Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend NHS eligibility for the Shingrix shingles vaccine to older adults who previously received Zostavax.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent departmental expert committee which advises the Government on matters related to vaccination and immunisation.
In November 2024, the JCVI provided advice to the Government on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme. This included advice that the Government should consider expanding the shingles vaccination offer to include older adult cohorts aged 80 years old and over, regardless of whether these older individuals have previously been eligible for, or have been vaccinated with, Zostavax. The Department is carefully considering this advice as it sets the policy on who should be offered shingles vaccinations.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities and employer groups on the availability of work‑experience placements for Year 10 pupils; and what steps she is taking to ensure adequate placements in all areas.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government set out its vision for reforming work experience in the 2025 careers statutory guidance. Every pupil will have access to 2 weeks’ worth of multiple and varied workplace experiences throughout key stages 3 and 4.
According to the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) Compass+ self-assessment tool, the majority of students in 74% schools and colleges had an experience of the workplace in the 2024/25 academic year. Note this data does not capture duration.
The department funds the CEC to work with local areas and engage employers to deliver this commitment. CEC’s careers hubs work in partnership with mayoral strategic authorities and local authorities resulting in stronger career provision and increased employer engagement, locally. Findings from a recent pilot found that careers hubs, working with local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities, successfully coordinated work experience provision across multiple schools and employers, reducing duplication and widening access.
Regionally, careers hubs work with cornerstone employer groups, who represent the local labour market and support the region's strategic employment engagement. Nationally, CEC holds strategic partnerships with employer groups, sector and representative bodies supporting all employers to deliver workplace experiences.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on patients with relapsed or refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma of NICE’s draft decision not to recommend brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus) for NHS use; and whether he plans to review the CAR‑T delivery tariff to ensure continued access to treatments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently re-evaluating brexucabtagene autoleucel to determine whether it can be recommended for routine National Health Service funding following a period of managed access through the Cancer Drugs Fund. NICE’s draft guidance, published in December, does not recommend it as a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. The Government recognises that the potential withdrawal of brexucabtagene autoleucel as a treatment for future patients with mantle cell lymphoma will be concerning for patients and their families, but it is right that these decisions are taken independently and on the basis of the available evidence. In line with an arrangement between NHS England and the company, if NICE’s final guidance does not recommend use, patients who started treatment during the managed access period can continue their treatment.
The CAR-T delivery tariff reflects the costs which the NHS incurs for delivering CAR-T therapy. The tariff was updated for the start of the 2024/25 financial year following a planned costing review involving all CAR-T providers in England. This enabled the tariff to be updated with the benefit of the significant delivery experience that can be drawn on having first routinely introduced CAR-T in the NHS in 2023. Other than considering an appropriate inflationary uplift on an annual basis, in line with usual practice, there are no plans to further review the tariff at this time. Other CAR-T therapies have been recommended for routine NHS adoption in England by NICE based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness that reflects the existing CAR-T delivery tariff, most recently obecabtagene autoleucel for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to incorporate new technology into the Find a Job platform.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The current ‘Find a Job’ service will be superseded by new Jobs and Careers Service this year.
We are ensuring the service is fit for the future by leveraging new technology, such as CV builder and interview support, in line with the Get Britain Working White Paper, and the blueprint for modern digital government.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered applying the proposed income threshold for the earned settlement scheme on a household basis rather than an individual basis for Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and the requirements for income thresholds.
Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proposed earned settlement scheme will include non-employment income such as rental, dividends, and interest when assessing income thresholds.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and the requirements for income thresholds.
Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proposed earned settlement requirements will apply retrospectively to Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders who relocated under the original scheme.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and the requirements for income thresholds.
Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to provide guidance to Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders regarding the proposed B2 English language requirement; and whether people who have already taken or planned to take the B1 test will be affected by this change.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and the requirements for income thresholds.
Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current regulatory framework for designing buildings and the act of building, in the context of the requirements introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022; and what steps are being considered to address knowledge gaps identified within the industry.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Building Safety Act 2022 created duties to keep the safety and standards of buildings under review and also to establish and maintain the Building Advisory Committee, which advises on matters connected with building safety, except those relating to the competence of persons in the built environment industry, and registered building inspectors. The Act also requires the Regulator to prepare a report on certain safety-related matters by October 2026 and consider further provision, or guidance, about stairs and ramps, emergency egress of disabled persons, and automatic water fire suppression systems in relevant buildings, with a view to improving the safety of persons in or about the built environment. Functions are ongoing and no review or assessment of these parts of the Act have been carried out to date.
In response to the Grenfell Inquiry’s recommendation 19, both the regulator, the Architects Registration Board (ARB), and the professional body, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), have taken steps to improve the education and training of architects. On 17 December 2025, the government published the Single Construction Regulator prospectus. The prospectus sets out how government will develop a strategy to reform regulation of built environment professionals, including with a view to better support the competency of professionals.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 potential impact of changes to funding eligibility for Level 7 apprenticeships on access to architectural training; and what discussions have taken place with stakeholders regarding age limits and future funding arrangements.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question UIN 57098.