Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timeline is for the introduction of the Digital Veteran Card.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The digital HM Armed Forces Veteran Card is scheduled for release by the end of summer 2025.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 10460 on Railways: Electrification, whether she has made an estimate of the potential savings to the public purse per mile of track electrified from introducing a rolling programme of electrification.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department has not made an estimate of the potential savings of a rolling programme of electrification; however, we recognise the potential benefits such a programme could have for reducing the cost of delivering electrification infrastructure in this country. Officials are working closely with Network Rail to develop updated plans for where and when electrification is required to deliver a fully decarbonised railway over the next 25 years that considers both track and train and the significant recent progress in battery technology, and will consider potential cost savings as part of this process.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with local councils on the implementation of VALOUR support centres.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
On 5 May 2025 my hon. Friend, the Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns) announced VALOUR, a new UK-wide approach to veteran support, to foster the enterprising spirit of veteran charities, better connect local and national services and ensure that veterans’ support is data driven.
We will establish a network of field officers and VALOUR-recognised support centres, overseen by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.
The detailed structures and processes that will underpin VALOUR will be designed in collaboration with relevant partners. That includes engagement and discussions with a range of stakeholders including local councils, who are a vital partner in this new endeavour.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help reduce (a) waste and (b) pollution from waterways in the Thames Valley region.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water quality impacts from wastewater pollution and agriculture are two of the key pressures resulting in many waterbodies not currently achieving good ecological status.
There are many Wastewater Treatment Works, operated by Thames Water, that discharge to rivers in the Thames Valley. Improving water quality by securing investment to improve wastewater treatment remains a priority for the Environment Agency (EA) and Ofwat. As does reducing pollution from waste and water quality from agriculture and road runoff.
The recent information published by the EA on 2024 storm overflows shows the number and duration of spills remains unacceptably high and water companies, including Thames Water, have a long way to go to reduce sewage pollution.
The EA continues to respond and investigate any significant pollution incidents. There have been a number of significant pollution incidents at some Thames Water sites in the Thames Valley region in recent years and these are subject to ongoing EA investigations. The EA has undertaken recent inspections of Wastewater Treatment Works across the Thames Valley.
Water quality impacts from diffuse pollution including agriculture are also a key pressure affecting waterbodies in the Thames Valley. The EA has increased the number of farm inspections, helping farmers comply with legal requirements and requiring actions to reduce pollution.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the equality of access to fertility services for LGBTQ+ people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.
We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE is currently reviewing its fertility guidelines.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he has taken to help support decarbonisation industries in Slough.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to supporting UK industry to decarbonise, protecting thousands of jobs in regions across the UK and enabling the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation. We will bring forward a clear plan for industrial decarbonisation. A renewed Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy will set the strategic direction for our approach to working with industry towards a competitive and low carbon industrial base in the UK, ensuring growth opportunities are captured in tandem with emissions reductions.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people living with dementia without a medical diagnosis in (a) the South East and (b) Slough.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific estimate has been made as the information is not held in the format requested. However, NHS England publishes monthly dementia diagnosis data in the primary care dementia data set official statistics. Data for March 2025 showed that the number of patients with a recorded diagnosis of dementia was 83,945 in the South East, and 610 in Slough. The number of people estimated with dementia ranges from 122,500 to 147,000 in the South East, and 900 to 1,200 in Slough.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to carers of dementia patients in (a) Slough and (b) the South East.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that families of people with dementia have the support they need.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including their duties related to carers.
The CQC has published their assessments of 17 councils in London and the South East. They will publish the assessment reports for Slough and other local authorities in the South East in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Meta on generative artificial intelligence models.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ministers from DCMS and DSIT have convened a series of roundtables with the tech sector and the cultural and creative industries regarding our consultation on Copyright and AI. All ministerial meetings are published quarterly.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure employers are proactive in preventing workplace sexual harassment.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
Equality is at the heart of this Government’s missions, which is why our Employment Rights Bill is introducing robust measures to safeguard working people, including protections from sexual harassment.
We are supporting the effective implementation of the new duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees, which came into force on 26 October 2024. We are also working to strengthen this duty through the Employment Rights Bill to require employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. The Bill additionally introduces an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties, including third-party sexual harassment.
We will also introduce a power to enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable”, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The Government will only set out steps in regulations where these are proportionate and there is a clear evidence base supporting their efficacy in preventing workplace sexual harassment. We have recently launched a call for evidence on equality law, which will help build on our existing research into the most effective steps to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.