Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
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.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect leaseholders from (a) poor-performing managing agents and (b) excessive service charges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the proposals set out in the consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services published on 4 July 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here) and the answer given to Question UIN 77534 on 17 October 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure fire safety for new (a) high rise buildings, (b) complex or mixed use developments and (c) sites with known access or water-supply constraints and (d) other new build major residential developments.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department has taken steps to strengthen fire safety in all new buildings, including those that are high-rise, complex, or located on constrained sites.
The Building Safety Act 2022 established the Building Safety Regulator, which since October 2023 has acted as the Building Control Authority for Higher Risk Buildings. Fire safety is considered from the earliest design stages through Planning Gateway One and Gateway Two.
Approved Document B (Fire Safety) is subject to continuous review. Updates since 2017 include the ban on combustible materials in external walls over 18 metres, sprinkler requirements for buildings over 11 metres, evacuation alert systems, and provision for second staircases in buildings over 18 metres, which will apply to new buildings where applications are submitted after 30 September 2026.
For complex or mixed-use developments, applications are assessed by multi-disciplinary teams. Where standard guidance is insufficient, expert advice should be sought.
For sites with access or water-supply constraints, developers must demonstrate compliance with fire service access provisions or justify alternative approaches.
All new residential developments, regardless of size, must comply with the Building Regulations, including Part B (Fire Safety). Approved Document B provides statutory guidance on how these requirements may be met in common building situations, but developers may choose alternative approaches provided they can demonstrate compliance with the functional requirements of the Regulations.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support victims of rape and sexual violence through the court system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I recognise that the experience of attending court can be distressing, particularly for vulnerable victims, such as those of rape and sexual violence.
Special measures can help vulnerable witnesses who may otherwise feel unable to give evidence.
The Ministry of Justice-funded Witness Service also provides on-the-day support to victims at court.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the use of X for Government communications is in accordance with the (a) propriety and ethics guidance of the Government Communications Service, (b) Civil Service Code, and (c) Public Sector Equality Duty.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government Communication Service (GCS) SAFE (Safety and suitability, Ads context, Freedom of speech, and Ethics and enforcement) Framework is the single, comprehensive framework that the government uses to regularly provide thorough guidance ensuring use of digital advertising environments is appropriate. SAFE supports the principles of GCS propriety and ethics guidance, the Civil Service Code and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The platform X is currently used for non-paid communications activity only (also known as 'organic' activity). We review the use of different platforms as needed, to ensure we meet the high standards set out in the SAFE Framework.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding (a) her Department and (b) Sport England have allocated to support elite Deaf sportspeople to attend the Tokyo 2025 Summer Deaflympics.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government, through the UK Sport grant, supports Olympic and Paralympic success. Beyond this the Government does not provide additional funding to performance sport, in line with our approach to a great many other areas of individual sporting performance.
Sport England are exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on pay for specialist community public health nurses.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialist community public health nurses in England are typically paid on the National Health Service’s Agenda for Change (AfC) pay system.
Annual AfC pay awards are decided following recommendations from the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). We accepted the 2025/26 recommendations in full, and the Government has asked the NHSPRB to begin the 2026/27 pay round. Relevant stakeholders are invited to submit evidence to the NHSPRB to inform its deliberations.
Officials and ministers continue to engage with AfC unions on pay and contractual matters via the NHS Staff Council.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding (a) her Department and (b) Sport England have allocated to support elite Deaf sportspeople in each of the last five years.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Our Arm's Length Body, Sport England, has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with UK Deaf Sport on funding for athletes competing in the Tokyo 25 Summer Deaflympics.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Our Arm's Length Body, Sport England, has committed £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.
Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots.