Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester 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 (a) meet demand for radiation treatment and (b) reduce NHS waiting times for people with cancers that require urgent treatment.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
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.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to restore development spending to 0.7% of national income.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
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.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester 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 increase the number of GPs in Leicester.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make it a statutory responsibility of (a) owners of and (b) responsible persons for residential buildings taller than 11 metres to carry out (i) an EWS1 survey and (ii) a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls to ensure the mortgageability of any leasehold flat in the block.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
An EWS1, which is not a government process or statutory requirement, should not be required for leaseholders in buildings 11 metres and above to re-mortgage or sell their property. As of 18 March 2024, 10 mortgage lenders have signed a joint statement on cladding, confirming they will consider lending on properties in buildings 11 metres and above, regardless of whether works have started.
A Responsible Person is required to ensure that their building has a Fire Risk Assessment, and the Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified that this should include the external walls. In many cases, it will be obvious through inspection that the risk to life from external fire spread is not such to warrant a more detailed Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls. Where a more detailed fire risk appraisal is required, this should follow the British Standards Institution PAS 9980 methodology.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Home Office:
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.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
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.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
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.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.
Asked by: Shockat Adam (Independent - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
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.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.