Shockat Adam Portrait

Shockat Adam

Independent - Leicester South

979 (2.3%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 4th July 2024



Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Shockat Adam has voted in 162 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Shockat Adam Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
David Lammy (Labour)
Foreign Secretary
(19 debate interactions)
Hamish Falconer (Labour)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(19 debate interactions)
Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op))
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
(13 debate interactions)
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Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(19 debate contributions)
Home Office
(16 debate contributions)
Ministry of Defence
(12 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Shockat Adam's debates

Leicester South Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

In modern society, we believe more consideration needs to be given to animal welfare and how livestock is treated and culled.

We believe non-stun slaughter is barbaric and doesn't fit in with our culture and modern-day values and should be banned, as some EU nations have done.


Latest EDMs signed by Shockat Adam

30th June 2025
Shockat Adam signed this EDM as a sponsor on Tuesday 1st July 2025

Sarcoma Awareness Month 2025

Tabled by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
That this House marks Sarcoma Awareness Month 2025, celebrated in July, which raises awareness about Sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that develops in soft bones and tissues; notes the theme of this year's awareness is early diagnosis and educating the public on the most common of symptoms and the …
3 signatures
(Most recent: 1 Jul 2025)
Signatures by party:
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Independent: 1
30th June 2025
Shockat Adam signed this EDM as the primary signatory on Monday 30th June 2025

Glaucoma Awareness Week

Tabled by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
That this House acknowledges the importance of raising awareness about glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide; notes that glaucoma often presents with no early symptoms and can go undiagnosed until significant vision loss has occurred; welcomes Glaucoma Week as an opportunity to highlight the importance of regular eye …
5 signatures
(Most recent: 1 Jul 2025)
Signatures by party:
Liberal Democrat: 3
Independent: 1
Labour: 1
View All Shockat Adam's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Shockat Adam, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Shockat Adam has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Shockat Adam has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

1 Bill introduced by Shockat Adam


A Bill to make provision in connection with the recognition of the State of Palestine.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Monday 21st October 2024

Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
30th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department can exempt from arms export licensing products with a direct military application; and whether any such exemptions have been granted since 2022.

The requirement for an export licence for military goods is set out in the Export Control Order 2008. Export licence applications for all controlled goods are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria.

Where licence applications include items that are not covered by the 2008 Order, exporters can be informed that no licence is required.

Douglas Alexander
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
20th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the guidance entitled Libraries as a statutory service, published on 21 February 2025, whether her Department was informed by Leicester City Council of its plans for a consultation on the future of its library service before that consultation was launched.

Department officials have met with City Council officers on several occasions to understand their public library proposals, as well as their consultation plans and to remind the Council of its statutory duty. This included a meeting on 24th March 2025. The City Council’s consultation on ‘Proposals for Leicester city libraries and community centres’ opened on 2nd April 2025.

The guidance set out in Libraries as a Statutory Service encourages, but does not mandate, councils to inform the department when it is considering changing its library service, before public engagement or consultation.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
17th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) arts and (b) creative activities on the health of (i) children and (ii) babies in socially deprived communities.

DCMS has carried out a range of work to research the impact of arts and creativity upon health. For instance, through the Culture and Heritage Capital (CHC) Programme, the Department has recently published a new study that monetises the impact of culture and heritage engagement on health and wellbeing. This draws on evidence for a range of groups, including children and young people. While the report is not specifically about children from socially deprived communities, its findings are striking. For example, one model within the research finds that general engagement with culture and heritage for adults aged 30-49 has annual health and wellbeing benefits worth £992 per person and £8bn to wider society each year. Specifically for children, another model finds that participating in art can have benefits worth £134 per child per year in terms of improvements to quality of life and self esteem, worth £120mn per year to society.

