Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
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 potential impact of proposals to remove entitlement to the Universal Credit Health element for those aged under 22 on levels of food bank need.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been made.
An Impact Assessment was published alongside the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which can be found here.
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 his Department is taking to work closely with local authorities in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency to further progress the building of social housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58440 on 17 June, the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771), and the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people entitled to a civil service pension are paid on time and without fault.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) is one of the largest in the UK, currently paying pensions to approximately 730,000 members every month. The scheme administrator processes an average of 6,000 retirements each month.
The Cabinet Office, as the Scheme Manager, holds the administrator (MyCSP) accountable for meeting contractual performance levels to ensure members are paid on time. Over the last 6 months, MyCSP achieved 100% of its key service level agreements for retirement processing. We continue to monitor performance closely and work to ensure that any errors are identified and addressed as quickly as possible.
The government has taken significant steps to improve both oversight and enforcement. A new administration contract has been awarded to Capita, which goes live on 1st December 2025. This new contract includes significantly tighter and more rigorous contractual performance indicators, enhanced service levels, reduced processing times, and a new financial penalty scale to ensure accountability and improve the member experience.
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 steps she is taking to ensure that a diplomatic path is pursued by the USA and Venezuela.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The bilateral relationship between the USA and Venezuela is a matter for those countries. The UK will continue to work with our international partners to achieve a peaceful, negotiated transition in Venezuela that ensures the will of all Venezuelans is respected.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that applications for naturalisation are concluded within a reasonable timeframe and; what progress her Department has made in reducing the backlog of applications for citizenship in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The service standard for the processing of a straightforward application for British citizenship is six months.
The most recent Migration Transparency data published in August 2025 shows that 99.36% of straightforward applications were decided within service standard: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK