Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legally-binding targets for reducing child poverty.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Monitoring and Evaluation framework published alongside the Strategy set out that a baseline report will be published in Summer 2026 with annual reporting on progress thereafter and Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually. We have put these clear reporting arrangements in place so that the progress we make is transparent for all.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Recovery Grant Guarantee to match the national average core spending power increase.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding need. By 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived.

We recognised that maintaining the Recovery Grant would not be enough for some councils to deliver visible service improvements over the next three years. The government announced an additional £440 million uplift to the Recovery Grant over the multi-year Settlement, specifically aimed at upper tier councils that would otherwise receive less than a 17% funding increase over the period. This will take the total funding allocated via the Recovery Grant and Recovery Grant Guarantee to £2.6 billion over the multi-year Settlement.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will guarantee that all local authorities within the most deprived decile will see an above average increase in Core Spending Power in each year of the multi-year settlement.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding need. By 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived.

We recognised that maintaining the Recovery Grant would not be enough for some councils to deliver visible service improvements over the next three years. The government announced an additional £440 million uplift to the Recovery Grant over the multi-year Settlement, specifically aimed at upper tier councils that would otherwise receive less than a 17% funding increase over the period. This will take the total funding allocated via the Recovery Grant and Recovery Grant Guarantee to £2.6 billion over the multi-year Settlement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 86003, if his Department will commission a specific comparative review, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, into the relative level of National Institute for Health and Care Research funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome compared with other long-term conditions.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not intend to commission a specific comparative review into the relative level of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) or Medical Research Council funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), compared with other long-term conditions. We recognise that ME/CFS is an under-researched area, and we are committed to working with the ME/CFS community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting and funding more research and capacity-building programmes.

As outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan, there has historically been a relatively low amount of biomedical research funded on ME/CFS, compared with disease burden. Our efforts are focussed on delivering the actions outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan to support and increase research in this area. Since our answer to Question 86003, we have hosted a showcase on post‑acute infection conditions, bringing together people with lived experience, researchers, clinicians, and funders to stimulate further research. A summary of this showcase has been published on NIHR Open Research. We have also made progress with our new funding opportunity for development awards focussed on the feasibility of a phase 2 platform clinical trial. This would test multiple repurposed pharmaceutical interventions and/or non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of post-viral conditions including ME/CFS. The committee will now consider the applications, and shortlisting decisions will be shared with the researchers in March.

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 improve access to, and the effectiveness of, palliative and end of life care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in last year’s 10-Year Health Plan.

Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality.

The MSF will put in place a clear and effective mechanism to deliver a fundamental improvement to the care provided. This will enable the adoption of evidence-based interventions that are proven to make a difference to patients and their families. Examples include earlier identification of need, care delivered closer to home by integrated generalist and specialist teams, and strengthened out-of-hours community health support, including dedicated telephone advice.

Last year’s Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance for the National Health Service also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) neurologists, (b) geriatricians and (c) nurses there are working in the NHS who have specialist training in Parkinson’s.

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

The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists or geriatricians with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease working in the National Health Service in England. National workforce datasets do not record condition‑specific sub‑specialisms, and responsibility for determining local specialist workforce configurations rests with individual employers and integrated care boards (ICBs).

As of December 2025, there were 2,002 full‑time equivalent doctors in neurology and 6,318 in geriatric medicine working in NHS trusts and other organisations in England. These specialties include clinicians who provide care to people with Parkinson’s.

The Department does not hold a central count of the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses employed across the NHS in England. Workforce planning, including decisions about the number and type of specialist nurses needed locally, is the responsibility of individual employers and their ICBs, which are best placed to assess the needs of their populations.

We continue to work with NHS England through programmes like Getting It Right First Time to support improvements in access to specialist care. The Department has also established a United Kingdom‑wide Neuro Forum, which brings together governments, the NHS, the devolved administrations, and neurological alliances across the four nations to share best practice and address system-wide challenges, including workforce needs for conditions such as Parkinson’s.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of schools’ mobile phone policies in preventing disruption in learning.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Mobile phones have no place in schools.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner, published in April 2025, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools, 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools, already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

The department’s recently strengthened guidance on mobile phones in schools is clear that all schools should be mobile phone-free by default. Pupils should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons.

The guidance will be implemented through behaviour management in schools, and by setting out clear expectations for teachers and school staff. Our attendance and behaviour hub lead schools will support other schools to implement and enforce a mobile phone policy where needed.

From April, Ofsted will also check school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to be mobile phone-free by default. Ofsted will examine both schools' mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented when judging behaviour during inspections.

