Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made towards the Government’s ambition to eliminate tuberculosis in a) England b) London c) London Borough of Newham.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s joint Tuberculosis (TB): action plan for England, 2021 to 2026, outlines outcomes and indicators to achieve a 90% reduction in people with TB by 2035, aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) elimination targets. The plan is available at the following link:
Like many other countries who have seen a reverse in the decline in TB incidence following the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, England is not on course to achieve its WHO elimination targets.
Provisional data show that 5,424 people, at an incidence rate of 9.25 per 100,000, were notified with TB disease in 2025. This is well below the peak in this century, at 15.6 per 100,000, in 2011. Further information is available at the following link:
In England, TB rates are highest in urban areas. The UKHSA London region has the highest incidence, at 20.6 per 100,000 in 2024. This is a decrease of over 50% from 2011, at 42.6 per 100,000. However, current rates are above elimination targets, and 26 of the 32 boroughs continue to have a TB rate above the low incidence threshold of 10 per 100,000, with further information is available at the following link:
TB continues to be strongly associated with inequalities. 71% of all people with TB lived in the four most deprived deciles of London in 2024.
TB control activities in London have been overseen by a TB control board (TBCB) since 2013. This is led by the UKHSA and works collaboratively with the National Health Service, and local authority and third sector stakeholders. Priorities for the TBCB are currently early diagnosis, treatment completion, and contact tracing. TB cohort reviews to identify and address issues and gaps in care pathways are undertaken in all London areas.
The borough of Newham had the highest rate of TB in London in 2024, at 43.8 per 100,000. However, there has been a decrease of over 50% from the peak in 2013 of 105 per 100,000.
Innovative and partnership working in the borough has enhanced community engagement and awareness, and improving the patient journey is a key focus. Prevention activities include the National latent tuberculosis infection testing and treatment programme, for which Newham was a pioneer, and universal BCG vaccine for babies. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
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 ensure that pancreatic cancer patients have access to information about clinical trials.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), including the Medical Research Council (MRC). As well as funding research itself, the Department of Health and Social Care invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, known as NIHR infrastructure.
The United Kingdom continues to see pioneering pancreatic cancer studies, including research led by the University of Birmingham into personalised mRNA cancer vaccines. More information on this research is available at the following link:
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/can-mrna-vaccines-fight-pancreatic-cancer
Another specific example is the CRISTAL-APC trial to improve treatment for people living with stage four pancreatic cancer, supported by NIHR’s Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and Clinical Research Facility.
To help patients identify and participate in research opportunities, the NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which allows users to search for relevant studies and register their interest.
The National Cancer Plan for England sets out the Government’s ambition to deliver world class cancer care through world class research, including delivering breakthroughs for rare and less survivable cancers. Throughout the lifetime of this plan, we will ensure that every cancer patient gets the opportunity to access relevant clinical trials quickly, fairly, and easily. We will improve patient and clinician awareness of current clinical trials through targeted campaigns, and the use of new digital tools. We will also utilise general practice (GP) recruitment into clinical trials, allowing patients to join in research in a GP surgery, neighbourhood health centre, or potentially from within their own home.
As set out in this plan, the Government will implement the Rare Cancers Act 2026, including Section 3 of the act which will involve developing a service to ensure rare cancer patients, including those with pancreatic cancer, can be automatically contacted about clinical trials.
Implementing the provisions of the Rare Cancers Act will make it easier for clinical trials on pancreatic cancer to take place in England.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help increase the number of trees planted.
Answered by Mary Creagh
We are investing over £1 billion this Parliament in tree planting and forestry - driving the highest planting rates in two decades. Backed by three new national forests, this is real investment delivering for nature, climate, communities and the economy. We're proud to be growing Britain's woodlands after years of neglect.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent progress he has made on the regulation of property managing agents; and whether steps are being taken towards the introduction of a single regulator.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Neither the Secretary of State nor I have regular discussions with individual property management companies regarding effective communications with leaseholders.
I have had no further direct discussions with FirstPort subsequent to my meeting with Martin King on 17 November 2025 and the exchange of letters that followed it as referenced in my answer to Question UIN 94116 on 1 December 2025.
My Department continues to actively monitor standards and quality of service among property management companies, including FirstPort.
I otherwise refer the hon. Members to the answer given to Question UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications to open Sixth Forms and Post 16 offers the Department has granted in (a) England, (b) London and (c) West Ham and Beckton constituency in each of the last three years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the arrangements that will apply from January 2026 for the import of raw cane sugar; and what steps he is taking to provide continuity and certainty for consumers and businesses.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government has decided to increase the raw cane sugar Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) to 325,000 tonnes from 1 January 2026. This will allow imports of up to 325,000 tonnes to enter the UK annually at a 0% tariff. It is intended to be in place until 31 December 2033 and will be subject to review ahead of this date. This is the first increase in the quota volume since its establishment in 2021 and will expand the UK’s access to a greater volume of more competitively priced raw cane sugar, providing further relief in import costs for traders, and longer term certainty in the domestic market. The Government does not expect this increase in the ATQ volume to have a material impact on the domestic sugar beet industry.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people held pilot licences issued by the Civil Aviation Authority permitting them to fly commercial passenger flights on (a) UK-registered aeroplanes and (b) aeroplanes operated by UK-licensed airlines in each of the last 10 years (i) in total and (ii) broken down by (A) type of licence, (B) sex, (C) age and (D) ethnicity.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We have provided the attached spreadsheet showing the pilot licences issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over the last ten years categorised by type of licence, sex and age. However, the CAA does not hold data on pilot licences categorised by ethnicity.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle shoplifting.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level. We will not stand for this.
Our approach is clear – we want to see more officers on the streets and those officers to be armed with new powers.
That is why we’re giving officers the powers they need through this government’s Crime and Policing Bill, which is introducing a new specific offence of assaulting a retail worker and ending the effective immunity that currently applies for theft of goods of and under £200. We want to remove the perception that those committing shop theft will escape punishment by ensuring there are visible and meaningful consequences for those caught breaking the law.
We are also providing over £7 million over the next three years to support the police and retailers tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team to disrupt organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.
We are committed to harnessing the collective power of Government, law enforcement and businesses to bear down on retail crime. That is why we are backing the Tackling Retail Crime Together strategy, jointly developed by the police and the private sector. This collaborative approach brings together industry knowledge and experience with policing powers, fostering the local and national partnerships that will make a real difference in local areas.
But we want to go further and faster, which is why the Home Secretary recently declared a “Winter of Action”, building on the success of our Safer Streets Summer campaign to tackle town centre crime including shop theft and anti-social behaviour.
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure effective prosecution for shoplifting.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
This Government’s Safer Streets Mission will drive forward the change we need to crack down on shoplifting – a crime that is blighting our communities.
This Government is putting a stop to the effective immunity for shoplifting of goods below £200 and bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect those who face unacceptable abuse in their roles serving the public.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes shoplifting cases robustly where the Code of Crown Prosecutors is met. In the financial year 2024/25, the CPS prosecuted 121,216 offences relating to theft from a shop. This was a 39.4% increase from the year before (86,918 in 2023/2024). In the same year, the CPS prosecuted 2,145 attempted shoplifting offences, an increase of 35.6% from the previous year (2023-2024).
Asked by: James Asser (Labour - West Ham and Beckton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to protect in-school resource provision for pupils with special educational needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department knows there are lots of great examples of mainstream schools delivering specialist provision through resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units. They have an important role to play in a more inclusive mainstream system, enabling children to achieve and thrive in a local school.
We are committed to encouraging schools and local authorities to set up resourced provision and SEN units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision, including setting up resourced provision or SEN units in mainstream schools.
It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for pupils in their area, including those with SEND. If a local authority identifies a shortage of places, resulting in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they should consider creating, adapting, or expanding provision to meet that need.