Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 mental health waiting times; and whether he plans to set specific targets to ensure that people in full time work receive timely access to therapy and specialist support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. We are determined to change that by improving mental health care across the spectrum of need.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.
We are meeting the constitutional waiting time standards we have in place for the two mental health pathways: NHS Talking Therapies for common mental health conditions, and Early Intervention in Psychosis. We also have targets for eating disorder services for children and young people. Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement & Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.
Since 2023, NHS England began to publish data for the first time on the number of people waiting for mental health services, in line with the Clinical Review of Standards for mental health.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Spring Statement published on 26 March 2025, where the 37,000 new military homes will be located.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence is currently undertaking an extensive review of its Service Family Accommodation portfolio. To ensure a strategic and structured approach is taken, all options will be assessed during the review. The Defence Housing Strategy will be published Summer 2025.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 ensure that there are adequate numbers of specialty training places for junior doctors who have completed foundation years one and two; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the number of specialty medical training places available is adequate to provide for future increases in numbers of university medical school places.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that companies and charities are paid on time in the Access to Work Plus Scheme.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To enable charities and companies to receive timely payments, officials have been working in collaboration with these organisations to explore how the Access to Work Plus claims process can be made easier for their employees. In March 2025, to ensure payments can be made swiftly, a streamlined claims process was put in place to clear outstanding claims for payment. Guidance on the new process has been issued to charities and companies, and officials continue to work with the charities and companies to develop longer term improvements to the employees’ claims process.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 ensure that NHS Integrated Care Boards provide community-based ear wax removal services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of ear wax removal services.
Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.
However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the accessibility of the Life in the UK test for people with (a) learning difficulties and (b) special needs.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Where someone cannot reasonably be expected to prepare for or pass the test on medical grounds, the requirement can be waived by request at Knowledge of language and Life in the UK Test exemption: long term physical or mental condition - GOV.UK.
If a candidate needs assistance to access the test or needs special adjustments at a test centre, candidates can contact the provider of the tests, PSI, to make arrangements at no extra cost. These adjustments include extra time, closed sessions, BSL interpreters, monitor screen colour/contrast adjustments and height adjustable desks.
The test for severely visually impaired or blind candidates is offered with extra time, with a reader and a scribe, and the test is delivered in a separate room. Assistance dogs are also allowed. All test centres are wheelchair accessible.
Please note statistics on the number of exemptions made are not currently recorded or held centrally.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prioritise children from conflict areas re-joining parents who have legally moved to the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows individuals with a form of protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to stay with or join them here, provided they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin to seek protection.
We recognise that family members of those with protection status in the UK may be particularly vulnerable. Where the applicant is an unaccompanied child, under the age of 18, we may write to them to obtain any further information which may be required. Such applicants do not need to make a request for prioritisation.
Furthermore, immediate family members of British nationals and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes. Fee waivers are available for those unable to afford the fee.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
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 (a) increase social care funding and (b) support local authorities with increases in demand for care services in North East Hampshire constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
The additional funding available to Hampshire in 2025/26 means that they will see an increase to their core spending power of up to 6.7% in cash terms.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children in kinship care receive adequate (a) education and (b) mental health support.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. There are a number of ways in which we support their educational and mental health needs.
From September 2024, the department expanded the role of virtual school heads on a non-statutory basis to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school. The department is now mandating this through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This will ensure that all children in kinship care, regardless of whether they spent time in local authority care, will ensure they receive consistent support to improve their educational outcomes. This will also give kinship carers better access to and understanding of educational resources and support, which will increase visibility of these children in education and ensure they are not overlooked.
In addition, the department is providing over £2.9 billion of pupil premium funding to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England, including looked after and previously looked after children. Schools can direct pupil premium spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils, such as on high quality teaching.
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education. The government will deliver on this commitment through providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.
As of April 2024, NHS-funded mental health support teams covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England, and are expected to cover at least 50% by the end of March 2025. The department will also be putting in place new young futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.
To support education staff, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. For example, a resources hub for mental health leads, and a toolkit to help schools choose evidence-based early support for pupils.
The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund also helps adoptive and special guardianship order children and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department (a) monitors and (b) regulates the use of AI in apps aimed at children and teenagers.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act places new duties on both user-to-user and search services. The strongest protections in the Act are for children, who will be protected from both illegal content, and legal content which is nonetheless harmful to children (including content which is AI generated) Ofcom has set out steps providers can take to fulfil their child safety duties, which will be in force in the Summer.
The vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, and the UK’s existing expert regulators are best placed to do this. We remain committed to introducing targeted rules on companies developing the most powerful AI models to ensure we can realise the benefits of these systems safely.