Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
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 reduce waiting lists for (a) appointments and (b) assessments for hearing services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Cutting elective care waiting times, including for hearing services, is a key priority for this government. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra 2 million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 4.6 million additional appointments.
We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand, including for audiology services such as hearing tests. Our Elective Reform Plan commits to transform and expand diagnostic services and speed up waiting times for tests.
NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards (ICBs) who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS Trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via Community Diagnostic Centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
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 adequacy of access to hearing services in rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS audiology services are locally commissioned, and the responsibility for prioritising primary care audiology lies with local NHS Service Commissioners. NHS England is supporting the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
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 support for people leaving hospital and moving to a care home.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The statutory hospital discharge guidance sets out that people leaving hospital, including those who will be moving to a care home, should be supported throughout the discharge process and post discharge. The discharge process should be person-centred, strengths based, and driven by choice, dignity, and respect. Individuals should be supported to make fully informed decisions, in conjunction with their wider family or unpaid carers.
Local areas should have agreed protocols for collaborating with onward care providers regarding the individual’s hospital discharge through care transfer hubs, including agreed pathways for raising and resolving any concerns post-discharge.
In 2025/26, there is £9 billion available through the Better Care Fund. Integrated care boards and local authorities should jointly plan how to use this funding to meet local health and care needs, including after discharge.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the backlog of driving tests in Sherwood Forest constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
From previous recruitment campaigns for driving test centres that serve the Sherwood Forest constituency, three new driving examiners (DE) have completed their training and are now conducting tests. One at Ashfield and two at Nottingham (Colwick) DTCs.
From recent recruitment campaigns, a potential DE is currently undertaking training for Ashfield DTC. DVSA has also made offers to eight potential DEs, two for Ashfield, three for Worksop and three for Nottingham (Colwick) who will start their training at the earliest opportunity.
DVSA will be undertaking another recruitment campaign and will again advertise for posts in the local area.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing training opportunities for manufacturers (a) installing and (b) maintaining biomass heating products.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government takes a proactive role in developing the skills base needed for the transition to low carbon heating, through the provision of targeted support in line with workforce requirements.
Commercially available training opportunities exist for those involved in the installation and/or maintenance of biomass heating products and the government continues to work with industry stakeholders to monitor the efficacy of these provisions.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle littering; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging companies to increase (a) customer education on littering and (b) development of biodegradable packing.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Litter is a blight on our communities and the environment. Local councils are responsible for keeping streets clear of litter and have been given enforcement powers to help them do so.
The Government is targeting some of the most commonly littered items to reduce the presence of these on our streets. The sale of single-use vapes was banned on 1 June and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) will go live in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in October 2027. The DRS will introduce a redeemable deposit on single-use in-scope drinks containers which can be redeemed when the empty container is returned. Litter composition data indicates that 55% of litter by volume is made up of containers in-scope of DRS. DRS will significantly reduce this form of litter.
The UK is a leading voice in the negotiations for a new international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution and has taken an ambitious stance at all sessions of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC). We have called for an agreement that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, in order to end plastic pollution by 2040. The UK will continue to work with other countries, including as a member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, to reach an ambitious agreement at the resumed session in August 2025.
We have not made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging companies to increase customer education on littering or on developing more biodegradable packaging. We remain concerned that many types of plastic labelled as biodegradable do not actually break down in the natural environment, and that people may be more likely to litter these items.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of using income from tax obtained by the sale of (a) tobacco, (b) alcohol and (c) gambling on prevention education.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The allocations of all revenues received by the Government are decided in the round alongside broader fiscal and economic objectives. Widespread hypothecation of tax revenues can undermine the Government’s ability to flexibly manage the public finances.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Inheritance Tax on the Valuation Office Agency’s processing of cases; and whether her Department plans to take steps to help mitigate any increase in demand.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is the responsibility of HMRC. In matters involving the valuation of land and buildings, HMRC will refer cases to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for a specialist view. HMRC decides whether to refer particular property valuation cases to VOA.
Any changes in demand are managed by HMRC and VOA’s existing joint governance groups, which oversee volumes of referrals to VOA across IHT and all other heads of tax.
On 28 April 2025, the government announced that VOA’s functions will be brought into HMRC by the end of this financial year. This will combine the expertise and experience of both organisations in policy, valuations and programme delivery to support government to deliver change more quickly and effectively, including forthcoming policy changes to IHT.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the transition to an online- only application process for the Blue Badge scheme has made on (a) neurodiverse people and (b) people with disabilities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has no current plans to make Blue Badge applications online-only. For online applications, the Department for Transport works continuously to improve online badge applications so they are quicker and easier for applicants. This includes undertaking specific research and testing to identify innovative improvements to the online application process. The service also undergoes regular accessibility and assurance testing to guarantee compliance with the Government’s digital standards.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions on early years providers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
Early years providers play a crucial role in driving economic growth. The Government has committed to delivering the expansion of government-funded childcare and opening 3,000 new school-based nurseries in this parliament. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced that total funding will rise to over £8 billion in 2025-26 to support providers. On top of this, the Department for Education confirmed an additional £75 million of funding in 2025-26 to support the sector deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025. Alongside this, rates for the early years pupil premium have also been increased by over 45%, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.