Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce (a) homelessness and (b) the number of children in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across the key government departments with the greatest impact on homelessness to develop a long-term strategy, and an Expert Group bringing together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector. We continue to engage with DEFRA on measures as part of the development of our long-term housing strategy. We are also delivering a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.

We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.

Further information on the allocations of homelessness grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year can be found in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-allocations-2025-to-2026

The Government is also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament. And the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

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 help ensure that patients with Parkinson receive regular consultations.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have delivered an additional two million appointments, seven months ahead of schedule. This includes operations, consultations, diagnostic tests and treatments. These additional appointments have taken place across several specialities, including neurology.

We have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital and treatment to prevention. A central and core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we ensure we train and provide the staff, technology and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.

There are several initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP).

The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the NHS to deliver care more equitably across the country. The report highlighted differences in how services are delivered and provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally. In addition, the NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home.

Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, most people with Parkinson’s can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of Parkinson’s care that patients may receive from 27 neurology centres across England. Within specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including Parkinson’s disease nurses, psychologists and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.

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 ensure (a) timely adjustments of medications and (b) access to treatments for people with Parkinson's.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Clinicians are responsible for making prescribing decisions for their patients, taking into account best prescribing practice and the local commissioning decisions of their respective integrated care boards. They are also expected to take account of appropriate national guidance on clinical and cost effectiveness, and are accountable for their prescribing decisions, both professionally and to their service commissioners.

Timely adjustment and optimisation of medicines are important to ensure patients are receiving the most clinically appropriate and effective treatment to support their health and wellbeing. It is also critical in underpinning the six rights of safe medicines management: the right person; right medicine; right route; right dose; right time; and right to decline.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for translating evidence into authoritative guidance for the health and care system on best practice. The NICE has produced guidance on the management of Parkinson’s disease, which includes recommendations on pharmacological management, including the timing of medicine administration. The NICE has also developed a Quality Standard for Parkinson’s disease that states that adults with Parkinson's disease who are in hospital, or a care home, should take levodopa within 30 minutes of their individually prescribed administration time. Clinicians are expected to take relevant national guidance fully into account when making clinical decisions regarding their patients, including the adjustment of medications.

The Department is aware of supply constraints with one supplier of amantadine 100 milligram capsules used in the management of Parkinson’s disease, however stocks remain available from alternative suppliers to cover demand. The Department has also been notified of a discontinuation of apomorphine (APO-go PFS) 50 milligram/10 millilitre pre-filled syringes from April 2025. Alternative formulations of apomorphine remain available for patients and management guidance has been issued to the National Health Service.

Coalfields Regeneration Trust funding

Yorkshire Cancer Research's 100th anniversary

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies

Found: Taylor Rosie Duffield Carla Denyer Liz Saville Roberts Rachael Maskell Mrs Elsie Blundell Paul Davies