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.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she can confirm if the forthcoming consultation on phasing out farrowing crates will be based on a transition to free farrowing systems rather than permitting the use of continued temporary crating.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The recently published animal welfare strategy sets out that ending the use of farrowing crates is a key priority for this Government. We want to work with the industry to help them transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems: either flexible farrowing where the sow is confined for the crucial few days around farrowing, or free farrowing where there is no confinement during farrowing or lactation.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the consultation on phasing out the use of fallow farming crates.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Bolton South and Walkden on 10 July 2026, PQ UIN 15938.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issues to local authorities on the timeframe for consulting on changes to home to school transport provision and the implementation of any proposed changes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The ‘Travel to school for children of compulsory school age’ statutory guidance makes clear that, where a local authority is proposing to make changes to their school travel policy which may affect children’s eligibility, they should consult locally for at least 28 working days during term time. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel.
The guidance also says they must make sure their policy is available by 19 September each year so that parents may take it into account when deciding which schools to apply for during the normal admissions round. Wherever possible, local authorities should phase in changes so that children who begin attending a school under one set of travel arrangements continue to benefit from those arrangements until they leave that school.
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, if the Department has considered participating in Alternative Dispute Resolution or mediation in relation to the ongoing legal proceedings associated with the WASPI campaign.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We are not able to comment on live litigation, but full details of our decision in this case are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-parliamentary-and-health-service-o29mbudsmans-investigation-into-womens-state-pension-age-communications-and-associated-issues.
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, what assessment he has made of the comparative cost to the public purse of compensating women affected by maladministration in State Pension Age communications.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We are not able to comment on live litigation, but full details of our decision in this case are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-parliamentary-and-health-service-o29mbudsmans-investigation-into-womens-state-pension-age-communications-and-associated-issues
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, what estimate he has made of the further legal costs that may be incurred by the Department in relation to ongoing litigation concerning compensation for women affected by maladministration in State Pension Age communications.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Women Against State Pension Inequality Ltd (WASPI) are seeking permission from the High Court to bring a Judicial Review on our response to the Ombudsman’s report. We do not comment on live litigation.