Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national register for foster parents.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering services are required to maintain their own records and registers of approved foster carers in line with the National Minimum Standards and associated regulations.
We recently published the ‘Renewing Fostering: Homes for 10,000 More Children’ action plan which sets out our ambitious plans to strengthen fostering. At the same time, we launched a call for evidence, which sought views on how to improve the foster care system, including questions on a national fostering register.
We are currently analysing the responses to this call for evidence. These insights will help us consider the potential merits, benefits and practical implications of introducing a national register for foster carers as part of future policy development.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her department has made of the cost to local authorities of emergency social services provisions to those affected by changes to earned settlement.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Proposals for introducing an earned settlement model, as set out in the Command Paper “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” (CP1448), were subject to a public consultation, which opened on 20 November 2025 and closed on 12 February 2026.
As part of this consultation, we sought views on the potential impact of the proposed changes, including on local authorities.
We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly. As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic and equality impact assessments.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many responses were received to the staff survey conducted by the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team that closed on 9 March 2026; how many NHS trusts in England were represented in the results; and what the breakdown of responses was by (a) profession and (b) clinical speciality.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Amos launched a call for evidence for those who work in the maternity and neonatal pathway, which closed on 9 March. The Department understands the Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team has received more than 9,000 responses from across 124 trusts. A breakdown for responses by profession or clinical speciality is not yet available as evidence is still being analysed by the independent investigation team. This will be published in the final report. Information about how to access the workforce survey was distributed to all National Health Service trusts, and the investigation asked them to share the link to all maternity and neonatal staff groups, both clinical and non-clinical.
Evidence collection is still ongoing. When visiting the 12 local NHS trusts identified in the Terms of Reference, the investigation team conducted evidence panels with staff as well as reviewing maternity and neonatal facilities. Further evidence collection was conducted after the visits, including interviews with the senior executive team and one to one conversations offered to staff if they do not feel comfortable talking in a group. As of 26 February, the investigation had held 44 staff panels and completed 75 staff/executive interviews as part of the local reviews. The investigation is now in the process of undertaking interviews with national system leaders.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team has held during its evidence gathering with a) frontline NHS maternity staff and b) staff representative organisations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Amos launched a call for evidence for those who work in the maternity and neonatal pathway, which closed on 9 March. The Department understands the Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team has received more than 9,000 responses from across 124 trusts. A breakdown for responses by profession or clinical speciality is not yet available as evidence is still being analysed by the independent investigation team. This will be published in the final report. Information about how to access the workforce survey was distributed to all National Health Service trusts, and the investigation asked them to share the link to all maternity and neonatal staff groups, both clinical and non-clinical.
Evidence collection is still ongoing. When visiting the 12 local NHS trusts identified in the Terms of Reference, the investigation team conducted evidence panels with staff as well as reviewing maternity and neonatal facilities. Further evidence collection was conducted after the visits, including interviews with the senior executive team and one to one conversations offered to staff if they do not feel comfortable talking in a group. As of 26 February, the investigation had held 44 staff panels and completed 75 staff/executive interviews as part of the local reviews. The investigation is now in the process of undertaking interviews with national system leaders.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the staff survey conducted by the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team included all maternity and neonatal care professions, including maternity support workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Baroness Amos launched a call for evidence for those who work in the maternity and neonatal pathway, which closed on 9 March. The Department understands the Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation team has received more than 9,000 responses from across 124 trusts. A breakdown for responses by profession or clinical speciality is not yet available as evidence is still being analysed by the independent investigation team. This will be published in the final report. Information about how to access the workforce survey was distributed to all National Health Service trusts, and the investigation asked them to share the link to all maternity and neonatal staff groups, both clinical and non-clinical.
Evidence collection is still ongoing. When visiting the 12 local NHS trusts identified in the Terms of Reference, the investigation team conducted evidence panels with staff as well as reviewing maternity and neonatal facilities. Further evidence collection was conducted after the visits, including interviews with the senior executive team and one to one conversations offered to staff if they do not feel comfortable talking in a group. As of 26 February, the investigation had held 44 staff panels and completed 75 staff/executive interviews as part of the local reviews. The investigation is now in the process of undertaking interviews with national system leaders.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will review fees for ILR applications and make them full-cost recovery only.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There are no plans to reduce the fee for indefinite leave to remain to full-cost recovery. The Home Office does not make a profit from fees and any income from fees set above the cost of processing is utilised for the purpose of running the Migration and Borders system, reducing reliance of taxpayer funding.
Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review and any reduction in fees would need to be considered in terms of its impact on the funding of the Migration & Borders system.
The right to stay indefinitely is one of the most valuable entitlements offered for those seeking to enter or remain in the UK, and it is right that the fee should be higher than most for migrants staying temporarily in the UK.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she took to support the recent democratic elections in Bangladesh.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 March in response to Question 112898.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support democracy and human rights in Bangladesh.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 March in response to Question 112898.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her department plans on supporting the campaigns of groups and organisations such as Resolve during ASB awareness week.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office works closely with a range of partners, including voluntary and community sector organisations such as Resolve, to support Anti‑Social Behaviour Awareness Week.
During the week, the Department supports national awareness raising activity by working with partners to amplify key messages on tackling antisocial behaviour, highlighting the impact it can have on individuals and communities, and promoting the support and tools available to victims. This includes Ministerial and official engagement, participation in parliamentary and community-based events, and coordinated communications activity across government and local partners.
The Home Office also uses ASB Awareness Week as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of effective multi‑agency working between the police, local authorities, housing providers and the voluntary sector, and to showcase good practice from across the country in preventing and responding to anti‑social behaviour.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support provided to Environmental Health Practitioners in tackling Noise and Nuisance complaints through the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to ensuring that noise is managed effectively to promote good health and minimise disruption to people’s quality of life. Councils are independent bodies accountable to their electorate rather than to Ministers or Government Departments and are responsible for deciding how they use their resources and discharge their responsibilities, including how Environmental Health Practitioners are supported to carry out their duties under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.