The research highlights one of the many reasons that Government invests to support arts and creativity, including activity with children and young people. For example, one third of organisations supported through Arts Council England's National Portfolio Investment Programme (334 Organisations) report that they deliver “creative health” activity, including 121 who support the health of children and young people.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many nursery providers have closed in England in each year since 2018; and what data her Department holds on the reasons for those closures.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

Ofsted publishes data on the numbers of all types of providers joining and leaving the sector each year. Some caution is required in using the numbers because, for example, a nursery may resign one registration and immediately register new provision. Please also note that this data was released under the previous government:

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Childcare providers leaving the sector

-10,900

-10,600

-8,270

-11,300

-11,100

-9,650

-7,520

Childcare providers joining the sector

9,140

7,870

7,400

6,990

5,690

6,330

6,490

Net change

-1,760

-2,730

-870

-4,310

-5,410

-3,320

-1,030

Note that from 2019/20, the numbers of annual joiners and leavers are calculated by comparing the beginning of the year to the end. Therefore, the numbers of providers joining and leaving from 2019/20 are not comparable with the figures up to 2018/19.

Ofsted’s most recent publication shows the number of places available increased by 12,100 (1%) between August 2023 and August 2024. The department’s projections on demand for places are not published by region but show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet demand for September 2025, with the highest uplift being in some of the most disadvantaged areas.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free nursery hours were funded in each year since 2018; and what the total cost to the public was in each of those years.

Funding for the early years entitlements is based on part-time equivalent (PTE) hours. We define 1 PTE as 15 hours across 38 weeks a year (570 funded hours per annum).

Early years entitlements funding is allocated to local authorities through the early years block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). DSG allocations are published annually on GOV.UK. The figures requested have been provided in the attached table.

Early years entitlements funding is demand led, so allocations are updated to reflect actual take-up throughout the year. Final allocations for a financial year are available in the July following the financial year ending in March.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the financial sustainability of nursery providers in the context of changes to free childcare entitlement.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity. We want a record proportion of children (75%) to achieve a good level of development by the end of reception by 2028. By focusing on child development rather than just childcare, the government aims to ensure that children are better prepared for school and future learning.

In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements. This is a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements.

As announced at the Spending Review, the government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents. Employment Allowance is being increased to protect businesses by providing relief of up to £10,500 per annum on their employer Class 1 National Insurance contributions liabilities from 6 April 2025. Early years childcare providers are entitled to claim the Employment Allowance if they are private businesses or charities, and we expect the vast majority will be eligible to do so.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of regional variations in the cost of delivering nursery provision in England.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.

In 2025/26 alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. On top of this, we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the Early Years Expansion Grant.

To set early years funding rates, we uplift the national average rate from the previous year taking into account cost pressures facing the sector, including forecasts of average earnings and inflation, and the National Living Wage. We use the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF) to distribute the early years entitlements budget to local authorities. The EYNFF includes a base rate for each child, which is the same minimum funding for every child no matter where they live or whether they have additional needs. This rate is based on the core costs of childcare provision and has been informed by the cost of childcare review.

To make sure we can account for the differences in costs across the country, such as on staffing and premises costs, we also apply an area cost adjustment for each area. This approach only increases funding, it never reduces the base rate or additional needs funding.

The average hourly funding rate provided for 3 and 4-year-olds since 2018 is as follows:

Year

3 and 4-year-old combined rate

2017/18

£4.76

2018/19

£4.75

2019/20

£4.75

2020/21

£4.83

2021/22

£4.88

2022/23

£5.04

2023/24 (April – August)

£5.28

2023/24 (September – March)

£5.62

2024/25

£5.88

2025/26

£6.12

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding rates for early years providers offering free nursery places.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.

In 2025/26 alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. On top of this, we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the Early Years Expansion Grant.

To set early years funding rates, we uplift the national average rate from the previous year taking into account cost pressures facing the sector, including forecasts of average earnings and inflation, and the National Living Wage. We use the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF) to distribute the early years entitlements budget to local authorities. The EYNFF includes a base rate for each child, which is the same minimum funding for every child no matter where they live or whether they have additional needs. This rate is based on the core costs of childcare provision and has been informed by the cost of childcare review.

To make sure we can account for the differences in costs across the country, such as on staffing and premises costs, we also apply an area cost adjustment for each area. This approach only increases funding, it never reduces the base rate or additional needs funding.

The average hourly funding rate provided for 3 and 4-year-olds since 2018 is as follows:

Year

3 and 4-year-old combined rate

2017/18

£4.76

2018/19

£4.75

2019/20

£4.75

2020/21

£4.83

2021/22

£4.88

2022/23

£5.04

2023/24 (April – August)

£5.28

2023/24 (September – March)

£5.62

2024/25

£5.88

2025/26

£6.12

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average hourly funding rate provided to local authorities for the delivery of free nursery places in England was in each year since 2018.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.

In 2025/26 alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. On top of this, we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the Early Years Expansion Grant.

To set early years funding rates, we uplift the national average rate from the previous year taking into account cost pressures facing the sector, including forecasts of average earnings and inflation, and the National Living Wage. We use the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF) to distribute the early years entitlements budget to local authorities. The EYNFF includes a base rate for each child, which is the same minimum funding for every child no matter where they live or whether they have additional needs. This rate is based on the core costs of childcare provision and has been informed by the cost of childcare review.

To make sure we can account for the differences in costs across the country, such as on staffing and premises costs, we also apply an area cost adjustment for each area. This approach only increases funding, it never reduces the base rate or additional needs funding.

The average hourly funding rate provided for 3 and 4-year-olds since 2018 is as follows:

Year

3 and 4-year-old combined rate

2017/18

£4.76

2018/19

£4.75

2019/20

£4.75

2020/21

£4.83

2021/22

£4.88

2022/23

£5.04

2023/24 (April – August)

£5.28

2023/24 (September – March)

£5.62

2024/25

£5.88

2025/26

£6.12

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative estimate her Department has made of the (a) number of available nursery places and (b) demand for those places in England by region.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

Ofsted publishes data on the numbers of all types of providers joining and leaving the sector each year. Some caution is required in using the numbers because, for example, a nursery may resign one registration and immediately register new provision. Please also note that this data was released under the previous government:

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Childcare providers leaving the sector

-10,900

-10,600

-8,270

-11,300

-11,100

-9,650

-7,520

Childcare providers joining the sector

9,140

7,870

7,400

6,990

5,690

6,330

6,490

Net change

-1,760

-2,730

-870

-4,310

-5,410

-3,320

-1,030

Note that from 2019/20, the numbers of annual joiners and leavers are calculated by comparing the beginning of the year to the end. Therefore, the numbers of providers joining and leaving from 2019/20 are not comparable with the figures up to 2018/19.

Ofsted’s most recent publication shows the number of places available increased by 12,100 (1%) between August 2023 and August 2024. The department’s projections on demand for places are not published by region but show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet demand for September 2025, with the highest uplift being in some of the most disadvantaged areas.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
19th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new nursery settings have opened in England in each year since 2018.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

Ofsted publishes data on the numbers of all types of providers joining and leaving the sector each year. Some caution is required in using the numbers because, for example, a nursery may resign one registration and immediately register new provision. Please also note that this data was released under the previous government:

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

2022/23

2023/24

Childcare providers leaving the sector

-10,900

-10,600

-8,270

-11,300

-11,100

-9,650

-7,520

Childcare providers joining the sector

9,140

7,870

7,400

6,990

5,690

6,330

6,490

Net change

-1,760

-2,730

-870

-4,310

-5,410

-3,320

-1,030

Note that from 2019/20, the numbers of annual joiners and leavers are calculated by comparing the beginning of the year to the end. Therefore, the numbers of providers joining and leaving from 2019/20 are not comparable with the figures up to 2018/19.

Ofsted’s most recent publication shows the number of places available increased by 12,100 (1%) between August 2023 and August 2024. The department’s projections on demand for places are not published by region but show that around half of local areas need to increase their capacity by between 10% and 20% to meet demand for September 2025, with the highest uplift being in some of the most disadvantaged areas.

Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
13th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education.

In July 2024, this government established the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.

The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. This includes creative subjects such as art, music and drama, as well as skills for life and work.

On 18 March, the Review published a well-evidenced, clear interim report, which sets out its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work.

The final report with recommendations will be published this autumn, along with the government’s response. The Review’s recommendations will inform changes to the current system.