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 healthcare system in Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to my statements in the Westminster Hall debate on the healthcare system in Gaza on 24 February.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how she is ensuring that UK-supported humanitarian programmes provide timely and effective support to survivors of gender-based violence.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As part of the Foreign Secretary's focus on preventing violence against women and girls, we continue to prioritise support to survivors of gender-based violence in humanitarian settings. From April 2023 to March 2024, 3.21 million people were reached with gender-based violence prevention or response services through bilateral Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office support. More information can be found on GOV.UK at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68af15d3969253904d1558dd/FCDO_gender_based_violence_results_factsheet_2023_to_2024.pdf.

Another recent example is the UK's effort to step up support and improving frontline services for survivors of sexual violence in Sudan. In February 2026, the Foreign Secretary announced a new £20 million multi-year programme to support survivors of rape and sexual violence in Sudan.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to anticipate and pre-emptively mitigate humanitarian crises around the world.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is working with partner governments to improve early warning for disasters, including through the Met Office. We are also pushing the humanitarian system, including the UN, to better anticipate and act ahead of crises to reduce humanitarian need, including through our contributions to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the largest global funder of anticipatory action. The UK is a global leader on pre-arranged finance (PAF) and insurance which pay out in advance or after a disaster to help pre-empt damage. For example, Jamaica received $242 million from a catastrophe bond and insurance after Hurricane Melissa and, in the past month, UK-supported PAF has paid out over $22 million to fund anticipatory and emergency responses to drought in Somalia and cyclones in Madagascar.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to make accessing and understanding support for unpaid carers clear and transparent a) nationally and b) locally.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need. I chair a cross-Government ministerial group that meets regularly, made up of ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education, to consider how we can provide unpaid carers with the recognition and support they deserve.

Work is underway to introduce a MyCarer section to the NHS App, allowing people to book appointments and communicate more easily with relevant clinical team members on behalf of those for whom they care. This will allow carers to seek guidance directly from health professionals, improving people’s experience, outcomes, and saving admin time for the health professionals and the carer.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality services for unpaid carers. The Better Care Fund supports initiatives such as short breaks and respite care, with local areas deciding how to use funding based on local need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Nationally, the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside NHS England and local authorities, continue to strengthen guidance to the care sector, and online resources to make support clear and accessible through its work. This includes information on financial help, health and wellbeing services, and respite care.

Locally, integrated care systems and local authorities continue to work towards improving their services. All these steps aim to help ensure unpaid carers can access the services they need efficiently, supporting both their wellbeing and essential caring role.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to support unpaid carers a) generally and b) specifically to remove barriers to accessing respite.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the vital role of unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they have the support they need. I chair a cross-Government ministerial group that meets regularly, made up of ministers from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Education, to consider how we can provide unpaid carers with the recognition and support they deserve.

Work is underway to introduce a MyCarer section to the NHS App, allowing people to book appointments and communicate more easily with relevant clinical team members on behalf of those for whom they care. This will allow carers to seek guidance directly from health professionals, improving people’s experience, outcomes, and saving admin time for the health professionals and the carer.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality services for unpaid carers. The Better Care Fund supports initiatives such as short breaks and respite care, with local areas deciding how to use funding based on local need.

We have raised the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit from £151 to £196 per week, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage and representing the largest cash increase ever.

Nationally, the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside NHS England and local authorities, continue to strengthen guidance to the care sector, and online resources to make support clear and accessible through its work. This includes information on financial help, health and wellbeing services, and respite care.

Locally, integrated care systems and local authorities continue to work towards improving their services. All these steps aim to help ensure unpaid carers can access the services they need efficiently, supporting both their wellbeing and essential caring role.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Personal Independence Payment assessments in addressing the fluctuating and energy-limiting nature of Myalgic encephalomyelitis.

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

Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a medically recognised condition associated with a range of disabling effects which depend upon the severity of the condition.

All Health Professionals (HPs) receive comprehensive training in disability analysis, including how to assess the impacts of medical conditions on claimant’s day-to-day activities, as well as awareness training in a range of conditions, symptoms and disabilities. HPs have access to a wide range of Core Training and Guidance Material (CTGM). These resources offer detailed clinical and functional information, including the potential risks and limitations of a range of conditions, such as ME/CFS, to support HPs in delivering informed assessments. All core training and guidance materials are quality assured to ensure their accuracy from both a clinical and policy perspective.

