Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the reduction in the number of nursing lecturer positions in higher education institutions on the Government's ability to fulfil the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No assessment has been made. Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from the Government, and are responsible for their own staffing and recruitment decisions.

We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time and will continue to work closely with partners in the higher education sector to do so. Later this year, we will publish a new workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of claimants losing their Carer’s Allowance as a result of her Department's proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments on local authorities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, this Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House regarding the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by implementing a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of PIP.

In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that we are going to remove clause 5 from the Bill in Committee. (Hansard, 1 July, col 219)

Any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, led by me and co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the Personal Independent Payment on (a) carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and (b) people receiving care from carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

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 the (a) number of students who graduated in nursing and (b) number and proportion of those graduates who were employed within six months in the last four years, broken down by higher education institution.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) publishes information on the number of United Kingdom trained nurses joining their register for the first time, who are resident in England. The following table shows the number of UK trained nurses joining the NMC register in England for the first time by financial year:

Source: Nursing and Midwifery Council, March 2025 Annual Data Report.

The Department does not hold information on the number of graduates who are employed within six months.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people currently claiming Carer’s Allowance who would be expected to lose their allowance due to the proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As I made clear in my statement to the House, Hansard, 1 July, col 219, any changes to PIP eligibility will come after a comprehensive review of the benefit, which I am leading, and which will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs and other stakeholders, so a wide range of views and voices are heard. This review aims to ensure that the PIP assessment is fair and fit for the future. The review is expected to conclude in autumn 2026.

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 impact of hospital Safer Staffing requirements on the newly qualified nurses’ ability to become employed in the NHS.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of hospital Safer Staffing requirements on newly qualified nurses’ ability to become employed in the National Health Service.

Found: Environmental Audit Committee member present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair).

Found: Environmental Audit Committee member present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair).

Found: 335577 E: correspondence.section@defra.gov.uk W: gov.uk/defra Alistair Carmichael and Toby Perkins

Found: including Ruth Cadbury, Greg Smith, Alec Shelbrooke, Leigh Ingham, Richard Holden, Andrew Snowden, Toby Perkins

Found: fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk Sarah Champion MP Chair of the International Development Committee Toby Perkins

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner