Written questions by Raja.

What percentage of NHS patients in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands were referred to private health providers for treatment in the last twelve months.

Independent sector providers have a role to play in supporting the National Health Service as trusted partners to recover elective services by using additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst delivering value for money.Data for NHS referrals into the independent sector is broken down by NHS commissioning regions. We are therefore unable to reliably calculate the percentage of NHS referrals into the independent sector at the levels requested. Between January 2025 and December 2025, latest available data, there were a total of 3,637,634 new patient pathways for elective care in the Midlands region. Of these, 5.70%, or 207,268, were at independent sector providers.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the number of new homes that could be delivered by reducing the average time taken to determine planning applications.

My Department routinely assesses the impact of regulatory changes in terms of their impact on housing supply.

Communities and Local Government, a) what progress has been made on streamlining the planning process to reduce delays for compliant housing developments and b) whether his Department plans to introduce further measures to increase certainty for applicants.

Significant progress has been made in respect of streamlining the planning process to reduce delays for compliant housing developments. A revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on the 12 December 2024. The government is currently consulting on a new NPPF that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation can be found on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026. The Planning and Infrastructure Act, which contains a number of provisions designed to improve certainty and decision-making in the planning system, received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. On 18 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, closed on 13 January 2026.

What measures are being taken to ensure student safety on university campuses in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands, and (c) the UK.

I stand with Members across this House in expressing my sorrow at the killing of Khaleed Oladipo near De Montfort University on 4 February 2026, and I pay tribute to the members of the public and emergency services who fought to save him.Student safety is of utmost importance. As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for setting their own policies and security arrangements to ensure the safety of students and staff on campus, maintaining robust welfare and risk‑management procedures to protect their students, even though they do not operate under a statutory safeguarding duty.In the wake of Mr Oladipo’s death, De Montford University continues to work proactively with staff and students to offer support and reassurance. Enhanced police patrols remain in place. Universities also provide a range of practical support to help keep students safe and supported while on campus.In August 2025, the Office for Students strengthened its regulatory oversight through a new registration condition for all English universities that sets out clear requirements for preventing and responding to harassment of all kinds on campus.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the relationship between housing supply and economic growth in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands.

Investment in housing and infrastructure in all parts of the country, including Leicester, Leicestershire and the East Midlands, drives future economic growth and higher living standards.

What recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education having completed their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.

This information is not held.

What recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education without completing their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.

This information is not held.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the level of digital exclusion in Leicester; and what steps she is taking to improve the level of digital skills and access.

Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world – helping families save money, get a better job, and access services like the NHS more easily.But we know some people face real barriers. Data from 2025 shows that 18% adults in the UK labour force lack essential digital skills for work, while 7% of households in the East Midlands do not have access to the internet.That’s why we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, and why we’re now delivering the foundations: better connectivity, more devices reaching people who need them, and support to build skills and confidence in communities across the UK.This has included launching the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, with £35,391.97 going to Leicester City Council and £90,625 to Wesley Hall Community Centre, helping more people across the UK get the access, skills and confidence to get online.

Whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to a) Leicester and b) Leicestershire to reduce NHS waiting lists.

National Health Service funding for local services, including in Leicester and Leicestershire, is allocated to integrated care boards using NHS England’s Fair Share model and the NHS resource allocation formula.This formula is designed to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, taking into account factors such as demography, morbidity, levels of deprivation, and the unavoidable costs of providing services in different areas. It is based on independent academic research and overseen by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, which provides advice to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chief Executive of NHS England.Through the 2025 Spending Review, announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in June 2025, the Government has prioritised health with a record investment in the health and social care system. The Government is providing £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms by 2028/29 than in 2023/24, alongside the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real-terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.This will support delivery of our commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, including patients in Leicester and Leicestershire.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of SEND transport contracts on local authority spending; and whether she plans to introduce annual cost caps.

We know challenges in the SEND system are creating pressures on home-to-school travel. We will reform the SEND system to enable more children to thrive in local mainstream settings. This will mean fewer children need to travel long distances to access education, reducing the burden on local authorities. The reforms will be set out in the Schools White Paper.Local councils decide how to arrange travel for eligible children. They use a mix of in-house services, public transport passes and contracts with private operators. Contracts are a matter for the council and operator. We encourage councils to have robust arrangements. Many are reviewing and improving their procurement practices.We are supporting councils through a new home-to-school travel data collection to support benchmarking, publishing guidance to support joined-up decision-making, and creating a bespoke home-to-school travel funding formula within the local government finance settlement. We have no current plans to introduce a price cap.

What role his Department played in the development, approval, or distribution of guidance to NHS midwives which stated that consanguineous marriage had “benefits” and that the prevalence of genetic defects among children born to consanguineous couples was “exaggerated”.

These phrases were not included in any guidance issued by the National Health Service. They were included in training materials which also made clear the genetic risk associated with close relative marriage.The Department had no role in the development, approval, or distribution of the training materials which included these phrases. The training materials were retired in 2025.We fully recognise the genetic risks of consanguineous relationships, and we offer referral to genetics services so individuals understand the risks and can make informed decisions.We are working with the NHS to look into how this training was developed, and to make sure it never happens again.

What steps her Department is taking to a) improve the nutritional quality of school meals and b) increase the use of British produced food and ingredients in schools.

