Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the NHS the preferred provider for commissioned healthcare services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s ambition, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, is to increasingly put power into patients’ hands themselves so they can personalise their National Health Service care to their individual needs, choices, and preferences.
More broadly, the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 provide a proportionate framework under which NHS commissioners consider the most appropriate approach in awarding contracts to healthcare providers. The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 are available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1348/contents/made
Further information on the selection processes is available at the following link:
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Egyptian authorities on allowing Alaa Abd el-Fattah to travel to the UK.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The government welcomes Alaa Abd El-Fattah's release from prison on 23 September 2025, following a Presidential pardon. We continue to press at the highest levels with the Egyptian government for his urgent return to the UK, including in a call between the Prime Minister and President Sisi on 18 November, and between the Foreign Secretary and the Egyptian Foreign Minister on 20 November.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the human rights situation in Iraq, in particular in relation to the rights of Kurdish people; and what action she is taking.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Iraq, including restrictions on free expression and barriers to women's political participation. We continue to urge the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to uphold constitutional rights and international obligations.
The UK, working with international partners, will continue to press for accountability and reform and support civil society groups advocating for minority and women's rights.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 88125, what current through-ticketed rail-sail routes are available through (a) train operators and (b) ferry operators for (i) domestic travel and (ii) international travel.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The current through-ticketed rail-sail routes available through train operators and ferry operators for domestic travel is to Northern Ireland (Cairnryan or Holyhead to Belfast), the Isle of Wight (Portsmouth-Ryde, Southampton to Cowes, Lymington to Yarmouth), and the Isle of Man (Liverpool and Heysham to Douglas). For international travel it is to Ireland via Fishguard (currently Pembroke) to Rosslare, Holyhead to Dublin and Harwich to Hook of Holland.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the human rights situation in Turkiye, in particular in relation to politically motivated prosecutions and judgments in the European Court of Human Rights; and what action she is taking to help improve the situation inside that country for opposition politicians.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government maintains a regular dialogue with Turkey, a key North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally and strategic partner. The UK expects Turkey to uphold the rule of law, to live up to its international obligations as a founding member of the Council of Europe and act in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. As staunch supporters of democracy and human rights we will always support the fundamental rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and media freedom. We regularly discuss these issues with our Turkish counterparts at ministerial and official levels.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to question 86550 answered on 7 November 2025, whether he will publish the dates of meetings that took place between his Department and the Home Office to enable the establishment of MILLWEC as an alternative to SACMILL.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Surgeon General advised the Executive Committee of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) which includes Home Office representation, of the Public Bodies Review at a meeting in December 2024. A series of meetings were held between Ministry of Defence and Home Office officials between January 2025 and October 2025. This included representatives from Public Bodies teams and the Cabinet Office and enabled the establishment of an alternative mechanism within the Home Office.
As outlined in the previous response, the closure of SACMILL is an important step in Defence’s Arm’s length Body reform journey and the closure and standing up of MILLWEC was agreed by Ministerial write round.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answers to question 87756 on 14 November 2025 and question 87421 on 11 November 2025, what consideration has she made of the value for money of (a) continuing to leave current railway rolling stock leasing arrangements in the private sector, and (b) bringing future procurement of railway rolling stock into the public sector.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Rolling Stock Leasing Companies (ROSCOs) play an important role in the industry, bringing benefits to both taxpayers and passengers. Since 1995 there has been significant private sector investment in rolling stock totalling over £20 billion.
The Government is now working to develop a long-term strategy for rolling stock and associated infrastructure, which will consider how the public sector can secure best value from the rolling stock market in future, but we expect Great British Railways to continue to lease rolling stock from ROSCOs where they can offer value for money terms.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will support making the agent of change principle statutory to safeguard grassroots music venues from the impact of new residential developments and ensure that developers take full responsibility for mitigating noise and other environmental conflicts at the planning stage.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Grassroots music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform and supporting local economies and creative jobs.
This Government wants to enable new developments such as housing to co-exist with cultural infrastructure, including music venues. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that new development should be integrated effectively with existing businesses and community facilities, such as music venues. Existing businesses and facilities should not have unreasonable restrictions placed on them as a result of development permitted after they were established.
MHCLG intends to consult on the National Planning Policy Framework, including the agent of change principle, this year. DCMS are working with MHCLG to consider how the agent of change can be implemented as effectively as possible as part of this review, to ensure the principle works well for music venues.
In August 2025, the joint industry and HM government licensing policy sprint taskforce recommended stronger guidance or a mandatory requirement for licensing authorities to ensure that the agent of change principle is considered when making licensing decisions. The Government is reviewing the findings of the taskforce and the recent call for evidence on licensing, to inform how the agent of change principle could be considered in licensing.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, excluding umbrella groups, how many meetings in total have ministers in his department held during (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 with community energy organisations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of amending (a) visa and (b) asylum routes for people fleeing conflict in Sudan with British national immediate family members in the UK by (i) waiving income rules, (ii) allowing asylum applications to be made in third party countries and (c) bringing forward other measures to help reunite families separated by conflict.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Sudanese nationals who wish to come to the UK to join a family member here need a family visa. Applications can be made for a family visa to live with a spouse or partner; fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner; parent; child; relative who is providing care.
The financial requirements form part of the ‘core’ requirements of the Family Immigration Rules. Expecting family migrants and their sponsors to be financially independent is reasonable, both to them and the taxpayer.
However, where someone cannot meet the core requirements, including those relating to finances, permission will still be granted where refusal would breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
As part of the Immigration White Paper reforms, the government intends to set out a new family policy that will cover all UK residents, including those who are British, settled, on work routes or refugees seeking to bring family members to the UK.
The UK has a proud history of providing protection and we continue to welcome refugees and people in need through our safe and legal routes. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.
Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, including the current situation in Sudan, we are not bound to consider asylum claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might wish to come here. It is important that safe and legal routes are sustainable, well managed and in line with the UK’s capacity to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees. We do not currently have any plans to open a specific route for people affected by the conflict in Sudan.
Additionally, the recently announced Asylum Policy Statement set out a new model for refugee resettlement. We will give greater say to communities and support refugees as they settle, become self-sufficient, and contribute to their local areas. This new model will be based on local capacity to support refugees, and arrival numbers will be tightly controlled by the government.
To achieve this, we will:
• Reform refugee sponsorship to give voluntary and community sector organisations a greater role in resettlement through named sponsorship, within caps set by government.
• Introduce a capped route for refugee and displaced students to study in the UK, helping talented refugees to continue their studies, realise their potential and be able to return to their country and help rebuild it as soon as circumstances allow.
• Establish a capped route for skilled refugees and displaced people to come to the UK for work, building on the experience of the Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot.
Our intention is that those arriving on the reformed resettlement routes will be on the ten-year route to settlement. However, this will be subject to wider consultation.