Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of immediate emergency rough sleeping interventions; and what steps she is taking to ensure local authorities are adequately resourced to provide emergency accommodation during periods of acute demand.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government inherited a homelessness and rough sleeping crisis - between 2010 and 2025, the number of people sleeping rough increased by 171%. On his first day in office, the Prime Minister launched an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity. We are providing £874 million new funding to local areas to ensure that everyone who needs it is offered a route off the streets before Christmas this year which will continue beyond this winter thanks to new funding announced at Budget, while providing longer-term accommodation and support for people with the most complex and long-term experiences of rough sleeping.
These measures build on the Government's wider action to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including the commitments set out in A National Plan to End Homelessness. This takes total investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years to more than £4.4 billion.
Further details on the Government's most recent measures are set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 1 September 2026 (HCWS300).
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the role played by local charities and voluntary groups in delivering social prescribing and preventative healthcare services in Leicester East constituency; and what steps she is taking to support these organisations, including with rising operational costs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, the local National Health Service works with voluntary and community organisations as part of its social prescribing offer, including through the Joy health and wellbeing platform, which connects people with NHS, local authority, and voluntary and community sector services.
Social prescribing activities are commissioned locally according to population need, with local systems responsible for working with voluntary sector partners and determining appropriate funding arrangements. The Government will continue to support the role of the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector as part of the wider shift towards prevention and care closer to home.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase access to uniformed youth organisations in urban areas.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
I thank my honourable friend whose work with schools, mentoring projects and employers across Leicester East has created so many opportunities for young people.
Uniformed youth organisations are a vital part of the youth sector. They will be eligible to apply to the forthcoming £450 million Youth Matters Fund, helping more young people access these opportunities.
The Fund will support provision in both urban and rural communities, with further details to be announced shortly.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what resources are being allocated to healthcare trusts in the East Midlands to support early detection of breast cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on 20 April in response to Question 126985, on 30 October in response to Question 36506, and on 16 July in response to Question 14603. On the issue of self-referral, women aged 71 years old and over remain entitled to request a breast screening appointment every three years, and we work continually to ensure that awareness of that entitlement is reinforced through National Health Service communications.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness and improve self-referral uptake among older women for breast cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on 20 April in response to Question 126985, on 30 October in response to Question 36506, and on 16 July in response to Question 14603. On the issue of self-referral, women aged 71 years old and over remain entitled to request a breast screening appointment every three years, and we work continually to ensure that awareness of that entitlement is reinforced through National Health Service communications.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to streamline diagnostic pathways in primary care for breast cancer.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on 20 April in response to Question 126985, on 30 October in response to Question 36506, and on 16 July in response to Question 14603. On the issue of self-referral, women aged 71 years old and over remain entitled to request a breast screening appointment every three years, and we work continually to ensure that awareness of that entitlement is reinforced through National Health Service communications.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason her Department determined that external consultancy support was required under contract RRSG0009.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The reasons for this contract are explained here - RRSG0009 - Strategic Support for Rail Reform (Department for Transport) - Contracts Finder.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ICB-enforced mandatory minimum waiting times for cataract surgery on differences in regional healthcare standards; and what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times in Leicester East constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Leicester East and across the country, integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local populations within available resources, and the NHS Standard Contract allows local commissioners to set activity planning assumptions to manage demand, capacity, and expenditure. We remain committed to restoring the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2026 to Question 35496, what specific road safety risks were identified in the previous Government's consultation on extending minibus driving entitlements.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The previous Government’s 2022 Driver Licensing Call for Evidence did not identify specific road safety risks associated with extending category D1 minibus driving entitlement to category B car licence holders. However, we know that not everyone who takes the D1 test passes. Latest figures from the DVSA report that in 2025, 552 people failed their D1 test out of a total 3,069 tests and as of September this year, 408 out of 2,219 tests have resulted in failures.
Any proposed change to the category D1 licensing regime would require an adequate evidence base demonstrating that appropriate standards of driver competence, passenger safety and the safety of other road users would be maintained.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2026 to Question 33979, how many ZEV mandate allowances were purchased by each manufacturer from other manufacturers in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
During the 2024 scheme year, around 39,000 zero emission car allowances and around 200 zero emission van allowances were bought or sold during the trading window. We do not comment on individual manufacturers’ compliance strategies or commercial agreements. Further information on 2024 compliance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69b1922458d4ef5adaf0e4e0/vehicle-emissions-trading-schemes-2024-final-compliance-report.pdf.
The trading window for the 2025 scheme year closes on 31st December 2026 and final compliance information will be published in March 2027.