Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to increase levels of investment into community finance organisations such as credit unions.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is taking concrete steps to increase investment into community finance organisations. In November 2024, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Funding (CEF) Programme. This will channel £150 million over the next two years to not-for-profit lenders, including Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), to widen access to affordable credit for underserved consumers and businesses.

The Government also recognises the important role of credit unions in providing savings and affordable loans to their members and in supporting local communities throughout the country. It is therefore taking action to support credit unions to grow and scale into the future, including a package of growth‑focussed reforms to the credit union common bond.

These reforms were announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy, published last month, which also outlines a number of measures aimed at improving access to affordable credit — including a Credit Union Transformation Fund to support the sector in England to scale. The Government will work closely with stakeholders to deliver on these interventions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to measure the impact of the Financial Inclusion Strategy in supporting the credit union sector.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the value that credit unions bring to their members and their key role in supporting financial inclusion, particularly through the provision of savings products and affordable credit.

I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy last month which sets out a range of ambitious measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience across the UK. This includes interventions to support the credit union sector scale and serve its members more effectively, through the launch of a new £30 million transformation fund for credit unions in England and growth-focused reforms to the common bond to support the growth of credit unions in Great Britain.

We have engaged closely with a range of stakeholders, including credit union sector representatives, to develop the Strategy, and will continue to do so to ensure it has a meaningful impact. The Strategy’s implementation will be reviewed in two years’ time to provide an update on progress and relevant outcomes-based metrics.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling Credit Unions to offer Help to Save accounts.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Help to Save scheme supports financial resilience for working people on low incomes by encouraging consistent, long-term saving and helping them build a financial buffer to plan and prepare for the future. The scheme is currently available to working individuals in receipt of Universal Credit, ensuring it remains targeted at its intended population.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2025, the government will make the Help to Save scheme permanent and, from April 2028, will expand eligibility to include all Universal Credit claimants who receive the child element, the caring element or both.

The government has recently consulted on reforms to the future delivery of Help to Save and has engaged with a range of third-party financial institutions, including credit unions, as part of this process. While a decision on the future delivery model has not yet been made, the government will continue working with credit unions and other interested financial institutions as these proposals are developed further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the Chief Medical Officer’s report, Health of People in Prison, on Probation and in the Secure NHS Estate in England, published on 6 November 2025, and how his department will be working with the Department of Health and Social Care to implement its recommendations.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Government welcomes the Chief Medical Officer’s review of the health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure NHS estate in England. This is an important area of focus and the report makes a range of recommendations to improve health outcomes for those in contact with the criminal justice system.

Improving health outcomes for people in prison and on probation is a shared challenge across the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, and we will continue to work in close partnership, as reflected by our National Partnership Agreement, as we carefully consider how to address the recommendations highlighted in the report.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specific actions the Department is taking, in response to the Chief Medical Officer’s report on the health of people in prison, published on 6 November 2025, to improve access to effective drug treatment and support services across the criminal justice pathway, including upon release from custody.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We welcome the Chief Medical Officer’s report on the health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure National Health Service estate in England and we are carefully considering the findings and recommendations.

The Department is committed to working with partners to reduce health inequalities for prisoners and is a signatory of the National Partnership Agreement which supports commissioning and delivery of appropriate service in prisons. We recognise that there is more we need to do to address health issues for this cohort. In addition, NHS England is updating all 19 health and justice service specifications by March 2026, which should provide opportunities to improve healthcare in prisons.

With specific regard to improving access to effective drug treatment and support services across the criminal justice pathway, including upon release from custody, the Department works closely with national partners and with local authorities to improve continuity of care between prison and community drug and alcohol treatment systems. To support this the Department has published a continuity of care self-assessment toolkit and shares actionable data and good practice with drug and alcohol partnerships on a regular basis. The toolkit is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/continuity-of-care-from-prison-to-community-self-assessment-tool

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Department’s timelines are for implementing the recommendations set out in the Chief Medical Officer’s report, Health of People in Prison, on Probation and in the Secure NHS Estate in England, published on 6 November 2025.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We welcome the Chief Medical Officer’s report on the health of people in prison, on probation and in the secure National Health Service estate in England and we are carefully considering the findings and recommendations.

The Department is committed to working with partners to reduce health inequalities for prisoners and is a signatory of the National Partnership Agreement which supports commissioning and delivery of appropriate service in prisons. We recognise that there is more we need to do to address health issues for this cohort. In addition, NHS England is updating all 19 health and justice service specifications by March 2026, which should provide opportunities to improve healthcare in prisons.

With specific regard to improving access to effective drug treatment and support services across the criminal justice pathway, including upon release from custody, the Department works closely with national partners and with local authorities to improve continuity of care between prison and community drug and alcohol treatment systems. To support this the Department has published a continuity of care self-assessment toolkit and shares actionable data and good practice with drug and alcohol partnerships on a regular basis. The toolkit is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/continuity-of-care-from-prison-to-community-self-assessment-tool

Thanking postal workers

Literacy and the criminal justice system

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Steve Barclay (Chair); Luke Akehurst; Irene Campbell; Paul Davies

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Steve Barclay (Chair); Luke Akehurst; Irene Campbell; Paul Davies

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Steve Barclay (Chair); Luke Akehurst; Irene Campbell; Paul Davies

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Steve Barclay (Chair); Luke Akehurst; Irene Campbell; Paul Davies

Found: Among the tributes made in Plenary on 17 June, Paul Davies MS, stated: Mohammad Asghar, or Oscar, as

<p>Diolch yn fawr, Paul Davies.&nbsp;And thank you for your courage and resilience and being able to show that, not just to us here today, across the Chamber, which we really do acknowledge, but also for the wider world. I think it's always really helpful and influential when people like yourself speaks up, and it can be difficult.</p>
<p>I'm grateful for this question. Yes, it has always been the case—and I remember recalling this back as health Minister myself—that the National Screening Committee is absolutely predominant&nbsp;in terms of its advice and guidance to Governments. I understood and obviously, we saw, to the response, disappointment, but also recognise that the clinical and medical consideration there was pre-eminent. But what we will do is we'll ask the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to be able to respond to your question today. Indeed, there may be an opportunity for yourself or others to ask a question of him tomorrow, as well, as it is his oral Senedd questions.</p>

<p>Thank you very much, once again. Thank you for your very important question, Paul Davies.</p>