Every parliamentary written question tabled by Alberto Costa this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 88 · this parliament
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the delayed publication of 2025 Key Stage 2 SATs results on pupils, parents and schools; what discussions she has had with Pearson regarding reported issues in the marking process; and if she will undertake an independent review of the administration and marking of the 2025 SATs to ensure that pupils receive accurate results and have an opportunity to request reviews of marking where appropriate.
Awaiting answer.
When his Department plans to publish detailed information on steel safeguard quota allocations and anticipated utilisation in advance of the implementation of those measures on 1 July 2026.
Details of the finalised steel trade measure quotas were published on GOV.UK on 25 June and I gave a statement on the new steel trade measure on the same day.The steel trade measure quotas reflect the needs of the steel industry, taking account of product...
Whether his Department will publish detailed information on steel safeguard quota allocations and anticipated utilisation in advance of the implementation of those measures on 1 July 2026.
Yes.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of conducting (a) an independent review and (b) an inquiry into the Police Federation of England and Wales.
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federatio...
What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Police Federation in representing its members.
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federatio...
What level of oversight her Department has of the governance and reform of the Police Federation of England and Wales.
The Government wants to see a strong staff association that provides a robust voice for police officers and represents their interests effectively.There is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to ensure that there shall continue to be a Police Federatio...
What comparative assessment he has made of England’s progress in providing universal access to Fracture Liaison Services with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland's.
Health is a devolved matter to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The Fracture Liaison Service database coll...
If he will make Fracture Liaison Services a mandated service for Integrated Care Boards.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.Integrated care boards remain well-placed to make decisions according to local need.The renewed Women’s Health Strategy sets an expectation...
What guidance is provided to exporters on demonstrating low diversion risk under the Sanctions End-Use Controls.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) provides guidance for businesses on Sanctions End-Use Controls and countering sanctions evasion through GOV.UK, which sets out how exporters can address diversion risk.Exporters should evidence robust due dilige...
What safeguards are in place to ensure that data accessed or processed through the NHS Federated Data Platform cannot be repurposed, now or in the future, for immigration enforcement or other non‑health-related functions, including by third-party contractors or their overseas affiliates.
Data held within the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) remains under the full control of the National Health Service at all times. The supplier does not control NHS data and is not permitted to access, use, or share data for its own purposes. The supplier cannot view NHS data unless explicitly authorised by an NHS Data Controller. The supplier acts solely on the instruction of the NHS when processing data on the platform. The FDP and Associated Services contract includes strict confidentiality requirements, supported by governance arrangements to oversee delivery and the use of the platform. It is a contractual requirement that data held within the NHS FDP cannot be accessed by supplier staff or contractors located outside the United Kingdom. These arrangements ensure that NHS data remains under UK jurisdiction and that all data processing takes place within the UK. In line with the General Data Protection Regulation principles of transparency and accountability, NHS England has published information within the FDP Information Governance Framework. Data held within the FDP cannot be accessed or processed by non‑UK Government entities. There are no products within the NHS FDP that hold immigration status or residency status. Immigration or residency data does not form part of NHS England data collections, nor does it form part of an individual’s health record.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are adequate (a) resources and (b) workforce capacity in community health services, particularly in areas served by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. The formula takes account of population, age, need, deprivation, health inequality considerations, and unavoidable costs, for example the increased costs caused by lower population density in rural areas. Therefore, the ICB allocations issued by NHS England for 2026/27 to 2028/29 will take account of the demographics of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System in providing a fair share of overall National Health Service resources. We recently published the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neighbourhood-health-framework/neighbourhood-health-framework#introduction-to-neighbourhood-healthThis framework will help systems deliver neighbourhood health, which will improve people’s health and care outcomes, reduce health inequalities, and help them stay well at home, partly by strengthening primary and community care services. NHS England then wrote to ICBs and NHS providers setting out the expectations on local action to advance neighbourhood health in 2026/27 to 2027/28, including commissioning for population health, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/next-steps-on-neighbourhood-health-and-new-delivery-models/
What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the ongoing restructuring of NHS England and the reduction in Integrated Care Systems on (a) the pace of service development and transformation and (b) access to healthcare services for rural and semi‑rural communities (i) in Leicestershire and (ii) elsewhere in England.
The new Department will operate in a leaner, more agile, and more efficient way and will empower staff at all levels of the health system. These reforms will give more power and autonomy to local leaders and systems, stripping away red tape and bureaucracy and providing more freedom to better deliver health services for their local communities.The 10-Year Health Plan sets out the need for a leaner national centre, one that sets clearer priorities, provides strategic direction, and supports local systems rather than relying on command and control. By integrating the Department and NHS England and significantly reducing duplication, the programme directly delivers this aspect of the 10-Year Health Plan vision, and compliments the other system changes happening at an integrated care board and provider level.Delivery expectations are embedded throughout the plan, which will shift care from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention, which will benefit local constituencies.We are moving towards fewer but larger integrated care boards, with a renewed focus on the local level as part of our commitment to delivering care closer to home, and this includes rural and semi rural areas. As outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan, neighbourhood health plans will be created, including for Leicestershire, and will be brought together as part of the integrated care boards’ plans to improve population health locally. All integrated care boards will continue to focus on their role as strategic commissioners, supporting service transformation and development to deliver the priorities set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
With reference to the guidance entitled Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, updated on 5 March 2026, when the additional 24‑month Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) extension will open for applications in practice; and whether the widened 90‑day application window will apply to both first and subsequent UPE applications.
The Government has extended the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) by a further 24 months to provide stability and security for those who still need sanctuary in the UK due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.The additional 24‑month extension under the UPE scheme will open to applications from 8 April 2026, in line with the relevant changes to the Immigration Rules.Eligible individuals whose current Ukraine scheme permission is due to expire will be able to apply to the UPE scheme up to 90 days before expiry. The widened 90‑day application window applies both to first‑time UPE applications and to subsequent applications for the additional 24‑month extension.Applying at any point within this window will not reduce the total period of permission granted, and any remaining valid permission will be added to the new grant.
What steps her Department is taking to review cases where foster carers and children may have been adversely affected by Local Authority Designated Officer investigations; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a public inquiry into historic failures in the foster care system and related safeguarding procedures.
The local authority designated officer (LADO) is a local authority function. Local authorities are responsible for managing allegations against adults who work with children and the LADO plays a vital role in safeguarding children by overseeing the management of allegations made against adults who work with children in any capacity. To help ensure the LADO role is delivered consistently and effectively, we are working with the national LADO network to make operational guidance available. This guidance seeks to draw together current good practice to support a more consistent approach nationally.The department has announced an ambitious reform programme to urgently address the sharp decline in foster carers and modernise fostering. The reforms establish a clear direction built on relationships, stability and trust, simplifying outdated rules, strengthening national recruitment, expanding regional collaboration and improving support.Our primary metric will be the number of approved fostering places in local authorities and third sector providers, with the aim of creating an additional 10,000 fostering places by the end of this Parliament.The fostering plan is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewing-fostering-homes-for-10000-more-children.
What mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability for public sector bodies and organisations carrying out safeguarding functions on behalf of local authorities; and whether her Department plans to introduce new measures to improve transparency, oversight and consequences for procedural failures.
‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026’ sets clear expectations for how organisations must safeguard children. Inspectorates and regulators are key to ensuring organisations follow their statutory duties. Ofsted inspects early years provision, schools, further education and skills providers, and all children’s social care services including children’s homes, fostering agencies and adoption services.Joint Targeted Area Inspections are multi-agency inspections carried out by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate Probation.Out-of-school settings have a common law duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, alongside other statutory obligations relating to Disclosure and Barring Service requirements and health and safety legislation.DfE will provide a formal response to the call for evidence on safeguarding in these settings in due course, following ongoing stakeholder engagement.The department is establishing a Child Protection Authority to strengthen the child protection response regardless of where harm takes place.
Whether her Department plans to introduce increased statutory rights and protections for foster carers, including safeguards against unsubstantiated allegations; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of such reforms on the stability and wellbeing of children in foster care.
The department does not hold data centrally on the number of fostering placements at constituency level. Nationally, placement sufficiency remains under strain, which is why reforms are essential to renewing fostering and improving support for carers and children.
Whether his Department plans to publish an implementation plan for the National Cancer Plan.
The National Cancer Plan, published on the 4 February, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. The plan sets out in tables at the end of each chapter what actions we will take and when we will implement them. There is no plan to publish an additional implementation plan, for this reason.A reformed National Cancer Board will support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and will be the forum for updating on progress, exposing issues, and for injecting scrutiny. The board will provide regular updates to ministers and support development of an annual progress report.
When energy suppliers will be required to provide consumers with the option of having a SMETS2 smart meter installed in a non‑communicating mode; and for what reason this option was not put in place prior to the RTS switch‑off.
Energy suppliers are best placed to make decisions on metering based on customers’ individual circumstances, and in some cases may be able to provide alternative arrangements if the customer does not want a smart meter in smart mode. However, the customer would then not be able to access the full range of benefits offered by smart meters operating in ‘smart mode’ such as sending automatic readings, access to cheaper time-of-use tariffs, and accurate energy bills based on actual household usage, rather than estimates.
Whether his Department is taking steps to bring the Fielding Palmer Hospital back into full-time use as a community health hub for Lutterworth.
The transition from hospital to community care was one of the three big shifts set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, and we recognise the role of community facilities in delivering this ambition.The 2025 Spending Review set out a four-year health capital settlement extending to 2029/30. This will provide local National Health Service organisations, including the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, responsible for Fielding Palmer Hospital, with the confidence needed for long-term investment decisions, including larger infrastructure projects.From 2026/27 to 2029/30, the NHS Midlands Region has been allocated £910.1 million to deliver the shift from hospital to community care and to support the return to constitutional standards. Regional teams are currently prioritising the funding between proposed schemes across the midlands and will be considering the merits of a community health hub for Lutterworth as part of this process. In addition to national capital, the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust has been allocated £40.2 million in operational capital across 2026/27 to 2029/30, which they can allocate to local priorities, including funding for a new health hub.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the consistency of her Department's travel advice issued to British nationals in the Middle East; and what steps are being taken to ensure that advice does not conflict with subsequent evacuation guidance.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 16 March in response to Question 118590.