Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take legislative steps to authorise the police to inform youth clubs when people (a) attending and (b) running them have received a police caution for sexual offences.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Ensuring the system for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk is as robust as possible is a crucial part of preventing sexual violence and delivering our mission to halve violence against women and girls.
The disclosure and barring regime protects children and vulnerable adults through the disclosure of relevant criminal records to help employers make informed recruitment decisions. Where an individual is seeking to work in a role that involve special risks and sensitivities, such as working closely with children, an employer may request they obtain an enhanced criminal record certificate from the Disclosure and Barring Service. These certificates include details of spent and unspent cautions and convictions recorded on the Police National Computer, subject to filtering rules. Except in some sectors like health and education, the use of DBS checks is at the employer’s discretion.
In addition, police can share information about individuals who may pose a risk where disclosure is required to protect the public, including children or vulnerable adults. This can be done either proactively or on request.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 22100 on Genetics: Diseases, how many additional (a) midwives and (b) close relative neonatal nurses were provided for the Genetic Risk Equity project; and what proportion of funding that represented.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There were an additional 3.8 working time equivalent (WTE) midwives and 1 WTE neonatal nurse in post in 2024/25. Staff costs represented 22% of project costs, or 59% if full recruitment to funded posts was secured.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish (a) the business case for and (b) analysis held of the Genetic Risk Equity project.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is not a business case for the project and therefore there is no plan to publish one. The project was approved through the maternity transformation programme board and business planning and prioritisation processes.
The project expert reference group has engaged with pilot sites throughout implementation and qualitative feedback has informed development of Phase 2 of the programme. There will be an evaluation of the project due in spring 2025 that will include quantitative and qualitative analyses. The intention is to publish this.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Trade Commissioners programme since it was established.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
His Majesty’s Trade Commissioners (HMTCs) represent and promote the UK in markets across the world. They lead on export promotion, both inward and outward investment, and trade policy overseas on behalf of His Majesty’s Government (HMG). Their work includes developing regional plans to deliver the Department for Business and Trade’s priorities in global markets and then leading their teams to deliver those priorities.
HMTCs are an important part of the department’s regional leadership rather than a programme, so are not subject to programme evaluation.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a table of the number of (a) doctors, (b) registered nurses and (c) medical scientists were employed as locums in each (i) month and (ii) year since 2021 and what the total cost was for each group in each of those (A) months and (B) years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested. NHS England publishes quarterly information on total agency and bank expenditure by National Health Service providers as part of financial reporting, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/financial-performance-reports
The 2025/26 NHS Planning Guidance states that trusts should reduce their agency spend by a minimum of 30% and bank spend by a minimum of 10%. The accompanying Revenue Finance and Contracting Guidance sets the ambition that agency spend should be eliminated in the coming years.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24256 on Electronic Cigarettes: Young People, whether the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will restrict the size of vape tanks.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst nicotine vapes are already subject to tank size requirements, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill goes further and covers all types of vapes, both nicotine and non-nicotine, and consumer nicotine products.
As stated in our previous answer, the bill provides powers on product features that allow the Government to regulate the size of a tank or refill container, and the amount of liquid that can be included, as well as powers to standardise the size and shape of vapes, and to further restrict liquid availability.
Subject to consultation, regulation making powers in the Government’s bill will allow us to amend or place additional requirements and limits on vape tank sizes, and the size of refill tanks. The Government will consider this issue further as part of its secondary legislation programme after Royal Assent.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason international students from countries with Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results above the UK’s own in English are required to take additional English tests when they apply to UK universities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government has no plans to weaken the UK’s immigration controls on English language requirements in the way suggested by the Honourable Member for Basildon and Billericay.
To ensure that all those coming to the UK to study under the Student route are genuine students who can follow a course of study, the Home Office sets minimum requirements for English language competency as specified in the Immigration Rules.
Sponsors who are Higher Education Providers (HEP) with a track record of compliance offering courses at degree level or above can also choose to set higher requirements and use their own methods to assess the students’ English language ability.
It is important that the English language requirements set out in our Immigration Rules continue to be applied to each individual based on their personal aptitude, rather than handing blanket approval to all students based on the PISA results of their country of origin.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a table of the total amount spent on (a) primary, (b) secondary, (c) tertiary and (d) community care in the NHS in each of the last 5 financial years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not routinely collect expenditure data against the categories requested. However, the table attached shows the total spend in billions for specialised services, primary medical care, community services, continuing care, acute services, core mental health services, and others, as well as total integrated care board and direct commissioning spend, from 2015/16 to 2023/24.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any staff in his Department are seconded from the London Borough of Camden.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Secondments are part of a range of ways of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and have been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and must follow the processes as set out in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. Under the Plan for Change, the Cabinet Office is drawing together multi-disciplinary teams across the country including front line public service workers, policy officials and those with digital and data skills to pioneer public service reform.This includes one secondee from the London Borough of Camden.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 18211 on Prime Minister: Aviation, whether this approach is different to that of the previous Prime Minister.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The approach remains the same as that of previous Prime Ministers.