Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to (a) improve the Child Maintenance Service and (b) ensure that payments are made.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s aim is for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) to remove the direct pay service in order to tackle non-compliance more quickly. This change will be made when Parliamentary time allows. Moving to a single, strengthened Collect and Pay system will allow the CMS to monitor all payments, identify missed or partial payments immediately, and take faster enforcement action. Ahead of this change, the CMS is already moving noncompliant parents more quickly from Direct Pay to Collect and Pay.
Where compliance cannot be achieved, the CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers that are designed to get money flowing quickly, prevent the build-up of arrears and ensure children get the financial support they deserve. These powers include the ability to deduct directly from the paying parent’s earnings or bank accounts and disqualifications from holding or obtaining driving licenses and passports.
To further improve arrears collection, the CMS will introduce administrative liability orders (ALOs) to replace the current court based process. This will streamline enforcement, reduce delays, and help the CMS act more quickly against parents who avoid their responsibilities. Work with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government is underway, and regulations will be brought to Parliament as soon as possible.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service is able to identify hidden earnings.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent changes jobs, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses real-time information from HMRC where available, to quickly identify new employment and adjust maintenance calculations accordingly.
People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.
Where the information available from HMRC does not give rise to a liability which accurately reflects what a customer believes a paying parent should be paying, the customer can seek a Variation. Variations allow the CMS to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A variation can be requested on grounds of diversion of income. This is when the paying parent may be able to control the amount of income they receive. This includes diverting income to another person or for another purpose (including excessive pension contributions).
Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the Child Maintenance Service is given.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the level of staff required to provide specialist women’s health services through the NHS online hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Analysis shows that, in the first three years, the anticipated workforce available is sufficient to meet the demand for the National Health Service online hospital, including for women’s health services. Across all specialities, only a small percentage, approximately 4%, of consultants will need to contribute fewer than six hours per week to meet the 8.5 million forecasted appointments and assessments in the first three years.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women in Warrington South constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.
Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider an expansion of Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology training posts up to 37 (31.1 WTE) by 2030 to help fill consultant vacancies and help ensure succession planning.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, we set out that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to fill vacant consultant posts in Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology working in the South West and the Midlands.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver effective care.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills when needed.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
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 diagnosis waiting time for Endometriosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, including endometriosis care. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, has commissioned studies focused on endometriosis diagnosis, treatment, and patient experience.
Diagnosis may involve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound, but laparoscopy remains the definitive diagnostic and treatment method. We are taking action to transform diagnostic services and increase capacity, including MRI and ultrasound. This includes expanding existing community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and building up to five new ones in 2025/26. Our Elective Reform Plan also committed to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations.
Surgical hubs are helping endometriosis patients get quicker treatment. National Health Service surgical hubs deliver high-volume, low-complexity elective surgeries, including gynaecological procedures. Currently, over half of the 123 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services, and laparoscopies are a key part of this offering. The Elective Reform Plan commits to expand the number of hubs over the next three years to increase surgical capacity and reduce waiting times.
From 2027, a new “online hospital” will also offer patients the choice to access specialist care, including for menstrual problems potentially indicating endometriosis or fibroids from home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Warrington South, colleagues and representatives of Royal College of Pathologists about the recruitment of Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology consultants in the South West and the Midlands.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions about recruitment are a matter for individual National Health Service employers, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver effective care.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills when needed.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients, and organisations, including royal colleges across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce regional inequalities with standing charge rates.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Regional variations in standing charges arise from differences in electricity distribution costs and reflect the different costs of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in a specific area, and the number of consumers those costs are spread across.
The Government is committed to bearing down on standing charges. Ofgem has also been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with lower standing charges. Ofgem’s consultation on these proposals closed on 23 October 2025, and they will provide a further update in due course.
In addition, through their Cost Allocation and Recovery Review, Ofgem has also been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
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 waiting times for gynaecology services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Women’s health is a priority for the Government, including tackling gynaecology waiting lists. We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care by March 2029.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, sets out a number of ways which we will improve gynaecology waiting times. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures. These reforms will mean shorter waits and more convenient gynaecological care for patients.
We are also introducing an “online hospital” through NHS Online. This will give people on certain pathways the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times. Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will be among the conditions available for online referrals from 2027.