Every parliamentary written question tabled by James Naish this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 341–360 of 839 · this parliament
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on (a) lifting restrictions on crossings and (b) restoring UN-led, coordinated humanitarian operations in Gaza.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.
What steps his Department has taken to monitor NHS transport service performance standards.
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) are designed to provide transport for patients who have particular clinical or mobility needs that necessitate such support, which may include elderly or vulnerable patients. The eligibility criteria for NEPTS have been set nationally by NHS England, and the details are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf The Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS) is available for eligible patients and provides financial support to facilitate journeys to and from National Health Service funded secondary care. Details on the eligibility for HTCS is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/.Local integrated care boards (ICBs) hold responsibility for the implementation of patient transport services at a local level, including monitoring and improving against performance targets. ICBs are best placed to work and consult with their local stakeholders, health and care organisations, and local authorities to decide how to best meet and deliver for the needs of their local population. NHS England is funding and co-ordinating a range of Patient Transport Pathfinder projects to explore more effective approaches to supporting patients with their NHS travel needs.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Israeli counterparts on opening secure humanitarian corridors across Gaza.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Israel’s evacuation order from Gaza City on the adequacy of (a) food, (b) medical supplies and (c) space in humanitarian zones.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 17 September to Question 71870.
Whether funding will be ringfenced for independent patient advocacy and engagement services at local level after the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch.
Funding for independent patient advocacy and funding for local Healthwatch is currently not ring-fenced, and the Department has no plans to introduce a ring fence in future years.The abolition of local Healthwatch arrangements, and transfer of their functions to integrated care boards for health, and local authorities for social care, will require primary legislation. The timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament and will happen when Parliamentary time allows.Funding considerations will be undertaken after legislation has received parliamentary approval.
If his Department will ensure that people with (a) severe multiple disadvantage and (b) other rare conditions are included in the (i) design and (ii) delivery of services after the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch organisations.
Dr Dash’s report on patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. The review recommends bringing together the work of local Healthwatch organisations with the engagement functions of integrated care boards and providers to ensure patient and wider community input into the planning and design of services.These changes will improve quality, including safety, by making it clear where responsibility and accountability sit at all levels of the system. The changes will make it easier for staff, patients and service users, including those with severe multiple disadvantage and other rare conditions, to feed directly into the system to improve quality of care. We believe that patients and users will have a stronger voice once it is heard inside the system.
What recent steps his Department has taken to approve the use of sepiapterin for people with phenylketonuria.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and regulates medicine, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.The MHRA has several licensing routes that are available to companies to support access of innovative medicines or medicines with unmet need to patients. Sepiapterin is currently not approved by the MHRA, however, it will assess any market authorisation applications for sepiapterin against the high standards of quality, safety and efficacy should an application be received.
What steps he will take to ensure that patients have access to independent statutory mechanisms for raising concerns about health and care services following the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch organisations.
The report by Dr Penny Dash, published in July, recommended bringing together the work of local Healthwatch organisations, and the engagement functions of integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers, to ensure patient and wider community input into the planning and design of services. The recommendations in the report were accepted, in full, by the Government. The abolition of local Healthwatch arrangements, and the transfer of their functions to ICBs and local authorities will require primary legislation. The timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament and will happen when Parliamentary time allows.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he is having with the government of Israel on removing its new registration requirements for INGOs in Gaza.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer of 15 September to Question 77707.
How many people are employed by Social Work England.
The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England, and as such we monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. In addition, Social Work England is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority and is meeting 17 out of the 18 standards of good regulation. The government has a statutory obligation to appoint an independent person to review the operation of Part 2 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which includes powers related to Social Work England. The review will collect evidence of Social Work England’s overall effectiveness as a regulator. Further details will be announced in due course, and on completion the report will be laid before Parliament. On 31 July 2025, Social Work England employed 278 staff (full-time equivalent 263).
Whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the value for money of the services provided by Social Work England.
The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England, and as such we monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. In addition, Social Work England is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority and is meeting 17 out of the 18 standards of good regulation. The government has a statutory obligation to appoint an independent person to review the operation of Part 2 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which includes powers related to Social Work England. The review will collect evidence of Social Work England’s overall effectiveness as a regulator. Further details will be announced in due course, and on completion the report will be laid before Parliament. On 31 July 2025, Social Work England employed 278 staff (full-time equivalent 263).
Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing the housing benefit earnings disregard and (b) aligning the taper rate with Universal Credit.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers living in supported and temporary accommodation. This issue is a complex one, and eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context. It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
What steps he is taking to make work pay for young people in supported accommodation.
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers living in supported and temporary accommodation. This issue is a complex one, and eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context. It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
What assessment she has made of the value for money provided by Social Work England.
The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England, and as such we monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. In addition, Social Work England is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority and is meeting 17 out of the 18 standards of good regulation. The government has a statutory obligation to appoint an independent person to review the operation of Part 2 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which includes powers related to Social Work England. The review will collect evidence of Social Work England’s overall effectiveness as a regulator. Further details will be announced in due course, and on completion the report will be laid before Parliament. On 31 July 2025, Social Work England employed 278 staff (full-time equivalent 263).
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the universal credit taper to help more young people into work.
Extended periods of unemployment at a young age can have long-lasting consequences, including limiting of future employment prospects and reduced lifetime earnings. Early intervention is therefore critical. That is why our plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers were launched earlier this year, and the insights gained will inform the future design and delivery of the Youth Guarantee. Universal Credit is designed to top-up earnings from employment and to make work pay, so a household’s Universal Credit is withdrawn at a steady rate as their net earnings increase. Some customers will also benefit from a work allowance which is the amount someone can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to reduce.
What steps he will take through the benefit system to incentivise young people to work additional hours.
Extended periods of unemployment at a young age can have long-lasting consequences, including limiting of future employment prospects and reduced lifetime earnings. Early intervention is therefore critical. That is why our plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers were launched earlier this year, and the insights gained will inform the future design and delivery of the Youth Guarantee. Universal Credit is designed to top-up earnings from employment and to make work pay, so a household’s Universal Credit is withdrawn at a steady rate as their net earnings increase. Some customers will also benefit from a work allowance which is the amount someone can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to reduce.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of Social Work England.
The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England, and as such we monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. In addition, Social Work England is regulated by the Professional Standards Authority and is meeting 17 out of the 18 standards of good regulation. The government has a statutory obligation to appoint an independent person to review the operation of Part 2 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, which includes powers related to Social Work England. The review will collect evidence of Social Work England’s overall effectiveness as a regulator. Further details will be announced in due course, and on completion the report will be laid before Parliament. On 31 July 2025, Social Work England employed 278 staff (full-time equivalent 263).
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of including a target of at least 80 hours of enrichment activities in the enrichment framework.
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Rushcliffe to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62871.
How many applications (a) by adults and (b) on behalf of children for Disability Living Allowance benefits are outstanding; and what is the average waiting time for these applications to be resolved.
New claims for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are only open to children under the age of 16. As of August 2025, there are 39,150 new claims for child DLA that are outstanding, with an average actual outstanding time of 33 days. Points to note:- Figures above capture the number of outstanding claims that have been registered onto our systems. We do not have figures on the number of outstanding claims that are waiting to be registered.- Figure related to average actual outstanding time are median averages.- Figures are for new child DLA claims under normal rules only.
What steps her department is taking to reduce the Child Disability Living Allowance claim time.
We have seen unprecedented demand in new claims to the DLA Child service line. Additional resources have been deployed, and cases are cleared in date or to ensure fair customer service. As a result, we are seeing improvements in our processing times.