Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing rates of Universal Credit through an independent process designed to meet the cost of essentials.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 15 July 2026 to Question UIN 16300.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Israeli counterpart regarding the risk of displacement in the village of Umm Al-Khair in the southern West Bank.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Foreign Secretary's statement which covered settlement expansion and sanctions on 8 September. We are deeply concerned by the situation facing Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills, including Umm al-Kheir.
On 19 August, the Foreign Secretary raised settlement expansion with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar and made clear that the Israeli Government must halt settlement expansion immediately.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of regulations for the private prescription of medical cannabis at protecting patients with severe mental health conditions.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England, including private clinics that prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs). Private providers must be registered with the CQC and are inspected against standards relating to safety, quality, and safeguarding. To ensure the legislative framework remains safe and fit for purpose, my Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has commissioned the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to undertake a comprehensive review of the 2018 changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations that enabled access to CBPMs.
Data on National Health Service prescriptions for unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use are withheld because the number of patients receiving these products is fewer than five nationally, creating a risk of patient identification under United Kingdom data protection legislation.
The Government recognises that some patients face significant costs when accessing unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use privately. However, the cost of treatments obtained through private prescribing arrangements is a matter between patients and providers.
The Department has not made an assessment of the average annual cost incurred by patients who obtain CBPMs through private prescriptions, nor has it made a comparison between those costs and the cost of an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what options she has considered for creating a dedicated funding stream for alternative support mechanism for households in fuel poverty excluded from the Warm Homes Discount.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will keep under consideration how energy support can most effectively reach households who are in fuel poverty.
If they are not eligible for a rebate, consumers may also be supported through Warm Home Discount Industry Initiatives. These include energy advice, boiler and central heating replacements, financial assistance payments, debt write-off, energy efficiency measures and benefit entitlement checks.
The Government has also introduced the £1 billion Crisis and Resilience fund which replaces the Household Support Fund in England, providing support with cost-of-living pressures. We recommend any household struggling to pay for their essentials contacts their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the number of households experiencing fuel poverty excluded from the Warm Homes Discount because they do not have a direct relationship with an energy supplier.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will keep under consideration how energy support can most effectively reach households. We have to balance the needs of those in fuel poverty with bill impacts on other consumers. We estimate that 5.9 million households will receive a WHD rebate in 2026/27. We have no evidence to indicate whether households in receipt of a qualifying benefit but without a direct relationship with an energy supplier are more or less likely to be fuel poor than those households in receipt of WHD.
Consumers who do not receive a rebate may also be supported through Warm Home Discount Industry Initiatives. These include energy advice, boiler and central heating replacements, financial assistance payments, debt write-off, and benefit entitlement checks.
The Government has also introduced the £1 billion Crisis and Resilience fund which replaces the Household Support Fund in England, providing support with cost-of-living pressures. We recommend any household struggling to pay for their essentials contacts their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle hate against disabled people.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes, including offences targeting disabled people. For example, under the Sentencing Act 2020, courts can impose a more severe sentence where an offence is motivated by hostility towards a victim's disability.
Through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, the Government has further strengthened hate crime legislation by extending the aggravated offences framework. Once commenced, offences motivated by hostility towards a person's disability, sexual orientation, transgender identity or sex will be treated on the same basis as offences involving race or religion. This will ensure that courts can recognise the additional harm caused when victims are targeted because of these protected characteristics and impose higher maximum sentences where appropriate.
We have also increased funding for the National Online Hate Crime Hub to £1.6 million per year for the next three years. The Hub provides specialist advice and support to police forces across England and Wales to help tackle online hate crime, including that targeting people with disabilities.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what action she is taking to improve train journey times between Manchester and London.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is improving rail connectivity between Manchester and London through the delivery of HS2. HS2 will provide faster and more reliable long-distance services and free up capacity on the West Coast Main Line for additional passenger and freight services. In January, the Government set out its long-term intention to deliver a full new rail line between Birmingham and Manchester.
In the shorter-term, we are carrying out development work to improve journeys between Manchester and London. We have plans to improve the resilience of the power systems across the route and, subject to funding, are refining options to increase the network's capacity between Handsacre and Manchester Piccadilly. Network Rail has also appointed a Director for Manchester, who will serve as a focal point for the reliability of services and infrastructure across the city region.
Also, as part of the first stage of the One West Coast programme, £10 million is due to be invested in critical assets over 18 months to reduce infrastructure-related disruption. This investment will focus on overhead lines and signalling, particularly between Euston and Rugby.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what action he is taking to tackle discrimination on the basis of mental health conditions in the insurance industry.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about whether to offer cover and on what terms, but they must comply with the Equality Act 2010. The Act recognises some limited exceptions for insurers, including in relation to disability. However, where a mental health condition constitutes a disability, any difference in treatment must be based on relevant, reliable information and be reasonable.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty also requires firms to deliver good outcomes for customers, including those in vulnerable circumstances, and the FCA can act where firms do not comply.
Mental Health was considered as a key theme in the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy. The strategy includes measures to support access to insurance, including through improved signposting to specialist providers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what action he is taking to ensure people with mental health conditions have equitable access to insurance services.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about whether to offer cover and on what terms, but they must comply with the Equality Act 2010. The Act recognises some limited exceptions for insurers, including in relation to disability. However, where a mental health condition constitutes a disability, any difference in treatment must be based on relevant, reliable information and be reasonable.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty also requires firms to deliver good outcomes for customers, including those in vulnerable circumstances, and the FCA can act where firms do not comply.
Mental Health was considered as a key theme in the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy. The strategy includes measures to support access to insurance, including through improved signposting to specialist providers.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will outline the reasons for sending the wildfire emergency alert on Friday 14th August to phones across England and Wales, rather than only in high-risk areas.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The request to issue the Emergency Alert came from the National Fire Chiefs Council, and the Alert content and broadcast area was coordinated between government and responding public bodies.
The decision to send the Alert across England and Wales was taken in the context of severe risk of further wildfires, over large swathes of the UK. On the date of the Alert, there were 43 active fires and 11 major incidents nationwide. Mutual aid was in play, with fire and rescue services across the country supporting each other. In south Wales, the military had been deployed to tackle major wildfires.
As the Prime Minister rightly noted, the country was a tinderbox. One additional wildfire in any part of the country would have had devastating effects not only on the fire and rescue services, but on the environment, and most importantly, people’s lives.