The Durham Commission report published in 2019 set out a number of recommendations, and some were taken forward by the previous government, Arts Council England and others.

This includes the ‘Creativity Collaboratives’ programme established by Arts Council England in 2021 to test innovative practices in teaching for creativity.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children facing adoption breakdown.

I refer the hon. Member for Leicester South to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.

Janet Daby
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
13th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Article 7 of UN Resolution A/78/L.67/Rev.1, if she will take steps to introduce observance of the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica to the National Curriculum.

Schools are free to decide which events to commemorate and what activities to put in place to support pupils’ understanding of significant events and particular months or days dedicated to specific historical events, such as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica.

Schools also have the opportunity to mark such events though the curriculum, and to teach about the Srebrenica Genocide, for example, through subjects such as history and citizenship.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
2nd Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's response to the Government's consultation on the structure, distribution and governance of the statutory levy on gambling operators, published on 27 November 2024, what steps her Department is taking to improve education for (a) children and (b) young people on the issue of gambling harms.

Within schools, statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) supports children and young people to make informed decisions in relation to their mental wellbeing and online behaviour. The RSHE statutory guidance is clear that children and young people should be taught about the risks related to gambling including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online.

These subjects support children and young people to develop self-control and their ability to self-regulate, as well as providing strategies for doing so.

Young people attending further education (FE) colleges, take part in regular tutor sessions that are devoted to their personal development. This includes financial education and the informed use of money where the dangers of gambling can be discussed. The department continues to work closely with the FE sector to promote and support providers to develop and implement a whole college approach to mental health and wellbeing. This includes establishing Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to provide early intervention for students experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues.

Catherine McKinnell
Minister of State (Education)
3rd Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing multi-year funding employability programmes funded by her Department.

Employment programmes such as the Restart Scheme and the Work and Health Programme currently use multi-year funding to ensure the Department secures value for money and delivers employment support that is cost effective.

The Department is also working with local areas in England and Wales to deliver the manifesto commitment to enable local areas to shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer for local people. This will start with multi-year funding to expand the availability of a new national supported employment programme with an offer shaped around local priorities. This new programme will help disabled people, those with health conditions and those with complex employment barriers to find and fulfil their potential to work.

The main costs for these programmes and their providers are staffing, estates and digital infrastructure, all of which would be higher for single year than for multi-year funded programmes due to a combination of set-up and recruitment costs being absorbed over lower volumes and costs of temporary staff, short leases and other provider costs being higher generally.

The benefits of multi-year funded programmes include reduced costs, increased value for money and positive returns to the Exchequer.

Alison McGovern
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the CMS child maintenance calculation adequately reflects the (a) living expenses and (b) income of both parties.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.

The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly commensurate with the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them, irrespective of the income or assets of the receiving parent.

The CMS will assess how much the paying parent should pay the receiving parent, which in most cases is based on a percentage of the paying parent's gross annual income. The income of the receiving parent is not taken into consideration as they are already contributing as the child's primary caregiver and their income should not remove the responsibility of a paying parent to support their child.

A review is ongoing to look again at the child maintenance calculation to ensure it is fit for purpose and fair for both parents in light of societal changes since it was last looked at.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints about the Child Maintenance Service were investigated by the Independent Case Examiner (a) overall, (b) by the receiving parent and (c) by the paying parent in each of the last five years.

The Independent Case Examiner’s office investigated 2,142 Child Maintenance Service (CMS) cases over the last 5 complete reporting years, broken down as follows:

Reporting Year

CMS Investigations

2019/20

188

2020/21

267

2021/22

396

2022/23

507

2023/24

784

The Independent Case Examiner’s office does not hold the information to provide a response to parts (b) and (c) of the question.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
3rd Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure the accuracy of the (a) systems and (b) IT used by the Child Maintenance Service.

Regular updates ensure the Child Maintenance Service's systems comply with policy. Each change follows industry standards, including thorough testing before and after implementation. The core principles for calculating Child Maintenance have remained largely unchanged since 2012, with no current system defects affecting these calculations.

