Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on early intervention for neurodivergent children with emerging mental health needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department regularly engages with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure children and young people, including those who are neurodivergent, can access the support they need.
We are working with the NHS to expand access to specialist support and are providing £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop an Experts at Hand offer in every area. This will give settings access to advice, training and expertise from professionals such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers, helping staff identify needs earlier and respond effectively so children receive support without unnecessary delays.
Alongside this, Mental Health Support Teams will be expanded to every school and college in England by 2029 supported by £13 million pilot to enhance staff training for neurodivergent and social/emotional needs.
We continue to work closely with DHSC on the forthcoming mental health strategy, due later this year.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to reduce waiting times for neurology and headache clinic appointments.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no nationally published waiting-time data specifically for headache and migraine services. Patients referred for specialist migraine care are captured within broader neurology statistics. As of the end of May 2026, there are nearly 214,700 pathways on the waiting list for neurology services. 61.4% of neurology pathways are waiting within 18 weeks for first treatment.
Reducing waiting lists, including for neurology services, is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission. We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.
The NHS RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit is supporting local NHS systems to improve headache and migraine services, including by providing practical guidance to improve pathways between primary and specialist care, and ensure patients receive the right intervention at the earliest opportunity.
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets a sustainable vision for elective care where by 2035, most outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals. Patients' access to specialists, including neurologists, will be improved by providing this specialist care in the community where possible and increasing digital access to specialists through the NHS App where it’s more convenient for patients.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to reduce waiting lists for patients with migraine.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no nationally published waiting-time data specifically for headache and migraine services. Patients referred for specialist migraine care are captured within broader neurology statistics. As of the end of May 2026, there are nearly 214,700 pathways on the waiting list for neurology services. 61.4% of neurology pathways are waiting within 18 weeks for first treatment.
Reducing waiting lists, including for neurology services, is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission. We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.
The NHS RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit is supporting local NHS systems to improve headache and migraine services, including by providing practical guidance to improve pathways between primary and specialist care, and ensure patients receive the right intervention at the earliest opportunity.
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets a sustainable vision for elective care where by 2035, most outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals. Patients' access to specialists, including neurologists, will be improved by providing this specialist care in the community where possible and increasing digital access to specialists through the NHS App where it’s more convenient for patients.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the waiting list for treatment for headache and migraine is across the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no nationally published waiting-time data specifically for headache and migraine services. Patients referred for specialist migraine care are captured within broader neurology statistics. As of the end of May 2026, there are nearly 214,700 pathways on the waiting list for neurology services. 61.4% of neurology pathways are waiting within 18 weeks for first treatment.
Reducing waiting lists, including for neurology services, is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission. We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.
The NHS RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit is supporting local NHS systems to improve headache and migraine services, including by providing practical guidance to improve pathways between primary and specialist care, and ensure patients receive the right intervention at the earliest opportunity.
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets a sustainable vision for elective care where by 2035, most outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals. Patients' access to specialists, including neurologists, will be improved by providing this specialist care in the community where possible and increasing digital access to specialists through the NHS App where it’s more convenient for patients.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
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 support the roll-out of services for chronic migraine in the community.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to shifting more care from hospitals into community settings, ensuring that patients with chronic conditions such as migraine can access care closer to home. We support integrated, multidisciplinary models of care that bring together primary, community, and specialist services to better meet the needs of people living with long-term conditions, including migraine.
Integrated care boards are responsible for assessing local health needs and commissioning services for their populations, including community services for people with chronic conditions. NHS England's programmes, including Getting It Right First Time, NHS RightCare, and the development of integrated neighbourhood health services, support systems to improve care pathways, reduce unwarranted variation, and strengthen community-based care.
For people with neurological and other long-term neurological conditions like migraine, NHS England's Adult Neurology Service Specification supports the development of high-quality community-based migraine care by promoting integrated neurological pathways that enable patients to receive appropriate assessment, treatment, and ongoing management closer to home wherever possible. The specification encourages collaboration between primary care, community services, and specialist neurology teams, helping to ensure timely access to expert advice, clear referral pathways, and coordinated care for people with migraine. By supporting a multidisciplinary approach and ensuring that specialist services are focused on patients with the most complex needs, the specification aims to improve patient experience, reduce unwarranted variation in care, and make better use of National Health Service resources.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include migraine and other headache conditions within the Pharmacy First initiative.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
As part of Pharmacy First minor illness consultations, pharmacists can already provide advice and recommend over-the-counter treatments for headaches and migraines. Pharmacists can also supply emergency medicines to patients already prescribed regular migraine medication as part of the urgent medicine supply element of Pharmacy First.
NHS England keeps the clinical scope of all pharmacy services under regular review, including Pharmacy First, and any changes to the conditions covered by the seven clinical pathways would be subject to consultation with Community Pharmacy England.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT from swimming lessons for children.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Swimming lessons and water safety are vital life skills and are part of the national curriculum. The Department for Education is working closely with third sector organisations, including Swim England, the Royal Life Saving Society UK, and National Water Safety Education, to support schools in delivering these high-quality lessons through teacher training and resources.
Certain sporting and physical education services supplied by ‘eligible bodies’ are already exempt from VAT, including some swimming lessons. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sport-supplies-that-are-vat-exempt-notice-70145#an-overview-of-the-exemption-for-sporting-and-physical-education-services
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to protect workers from being filmed without consent while carrying out their duties and having that footage published on social media.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people can carry out their work without fear of harassment and believes that workers should be able to undertake their duties without being filmed and having that footage published online without their consent.
Employers should respect workers’ rights under UK data protection legislation when recording and processing personal data, including video footage.
Furthermore, the Online Safety Act places duties on social media platforms to tackle harmful content, including through effective content moderation and user reporting systems. The Act also requires the largest platforms to enforce their terms of service consistently and transparently. Ofcom is responsible for enforcing these requirements and has powers to take action against non-compliant platforms, including imposing significant financial penalties.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to swimming and water safety education for primary school pupils.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Swimming and water safety are vital life skills, and every child should have the opportunity to learn to swim and know how to keep themselves safe around water before they leave primary school.
The PE national curriculum makes specific reference to swimming and water safety, stating that all primary pupils must learn to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
Our reforms to the PE curriculum will ensure there is a clear emphasis on swimming and water safety, and our new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will bring the expertise of national governing bodies, including Swim England, directly into schools.
In addition, we have made changes to statutory requirements for relationships, sex and health education in both primary and secondary to ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water.
Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
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 improve access to age-appropriate inpatient mental health care for children and young people.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government is committed to ensuring that inpatient mental health care for children and young people is safe, high‑quality, recovery‑focused, and delivered in the least restrictive, age‑appropriate settings, supported by reforms to improve standards and consistency of care.
We are taking action to improve access and quality of inpatient and specialist mental health provision. This includes investment to improve inpatient environments and capacity, helping to reduce the need for children and young people to be treated far from home, and implementing reforms to the Mental Health Act to ensure families have greater choice, autonomy, and rights in inpatient settings. Alongside this, we are introducing national frameworks and standards to define high‑quality, evidence‑based care, improving transparency and strengthening oversight of services.
NHS England is also working very closely with all the children and young people mental health providers of inpatient services to ensure that services are based on needs and complexity, not just the young person’s diagnosis or what is routinely provided. This approach to care delivery is in line with guidance published on transitions in April 2026, which is available at the following link: