Every parliamentary written question tabled by Afzal Khan this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 399 · this parliament
What action she is taking to support school teachers who are responsible for administering healthcare to students with medical conditions.
Schools are not responsible for clinical healthcare tasks. Healthcare tasks can be delegated to staff in schools and other education settings where the responsible healthcare professional considers delegation safe and appropriate.The Nursing and Midwifery...
When she expects joint non-statutory guidance from the Department for Education, the Department for Health and Social Care and the NHS on how clinical healthcare is delivered in schools to be published.
Schools are not responsible for clinical healthcare tasks. Healthcare tasks can be delegated to staff in schools and other education settings where the responsible healthcare professional considers delegation safe and appropriate.The Nursing and Midwifery...
Whether she plans to remove the Country of Origin principle from Schedule 25 of the Equality Act 2010.
We have no plans at this time to amend this part of the Equality Act 2010. As with all major pieces of legislation, the Equality Act 2010 is constantly kept under review to ensure that it operates as intended in a changing and evolving social and economic...
What plans she has to meet representatives from UNISON to discuss her proposed changes to the immigration system.
Awaiting answer.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with a) her European counterparts and b) the Israeli Foreign Minister on the treatment of Palestinians in prison in Israel.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 April in response to Question 128654.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the level of ammonia pollution from poultry farming.
Large intensive poultry farms with livestock place numbers above specified size thresholds are regulated under the Environmental Permitting Regulations. The operators of these farms must hold a permit which requires implementation of best available techniques to reduce pollutant emissions, including ammonia. Regulated premises are regularly inspected to ensure compliance with permit conditions. BAT is reviewed periodically which delivers continuous improvement in environmental performance.
What discussions she has had with the Association of Colleges on pay increases for further education staff.
Further education (FE) teachers are central to delivering high quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million to help colleges and other 16-19 providers address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. In addition, our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills have regular engagement with FE stakeholders including the Association of Colleges (AoC) on a range of issues, including matters pertaining to funding. FE pay remains a matter for individual colleges supported by the National Joint Forum, the AoC’s national bargaining arrangements.
What recent meetings she has had with Syrian representative and diaspora groups about changes to the asylum and immigration process.
Home Office ministers have met with a range of stakeholders since the Home Secretary announced proposed changes to the immigration system.We understand how important these changes are to individuals, families and communities as we work to restore public confidence in our immigration system. For example, the Government ran a public consultation on the proposed earned settlement changes to gather views on the proposals.In addition to the consultation, the Home Office also ran separate engagement sessions with our immigration advisory groups and other affected stakeholders.The Home Office will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders as the government considers the consultation responses and develops the policy further.
Whether he is taking steps to bring public awareness to the role Art Psychotherapists and other Allied Health Professionals have across the health and care system.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What steps he is taking to help ensure that art psychotherapy and other Allied Health Professions are recognised as a delivery partner for the 10-year Health Plan for England .
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Whether he is taking steps to help ensure representation from Allied Health Professions in the Department for Health and Social Care structure that will replace NHS England.
The proposed new Department is not simply a merger of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, where both organisations’ current functions are added together. Rather, it is a fundamental redesign of the size, shape, and role of the centre in relation to the rest of the health and care system. The proposed abolition of NHS England and associated transfer and modification of functions is subject to legislation and the will of Parliament. We will be engaging with partners inside and outside the organisations as the process to design the future Department continues.Allied Health Professional representation will be considered during the detailed design process for the future Department and will ensure the future Department will effectively discharge its accountabilities for workforce education, training, and professional leadership for all of the clinical professions, including the Allied Health Profession.
What steps her Department is taking to support local authorities with the provision of Education Otherwise Than At School.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring independent safety assessments before AI systems with dangerous offensive capabilities are developed.
AI is a general-purpose technology with a wide range of applications, which is why the UK believes that the vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use. In response to the AI Action Plan, the government committed to work with regulators to boost their capabilities. The role of the AI Security Institute (AISI) is to build an evidence base of these risks, to inform government decision making and help make AI more secure and reliable. AISI works in close collaboration with AI companies to assess model safeguards and suggest mitigations. To date, AISI has tested over 30 models from leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic. AISI’s findings lead to tangible changes to AI models before deployment, reducing the risk from day one.
What steps he is taking to help promote the role of art psychotherapists in addressing issues related to mental health and wellbeing.
The National Health Service is expanding access to timely, high‑quality mental health support, including psychological therapies, as part of the 10 Year Health Plan shifts towards prevention, early intervention, and community‑based care. This includes continued expansion of NHS Talking Therapies and the development of new community mental health models that bring together multidisciplinary teams to deliver personalised, holistic care.The Government has actively collaborated with Allied Health Professional (AHP) bodies, including those representing arts therapies, to enhance the emphasis on mental health and wellbeing. This partnership is reflected in the United Kingdom AHP Public Health Strategic Framework 2025 to 2030, which provides a clear vision and actions for integrating public health approaches into clinical practice.We need a diverse workforce with the skills and expertise needed to meet a wide range of mental health needs and improve outcomes for patients. We are therefore investing in, and growing, the mental health workforce, with over 8,000 additional mental health staff recruited since July 2024. We will also publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK's preparedness for AI-enabled cyber threats.
The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the government and we have robust measures in place to protect our critical national infrastructure and essential public services. It is clear that artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are accelerating quickly, which presents both risks and opportunities for cyber security.The government takes these accelerating capabilities very seriously. We have been clear ongoing action is needed to improve UK cyber defences. We are already taking significant steps, including working across government and industry to understand the latest developments, publishing evaluations of the latest AI models, and taking widespread action to improve cyber resilience across the economy and help organisations protect against AI-driven threats.On 15 April the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Security Minister wrote an open letter to businesses urging them to strengthen their cyber resilience. On 22 April the government announced further measures to improve UK cyber resilience, including £90m of new funding to boost cyber security, and the new Cyber Resilience Pledge companies can take to demonstrate their commitment to cyber security.The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is currently making its way through Parliament and later this year we will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan. Cyber security is a shared responsibility and both industry and government must play their part in tackling this challenge. This includes the urgent need for tech companies to ensure they develop secure by design software and devices, aligned to agreed standards and codes of practice.
What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing parity of pay between teachers in further education colleges and sixth forms.
Further education (FE) teachers are central to delivering high quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million to help colleges and other 16-19 providers address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. In addition, our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills have regular engagement with FE stakeholders including the Association of Colleges (AoC) on a range of issues, including matters pertaining to funding. FE pay remains a matter for individual colleges supported by the National Joint Forum, the AoC’s national bargaining arrangements.
What steps his Department is taking to improve access to maternity pathways with tailored support for pregnant people experiencing homelessness.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of child mortality rates among children living in temporary accommodation in England in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to improve the safety and suitability of temporary accommodation for families with children.
It is unacceptable that living situations are contributing to the tragic deaths of children. The Child Poverty Strategy and our National Plan to End Homelessness set out our commitments to eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience gaps in health care provision. These include our commitment to eliminating the unlawful use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for families by the end of this Parliament, introducing a clinical code to improve data and prevent incidents in temporary accommodation, ending the practice of discharging newborns into B&B or other unsuitable shared accommodation, and providing proactive outreach to families in temporary accommodation. Through our Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, we have been driving place-based good practice by working with local authorities with the highest use of B&B accommodation, backed by £10.5 million over two years. We will expand this work through an Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme, backed by £30 million over three years. The government is providing £950 million of investment for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund – the largest investment in the fund to date - to support local authorities in England to increase the supply of good quality temporary accommodation and drive down the use of costly B&B and hotels. Alongside this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will provide the strongest protections in a generation, making sure vulnerable children are identified and supported. We are also introducing a new temporary accommodation notification duty, to inform schools and specified health providers when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, to allow additional or different support to be provided to these children.
What steps her department is taking to support autistic students with Pathological Demand Avoidance in mainstream school settings.
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Manchester Rusholme, to the answer of 15 April 2026 to Question 121149.
What steps he is taking improve outcomes and survival rates after heart and lung transplants.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes.Access to transplantation is based on nationally agreed clinical criteria, with organs allocated through a national system managed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to ensure equity according to clinical need. NHSBT publishes data annually on access and outcomes in its organ-specific reports, which are available at the following link:https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/This data shows good overall post-transplant survival rates, alongside some variation between centres. In addition, the data shows no evidence of geographical variation beyond chance for heart and lung transplantation rates, and some variation in lung registration rates. Further work is needed to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to transplantation.Variation in patient outcomes, including longer‑term survival and listing outcomes, are reviewed through established NHSBT and NHS England clinical governance processes, including routine outcome review and centre‑specific follow‑up where indicated. The National Transplant Clinical Panel has been established to provide expert clinical interpretation of transplant outcome data to support oversight where issues of statistical variation are identified.To improve access and outcomes, NHS England has established a national improvement programme, informed by the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This programme, alongside NHS England’s commissioning structures, includes work to improve referral pathways, organ utilisation, and service consistency, through strengthened peer review processes, an audit of organ acceptance practices, and work with transplant centres to support consistent decision-making. Further information on NHS England’s national improvement programme and the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise is available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.england.nhs.uk/blog/from-ambition-to-action-improving-heart-and-lung-transplant-services-in-england/https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/34815/report-on-uk-heart-and-lung-transplantation-services.pdfWhile progress has been made, including increases in transplant activity and reductions in waiting lists, NHS England continues to work with partners to ensure services are consistent, resilient, and able to meet patient need across the country.