The Department for Work and Pensions rigorously monitors accuracy, with the National Audit Office setting a target of monetary value errors under 1%. This standard is consistently met.

Andrew Western
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
24th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what baseline figure his Department will use to measure progress on reducing the number of (a) people with a learning disability and (b) autistic people in mental health hospitals by 10 per cent within 2025-26.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether each Integrated Care System is required to reduce the number of (a) people with a learning disability and (b) autistic people from their area in mental health hospitals by 10 per cent within 2025-26.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to help prevent irreversible blindness due to glaucoma progression.

Regular sight tests play a crucial role in the early detection of glaucoma, which is often symptomless in the early stages. Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including individuals diagnosed with glaucoma or those aged 40 years old and over with a close family history of glaucoma. Patients with suspected glaucoma will be referred for further investigation, any clinically necessary treatment, and ongoing monitoring, which can delay its progression.

NHS England has been testing how IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services and the development of a single point of access could improve the referral and triage of patients, reducing the time from referral to treatment. It could also allow for more patients to be managed closer to home, within community optometry. This could benefit all patients with eye care needs, including those with suspected or diagnosed glaucoma.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the use of innovative technologies to treat glaucoma through the 10-Year Health Plan.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to preventing and managing conditions such as glaucoma in all parts of the country. More tests and scans delivered in the community and better joint working between services will support the management of conditions, including glaucoma, closer to home.

The plan will draw directly from the extensive engagement we have undertaken with the public, patients, and staff, including in the eye care sector. We are in the final stages of working on the plan and will publish it shortly.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will continue to play a crucial role in evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies, to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness, before recommending them for NHS use.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
23rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of combined cataract and trabecular bypasses on glaucoma progression.

The best treatment options for any individual patient will be decided by the treating clinician in discussion with the patient, taking into account relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. NICE guidance on trabecular stent bypass microsurgery for open-angle glaucoma sets out that trabecular bypass surgery can be combined with a cataract operation and has shown its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
16th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting time for access to mental health services.

The Government is delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. As part of this, we have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care; these are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity

We are also improving data quality so we can support providers in understanding demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services target the longest waits.

Our 10-Year Health Plan will inform the future vision and delivery plan for mental health services in England. Earlier intervention remains a key focus of the plan with the aim of reducing pressure on mental health services.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
24th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of eye problems as part of its 10-Year Plan.

As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have launched a significant public engagement process, and we would encourage all those with an interest in eye care services to take part in that process so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. More information is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

Alongside the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has been testing how integrating primary and secondary eye care services, through IT connectivity and the development of a single point of access, could improve the referral, triage and management of patients with eye care needs and reduce the time from diagnosis to treatment.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to maximise take up of the Healthy Start scheme.

The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Those on the scheme have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHSBSA is committed to increasing uptake of the scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.

The NHSBSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHSBSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them to promote the scheme. In January 2025, Healthy Start supported over 353,000 people.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of poor dietary health on the UK economy.

The Government recognises that poor diet and obesity are major drivers of physical and mental ill health and early mortality. Ill health leads to increased sickness absence and early death which reduces workforce productivity, putting a burden on businesses and the wider economy.

Frontier Economics estimates that the total cost of obesity to society was approximately £74.3 billion per year in the United Kingdom in 2021, expressed in 2023 prices. Included in these costs is an £8.9 billion per year cost to businesses and the economy from productivity losses due to obesity related diseases.

Ashley Dalton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
12th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to extend eligibility for the NHS Learning Support Fund to include pharmacy students.

There are no immediate plans to make changes to the NHS Learning Support Fund scheme design. The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all healthcare students under close review. At all times, the Government must strike a balance between the level of support students receive and the need to make best use of public funds to deliver value for money.

Karin Smyth
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many eye care professionals are delivering NHS Special School Eye Care Service under Primary Ophthalmic Service contracts; and how many special schools are in receipt of that service.

