Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 improve access to (a) ear wax removal services and (b) hearing test appointments on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning ear wax removal and audiology services that meet the needs of their local populations, taking account of relevant national guidance and local service arrangements.
NHS England is supporting ICBs and provider organisations to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in National Health Service trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.
Further, through the Medium Term Planning Framework, we have set a clear target for systems to reduce long waits for community health services. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, including community audiology activity.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the equitability of the shared ownership rent formulae.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Shared ownership rents are set through lease agreements between shared owners and their landlords and are typically subsidised. Providers are generally encouraged to set initial rents at no more than 2.75% of the value of the unacquired share.
For new shared ownership leases issued from October 2023, annual rent increases are capped at a maximum of Consumer Prices Index plus 1%, bringing shared ownership rent increases into line with the limit that normally applies to annual rent increases in other forms of social housing.
Older leases generally permit increases of up to Retail Prices Index plus 0.5%, reflecting the terms agreed when those leases were entered into.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps is he taking to help expand and maximise blue and green spaces in urban areas to improve climate resilience.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that the planning system should support the transition to net zero by 2050 and shape places in ways that minimise vulnerability and improve resilience.
The Framework also sets out that planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space and opportunities for new provision.
The designation of land as Local Green Space through local and neighbourhood plans allows communities to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them. Designating land as Local Green Space should be consistent with the local planning of sustainable development and complement investment in sufficient homes, jobs and other essential services.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new NPPF. That proposed Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included policy CC1 which makes clear that local plans should identify opportunities for green infrastructure provision and nature-based solutions which can safeguard and improve carbon storage, support nature recovery and resilience, and which take account of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what further steps she is considering to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela following the recent earthquake.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no additional updates at this stage beyond the commitments set out in my Statement to the House on 6 July (HCWS185), but I will keep my Hon Friend informed of any further developments in due course.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 help reduce NHS waiting lists for transgender healthcare.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
We recognise that waiting lists for specialist gender services are too long. This has been caused by multiple factors, including unprecedented demand for gender services and a shortage of specialist clinical staff to meet the rapidly rising demand.
This is why NHS England is working to open new services for both children and young people and adults.
In line with the findings and recommendations of the Cass Review, NHS England has opened three new services in the North West, London, and the South West that offer a fundamentally different clinical model, embedding multi-disciplinary teams in specialist children’s hospitals. A fourth service is anticipated to open in the East of England shortly and NHS England is aiming to deliver service provision in each region of England by the end of 2026/27.
For adults, NHS England has also increased the number of gender dysphoria clinics in England from seven to 12, with the rollout of five new adult gender clinics since July 2020.
We are also working closely with NHS England to implement the findings from the Review of adult gender dysphoria clinics, chaired by Dr David Levy. This includes creating a single, national waiting list that will help effectively manage the wider waiting lists and end the disparity in wait times between the adult gender dysphoria clinics.
We recognise the negative impact long waiting times can have on mental health. This is why the Department has commissioned a pilot to support patients on the waiting list for the Adult Gender Service in the South West of England. This pilot launched on 7 April. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot in due course.
Separate to this, through implementation of the NHS Adult Gender Services Review that was chaired by Dr David Levy, NHS England is working to develop further waiting-well pilots to provide support to patients, including mental health access and self-management resources.