Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve (a) transparency and (b) reporting on corridor care incidents in NHS trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.
We have started collecting data on the prevalence of corridor care and we will look to publish it once data quality improves.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department collects on the number of patients receiving care in corridors in NHS hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.
We have started collecting data on the prevalence of corridor care and we will look to publish it once data quality improves.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 the use of corridor care in NHS hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity. We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.
We have started collecting data on the prevalence of corridor care and we will look to publish it once data quality improves.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
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 ensure increased availability of (a) Sleepio and (b) other clinically approved digital cognitive behavioural therapy programmes for people with insomnia.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have plans to integrate Sleepio or other Digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (dCBT-I) solutions into primary care pathways or National Health Service app services but is committed to exploring options to make digital tools, supporting people living with insomnia, nationally available.
NHS England is currently running an open process to secure equitable national access to dCBT-I and has recently published a Request For Information and questionnaire. This creates an opportunity for all suppliers in this market to engage in a fair and transparent commercial process.
There is an ongoing programme of work within NHS England, exploring the feasibility of integrating Digital Therapeutics into the NHS app. This is in the early phases and will form the foundations of the HealthStore App Marketplace, which is a commitment in our10-Year Health Plan. The store will explore options to support the availability of digital health technologies across multiple condition areas.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to integrate (a) Sleepio and (b) other digital cognitive behavioural therapy solutions for insomnia into (i) standard primary care pathways and (ii) NHS app services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have plans to integrate Sleepio or other Digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (dCBT-I) solutions into primary care pathways or National Health Service app services but is committed to exploring options to make digital tools, supporting people living with insomnia, nationally available.
NHS England is currently running an open process to secure equitable national access to dCBT-I and has recently published a Request For Information and questionnaire. This creates an opportunity for all suppliers in this market to engage in a fair and transparent commercial process.
There is an ongoing programme of work within NHS England, exploring the feasibility of integrating Digital Therapeutics into the NHS app. This is in the early phases and will form the foundations of the HealthStore App Marketplace, which is a commitment in our10-Year Health Plan. The store will explore options to support the availability of digital health technologies across multiple condition areas.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help support independent election observation in Uganda before its next general election in 2026.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our High Commission in Kampala will aim to conduct local observation of the election, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the Electoral Commission of Uganda. The UK also provides financial support to the African Union via the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa and to the Commonwealth Secretariat, which can support election observation.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Environment Agency investigations.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra Ministers meet regularly with the Environment Agency’s investigations to discuss its performance and delivery of departmental priorities. This financial year we have introduced new performance indicators on the effectiveness and delivery of Environment Agency investigations.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of an increase in the number of leasehold flat forfeitures due to leaseholders being unable to pay costs arising from building safety defects on the mortgage securitisation market; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 30259 on 19 February 2025.
Government remains committed to removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of ensuring compliance with a lease agreement. Qualifying leaseholders are protected from costs of remedying specific historical safety defects under the Building Safety Act, while at the same time we ensure those who built defective buildings take responsibility for remedying them, and wider industry contributes to fixing the problem.
Looking specifically at mortgage securitisation, my officials speak to the mortgage lending sector who we would expect to raise if an issue.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce a national (a) framework and (b) funding stream to support local authorities in purchasing ex-council homes in areas of (i) high vacancy and (ii) visible decline.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no plans to introduce a national framework and funding stream of the kind suggested.
Asked by: Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of financial incentives requested by (a) landlords and (b) agencies on the ability of charities to house rough sleepers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is the responsibility of Councils and their partners to develop a range of housing options that reflect local needs, including housing with support and making use of the private rented sector where is suitable for the needs of the individual.
Financial support including helping individuals with deposits, first month’s rent in advance, or one-off payments to landlords can be an effective means of securing private rented tenancies for people who have experienced rough sleeping.