As of March 2024, 38 optometrists and 29 dispensing opticians had been recorded as delivering sight testing services within the 83 special educational settings, participating in the proof-of-concept programme. Regulations were laid on 28 November 2024 to support the roll out of this service across England.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
2nd Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) meet demand for radiation treatment and (b) reduce NHS waiting times for people with cancers that require urgent treatment.

The Government is committed to improving cancer care and reducing waiting times for treatment. We understand that cancer patients are waiting longer than they should for the care they need, and we are taking action to address this.

To ensure the most advanced treatment is available to patients, we are investing £70 million in new radiotherapy machines. In addition, we are committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment across England. As a first step, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, helping to ensure earlier diagnoses and faster treatment for those who need it most.

10th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of GPs in Leicester.

We are working to increase the general practice (GP) workforce across England, including in Leicester. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice.

NHS England has allocated £1.9 million of emergency short-term funding this year for the recruitment of newly qualified GPs in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland. The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) has communicated the available funding for additional resource to each Primary Care Network, with guidance on how it can be most effectively used across the ICB area.

In order to offer wider opportunities beyond the standard recruitment platforms, the LLR ICB is also enabling its GPs to widen their candidate search by utilising the LLR Local Medical Committee’s recruitment channel. The ICB continues to work closely with NHS England Workforce Training and Education to ensure they maximise the number of GP trainees that they take in LLR, which also helps with longer term recruitment and retention.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
10th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) help prevent burnout and (b) increase the capacity of postgraduate GP trainers.

We hugely value the critical role that general practitioners (GPs) play, and we are determined to address the issues they face. We recognise that burnout among postgraduate GP trainers is a risk that needs to be tackled, as highlighted in the General Medical Council’s National Trainer Survey. We will continue to work with the National Health Service and profession to understand how we can help GPs and improve their working environment.

The Government is committed to reducing bureaucracy and paperwork for GPs, an intention we stated at the Royal College of General Practitioners Annual Conference earlier this month. This will be an important step in reducing burnout risk, which is often reported to be due to workload challenges.

NHS England is working to expand GP trainer numbers in addition to the number of trainees, and has made changes to the delivery of GP specialty training to better support trainees and to support trainers and educators, such as piloting blended learning and standardising entry and approval requirements.

Stephen Kinnock
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on trends in the level of political violence in that country.

I condemn all forms of political violence in the strongest terms. Our thoughts are with all those affected. The Foreign Secretary speaks often to Secretary Rubio, who knows he has our full support on this issue.

Stephen Doughty
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
25th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to commemorate the anniversary of the 2003 Darfur genocide; and what steps he is taking to improve stop the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

The UK's long-standing policy is that any determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court. There has been no such determination for Darfur. Irrespective of any such determination, it is clear that atrocities have been committed in this conflict, which the UK condemns. The UK is committed to securing accountability for those responsible. The UK is strongly supporting the humanitarian response in Sudan. The Foreign Secretary visited the Chad-Sudan border in January to see first-hand the impact the UK's recent £113 million aid uplift is making, including providing emergency food assistance to nearly 800,000 displaced people. The Foreign Secretary will soon be hosting a conference in London to mark the two-year point in the Sudan conflict, where we aim to make collective progress on improving the humanitarian response.

Catherine West
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Israel's decision to ban UNWRA on the humanitarian situation in (a) Gaza and (b) the West Bank.

As the Foreign Secretary said on 13 January, Israeli legislation means the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faces a cliff edge in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. We remain opposed to the legislation, and unequivocally reject attempts to undermine or degrade UNRWA. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns on 13 January with Foreign Minister Sa'ar, during his visit to the region. The Minister for Development set out our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 4 December, and the Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also raised this with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs on 23 January.

Hamish Falconer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
4th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the decision to ban UNRWA operations.

As the Foreign Secretary said on 13 January, Israeli legislation means the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faces a cliff edge in its ability to support Palestinian refugees across the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. We remain opposed to the legislation, and unequivocally reject attempts to undermine or degrade UNRWA. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns on 13 January with Foreign Minister Sa'ar, during his visit to the region. The Minister for Development set out our concerns with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 4 December, and the Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories also raised this with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs on 23 January.

