Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025, what legislative vehicle she plans to use for any ban on the carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs; and when she plans to bring that legislation forward.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 613.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025, when any ban on the use of carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs will take effect, including any proposed transition period for the industry.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 613.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025, when she plans to publish a response to the consultation on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 613.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025, when the consultation on banning the use of carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs will open; and how long it will be open for.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 613.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of trends in levels of completion of courses of NHS Talking Therapies treatment in (i) England and (ii) the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board area.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Talking Therapies continues to expand to deliver additional courses of treatment and increase session numbers to boost recovery. In 2024/25, 670,419 referrals completed course of treatment across England. For 2025/26, this figure was 671,262. However, this figure is based on performance data and will be updated when the annual publication is published in September. We are working towards the expectation that a total of 915,000 people will have completed treatment by 2028/29.
Over the last two years, 2024/25 and 2025/26, the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board’s performance on the delivery of NHS Talking Therapies Courses of Treatment for the year to date has improved from 2024/25, with the system delivering above plans in 2025/26. For the full year 2025/26, 31,965 people completed a course of treatment, compared with 30,350 in 2024/25.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made a decision on the steps it plans to take to develop the pilots with Centrepoint of the Upstream youth homelessness prevention programme.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The government recognises that targeted support within schools can play a major role in identifying young people at higher risk of homelessness and providing support to them and their families at a much earlier stage. We continue to engage with Centrepoint on their Upstream pilots as part of our work to prevent youth homelessness.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what evaluation his department has made of the effectiveness of assessment by the NHS of the appropriateness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for patients through NHS Talking Therapies.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
NHS Talking Therapies provide National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended, evidence‑based psychological therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), for adults with common mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Treatment decisions, including the appropriateness of CBT, are assessed by trained and accredited NHS practitioners, using clinical judgement in line with national guidance.
People can access the NHS Talking Therapies service through general practice referral or self‑referral, and support is tailored to individual need, recognising the variation in severity and the complexity of common mental health conditions.
The Department and NHS England keep the performance of NHS Talking Therapies under continual review, including access, waiting times, and treatment outcomes. The service is currently meeting its waiting time standards, with 98.1% of people starting treatment within 18 weeks and 88.3% within six weeks in March 2026. Outcomes are improving, with 48.4% of people achieving reliable recovery and 68.7% reliable improvement, against medium‑term ambitions of 51% and 69% respectively.
We also continue to strengthen the evidence base for NHS Talking Therapies through ongoing evaluation activity, including independent analysis of specific service components, and will consider these findings as part of further work to improve effectiveness and patient outcomes.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration his department has made of the potential merits of introducing an equivalent to Severe Disability Premium in Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
In the legacy benefits (e.g. Employment & Support Allowance (ESA), Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and Income Support (IS)) there were multiple disability premia (e.g. Disability Premium, Enhanced Disability Premium and Severe Disability Premium). These were complex, fragmented and often underpaid, each with differing and often overlapping rules that made administration difficult and confusing for claimants.
Universal Credit replaces these with a single structure and clearer elements (e.g. disability and caring support), reducing complexity and improving consistency and claimant understanding.
The Universal Credit rate for people who have Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) and meet the Severe Conditions Criteria (SCC) or the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) is more than double the equivalent rate of the ESA support group and provides financial support to those with the most severe disabilities and health conditions.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 potential merits of changing the Industry Code to ensure that a parking fine is automatically cancelled where a motorist is able to provide evidence of mitigating circumstances.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 requires the Secretary of State to prepare a Code of Practice containing guidance on the operation and management of private parking facilities, which will replace the existing Sector Single Code of Practice. The Department consulted on the Code of Practice last year, including on mitigating circumstances that would warrant the cancellation of a parking charge. Consultation responses are currently being considered, and the Government’s response will be published alongside the new statutory Code of Practice in the autumn.
The Department consulted on the effectiveness of the current enforcement regime in the Parking Code Enforcement Framework consultation in 2021. The government response can be found here Parking code enforcement framework: consultation response - GOV.UK. To address the issues of transparency and the lack of independence, the Government is developing a Certification Scheme to hold operators accountable for not adhering to standards in the Code.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the use of sanctions by trade associations on private parking operators where they breach the Industry Code.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 requires the Secretary of State to prepare a Code of Practice containing guidance on the operation and management of private parking facilities, which will replace the existing Sector Single Code of Practice. The Department consulted on the Code of Practice last year, including on mitigating circumstances that would warrant the cancellation of a parking charge. Consultation responses are currently being considered, and the Government’s response will be published alongside the new statutory Code of Practice in the autumn.
The Department consulted on the effectiveness of the current enforcement regime in the Parking Code Enforcement Framework consultation in 2021. The government response can be found here Parking code enforcement framework: consultation response - GOV.UK. To address the issues of transparency and the lack of independence, the Government is developing a Certification Scheme to hold operators accountable for not adhering to standards in the Code.