Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the value for money review of homelessness services announced in the Budget 2025 policy paper, (a) when this review is expected to begin and conclude and (b) what consultation will take place with voluntary-sector organisations delivering homelessness services.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The review will commence in 2026, with the outputs considered as part of the Spending Review 2027.
The review will be a collaborative effort across government departments and external expertise will also be used to inform a comprehensive assessment of homelessness services. This will include expertise from frontline services, local government, and other voluntary and charity sector organisations.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the performance of South Western Railway.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The new Managing Director of South Western Railway (SWR), Lawrence Bowman, is responsible for both the infrastructure and operations of the SWR network. The new integrated team is working hard to address the issues inherited from the previous private sector operator. Officials are supporting SWR in the delivery of these improvements.
Performance is still below the level that passengers should expect but progress is being made. The number of Arterio trains in service has more than quadrupled under public ownership and SWR has accelerated the recruitment of drivers to address traincrew shortages. Also, over £2 billion of works is being delivered in the current five-year control period to help improve the resilience of railway infrastructure.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to help ensure that GPs are not replaced with Physician Associates.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are clear that physician assistants, still legally known as physician associates, are there to support doctors, not replace them. Professor Leng’s recent review findings were clear that, with changes in line with its recommendations, there remains a place for these roles as supportive, complementary members of medical teams.
We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play and are committed to addressing the issues they face. Since October 2024 we have funded primary care networks with an additional £160 million to recruit recently qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. Over 2,900 individual GPs have now been recruited, preventing them graduating into unemployment. This measure was introduced in response to feedback from the profession and to help solve an immediate issue of GP unemployment.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what governance arrangements his Department has considered for the future Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are considering a range of operating models for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and will ensure that there are robust governance arrangements in place which are appropriate to the chosen model.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on people responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 11 June to Question 57613.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the guidance entitled Access to Work: staff guide, published on 1 September 2025, on levels of support provided to successful applicants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The externally published staff guide replicates the internal guidance with some redactions, eg fraud referrals and any internal business processes. This is updated incrementally to mirror any changes to the internal guidance. The guidance published on 1 September was merely updating/clarifying information and reflecting minor changes to procedures, so would be considered to have little or no overall impact on the scheme.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of lobbying registers in (a) Canada, (b) the EU and (c) other jurisdictions in improving public trust in the policy-making process.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government continues to keep transparency around lobbying under review, and will factor into consideration any relevant international comparators, and PACAC's post-legislative scrutiny of the 2014 Lobbying Act, as any policy reforms are considered.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory code of conduct for lobbyists.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government continues to keep transparency around lobbying under review, and will factor into consideration any relevant international comparators, and PACAC's post-legislative scrutiny of the 2014 Lobbying Act, as any policy reforms are considered.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plan to extend the scope of the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists to include (a) in-house lobbyists, (b) trade bodies, (c) think tanks and (d) campaigning organisations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government continues to keep transparency around lobbying under review, and will factor into consideration any relevant international comparators, and PACAC's post-legislative scrutiny of the 2014 Lobbying Act, as any policy reforms are considered.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will review the VAT threshold exemption under the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government continues to keep transparency around lobbying under review, and will factor into consideration any relevant international comparators, and PACAC's post-legislative scrutiny of the 2014 Lobbying Act, as any policy reforms are considered.