Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration she has given to the introduction of a service standard for family visa applications.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, including service standards for processing visa applications where applicable.
Service standards for out-of-country family visas are published here: Family: customer service standards - GOV.UK. Currently, the service standard for out- of-country family visa applications is 12 weeks.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle the backlog of cataract operations, including for those who need the operation to undertake driving exams.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029. We met our interim target of 65% of pathways involving waits of less than 18 week in March 2026 and, as of May 2026, 65.6% are waiting less than 18 weeks. For patients waiting for ophthalmology services, 74.1% of pathways are waiting less than 18 weeks as of May 2026, an improvement on 66.1% at the start of July 2024.
We are 18 months into our Elective Reform Plan and through setting ambitious targets, investing in modernisation, reforming and simplifying pathways, increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity, and empowering patients with faster and more convenient access to care, we are seeing results. The waiting list currently stands at 7.28 million patient pathways as of May 2026, down by over 340,000 since the start of July 2024. Patients on the waiting list are prioritised at a local level based on clinical need, in line with the NHS’s core principle.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration has he given to broadening the scope of countries where the UK state pension receives an annual increase.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, without regard to nationality and are only uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for uprating.
This approach has been supported by successive governments over many years with priority given to those living in the UK when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on how many children are currently waiting for NHS speech and language therapy in the Devon Integrated Care Board area.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy services, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
In the Devon Integrated Care Board area, the average waiting time between referral and the start of National Health Service speech and language therapy for children aged zero to 11 years old is 68 weeks in Devon and Torbay and 24 weeks in Plymouth.
In Devon and Torbay there are currently 2,574 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 1,978 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.
In Plymouth there are currently 648 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 602 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.
We have set clear ambitions for community health services through our Medium-Term Planning Framework. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.
In 2025, we published Standardising Community Health Services which provides an overview of core community health services. Setting clear expectations of the core community health services ICBs should be providing will support consistent delivery of community health services and effective commissioning, and improve patient access to care.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is between referral and commencement of NHS speech and language therapy for children aged 0–11 in the Devon Integrated Care Board area.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy services, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
In the Devon Integrated Care Board area, the average waiting time between referral and the start of National Health Service speech and language therapy for children aged zero to 11 years old is 68 weeks in Devon and Torbay and 24 weeks in Plymouth.
In Devon and Torbay there are currently 2,574 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 1,978 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.
In Plymouth there are currently 648 children and young people aged zero to 18 years old waiting for speech and language therapy services, 602 of which are aged zero to 11 years old.
We have set clear ambitions for community health services through our Medium-Term Planning Framework. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care.
In 2025, we published Standardising Community Health Services which provides an overview of core community health services. Setting clear expectations of the core community health services ICBs should be providing will support consistent delivery of community health services and effective commissioning, and improve patient access to care.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration has she given to launching an independent review into the pig industry, to determine whether piglet thumping continues to be practised.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton on 4 June 2026 to PQ UIN 3739.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans they have to ensure the preservation of historic church buildings in England.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The National Church Institutions recognise the importance of maintaining England’s historic church buildings across England such as the Grade I listed All Saints, Babbacombe and St John the Baptist, Paignton. Parish Churches are not only places of worship but also important community assets supporting heritage, culture and local wellbeing. Significant investment has been allocated by the Archbishops Council and Church Commissioners to support parishes, such as the Buildings for Mission programme. For this programme, the Church Commissioners invested £11million between 2023 and 2025 to provide grants to help churches undertake repairs, improve facilities and remain sustainable centres of worship and community activity
The programme funds 36 Church Buildings Support Officer posts across England, based in dioceses and partner organisations, providing practical advice on repairs, maintenance, fundraising and community engagement to help churches remain sustainable and mission-focused. The Church Commissioners run a Conservation Grants Programme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and others, for the conservation of historic furnishings in Church of England churches. This funding helps to conserve nationally significant historic features such as stained glass, monuments and wall paintings
Other grant-based programmes complement the Buildings for Mission project with the aim to make the buildings more sustainable, efficient and easy to operate in the long term. The Net Zero Carbon Programme is one such programme, operating 2026-2028 the fund has a total of £40million to give grants to parishes alongside opportunities for match funding and larger grants for capital projects such as replacement heating schemes. The Net Zero Carbon Programme operates a Quick Wins Fund, which helps churches improve energy efficiency and reduce running costs. Where churches can no longer remain in parish use, the Church of England works closely with the Churches Conservation Trust to safeguard them for future generations
The Church Commissioners continue to work closely with other funding bodies at national and local levels, such as Historic England and local building support charities to support the ongoing repair and maintenance of church buildings and are in conversation with the Government about long-term strategic support.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average caseload per health visitor is (a) in the Devon Integrated Care Board area and (b) across all Integrated Care Board areas.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The information requested is not currently available. We expect to be able to publish this data in Autumn 2026. This will be a new publication in response to the Government’s commitment to strengthening Health Visiting and will report on the zero to 19 year old public health nursing workforce size and activities.