Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the number of Integrated Care Boards currently complying with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the provision of intermediate care for patients who are experiencing homelessness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that people experiencing homelessness have access to appropriate intermediate care. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline 214 on Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness sets out clear expectations on tailored intermediate care for individuals experiencing homelessness, and we are exploring how best to encourage integrated care boards (ICBs) to adopt and embed this guidance. This guidance is avaiable at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214/chapter/Recommendations#intermediate-care
Health bodies, including ICBs, are expected to take guidance into account alongside clinical judgement and local priorities. However, NICE guidance is not mandatory. Therefore, there is no published Government assessment showing how many ICBs in England are currently complying with NICE guideline 214.
In December 2025, the Government published the National Plan to End Homelessness and Rough Sleeping which commits to ensuring no one eligible for homelessness assistance is discharged to the street after a hospital stay. Further information on the national plan is avaiable at the following link:
To support this, the Government will work with the National Health Service and local authorities to ensure the 2024 guidance Discharging people at risk of or experiencing homelessness is embedded in systems and will improve how existing funding streams can be used to support intermediate care services tailored to the needs of people experiencing homelessness. Further information on this guidance is avaiable at the following link:
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 support NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board to increase access to therapeutic play services in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings.
The primary National Health Service trust responsible for services in the Yeovil constituency is the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is part of a regional delivery network in the South West which provides support to help trusts develop and improve therapeutic play services. This group brings together play specialists, nurses, managers, and representatives from integrated care boards and other operational delivery networks. The group’s remit includes supporting trusts to implement the national Play Well Toolkit, published by NHS England and Starlight in June 2025.
In 2025, the working group conducted a review of hospital play services across participating trusts against the Play Well Toolkit standards. Yeovil District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital were included in this review. The findings highlighted common challenges across the region, such as staffing constraints and gaps in seven-day and emergency department provision. These insights are now informing local business cases and shaping regional priorities.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
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 not expanding Healthy Babies funding to all local authority areas from April 2026.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out an ambitious agenda for how we will improve the nation’s health by creating a new model of care that is fit for the future.
We recognise that local authorities are ambitious, seeking to deliver universal support to families and prevent escalating need. We are committed to delivering the 10-Year Health Plan ambition to match Healthy Babies, formerly Start for Life, to Best Start Family Hubs over the next decade.
From April, the Government is rolling out Best Start Family Hubs to all local authorities, backed by over £500 million to reach up to half a million more children and families. This funding will help embed hubs within a wider support system, including integrated child health services, and will enable proactive identification and support for health issues and early developmental delays.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential economic impact of the Windsor Framework on businesses in Northern Ireland trading with Great Britain.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government is committed to the Windsor Framework and protecting the UK internal market.
Over 15,000 businesses are now registered to take advantage of facilitations for freight and parcels under the Windsor Framework, and the Windsor Framework Independent Monitoring Panel reported last year that 96% of goods moved by freight between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the first half of 2025 did so within the UK internal market system.
The frequency of identity checks on agri-food products was recently reduced from 10% to 8% of consignments. We are also negotiating an SPS agreement with the EU that will smooth flows of trade still further, protect the UK’s internal market, reduce costs for businesses and improve consumer choice in Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she discussed the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future during her meeting with the US Secretary of the Treasury on 12 January 2026.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future was established by HM Treasury and the US Treasury on 22 September.
Its purpose is to bring the world’s leading financial centres together to develop concrete policy options and recommendations on further financial market innovation, with a particular focus on digital assets and capital markets. Innovation in these industries will be central to the government’s mission for economic growth.
The Chancellor has discussed progress on the Taskforce with US Treasury Secretary Bessent and HMT officials continue to work closely with US counterparts. Both parties are keen to ensure the Taskforce is a success.
Further details can be found here: Boosting collaboration between UK and US financial systems to drive innovation and growth in global markets - GOV.UK
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future plans to report back to HMT; and when their report will be shared with Parliament.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future was established by HM Treasury and the US Treasury on 22 September.
Its purpose is to bring the world’s leading financial centres together to develop concrete policy options and recommendations on further financial market innovation, with a particular focus on digital assets and capital markets. Innovation in these industries will be central to the government’s mission for economic growth.
The Chancellor has discussed progress on the Taskforce with US Treasury Secretary Bessent and HMT officials continue to work closely with US counterparts. Both parties are keen to ensure the Taskforce is a success.
Further details can be found here: Boosting collaboration between UK and US financial systems to drive innovation and growth in global markets - GOV.UK
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of parts 2 and 3 of the driving instructor test.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is continually recruiting in to fill its ADI examiner vacancies and increase the capacity for additional part two and part three tests.
DVSA has recently undertaken a campaign to recruit an additional 10 examiners this financial year with additional campaigns planned for 2026-27.
DVSA recommends trainee instructors use the ‘Book to Hold’ service. All tests must be paid for at the time of booking, including where tests are booked to ‘hold’. This gives DVSA an accurate picture of where demand is, and it can then ensure that it deploys its examiner resources in the right areas. Once approved driving instructor examiner programmes have been finalised, DVSA will contact those on the hold list in the order they booked their test to hold to arrange a test whilst also mindful of regulatory deadline for the qualification process.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Venezuelan-origin money laundering on UK financial institutions; and what steps are being taken to help tackle it.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps its assessment of money laundering risks, including those linked to high‑risk jurisdictions, under regular review. The most recent UK National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing was published in 2025.
The UK operates a robust, risk‑based anti‑money laundering regime, underpinned by the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, which applies to all illicit funds regardless of country of origin. These Regulations ensure that those sectors most at risk of being abused for money laundering have appropriate risk-based controls in place. The Financial Action Taskforce has added Venezuela to the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring which means the UK treats Venezuela‑linked activity as higher risk. UK firms are expected to factor this into the way they conduct their compliance activity in line with these obligations.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question
To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what plans the House of Lords has to reduce the use of the social media platform X for public communications about the work of the House of Lords.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Lords communications team uses a range of social media channels to reach audiences and ensure they have access to accurate and impartial information about the role and work of the House. By using multiple channels, it aims to reach a broad range of audiences online with content that is most likely to engage them.
Posts on X cover the daily business of the House and work in committees. The team continually evaluates the effectiveness and risks of using each platform and adjusts its approach accordingly. It does not prioritise any single channel over others.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his department holds data outlining the Local Government Finance Settlement allocations for individual councils discounting second home premium council tax projections.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29 on 17 December 2025, we set out the funding available to councils through the longstanding Core Spending Power measure, which was calculated in line with the approach used at previous Settlements. This means we assumed each authority’s council tax base increases in line with the five-year average annual growth in their council tax base. The inclusion of second homes premium income in Core Spending Power does not affect grant allocations, as it is excluded in the updated assessment of relative need and resources.
We are aware over two thirds of billing authorities introduced second homes premiums in 2025-26, and under our proposals this additional income would be accounted for in Core Spending Power, given it is an important part of the resources available to local authorities to deliver services. No council will lose grant and/or business rates through our assessment of authorities’ relative need and resources as a result of this approach and as part of the government’s policy to reward places for housebuilding.
The consultation on the provisional Settlement closed on 14 January. The government is now considering responses and will set out its position at the final Settlement in February.