Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) raise awareness and (b) prevent further outbreaks of Group A Streptococcus (iGAS).
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the information and guidance on Group A Streptococcus published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/group-a-streptococcus
To support public health action, UKHSA also publishes routine national surveillance of Group A Streptococcus, its invasive variant, scarlet fever and other clinically important streptococcal diseases. The first report for this winter season is expected in early autumn 2026.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2026 to Question 16086 on House of Commons: Software, what percentage of software used by the Parliamentary Digital Service is (a) open source and (b) supplied by UK-based firms.
Answered by Nick Smith
The Parliamentary Digital Service does not hold the information requested in a form that would allow a reliable percentage to be provided for either part of the question.
The software records held by the Parliamentary Digital Service include applications and components installed across Parliament’s devices, including device drivers, utilities and multiple versions of the same product. Calculating a percentage from these records would therefore not provide a meaningful measure of the software on which Parliament relies.
Software is recorded by product and licence rather than by the location of the supplier. Much of it is purchased through resellers and government commercial frameworks, and the supplier recorded for a product may therefore differ from its publisher. Establishing whether each relevant supplier or publisher is UK-based would require a separate examination of the records and could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
As set out in the answer of 13 July 2026, the Parliamentary Digital Service makes extensive use of open source software, particularly in bespoke procedural systems. Open source solutions are generally preferred where appropriate and subject to licensing requirements. Work to modernise and rationalise Parliament’s application estate is expected to improve the quality of the information held over time.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether cloud services used by the Parliamentary Digital Service make use of data centres outside of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Nick Smith
Yes. A small number of cloud services used by the Parliamentary Digital Service make use of data centres outside the United Kingdom.
Parliament’s policy is to host and process its data in the United Kingdom wherever practicable. Where a provider does not offer a United Kingdom location, the European Union is used as the preferred alternative, and only a very small number of services operate outside both. These arrangements are kept under review and services are moved to United Kingdom hosting where suitable options become available. It would not be appropriate to identify individual services or the specific locations at which their data is held, as to do so could prejudice the security of Parliament’s networks and data.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to improve coordination between local authorities and police forces in tackling the illegal and antisocial use of e-bikes and off-road bikes.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Decisions about local enforcement and partnership working are operational matters for Chief Constables and local authorities, reflecting local circumstances. The Government supports this work through the powers available to the police and local authorities and through action to prevent unsafe and illegal e-bikes entering the market. The Office for Product Safety and Standards works with local authority Trading Standards services to identify and remove unsafe products.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate the impacts of extreme hot weather for older adults and people with underlying medical conditions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the report published by the UK Health Security Agency on excess deaths linked to the heatwaves in May and June, available at the link below, and to the accompanying response from my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care:
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Greater Manchester Police Federation on racism experienced by police officers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There have been no recent discussions between the Home Secretary and the Greater Manchester Police Federation.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that women and girls have confidence that reports of sexual violence will be investigated effectively by the police.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Rape and sexual violence are among the most harmful crimes, and we know they, and broader VAWG offences are underreported. This Government is taking action to ensure victims have the confidence to report these offences and trust that they will be taken seriously and supported when they do.
As set out in Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls, we are strengthening the police response to sexual violence. Every police force in England and Wales is to have a specialist rape and sexual offences team by December 2027, 18 months earlier than previously planned. Providing forces with the specialist capability to investigate these offences effectively is vital to improving outcomes and maintaining victims' confidence in the criminal justice system. Alongside these measures, through our cross-government communications campaign Enough, we are seeking to improve the public’s understanding of abusive behaviours.
We are also supporting police forces through the National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection to embed Operation Soteria. Operation Soteria provides evidence-based guidance and practical tools, developed in collaboration with academics, to help officers focus investigations on the actions and behaviours of suspects, while ensuring victims are supported.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are available to ensure that officers who are found to have failed to appropriately investigate serious offences are held accountable.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Members of the public have access to the statutory police complaints system if they are dissatisfied with the service they have received, or to raise concerns about policing where they are directly impacted.
Most police complaints are dealt with by the local police force, with an opportunity for escalation and for independent review. Reviews are conducted either by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), or Mayor with PCC functions, or by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The most serious and sensitive types of complaint or misconduct allegations identified internally must immediately be referred by the police to the IOPC for consideration. The mandatory referral criteria include incidents of deaths or serious injuries involving the police or allegations of serious corruption. Investigations by the IOPC and by police forces are conducted independently of Government.
This Government launched an independent, end-to-end review on 30 July into the police accountability system. The review will examine the timeliness, efficiency, and effectiveness of the systems for holding police to account.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the continued detention of Osman Kavala by the Republic of Türkiye.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
On 2 September, the UK delivered a statement at the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers calling for the immediate release of Osman Kavala in line with the latest judgment made by the European Court of Human Rights on 25 August 2026. We will continue to raise Mr Kavala's case at the highest levels and encourage Turkey to uphold the rule of law and its obligations as a member of the Council of Europe.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints her Department has received regarding the accessibility and usability of the DVLA’s online system for renewing driving licenses for people age 70 and over since its introduction; and what steps she is taking to ensure that people with limited digital skills are able to access the service.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The information requested is not readily available and can only be extracted at disproportionate cost. To extract this information would require a manual interrogation of all the complaints made about a driving licence to determine whether it related to accessibility and/or useability of the DVLA’s online system, as well as considering the age of the writer.
The DVLA online services currently adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and work is underway to bring all services to WCAG 2.2 level AA standard. These are an internationally recognised set of recommendations to ensure services are accessible to users with a range of needs including visual, hearing, mobility and cognitive.
The DVLA tests services with users who have a wide range of accessibility needs and levels of digital confidence independent service assessments also carried out ahead of any new service being launched.
The DVLA recognises that not all customers can or want to access online services. Customers can contact the DVLA by telephone, or in writing and paper application facilities are also available.
The DVLA welcomes and reviews user feedback through its published accessibility statements to support continuous improvements of its online services.