Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps is he taking to help mitigate and adapt the UK economy to help curb climate change.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 29 October, we published the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan. This sets out how the UK will continue to reduce emissions in a way that lowers bills and secures good jobs, in line with the landmark 2008 Climate Change Act. This framework has been supported by Britain’s leading businesses, trade unions, and civil society organisations because it creates a stable environment for investment in clean energy.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help support all medical graduates to access employment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Last year, all eligible medical applicants were offered a place on the UK Foundation Programme, which provides medical graduates with employment as a doctor and which continues of their training.
The 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, set out that over the next three years we would create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need.
On 8 December 2025, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association (BMA) Resident Doctors Committee which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. The Government will consider its next steps.
The Government will introduce the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill in Parliament, which will prioritise United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland medical graduates for foundation training, and prioritise UK and Republic of Ireland medical graduates and doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period of time for specialty training. Subject to parliamentary passage, this will apply to current applicants for training posts starting in 2026, and every year after that. This will reduce competition ratios for UK medical graduates and other prioritised applicants.
This is in addition to the steps already taken by NHS England in September to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council’s registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department's report entitled Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts, Research Report No 447, published on 11 November 2025, what assessment he has made of the evidence on the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the decision to not award financial redress to those women born in the 1950s that were adversely affected by changes to pension entitlements.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on state pension age. In retaking the decision, we are reviewing the 2007 report entitled Evaluation of Automatic State Pension Forecasts, Research Report No 447, alongside evidence previously considered. That work is underway but has not yet concluded.
We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to seek reciprocal visa-waiver arrangements with the EU and its member states.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals.
The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to protect British citizens from transnational repression from hostile states.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The first duty of this Government is to keep the country safe. Robust tools and system-wide safeguards are in place to robustly counter the threat of transnational repression (TNR). As set out in my statement to the House on 14 May, following the Defending Democracy Taskforce’s Review of TNR, we have:
Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the police via 101, at a local police station, or 999 in emergencies.
Any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will never be tolerated, irrespective of where the threat emanates.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support UK NGOs that have been prevented from continuing their work in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement I made to the House on 5 January.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) waste and (b) bureaucracy in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking action to reduce National Health Service bureaucracy by abolishing NHS England and reducing staff numbers by up to 50% across the Department, NHS England, and the NHS integrated care boards. These reductions will be made by March 2028. These changes will release savings that can be invested in frontline services, with up to 18,000 posts abolished and more than £1 billion a year saved in bureaucracy costs by the end of the Parliament.
In 2025/26, the NHS has ambitious plans to deliver to improve productivity and efficiency by 4%, including a 1% cost reduction. The efficiency savings target set for 2025/26 is £11 billion.
The Government has set a 2% annual productivity growth target for the NHS, unlocking £17 billion in savings over the next three years to reinvest in patient care. NHS productivity grew by 2.7% in 2024/25 and by 2.5% in the first five months of this financial year, putting the NHS on course to meet the target.
To support NHS productivity growth, the Government is investing £2 billion in digital infrastructure for 2025/26 and an additional £300 million announced in the Autumn Budget 2025. This will accelerate electronic patient record rollout, strengthen cyber security, expand the NHS App, and drive automation. The NHS App, for instance, has now saved over 730,000 hours of clinical time, and 3.2 million hours of administrative time across primary and secondary care, and over 860,000 outpatient “Did Not Attends” have been avoided due to patient use of the app, equating to £103 million in appointment costs.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention of managers in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is implementing a range of initiatives designed to attract talented individuals into management roles and support existing managers.
NHS England is developing an NHS Leadership and Management Framework, which sets clear expectations for leadership standards, behaviours, and ongoing development.
We are strengthening national and regional talent management systems to identify high-potential leaders and provide structured development pathways. We will also establish a new College of Executive and Clinical Leadership to provide a recognised professional home for National Health Service leaders and deliver high-quality training and development.
The new pay framework for Very Senior Managers (VSMs) aims to provide greater consistency of approach to VSM pay and helps ensure the total reward offered for VSMs remains attractive and proportionate.
These combined efforts aim to create a strong, effective, and accountable management workforce that can deliver transformation in the NHS, and to build a positive and compassionate culture.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility criteria for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment award.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We continue to keep the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme under review to ensure it remains effective and sustainable within current budgetary constraints.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to make sports partnerships part of the UK's diplomatic efforts in Small Island States in the Caribbean.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS) recognises that sport can be an enabler of sustainable development, including through the promotion of tolerance and respect and through the positive contribution it makes to empowerment of women and girls, health, education and social inclusion. The UK has been one of the key supporters of the ABAS agenda in discussions with the SIDS group and at the United Nations.