Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Mandatory Reconsideration requests were outstanding for more than (a) one month, (b) three months and (c) six months at the latest date for which data is available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken to complete a Mandatory Reconsideration was in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK.
ESA Work Capability Assessment MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the impact of Mandatory Reconsideration delays on claimants' financial wellbeing and mental health.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Mandatory Reconsiderations (MR) offer claimants the opportunity to challenge decisions and provide additional information which may be relevant to their claim. We recognise that waiting for outcomes can be challenging for claimants.
Entitlement is usually from the date of claim, so if a decision is changed at MR, the amount awarded will be the same as if it were awarded at the initial decision stage. Arrears are paid as a lump sum, although payment can be staggered if that is the claimant’s preference.
We are allocating more decision makers to MRs to ensure decisions are made in as timely manner as possible.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a statutory time limit for Mandatory Reconsiderations consistent with response time requirements that apply to other public administrative processes.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
There are no plans to introduce a time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.
This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether consideration has been given to requiring the Department to determine Mandatory Reconsiderations within a specified maximum period.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
There are no plans to introduce a time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.
This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to introduce a statutory time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
There are no plans to introduce a time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.
This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision. Decisions should be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Pulse’s report entitled General Practice Workforce White Paper, published in January 2025, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Pulse's conclusion that around a quarter of salaried GPs and locums are looking for a permanent role at the same time as practices are facing a shortfall in GP numbers; and what steps is his Department taking to (a) improve access to GPs and (b) increase the number of (i) FTE GPs in work and (ii) GPs on permanent contracts.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
We are aware of reports of issues of general practitioner (GP) underemployment and unemployment in some areas, and the Department is taking several steps to tackle this issue and ensure that GPs can find fulfilling roles.
Across 2025/26 and 2026/27, an additional £1.7 billion has been invested in GPs via the practice and network contracts, 14% in cash terms and over 8% in real terms.
From 1 October 2024, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) was updated to allow the recruitment of recently qualified GPs by primary care networks (PCNs) with additional ringfenced funding of £82 million. From 1 April 2025, funding for recruiting GPs via the scheme was no longer ringfenced, meaning that there would be no cap on the number that PCNs could recruit. Between 1 October 2024 and 31 May 2026, 3,879 individual GPs, as a headcount, have been employed and funded via the ARRS, with further information available at the following link:
As a result of these efforts, we currently have the highest number of full time equivalent (FTE) fully qualified GPs on record since 2015, 2,000 more than in July 2024. In keeping with this, FTE roles for GPs are increasingly being created and advertised, and a total of 710 advertised FTE roles were placed on the NHS Jobs service during Quarter four of 2025/26. This compares to 436 in Quarter four of 2024/25, an increase of 62.8%.
In the GP Contract this year we are going further. In NHS England’s letter regarding changes to the GP Contract of 24 February 2026, we announced the introduction of a new practice-level GP reimbursement scheme to enable practices to recruit new GPs or increase the number of sessions from GPs already working in the practice. The letter is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/changes-to-the-gp-contract-in-2026-27/
This scheme is funded by repurposing £292 million of funding previously allocated to the PCN level Capacity and Access Payment. From 1 April 2026, rules were also amended to permit any GP to be employed using ARRS funding providing that they had not previously been employed as a GP in core member practice of the PCN in the previous 12 months.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of British dual nationals who have been refused boarding or otherwise prevented from travelling to the UK since February 2026 as a result of pre-departure documentation requirements.
Answered by Mike Tapp
There are a range of reasons why a British dual national may have been denied boarding; however, there is no single data set held.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce discretion, exemptions or transitional arrangements within the Electronic Travel Authorisation system and carrier liability framework to prevent cases of hardship among British dual nationals.
Answered by Mike Tapp
We recognise that the enforcement of ETAs by carriers is a significant change, and so we have taken steps including the provision of additional temporary guidance on possible alternative documentation, and have put in place around the clock support for carriers to respond to these changes. The Member may wish to refer to the Written Ministerial Statement issued on 25 February for further detail. Individuals who have previously had a British passport can apply for an emergency travel document if they urgently need to enter the UK. That notwithstanding, to minimise the risk of disruption, we would always encourage British nationals to travel on a valid British passport where able.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions are in place for British dual nationals to demonstrate their right of abode under the Immigration Act 1971 in urgent or compassionate circumstances where they do not hold a valid UK passport or certificate of entitlement.
Answered by Mike Tapp
We recognise that the enforcement of ETAs by carriers is a significant change, and so we have taken steps including the provision of additional temporary guidance on possible alternative documentation, and have put in place around the clock support for carriers to respond to these changes. The Member may wish to refer to the Written Ministerial Statement issued on 25 February for further detail. Individuals who have previously had a British passport can apply for an emergency travel document if they urgently need to enter the UK. That notwithstanding, to minimise the risk of disruption, we would always encourage British nationals to travel on a valid British passport where able.