Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans are in place to build medium and long term NHS directly provided capacity to increase appointments in (a) diagnostic tests and (b) elective treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we are committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment. Increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity is a key part of our plan to deliver this ambition.
We are providing additional diagnostic and elective capacity through a mixture of investments in new equipment and facilities in acute hospitals and community settings, as well as improving utilising and the productivity of our existing assets.
Dedicated and protected surgical hubs transform the way the NHS provides elective care by focusing on providing high volume, low complexity surgery, as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. There are currently 123 operational surgical hubs across England, 23 of which have opened since the Government took office. We will expand the number of hubs over the next three years to increase surgical capacity and deliver faster access to common procedures.
Community diagnostic centres (CDCs) provide a broad range of elective diagnostics away from acute facilities, reducing pressure on hospitals and giving patients quicker and more convenient access to tests. CDCs are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country. We will expand existing CDCs, as well as building up to five new ones in 2025/26. We are also committed to opening CDCs 12 hours per day, seven days a week.
This is supported by £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years for diagnostic, elective, urgent, and emergency capacity in the NHS. This includes £1.65 billion of capital funding in 2025/26 to deliver new surgical hubs, diagnostic scanners, and beds to increase capacity for elective and emergency care.
We will create an NHS fit for the future, modernising care so that it takes place efficiently and closer to home, prioritising patient experience and ensuring that wherever you live in England, you will be seen, diagnosed, and treated in a timely way.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of multiagency responses to bullying in schools, online and through messaging platforms which disrupt the learning of young people and cause distress and harm.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Bullying is unacceptable and must be tackled to ensure schools are supportive environments where pupils can thrive. We know that evidence suggests that cyberbullying is often linked to face-to-face bullying.
All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. It is for schools to decide when to involve external agencies. Schools should contact the police where they believe an offence may have been committed.
The government is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams.
To support schools further with preventing and tackling bullying, the department has recently launched procurement for an expert, evidence-led review of anti-bullying best practice to inform a practical resource for schools.
Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs will focus on supporting senior leaders in schools to develop cultures with high expectations for attendance and behaviour, with robust processes for following up poor behaviour.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many safety breaches have there been at rail road level crossings in Greater Manchester since 2015.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great Britain’s level crossings are among the safest in Europe. The number of incidents at rail-road level crossings in Greater Manchester since 2017/18 is set out below. No comparable data is available for previous years.
.
Fiscal Year | Incidents |
2017/2018 | 38 |
2018/2019 | 34 |
2019/2020 | 31 |
2020/2021 | 15 |
2021/2022 | 36 |
2022/2023 | 40 |
2023/2024 | 58 |
2024/2025 | 41 |
2025/2026 (to 12 December) | 38 |
Total | 331 |
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what is being done to improve train driver availability and reduce train cancellations and delays that are caused by a lack of trained staff.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All train operating companies have been asked to complete a seven-point traincrew resourcing proposal as part of their annual business plan. These plans cover staffing levels, recruitment, training, overtime and planning efficiency in order to improve reliability.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the levels of the use of drones in importing contraband into prisons; and what was number of drone incidents recorded in each year since 2015.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Drone incidents around prisons in England and Wales pose a major threat to prison security. We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the illegal use of drones. This includes working across government and international partners on this global issue.
We publish the number of drone incidents in England and Wales in the HMPPS Annual Digest, please see table 6_1 in the Finds tables. The latest issue covers the 12-month period to March 2025, with a time series of drone incidents starting from the 12-months to March 2021. We published Official Statistics on drone incidents for the first time in July 2025, with data back to April 2020. Drone statistics back to 2015 cannot be provided, having not been equivalently recorded or assured.
Any increase in reported drone incidents should not be interpreted as an increase in incursions; it may reflect more focused reporting. Drone incidents should not be interpreted as definitive evidence of the delivery of contraband into prisons, as they include all incidents where a drone is sighted. Data specific to deliveries of illicit items cannot be disclosed for security reasons.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the government intends to equalise the National Living Wage rates for workers over 18 years old.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The removal of the 18–20-year-old age band is a manifesto pledge; we remain committed to the equalisation of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW).
The latest increase to the NMW of 8.5% continues to close the gap between the 18-20 NMW rate and the NLW rate, moving towards a single adult rate.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of invasive weed removal from publicly owned land in England.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Various public bodies and local authorities undertake removal activities for invasive non-native weed species as part of their land management responsibilities. Natural England investigates complaints about the threat of injurious weeds spreading to agricultural land.
An assessment of the effectiveness of these interventions on publicly owned land has not been made.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what place based funding allocations has the Government confirmed for each area in the UK for the current spending review period.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is investing billions in city regions, towns and communities across the UK as a commitment to driving growth everywhere.
This includes, for example, the historic £15.6 billion investment in transport infrastructure in major city regions outside London; £410 million for a Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to support local leaders to drive innovation excellence in key sectors across the UK; at least £13 billion of funding via Integrated Settlements from 2026-27 to 2029-30 for seven Mayoral Strategic Authorities; and a Local Transport Grant providing £2.3 billion to enable local authorities to deliver transport improvements.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the proportion of people in creative roles such as writers, editors, producers, commissioners who come from working-class backgrounds.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. However, we know that informal working and recruitment practices, and the concentration of creative jobs in London, can act as barriers to the inclusion of people who come from working-class backgrounds.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why in our Creative Industries Sector Plan we committed to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, with a particular focus on priority areas where children and young people face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities. Building on this we announced in November that we have invested £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.
We are also working across the economy to address the issue of unpaid internships, as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay. Unpaid internships, which are not part of a formal educational or training course, are already largely banned. The law is clear: if someone is a worker, calling them an unpaid intern does not mean they are not entitled to pay. The commitment to ban unpaid internships reflects our vision for a fair and inclusive labour market where everyone has the opportunity to succeed based on their talent and not their financial circumstances. The recent call for evidence on unpaid internships is the first step in tackling this issue.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of unpaid internships, informal recruitment, and London-based hiring practices on working-class inclusion in the culture and media sectors.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. However, we know that informal working and recruitment practices, and the concentration of creative jobs in London, can act as barriers to the inclusion of people who come from working-class backgrounds.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why in our Creative Industries Sector Plan we committed to a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. We are working closely with industry partners to design next year’s expanded programme, with a particular focus on priority areas where children and young people face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities. Building on this we announced in November that we have invested £500,000 to expand Creative Futures, delivered through The King’s Trust. The programme is designed to break down barriers to jobs in the creative industries for young people across the country who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk of being so – particularly those facing significant barriers and currently underrepresented in the creative industries.
We are also working across the economy to address the issue of unpaid internships, as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay. Unpaid internships, which are not part of a formal educational or training course, are already largely banned. The law is clear: if someone is a worker, calling them an unpaid intern does not mean they are not entitled to pay. The commitment to ban unpaid internships reflects our vision for a fair and inclusive labour market where everyone has the opportunity to succeed based on their talent and not their financial circumstances. The recent call for evidence on unpaid internships is the first step in tackling this issue.