Patients with recurrent UTIs should be referred to secondary care to exclude other causes, perhaps through an ultrasound scan or a cystoscopy. Once cleared, patients may be prescribed prophylactic antibiotics.

The number of lower urinary tract symptom service clinics are locally managed and commissioned by integrated care boards, in accordance with local population need.

While there are no current plans to train GPs and urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic UTIs, NHS England’s UTI reduction workstream was established as part of the delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis, and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice, and through interventions for different population groups.

NHS England has also been working with other public bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency, to strengthen the guidance regarding the appropriate use of diagnostics, including dipsticks. GPs can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring the accuracy of the tests used.

Radiotherapy (No. 2)

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: Negatived on division_4 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: _4 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor Ben Maguire .

Found: New Amendment: NC20 _4 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor .

Found: New Amendment: NC20 _4 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor .

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor ★.

Found: _NC13 Lisa Smart Anna Sabine Luke Taylor ★.

Found: McDonald Andrew Cooper Dr Beccy Cooper Dame Siobhain McDonagh Julia Buckley Susan Murray Luke Taylor

Submit Evidence (by 12 May 2025)

The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee will examine the performance of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), and its two executive offices, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).