Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how (a) local authorities and (b) magistrates’ courts can obtain liability orders under the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Where a council tax debt remains outstanding following a final notice, the council may apply to the magistrates court for a liability order confirming this debt. The individual will be issued with a summons to appear before the magistrate’s court. Where the court is satisfied that the amount is payable they will issue a liability order for this debt. Regulations 33 to 36A of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, set out the processes councils must follow in obtaining a liability order.
The government is currently consulting on modernising and improving the administration of council tax. As part of this it is seeking views on changes to the process for obtaining a liability order, including the time before a council can seek this and the fees involved.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide consular support to (a) British citizens and (b) the family members of British citizens in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have long advised against all travel to Iran. We have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw our UK staff from Iran. Our Embassy will continue to operate remotely, and we maintain the ability to message the Iranian system directly. The UK Government will not be able to evacuate or provide face-to-face assistance to British Nationals (BN) in Iran. If BNs intend to depart Iran across a land border and consider it safe, they should check the travel advice of the country they intend to enter before travelling to the border, including visa requirements. BNs requiring assistance can contact the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 24/7.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of mammograms available for women over the aged of 50 in West London.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to providing equitable access to breast screening services for eligible women aged 50 years old and over across the country, including in West London.
In West London, women aged 50 to 70 years old are invited for breast screening every three years as part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme, to the screening sites at the West of London Breast Screening Service (WOLBSS). There has been a surge in demand recently, following the disruption caused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address the increased demand for screening services post-COVID recovery, NHS England is working with the WOLBSS to improve appointment availability. This includes extending clinic hours, offering weekend clinics, investing in workforce recruitment and training, and targeting areas with lower screening uptake.
The information requested on average waiting times is not held centrally for screening mammograms.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for women aged over 50 to receive a mammogram.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is committed to providing equitable access to breast screening services for eligible women aged 50 years old and over across the country, including in West London.
In West London, women aged 50 to 70 years old are invited for breast screening every three years as part of the NHS Breast Screening Programme, to the screening sites at the West of London Breast Screening Service (WOLBSS). There has been a surge in demand recently, following the disruption caused during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To address the increased demand for screening services post-COVID recovery, NHS England is working with the WOLBSS to improve appointment availability. This includes extending clinic hours, offering weekend clinics, investing in workforce recruitment and training, and targeting areas with lower screening uptake.
The information requested on average waiting times is not held centrally for screening mammograms.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help support schools to educate parents on safeguarding children in respect to online content.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Keeping children safe is an absolute priority for this government, and schools play a critical role in this.
The department’s statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ makes clear that schools and colleges should adopt a whole-school approach to safeguarding. This includes considering how online safety is reflected in relevant school policies and processes, and strategies for engaging parents in conversations about online safety. It also signposts to resources specifically aimed at parents to help them keep their children safe online.
Alongside this, the department is conducting a research project to help us understand what more we can do to support parents to keep their children safe online.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6277, what progress her Department has made on agreeing an exchange agreement with Kosovo.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has obtained further information that was required from the Kosovan Embassy to progress a driving licence exchange agreement with Kosovo. This agreement remains subject to public consultation and the introduction of domestic legislation and this work is ongoing.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she has taken to help support small businesses to understand the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax scheme.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is designed to help businesses keep on top of their tax affairs and support their wider productivity.
The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure that those needing to use MTD for Income Tax understand the requirements and can do so successfully from April 2026. A communications campaign is underway, raising customer awareness of MTD for Income Tax and encouraging agents and customers to sign up for testing.
HMRC are supporting customers and agents with a suite of guidance products, direct communications, webinars, live events and social media activity to help them to prepare.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax scheme on sole traders who are digitally excluded.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises that not everyone is able to interact with HMRC digitally. Customers that consider themselves digitally excluded will be able to apply for an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. HMRC will provide further information about the exemption process later in 2025.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of vapes by children under 16 years of age in the London Borough of Hounslow.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking progressive national-level action through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to protect future generations from the harms of addiction and nicotine. The Bill includes strong measures to tackle youth vaping, including a ban on the sale of all vapes and nicotine products to children under the age of 18 years old and ending the free distribution of these products to anyone. The Bill will also ban the advertisement and sponsorship of all vapes and nicotine products and provides new powers to limit the flavours, packaging and changing where and how vapes and other nicotine products can be displayed.
The Bill also takes bold action to strengthen enforcement and tackle underage sales. This includes the introduction of new £200 fixed penalty notices to support Trading Standards to crack down on underage sales, and powers to introduce a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vape and nicotine products. Alongside the Bill, the Government is investing over £100 million over five years to boost HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force enforcement capability. The Government is investing £10 million of new funding in Trading Standards this year to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales. This funding is being used to boost the Trading Standards workforce by recruiting over 80 new apprentices. Hounslow has been allocated a new apprentice.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of how many 12 to 16 year olds use vapes in (a) Hounslow (b) London.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes estimates of the prevalence of vaping in children from the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England Survey. This survey covers children in years seven to 11 in secondary school of whom the majority will be aged between 12 and 16 years old but some children aged 11 years old will also be included. Data on the use of vapes in children is not available at local authority level.
The latest figures for London are from the 2023 survey which showed that 4% of children were regular vapers, while 18% reported having ever tried vaping. The report is available at the following link: