Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to healthcare services for people facing homelessness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has considered the adequacy of access to healthcare services for people experiencing homelessness as part of its wider work on reducing health inequalities.
To ensure equitable access to healthcare services, the Department supported the development and implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline 214 on Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness, which sets out clear expectations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214/chapter/Recommendations#intermediate-care
As part of the recently published cross-Government Homelessness Strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness, the Department has committed to improving access to mental health and substance misuse services and updating statutory guidance to strengthen safeguarding responsibilities for people experiencing homelessness. Further information on this strategy is available at the following link:
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been discharged from hospitals into rough sleeping in each year since 2023.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England do not hold this information.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the draft Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Leasehold and commonhold reform are key priorities for this government and we remain determined to honour the commitments made in our manifesto and do what is necessary to finally bring the feudal leasehold system to an end.
As per my letter to the Chair of the Select Committee dated 18 December 2024, the government expect to be in a position to publish the draft Bill for scrutiny in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the Expensive Car Supplement component of Vehicle Excise Duty for used vehicles to reflect a) vehicle depreciation and b) purchase price at the point of resale.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) is a supplement to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) payable by vehicle keepers for five years, from years two to six following a car's first registration.
The ECS rate is currently £425 per year, increasing to £440 from 1 April 2026 in line with RPI. The ECS currently applies to new cars with a list price of £40,000 or more. As announced at Budget 2025, the threshold will increase to £50,000 for zero-emissions cars only from 1 April 2026, as such vehicles tend to be more expensive.
The ECS was introduced so that those who can afford to access the most expensive cars make a fair contribution. The Government has no plans to change the scope of the ECS.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support provided by HM Prison Service for the welfare of (a) Qesser Zuhrah, (b) Amy Gardiner-Gibson, (c) Jon Cink, (d) Heba Muraisi, (e) Teuta Hoxha, (f) Kamran Ahmed, (g) Muhammad Umer Khalid and (h) Lewie Chiaramellob during their hunger strike.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The safety and wellbeing of those held in our prisons is of vital importance. Healthcare in prisons is the responsibility of the NHS: Prison Service staff work with healthcare partners to ensure that those held in prison have access to the same quality and range of services as the general public receives from the NHS, as required by the Prison Rules 1999.
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has well-established and effective procedures in place for managing prisoners who refuse food, and these are being followed in the case of those of the named prisoners who are currently refusing food, with appropriate medical assessment and support in place.
When a prisoner refuses food, prison staff will act immediately in accordance with the Prison Safety Policy Framework. This includes notifying healthcare professionals and conducting regular welfare checks. The Framework also provides for close monitoring of the person’s health by healthcare staff. Additionally, prison chaplaincy teams are available to provide pastoral care.