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Written Question
Asthma: Children
Monday 12th October 2026

Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the average age of diagnosis of children with Asthma in the Cheshire and Mersey ICB area.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance for asthma diagnosis, which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/asthma/diagnosis/assessment/

There are 22,025 children, those who are under 16 years old, registered to a Cheshire and Merseyside general practice with a diagnosis of asthma in their primary care record. They have an average age at diagnosis of five years and 10 days, based on the earliest confirmed asthma diagnosis recorded in the available primary care data.


Written Question
Asthma: Children
Monday 12th October 2026

Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the earliest age a child can receive a diagnosis for Asthma.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance for asthma diagnosis, which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/asthma/diagnosis/assessment/

There are 22,025 children, those who are under 16 years old, registered to a Cheshire and Merseyside general practice with a diagnosis of asthma in their primary care record. They have an average age at diagnosis of five years and 10 days, based on the earliest confirmed asthma diagnosis recorded in the available primary care data.


Written Question
Dental Services: Widnes and Halewood
Monday 12th October 2026

Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in Widnes and Halewood are on the waiting list for access to NHS Dentistry.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information requested by the Hon Member is not recorded at a constituency level.


Written Question
Driving Tests
Monday 12th October 2026

Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many learner drivers have had their driving test cancelled by the DVSA (a) once and (b) more than once in each month since April 2025.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The table below shows how many learner drivers have had their driving test cancelled by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) once, and more than once, in each month since April 2025.

Please note, this data is based on the month the test was scheduled to take place, which might not be the same month the cancellation was made.

Cancelled once

Cancelled more than once

Apr-25

10,824

46

May-25

13,019

71

Jun-25

10,641

102

Jul-25

11,134

47

Aug-25

9,642

63

Sep-25

12,260

98

Oct-25

13,307

113

Nov-25

12,725

80

Dec-25

12,067

84

Jan-26

12,107

107

Feb-26

10,786

94

Mar-26

13,329

75

Apr-26

10,065

78

May-26

10,518

42

Jun-26

13,814

102

Jul-26

13,081

70

Aug-26

12,048

38

DVSA does not take the decision to cancel tests lightly and will only do so as a last resort. DVSA will try to find another examiner to provide cover if it can, but this is not always possible.

DVSA publishes data on car practical test cancellation reasons by month and driving test centre (DTC) on GOV.UK. This data, in report DRT122B, is updated annually and currently shows data to March 2026. The next update is due to be published in June 2027.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 14 Sep 2026
Oral Answers to Questions

"Further education colleges play a crucial role in apprenticeships and in supporting education. Will the Minister tell me what extra measures the Government are bringing in to ensure that further education colleges naturally provide a wide range of education and technical skills to apprentices?..."
Derek Twigg - View Speech

View all Derek Twigg (Lab - Widnes and Halewood) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Division Vote (Commons)
11 Sep 2026 - Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - View Vote Context
Derek Twigg (Lab) voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 115 Labour No votes vs 209 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 293 Noes - 218
Division Vote (Commons)
11 Sep 2026 - Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - View Vote Context
Derek Twigg (Lab) voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 153 Labour No votes vs 190 Labour Aye votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 270 Noes - 286
Written Question
Foreign Nationals: Repatriation
Thursday 3rd September 2026

Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders who volunteered under the Early Return Scheme have been removed for the UK since 1 April 2024.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information you have requested on the longest time period to return a foreign national offender (FNO) under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) since 1 April 2024 is not available from published statistics.

The Home Office does publish data on FNOs removed under ERS in the ad-hoc transparency release, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026 - GOV.UK

FNOs are referred to the Home Office for deportation immediately following sentencing. Time spent on remand means many prisoners will reach their ERS window immediately or very soon after they are sentenced. It is therefore not always possible for the Home Office to carry out all the case working and administrative processes as soon as an FNO becomes eligible for removal under ERS, even when they wish to return voluntarily.

The Home Office has worked closely with HM Prisons and Probation (HMPPS) to ensure the ERS runs as efficiently as possible and in the last year (ending July 2026) delivered a record number of ERS returns, 3,141 which is a 20% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.

We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.


Written Question
Foreign Nationals: Repatriation
Thursday 3rd September 2026

Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what has been the longest time period to return a foreign national offender who volunteered under the Early Return Scheme since 1 April 2024.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information you have requested on the longest time period to return a foreign national offender (FNO) under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) since 1 April 2024 is not available from published statistics.

The Home Office does publish data on FNOs removed under ERS in the ad-hoc transparency release, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026 - GOV.UK

FNOs are referred to the Home Office for deportation immediately following sentencing. Time spent on remand means many prisoners will reach their ERS window immediately or very soon after they are sentenced. It is therefore not always possible for the Home Office to carry out all the case working and administrative processes as soon as an FNO becomes eligible for removal under ERS, even when they wish to return voluntarily.

The Home Office has worked closely with HM Prisons and Probation (HMPPS) to ensure the ERS runs as efficiently as possible and in the last year (ending July 2026) delivered a record number of ERS returns, 3,141 which is a 20% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.

We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.


Division Vote (Commons)
2 Sep 2026 - Representation of the People Bill - View Vote Context
Derek Twigg (Lab) voted Aye - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 322 Labour Aye votes vs 0 Labour No votes
Vote Tally: Ayes - 411 Noes - 102