The department aims to revise the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders, including academics and nutrition professionals, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. We encourage schools to voluntarily follow the Government Buying Standards for food and catering, which includes lots of advice around sustainable sourcing. Additionally, we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support schools to buy more of the fresh, high-quality ingredients produced in the UK when sourcing their meals as part of the government’s Food Strategy.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve influenza vaccination uptake in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.

The Department works closely with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to improve vaccination uptake. In Leicester, NHS England has advised that flu vaccination uptake has increased compared with last winter, with notable improvement in school‑age flu vaccination.Across the East Midlands, NHS England has advised that there has been an increase in uptake compared to this time last year for most cohorts, notably within two and three year olds and frontline healthcare worker cohorts, though lower uptake has been seen in over 65 year olds and care home cohorts.This year, NHS England has introduced, for the first time, an expansion to the two to three-year-old flu offer with appointments available via community pharmacy sites to support easier access.NHS England has been working closely with local integrated care boards (ICBs) and wider partners including acute and community hospitals, community pharmacies, and general practices, to take an integrated approach to improving influenza vaccination uptake across all eligible groups.Local ICBs are working together with community leaders and local partners to ensure that information is shared within communities about how, when, and where people can get vaccinated.

Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance is issued to police forces on the investigation of suspicious animal deaths; and what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of investigative standards in such cases.

Police forces investigate suspicious animal deaths under the statutory powers provided in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which enables officers to act where there is evidence that an animal has suffered, or is likely to suffer, harm. These powers apply to circumstances involving the unexplained or potentially unlawful death of an animal. Decisions on how such investigations are carried out are matters for individual Chief Constables, who hold operational independence and are responsible for determining the investigative approach taken by their forces. Police forces may also draw on wider investigative frameworks developed by the College of Policing, which support officers in handling cases that may involve criminal harm to animals. Defra has not undertaken any recent formal assessment of investigative standards in relation to suspicious animal deaths.

Whether he plans to bring forward proposals to require publicly funded bodies to ensure defibrillators are accessible to the public on a 24-hour basis.

It is for individual publicly funded bodies to determine appropriate arrangements for the defibrillators they maintain, taking account of relevant factors such as building operating hours and security. More broadly, local communities themselves are best placed to make decisions about location and access to defibrillators. The number has been increasing, with over 110,000 defibrillators now registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the independent automated external defibrillators database. For these reasons, there are no plans to bring forward such proposals.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement action his Department undertakes to ensure that temporary accommodation in Leicester meets minimum health, safety and hygiene standards.

Housing authorities must, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Households may request a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable. If an applicant is not satisfied with how the council has handled their case, they may complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or take legal action through the courts.

How many and what proportion of asylum seekers who have received a positive asylum decision have been granted access to Universal Credit during the current Parliament.

The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. ‘Table 1’ in the latest Universal Credit immigration status and nationality data tables provides information on the number of people with refugee status on Universal Credit for each month from April 2022 to October 2025.

What data her Department holds on the use of UK e-gates by nationals of countries that do not offer reciprocal access to UK passport holders; and what assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing reciprocity requirements.

The Government operates the UK border solely in the best interests of the UK, not the principle of reciprocity as this could undermine our security and ability to respond to emerging border pressures or threats. We recommend all eligible nationals make use of eGates where possible, as they provide a safe, secure and efficient method of entering the UK, however, we continue to keep eGate eligibility under review to ensure we are balancing border security and passenger flow In May 2025, we published the Immigration White Paper, which stated we are moving to the next phase of our vision to transform the UK border, by using technology to increase the use of automation and make visible changes to security, flow and the passenger experience.

What steps his Department is taking to improve ambulance response times in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.

The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance response times have not met the high standards patients should expect.We are determined to turn things around. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025/26, is backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, and commits to reducing category 2 ambulance response times to 30 minutes on average this year. The East Midlands Ambulance Service is investing over £4 million for additional clinicians in its control rooms to help patients with urgent care needs who call 999 to get signposted to the right care at the right time in the right place.The latest data from December 2025 for ambulance response times for East Midlands Ambulance Service shows progress, with category 2 incidents responded to in 44 minutes 19 seconds on average, which is 21 minutes and 56 seconds faster than the same period last year.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle youth knife crime and serious violence in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.

We are already making clear progress against our ambition to halve knife crime. In our first year in Government, police-recorded knife crime offences fell by 5%.We have banned zombie knives and ninja swords and are holding online sellers criminally responsible removing almost 60,000 knives from streets in England and Wales. We are taking a range of action in the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen legislation on knives.New crime mapping tools are already allowing us to identify highly specific knife crime concentrations and focus police and community safety resources where they are needed most. Further investment in cutting-edge capabilities, such as knife detection technology, improved data platforms, and live facial recognition will further enhance our ability to target knife crime.Preventing young people from getting involved in crime is crucial to achieving our ambition. As part of the Young Futures programme, we are piloting new Young Futures Panels. These pilots proactively identify and refer children who may be falling through the gaps, to a range of different support services much earlier. More than 50 panels went operational in October and November, including in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.This financial year (2025/26), we have also allocated £47m to the network of 20 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) across England and Wales to support their valuable work. VRUs bring together partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. This includes over £1m in VRU grant funding to Leicestershire specifically. We have also allocated £194k to Leicestershire and £1.9m across the East Midlands in grant funding to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.