Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the impact of Sport England’s consultee status on planning applications for playing fields.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a wide range of issues. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

A consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system is underway and can be found on gov.uk here.

The consultation asks for views on the impacts of removing Sport England’s status as a statutory consultee as part of our work to align the statutory consultee system with the development and economic growth objectives set out in our Plan for Change.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on wait times for (a) general cases and (b) cases before the case examiner.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC is independent of Government, directly accountable to Parliament and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees the bodies that regulate health and care professionals in the UK, which includes the NMC.

As Minister of State for Health (Secondary Care), I monitor the NMC’s performance and meets with the organisation regularly, which includes discussion on the timeliness of the NMC’s fitness to practise processes. In line with the Ministerial Code, details of all ministerial meetings, including those with the NMC, are published quarterly on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing child poverty on the economy.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Child Poverty Action Group estimate the cost to the country at £40bn per year, which is one of the reasons why the government is removing the two-child limit and lifting 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.

Found: London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home-office Rt Hon Dame Karen Bradley MP, Chair of HASC and Sarah Owen

Found: Yours sincerely, The Rt Hon Dame Karen Bradley Chair, Home Affairs Committee Sarah Owen MP

Found: Yours sincerely, Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee Sarah

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East

Found: Current membership Sarah Owen (Labour; Luton North) (Chair) Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat; North East