Hamish Falconer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
23rd Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the (a) protection and (b) fair treatment of UK citizens who visit Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in Jerusalem.

Supporting British nationals travelling and living overseas who request consular assistance is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). However, the personal safety of British Nationals overseas does not fall within the jurisdiction of the FCDO, as this is the responsibility of the individual and local authorities. We provide information and guidance in our Travel Advice on the issues most likely to be of relevance to British nationals visiting or living in each country/territory for them to consider such as entry requirements, the security situation and local laws & customs.

Hamish Falconer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
8th Nov 2024
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to restore development spending to 0.7% of national income.

The government remains committed to restoring ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI as soon as fiscal circumstances allow. As set out at Budget, the OBR’s latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests are not due to be met within the Parliament. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm whether a return to spending 0.7% GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast. We will remain one of the most generous donors amongst the G7.

Darren Jones
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
22nd May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the use of facial recognition and AI technologies by the police is transparent.

Facial recognition is an important tool that assists the police in protecting the public, and identifying the perpetrators of crime, and we want to ensure that we maximise the potential of that technology to support our Safer Streets mission.

At the same time, we recognise the importance of ensuring that facial recognition technology operates on a firm footing, and I have been meeting with the police, regulators, civil society groups, industry and others to discuss this matter carefully.

We will continue to have those discussions, and I will be meeting with MPs and Peers in the coming weeks.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
3rd Sep 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to raise the minimum income requirement for family immigration visas to £34,000; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of such an increase on (a) Leicester and (b) other low average income areas.

The financial requirements for the Family Immigration Rules include the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) which is currently set at £29,000 and is intended to maintain the economic wellbeing of the UK whilst respecting family life.

The Home Secretary has announced her intention to commission the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to review the financial requirements in the Family Immigration Rules.

Conducting a review of the financial requirements across the family routes will ensure we have a clear and consistent system. There will be no changes to the current threshold of £29,000, or the ways in which the MIR can be met, until the MAC review is complete.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
20th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which countries the armed forces provided training to in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25; and which armed service provided that training.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to his Question 60404 on 24 June, where I answered:

The UK Armed Forces provided various forms of military training to around 120 countries in 2023- 24 and 140 countries in 2024-25. Our training provision is tailored to the specific needs of Allies and partners, spanning several branches across the Services to provide the relevant expertise needed. In the interests of national security and upholding trust and confidentiality with our international partnerships, it is not appropriate to provide a detailed breakdown of these countries, or the nature of that training. All training is carried out in adherence to International Humanitarian Law.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
16th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which countries received training from the armed forces in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25; and which branch of the armed forces was responsible for delivering that training.

The UK Armed Forces provided various forms of military training to around 120 countries in 2023-24 and 140 countries in 2024-25. Our training provision is tailored to the specific needs of Allies and partners, spanning several branches across the Services to provide the relevant expertise needed. In the interests of national security and upholding trust and confidentiality with our international partnerships, it is not appropriate to provide a detailed breakdown of these countries, or the nature of that training. All training is carried out in adherence to International Humanitarian Law.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, how often his Department reviews its military training arrangements with the Israel Defence Forces.

The Ministry of Defence keeps under careful consideration its policy on training being provided in the UK.

Fewer than five IDF personnel are currently enrolled in non-combat military academic courses in the UK.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, what his policy is on providing military training to foreign armed forces (a) engaged in active conflict and (b) where there are alleged breaches of international humanitarian law.

The Ministry of Defence’s provision of assistance to foreign armed forces is assessed carefully on a case-by-case basis.UK training courses promote British values, including human rights, democracy and compliance with international humanitarian law.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
12th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, what the cost to his Department has been of training Israel Defence Forces personnel in each of the last five years.

Pursuant to the answer provided to Question 56822, there is no cost to the Ministry of Defence for Israel Defence Force personnel on UK training courses. The numbers are fewer than five people and I can confirm these are academic, non-combat education courses.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
21st Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what protocols are in place over the deployment of US nuclear weapons stored at RAF Lakenheath.

It remains longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.

Luke Pollard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)