In addition, the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) criteria consider an individual’s ability over a 12-month period, ensuring that fluctuations are considered. It is essential for the assessment to accurately reflect the impact of variations in an individual's level of impairment, this is important for all health conditions, not only those which more typically fluctuate. For each activity, if a descriptor applies on more than 50 per cent of the days in the 12-month period, that descriptor should be chosen. In general, HPs should record function over an average year for conditions that fluctuate over months, per week for conditions that fluctuate by the day, and by the day for conditions that vary over a day.

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 expand access to women's health hubs.

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

The Government is supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to use the learning from the women’s health hub pilots to improve local delivery of services to women and girls.

ICBs should take a neighbourhood approach to women’s healthcare, ensuring women can get the care they need regardless of whether they speak first to a general practice (GP), hospital, or other healthcare provider.

We are supporting ICBs to continue improving their delivery of neighbourhood women’s healthcare, in line with their responsibility to commission services that meet the needs of their local populations.

Neighbourhood women’s healthcare is delivered both by a range of providers and digitally, giving women access not just to GPs and community specialists in women’s health, but to other services include pelvic physiotherapists, pharmacies, and psychological support services. This builds on the successful pilot of women’s health hubs.

Outcomes in women’s health will be soon be shared with ICBs through a data dashboard so they can see how well they are meeting the needs of women in their population.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of easing taxes for elderly residents who are privately funding their care home place.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are a wide range of factors to take into consideration when introducing a tax relief. These include how effective the relief would be at achieving the policy intent, how targeted support would be, whether it adds complexity to the tax system, and the cost.

Tax reliefs are typically of greatest benefit to those paying higher rates of tax. Furthermore, new reliefs also add complexity to the tax system and are likely to result in similar calls for reliefs on other forms of personal expenditure or income, which others may argue are equally deserving.

To support social care authorities to deliver key services, in light of pressures, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes a £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. This is part of an overall increase to local Government spending power of 6.8% in cash terms.

Moreover, the Government is making available around £4.6 billion of additional funding for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector to improve adult social care.

The Government recognises the significant challenges facing the adult social care system and is committed to transforming the sector and supporting the care workforce. Baroness Louise Casey is leading an independent commission to build consensus on reform. The first phase will report in 2026 and will focus on how to make the most of existing resources.

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 impact of corridor care in Emergency Departments on patient safety, dignity, and clinical outcomes; and what actions are being taken to address the routine treatment of acutely ill patients in corridor settings.

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

The provision of clinical care in corridors is unacceptable, and we are committed to ending its practice in the National Health Service. Furthermore, our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 commits to publishing data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.

We recently published a clear definition of corridor care and based on this, will begin collecting data on its use across the NHS imminently. Subject to data quality, this information will be published monthly on NHS England’s website from May 2026. In parallel, NHS England is also working with trusts to introduce new reporting arrangements on corridor care to improve transparency and support system-wide improvement.

We have also introduced new clinical operational standards for the first 72 hours of care, setting clear expectations for timely reviews and specialist input, further supporting our efforts to eliminate corridor care and improve patient experience.

Where corridor care cannot be avoided, we have published updated guidance to support trusts to deliver it safely, ensuring dignity and privacy is maintained to reduce impacts on patients and staff. This means that corridor care areas must uphold the same high standards of care for patients as those in planned clinical settings, with patients prioritised by clinical urgency. All patients should be risk‑assessed by senior clinicians at triage and monitored by named nurses.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Valuation Office Agency's responses to Member's correspondence, including on matters of confidentiality.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Valuation Office Agency is committed to protecting taxpayer confidentiality in line with its duty under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 110973, what proportion of the consolatory payment was as a result of a decision by the Independent Case Examiner to increase the payment offered by his Department in each of the last 5 years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As part of its investigations, the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) reviews any remedies (including consolatory payments) already offered by DWP during its own complaints process. ICE considers whether these remedies were appropriate and adequately reflected the impact of maladministration. This assessment informs the findings ICE reaches and any recommendations it makes. However, ICE does not record information on the level of consolatory payments that DWP may have made prior to escalation to ICE.

The Department does record consolatory payments recommended by ICE. However, identifying what proportion of these payments were made specifically because ICE increased the offer originally made by the Department’s complaints service would require a manual review of individual case files, as this level of detail is not held in an accessible format.

Carrying out this work would exceed the cost limit set for central Government, and we are therefore unable to provide the information requested.

Cheadle Civic Society's celebration of Agatha Christie's connection to Cheadle 2026

Scientific hearing on animal experiments

Student finance system reform

State visits to the US

Heating oil prices

Endometriosis Awareness Month 2026

Energy prices for households and businesses

New US sanctions on Cuba

Cardiac risk in the young

Health and Care Worker visas