Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants are awaiting a Work Capability Assessment reassessment; and how many and what proportion of those claimants have been waiting (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to 12 months, (d) one to two years, (e) two to three years and (f) more than three years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
As of 12th June 2026, there were 2,284,700 Universal Credit claimants with a current Limited Capability for Work (LCW) or Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) determination whose recommended reassessment date had passed and who had not subsequently undergone a further Work Capability Assessment.
These claimants are broken down below by the length of time between their recommended reassessment date and 12th June 2026:
| Number of claimants | Percentage |
Less than 3 months | 195,200 | 9 |
3 to 6 months | 231,700 | 10 |
6 to 12 months | 361,200 | 16 |
1 year to 2 years | 460,500 | 20 |
2 to 3 years | 340,400 | 15 |
More than 3 years | 695,800 | 30 |
Total | 2,284,700 | 100 |
Notes:
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans her Department has to allocate additional funding to local authorities that have had to close or pause applications for Warm Homes: Local Grant Funding due to budgetary constraints, to help support more low-income households during winter 2026–27.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Autumn 2024 budget allocated £500 million to the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme for eligible local authorities to support the installation of energy improvement measures in low-income households. Delivery of upgrades began in April 2025 and will run until March 2028. The Department is considering whether further funding can be made available to support delivery of the scheme. If additional funding is secured, Grant Recipients will be informed accordingly.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of (a) trends in the levels of use of balaclavas and other face coverings by young people to intimidate members of the public, and (b) the potential merits of measures to address their use in such circumstances.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is clear that nobody should be subjected to intimidation or threatening behaviour in public spaces. Police have a range of powers available to address criminality and intimidatory behaviour where the relevant legal thresholds are met, including where face coverings are used to conceal identity.
The Home Office has engaged with policing partners on the application of powers to address the use of face coverings to conceal identity. The use of these powers is an operational matter for the police, but we will continue to monitor the situation.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households have received completed energy efficiency upgrades under the Warm Homes: Local Grant scheme in the 2026–27 financial year, broken down by local authority area.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The number of household upgrades reported by grant recipients from April 2025 to the end of July 2026 in each English region are available in Table 3 of the August 2026 Warm Homes: Local Grant Statistics Release.
Statistics for local authority districts will be first made available in the November 2026 Warm Homes: Local Grant Statistics Release.
WH:LG official stats published on GOV.UK: Warm_Homes_Local_Grant_Statistics_-_August_2026.xlsx
WH:LG measures installed by region (as reported by Grant Recipients) can be found in the T3 tab of the Excel spreadsheet.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many local authorities have closed or paused applications for Warm Homes: Local Grant funding in the 2026–27 financial year due to budget constraints.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
While the Department provides the funding for the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the scheme is administered locally by Grant Recipients. Decisions on managing individual funding allocations, including whether to introduce waiting lists or pause applications, are therefore taken locally.
As administrators of the scheme, your local authority remains best placed to provide updates on allocations of WH:LG funding in their region, including closed or paused WH:LG applications.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the role of music therapy in community mental health support.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism states the value alternative evidence-based therapies, including creative therapies, can have alongside traditional cognitive behaviour therapy.
The upcoming Mental Health Strategy will set out the important role non-traditional models, such as music therapy, can play in supporting people’s mental health, and the positive role that creative arts can play in promoting positive mental wellbeing.
We also continue to support the Department for Education’s efforts to increase the take-up of music in schools, and to provide opportunities for every child to take part in enriching activities outside of school, including in music.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of regional variation in the (a) frequency and (b) quality of dementia care plan reviews; and what steps she is taking to reduce variation.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026
All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of arrangements for the ongoing monitoring of people with dementia who have been discharged from specialist memory and older people’s mental health services to primary care.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026
All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to integrated care boards and NHS trusts on the frequency of planned reviews for people diagnosed with dementia following discharge from specialist memory and older people’s mental health services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 29 July, as set out in the link below, the Prime Minister set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and brought forward the timetable for Baroness Casey’s commission to inform that reform programme:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-sets-out-new-path-to-fix-social-care-together-29-july-2026
All aspects of the current system will be reviewed as part of that process, and we will continue to update Parliament on a regular basis.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on moving the departmental responsibility for the provision of education within prisons from the Ministry of Justice to the Department for Education.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice works closely with the Department for Education and other stakeholders to support the delivery of education and skill provision in prisons.
Responsibility for prison education was moved from the Department for Education to the Ministry of Justice in 2016 to enable commissioning to be better informed by prisoner needs and the curriculum aligned with wider HMPPS skills and work. There are currently no plans to change departmental responsibilities.