Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Disability Living Allowance Tribunal hearings her Department sent a presenting officer to in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested on the proportion of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Tribunal hearings the Department sent a presenting officer to is not readily available within the Department. However, we estimate that 46% of DLA Tribunal hearings had a presenting officer in FY2024/25. This estimate uses DWP internal statistics on total number of DLA Hearings Attended by presenting officers and published statistics on number of DLA disposals cleared at hearing from Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 increase the availability of autism assessments in (a) England and (b) Chichester constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, the demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, and it recognises the need for early intervention and support, without the need for diagnosis.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of autism services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism, based on the available evidence. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal for (a) Personal Independence Payment, (b) Disability Living Allowance and (c) Employment and Support Allowance were upheld in favour of the claimant in the last year.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on overturned appeals for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) can be found in Table SSCS_3 of the Tribunal Statistics Quarterly publication here: Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of excluding dental therapists from the skilled worker visa scheme on NHS dentistry provision.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
On 12 May, we published our Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. The first set of immigration rules giving effect to the policies in the White Paper was published on 1 July, including raising the skills threshold to RQF 6 and we will publish an impact assessment of this change in due course.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve the (a) protection, (b) promotion and (c) support of optimal infant feeding.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is important that all families are supported to make the right choices for them and to achieve their infant feeding goals. This includes families who cannot breastfeed or choose not to. We know that breastfeeding has significant benefits and are committed to encouraging and supporting breastfeeding.
Most families will receive infant feeding information and support from midwives and health visitors. We are taking action to strengthen these services. We are taking further steps, including investing £18.5 million through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 2025/26 to encourage breastfeeding and to provide infant feeding support across 75 local authorities in England. We have increased the capacity of the National Breastfeeding Helpline. The Start for Life communication programme also includes advice on breast and bottle-feeding and introducing solid foods.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report entitled World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative UK Report 2024, published in March 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to giving children the best start in life, and infant feeding plays a crucial role in achieving this. We recognise the concerns raised in the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative’s United Kingdom report and are considering the recommendations.
We are already taking action to improve infant feeding support. We are strengthening the midwifery and health visiting workforce and building on these services by investing £18.5 million this year for infant feeding services through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme in 75 local authorities in England. We are also investing in the National Breastfeeding Helpline which provides UK-wide support 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and are expanding Start for Life communications.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of widening the scope of the infant formula legislation to include the (a) digital and (b) other marketing of all (i) formula milks up to age 36 months and (ii) (A) bottles, (B) teats and (C) other equipment.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Infant feeding is critical to a baby’s healthy growth and development. The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life, and that includes helping families to access support to feed their baby.
Whilst breastfeeding has significant health benefits, we recognise that for those families that cannot or choose not to breastfeed, it is vital that they have access to infant formula that is affordable and high quality. Infant formula regulations ensure that all infant formula and follow on formula are safe and meet the nutritional requirements of babies and infants.
The regulations cover the composition, marketing, and labelling of infant formula and follow-on formula but they do not cover bottle, teats, or other equipment, and there are no plans to extend the regulations to these areas nor to extend the regulations to other formula milks.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) paid flexible breastfeeding breaks and (b) suitable facilities to (i) breastfeed, (ii) express and (iii) store milk in (A) workplaces and (B) places of education.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government provides advice to employers on requirements and best practice arrangements on breastfeeding. Under health and safety law an employer must provide a suitable area where pregnant workers and breastfeeding mothers can rest, with additional advice that this should:
Employers must complete an individual risk assessment for workers who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have given birth in the last 6 months. This risk assessment must be regularly reviewed and provides an opportunity for employers to review arrangements for workers who are breastfeeding and discuss any concerns they may have.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provide guidance on rest breaks and breastfeeding at work: Protecting pregnant workers and new mothers: employers - Rest and breastfeeding at work
Acas also provide guidance on: Returning to work - Maternity leave and pay - Acas
While Schools and Colleges are not legally required to provide dedicated breastfeeding or lactation facilities for students, they are expected to comply with broader obligations under the Equality Act 2010, which protects students from discrimination related to pregnancy and maternity. Many institutions choose to support student parents by offering private, hygienic spaces for breastfeeding or expressing milk, often as part of their commitment to inclusivity and wellbeing. However, it's important to note that colleges are autonomous bodies, meaning the availability and nature of such facilities can vary significantly between institutions. Students are encouraged to contact their college’s student services or equality office to inquire about available support and request reasonable accommodations where needed.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on implementing the Immediate and Essential Actions of the Ockenden review, published on 30 March 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All the recommendations made by Donna Ockenden in her review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in 2022 were accepted, including the requests made to the Government, the health system more widely, and the trust. Following publication of the Ockenden review, NHS England wrote to all trusts and systems asking them to deliver the recommendations and report to their public boards.
To support this delivery, NHS England’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services brought together the immediate and essential actions from the Ockenden review with those from other reports and guidance. The National Health Service’s operational planning guidance sets out the expectation that trusts should implement the key actions from the plan. In accordance with the NHS operating framework, it is for integrated care boards to oversee local progress with this. The technical guidance which accompanies the plan sets out how we are monitoring progress at a national level.
The plan is in its final year of delivery, and progress has been made across the four themes to improve outcomes and experiences for women and their babies.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has seen a significant improvement in overall midwifery staffing levels. The trust has enhanced its senior and specialist midwifery teams to provide additional leadership, expert advice, and support for women and families, as well as the clinical teams. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust now has in place robust training programmes that equip the maternity workforce with up-to-date skills, training, and development, including in the management of emergency scenarios.
On 23 June 2025, my rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced the launch of an independent, national Investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services to look at the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies and families experience unacceptable care. It will look at up to 10 maternity and neonatal units where there are specific issues, international evidence, adoption of best practice and a system-wide investigation of maternity and neonatal care. There have been several reviews, inquiries and national research into maternity and neonatal care in recent years, including Ockenden. The investigation will bring together lessons from past these reviews and will produce, by December 2025, one clear set of national recommendations to achieve high quality, safe care across maternity and neonatal services, and that women and families are listened to. The investigation will take previous recommendations, including the Immediate and Essentials actions from Ockenden, into consideration to ensure we are providing clarity to the system and effectively delivering the change needed.
Alongside this, my rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, also announced we would be establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which he would chair. It will use the recommendations from the investigation to develop a national plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care, holding the system to account for delivering the actions and working closely with families to ensure their voices are central to this work.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 NHS 111 response times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to continuing to improve NHS 111 to ensure patients can access the right care the first time, only visiting accident and emergency when necessary.
The latest published data shows that May 2025 saw the lowest average NHS 111 call answer time since records began in April 2021, 4 seconds faster than in April 2025, and 58 seconds faster than in May 2024. The average NHS 111 call answer time in the year to date is 46 seconds, compared to 157 seconds in the same period in 2024.
Whilst NHS 111 response times have improved, we recognise there is more to do. On 6 June 2025, we published our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, which includes the commitment to publish and implement the recommendations from the NHS 111 review to make the service quicker and simpler to navigate.