Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS Ambulance Trusts on the potential merits of enabling humanitarian charities to purchase end-of-life ambulances directly from them.

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

No such discussions have been held. Information on decommissioned National Health Service ambulances is not held. Decisions on how to appropriately decommission ambulances is taken at a local level by ambulance trusts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NHS Ambulance Trusts on repurposing ambulances approaching the end of their operational lifespan for humanitarian relief in Ukraine.

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

No such discussions have been held. Information on decommissioned National Health Service ambulances is not held. Decisions on how to appropriately decommission ambulances is taken at a local level by ambulance trusts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of decommissioned NHS ambulances donated to humanitarian charities over the past 12 months.

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

No such discussions have been held. Information on decommissioned National Health Service ambulances is not held. Decisions on how to appropriately decommission ambulances is taken at a local level by ambulance trusts.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of how a private diagnosis of (a) Autism and (b) ADHD in children will be taken into account in future PIP assessments when those children are adults.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment is based on the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, rather than focusing solely on the health condition itself.

When making decisions on PIP, DWP case managers consider all available evidence including that from treating health professionals. Claimants are encouraged to provide supporting information, and the claim form details the type of evidence that is useful to provide.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for the completion of Education and Health Care Plans.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. Plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need.

The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help them to identify the barriers to this and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing a specialist special educational needs and disabilities adviser.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will provide assurances that there will be no further delays by (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda, (c) the British Virgin Islands and (d) Turks and Caicos Islands to implement Legitimate Interest Access Registers of Beneficial Ownership, following commitments made at the 2024 UK and Overseas Joint Ministerial Council.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.

We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how he will assess compliance with commitments made at the 2024 Joint Ministerial Council by (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda, (c) the British Virgin Islands, (d) the Cayman Islands and (e) the Turks and Caicos Islands to implement Legitimate Interest Access Registers of Beneficial Ownership.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.

We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what incentives he is providing for (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda, (c) the British Virgin Islands and (d) the Turks and Caicos Islands to make swifter progress at delivering Legitimate Interest Access Registers of Beneficial Ownership.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.

We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress (a) Anguilla, (b) Bermuda, (c) the British Virgin Islands, (d) the Cayman Islands and (e) the Turks and Caicos Islands have made on implementing Legitimate Interest Access Registers of Beneficial Ownership.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.

We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell