Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 align the number of nursing graduates with the availability of entry-level jobs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified nurse in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and will ensure thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of guidance provided to NHS staff considering partial retirement under the NHS partial retirement scheme in relation to the potential impact on future redundancy entitlements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Partial retirement does not mean that National Health Service staff are ineligible for redundancy payments. However, taking partial retirement may change the way in which contractual redundancy payments are calculated.
The rules concerning the calculation of redundancy payments for National Health Service staff who have previously taken pension benefits are determined in accordance with their contracts of employment, and statutory redundancy entitlements.
Redundancy terms for NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract are set out under section 16 of the NHS Staff Terms and Conditions of Service handbook. This also applies to NHS staff whose redundancy terms refer to section 16. This section states that service used for the purposes of calculating previous pension benefits will not count for the calculation of a contractual redundancy payment. Statutory redundancy entitlements are unaffected.
The Department commissions NHS Employers to provide guidance for employers on a range of topics, including NHS redundancy arrangements and retirement options for NHS staff. The NHS Employers guidance clearly sets out the position in relation to partial retirement and redundancy.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to prevent universities from withdrawing nursing courses due to employment challenges faced by graduates.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To address graduate employment issues, in August 2025 the Government introduced the Graduate Guarantee.
While the Government is committed to ensuring sustainable training pathways for healthcare professions, higher education institutions are independent providers and are responsible for making their own decisions about course delivery and viability based on learner demand and provider capacity.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the 10-Year Workforce Plan will be published; what discussions he has had with external stakeholders since has taken place since the consultation closed on 7 November 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will publish the 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026. This plan will set out action to create a National Health Service workforce that is able to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. It is important we do this in a robust and joined up way. We are therefore engaging extensively with partners to ensure this plan delivers for staff and patients.
That engagement began well before the call for evidence was closed. In early November, ministers hosted an event with nearly one hundred representatives of partner organisations to hear views from across the health system.
Engagement is now continuing while we analyse the submissions to our call for evidence, including a roundtable with medical royal colleges on 14 January that I chaired.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) encourage and (b) mandate that universities provide life-long career guidance and support to alumni.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Universities in England are autonomous, and as such it is for each provider to determine the nature and extent of the services they offer to their students and alumni, including any careers guidance or ongoing support after graduation.
The government encourages all higher education providers to offer high‑quality careers advice that supports students to progress into successful employment or further study. Whilst the Office for Students, the regulator for Higher Education in England, does not prescribe detailed careers guidance requirements to meet certain registration conditions, providers must ensure students can progress successfully into employment or further study. Doing so requires providers to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and information necessary for effective career decision-making.
Many universities already choose to provide career support to their graduates as part of their wider employability strategies, but decisions on the scope and duration of this provision remain a matter for individual providers.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to bring forward legislation to prohibit the use of dogs in hunting activities, including trail hunting.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to enacting a ban on the activity of trail hunting in line with its manifesto commitment. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and Defra intends to consult on how to deliver a ban this year. We plan to introduce legislation to ban the activity of trail hunting when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle health disparities amongst people who lived in the most deprived areas of the UK.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to increasing the amount of time people spend in good health and to preventing premature deaths, with a vision of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background or location, live longer, healthier lives.
Our 10-Year Health Plan for the National Health Service in England sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as to give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with it on their own terms.
For example, we know that the Carr-Hill formula is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that general practitioners (GPs) serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs-adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
Additionally, much of what determines health and wellbeing is influenced by factors other than health services. As a result, we are taking bold action across Government on the social determinants of health to build a fairer Britain. Recent cross-Government action has included the introduction of Awaab’s Law and reform of the Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sector, the English Devolution Bill, and a new statutory health and heath inequalities duty for Strategic Authorities.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Minister will take to ensure that the Timms Review adequately takes account of the needs of those living with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For the Timms Review to be a success, lived experience must be at the heart of its work. To do this, we are co-producing the Review with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, experts, MPs, and other stakeholders.
In October last year, I published the revised Terms of Reference on GOV.UK setting out further details about the Review’s scope. I also announced I will co-chair the Review alongside Sharon Brennan and Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE. We will oversee a steering group responsible for leading the co-production process, setting the Review’s strategic direction and will determine how it runs and what it recommends.
To recruit the steering group, we ran an open and accessible expression of interest from 30 October to 30 November. I will provide an update on its membership in the coming days, ahead of its first meeting later this week. The steering group will not work alone, once in place, it will shape a programme of participation that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what action is being taken to reduce the waiting times for a decision on Access to Work claims.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to reducing the Access to Work waiting times. We have increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practices. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise Access to Work applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks, or cases that are up for renewal.
In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation has closed. We are continuing to work closely with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives, on all aspects of our proposals.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made any assessment of the potential merits of lowering the costs of settlement visas for spouses of British citizens.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps fees for immigration and nationality applications under regular review. Fees are set in accordance with the powers in Section 68 of the Immigration Act 2014, which allow the Department to take account of a range of factors, including the cost of processing applications, the benefits and entitlements associated with a successful application, and the wider costs of operating the migration and borders system.
The Home Office does not make a profit from these fees; income generated above the estimated unit cost contributes to the operation of the migration and borders system, helping to reduce the burden on UK taxpayers.
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. The consultation seeks views on the impact proposed changes might have on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.
The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.