Every parliamentary written question tabled by Kim Johnson this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 201–220 of 475 · this parliament
What the value is of Prison Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026.
The value of the Prisoner Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 October 2025 and 31 March 2026 is £51 million. This figure excludes Lot 10 (West Midlands prisons), where existing contracts under the Prison Education Framework have been extended while a re-procurement process is ongoing.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UN Secretary-General’s report entitled Situation concerning Western Sahara: report of the Secretary-General, published on 30 September 2025, if she will call for an independent human rights body to monitor human rights in (a) occupied Western Sahara and (b) refugee camps.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided on 29 October to Question 84938.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the UN Secretary-General’s report entitled Situation concerning Western Sahara: report of the Secretary-General, published on 30 September 2025, and whether she plans to raise that report at the Security Council.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 30 October to Question 85129.
How many phases of roll-out of free breakfast clubs will there be; when is the next phase due to start rolling out; which schools will be eligible for the second phase roll-out; and when can all state primary schools expect to have free breakfast clubs.
The government is committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill means that those schools with children on roll from Reception to Year 6 are required to offer a free breakfast club before the start of each school day. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.So far, the department has delivered 2.6 million breakfasts and has offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. Following the success of the early adopters, we will start the first phase of national rollout of the clubs from April 2026. We are investing a further £80 million into the programme to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around 500,000 more children.Further information, including specifics on eligibility, funding and expectations for schools will be provided later in the Autumn term. This will include detailed guidance as well as a wider package of support.
With reference to his Department's Green Paper: Future of Post Office, published on 14 July 2025, what progress the Department has made in hosting discussions between Post Office and the banking sector on Post Office cash and banking services.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I plan to co-chair a roundtable with the Post Office and key banks. This will provide an opportunity to discuss where future potential collaboration, on a commercial and voluntary basis, may be in the interests of both parties. This will take place in due course.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July to Question 61881 on Western Sahara: Origin Marking, what discussions her Department has had with Tesco on the adequacy of its labelling of products from Western Sahara.
Under UK regulations, supermarket product selection remains a matter of retailer discretion, contingent upon compliance with food and labelling laws. Retailers operate independently and make sourcing decisions based on commercial, ethical, and consumer considerations. All supermarkets are expected to support honest and transparent labelling of food products, and the Government routinely engages with industry representatives to support best practices. We work to maintain high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of creating a dedicated form of business rates relief for post offices.
The Government has no plans to introduce a targeted business rates relief for post offices. However, as set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values below £500,000, including post offices, from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible post offices benefit from much-needed certainty and support. Post offices are also eligible for 40 per cent RHL relief up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business in 2025/26. They are also eligible for 100 per cent rural rate relief if they meet certain conditions.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July to Question 61880 on Western Sahara: Trade Agreements, what discussions she has had with Sahrawi representatives on trade with Western Sahara.
Trade agreements negotiated by the UK are conducted with sovereign states and in accordance with international law. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials regularly meet Sahrawi representatives to discuss UK policy on Western Sahara, including trade.
Whether his Department plans to introduce a maximum waiting time target for children’s community health services.
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-community-services
What recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for children’s community health services; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for those services.
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-community-services
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the workforce capacity in children’s community health services.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s community services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.NHS England continues to monitor community service waiting times via the Community Health Services SitRep data collection, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/The National Health Service has also published an overview of the core community health services that integrated care boards, service providers, and their partners should consider when planning services for their local population, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/standardising-community-health-services/
What steps his Department is taking to support Integrated Care Boards to reduce waiting times for (a) speech and language therapy, (b) physiotherapy, (a) community paediatrics and (d) other community health services for children.
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/community-health-services-waiting-lists/A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-community-services
What consideration he has given to the role of post offices in (a) onboarding and (b) supporting people who suffer from (i) identity and (ii) digital exclusion during the roll out of the digital identity scheme.
The new digital ID will be designed to be inclusive. We will launch a public consultation and have already started to engage with a range of expert organisations and community groups. We will deliver a comprehensive inclusion programme to ensure everyone eligible is able to access this new digital ID and benefit from it. We are considering options like a digitally enabled physical alternative for those without access to technology, as well as in-person onboarding support for those who struggle to engage digitally, such as post offices, and a dedicated case working function for those who may struggle to initially prove their identity and access the system.
How much funding has been allocated to Integrated Care Boards to support the delivery of children’s community health services in each of the last three years.
Children’s community health services are part of integrated care board (ICB) core commissioning responsibilities. ICBs are given a non-ring-fenced allocation from which to commission services to meet these responsibilities and therefore there is no separate allocation.
With reference to her oral contribution during the Second Reading of the Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill, Official Report, column 997, what recent progress his Department has made on the review of the data that his Department holds on disparities in the justice system; when he plans to complete the review; and whether he plans to take further steps to assess (a) the underlying causes and (b) effectiveness of policy on disparities in the justice system.
The previous Lord Chancellor commissioned a review of the latest data on sentencing disparities and its causes. I will provide more information on this in due course.
Whether her Department plans to make changes to the eligibility criteria for indefinite leave to remain for people who have had continuous residence in the UK for 10 years.
We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year. Following that, we will provide details of how this initiative will work, including on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.
How many (a) unallocated cases and queries, (b) cases and queries allocated but not yet in progress and (c) cases and queries in progress but not yet completed being dealt with by the Civil Service Pension Scheme administrator, MyCSP Ltd. were still in progress as of 1October 2025.
MyCSP; the Civil Service pension scheme administrator, does not record the data in the format requested. It reports to the Cabinet Office on a monthly basis. 85,503 new work items were received for the month of September. A work item reflects an individual piece of work or task. There are 67,540 outstanding items - 13,783 cases awaiting a response and 53,757 items assigned for work to be completed. The outstanding volumes are in line with what we would expect to see based on the differing clearance targets for certain tasks, such as retirements which can take up to 4 months to process. This is what the Cabinet Office expects to see and monitors on a monthly basis. The Cabinet Office continues to emphasise to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with (a) representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces and (b) other local partners on measures to protect civilians in Kurdish-majority areas of northern Syria from further attacks.
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent attacks on Kurdish-majority areas on (a) the long-term stability of regions formerly liberated from ISIS with the support of the Syrian Democratic Forces and (b) the UK’s ongoing counter-terrorism objectives in Syria and Iraq.
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government have (a) carried out bombardments of and (b) caused civilian casualties in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo on 6 October 2025.
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.