Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the creation and growth of agricultural co-operatives under existing farm support schemes.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Farming Roadmap we committed to partner with the Mutuals and Co-operatives Sector Business Council to identify and address barriers to the development and growth of farmer cooperatives, including barriers to accessing finance.
Defra is also supporting farmer co-operation through the £30 million Farmer Collaboration Fund, which may lead farmers to entering more formal business relations with one another.
In addition, Landscape Recovery is supporting landowners and managers who want to take a large-scale, collaborative, long-term approach to producing environmental and climate goods on their land.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support male victims of rape and sexual assault.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring all victims, including male victims, have access to the information and support they need.
The Ministry of Justice is supporting victims with the largest ever investment of over £550 million in victim support services over the next three years. This includes funding for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local victim support services for all victims of crime, based on their assessment of local need, including those affected by rape and sexual assault, and includes the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) which funds over 60 specialist sexual violence support organisations across England and Wales to provide holistic, trauma-informed support to victims, including male victims. The 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is available to all victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse, regardless of gender. Recent service enhancements mean that callers and webchat users can now request to speak with either a female or male Support Line specialist operator between the peak hours of 8pm and midnight, enabling the service to be responsive to individual needs and preferences.
The Government is also delivering on its commitment to introduce rape and serious sexual offence courts. Victims of rape and sexual offences will experience better, more tailored support and fewer delays. Backed by a £23 million investment, this package of measures will ensure every single Crown Court building in England and Wales has at least one specialist rape and serious sexual offence courtroom by 2028. The package will also deliver new victim-centred court upgrades in the Crown Court such as separate entrances and private waiting rooms and will trial a single point of contact to ensure victims’ needs are met by the courts.
Later this year, we will also deliver on our manifesto commitment to provide free, independent legal advice to adult victims of rape, including male victims, across England and Wales. The service will help victims to understand their rights, including where they are asked to provide personal information or information held on their mobile phone. It will also assist with complaint applications against the police and CPS, compensation claims and the Victim’s Right to Review scheme.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the concentrations of children's homes in certain parts of the country.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ofsted annually publishes information on the location of children's homes as part of its role in the registration and inspection of children's homes. The latest information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2026/main-findings-childrens-social-care-in-england-2026.
The department takes an active role as steward of the children's social care placements system to ensure children can access the right homes, in the right places, to meet their needs.
Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs) are being established to shape the market by pooling demand and acting to bring together local authorities, health partners and youth justice services to plan future need, commission placements and create new care provision where needed.
This shifts the system away from reactive purchasing and towards long-term planning, larger scale commercial agreements and increasing RCC led provision, achieving better value for money and outcomes for children in care.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of regulations on new children's homes as enforced by Ofsted and local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Every child deserves a safe, stable and high-quality home that meets their needs.
New children’s homes are subject to the same regulatory requirements as existing homes, meaning they must register with Ofsted and meet the relevant standards. Ofsted inspect all children’s homes at least once annually against the Social Care Common Inspection Framework. Local authorities and providers are responsible for ensuring placements are suitable and Ofsted can take action where requirements are not met.
The department keeps the adequacy of the regulatory framework under regular review and we are delivering significant reforms to children’s social care, including strengthening Ofsted’s enforcement powers. We have also commissioned an expert-led review of professional development for the children’s homes workforce, which will inform the practice of new department-funded children’s homes and any future changes to standards.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the consistency in usage of fostering for adoption placements by local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The national foster carer recruitment campaign focuses on encouraging people to consider fostering who may not otherwise have thought about it. The campaign does not include specific steps aimed at promoting fostering for adoption, but it has engaged people with lived experience, including those who have fostered and gone on to adopt, to help inform its messaging.
Local authorities and fostering hubs have been at the heart of developing the national campaign. We have worked closely with them to strike the right balance between consistent national messaging and the flexibility to tailor local activity to their communities, including in relation to fostering for adoption. The national campaign page is available at: https://fostering.campaign.gov.uk/.
The department continues to work with the sector to ensure prospective foster carers understand the full range of fostering options available, including fostering for adoption, as part of its wider support for the fostering system.
Through Adoption England, we are delivering targeted activity to promote and improve Early Permanence practice. This includes the You Can Adopt campaign, which features stories of families who have adopted through early permanence.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to promote fostering for adoption as part of the national foster carer recruitment campaign.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The national foster carer recruitment campaign focuses on encouraging people to consider fostering who may not otherwise have thought about it. The campaign does not include specific steps aimed at promoting fostering for adoption, but it has engaged people with lived experience, including those who have fostered and gone on to adopt, to help inform its messaging.
Local authorities and fostering hubs have been at the heart of developing the national campaign. We have worked closely with them to strike the right balance between consistent national messaging and the flexibility to tailor local activity to their communities, including in relation to fostering for adoption. The national campaign page is available at: https://fostering.campaign.gov.uk/.
The department continues to work with the sector to ensure prospective foster carers understand the full range of fostering options available, including fostering for adoption, as part of its wider support for the fostering system.
Through Adoption England, we are delivering targeted activity to promote and improve Early Permanence practice. This includes the You Can Adopt campaign, which features stories of families who have adopted through early permanence.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will make an assessment of the merits of introducing heritage tree preservation orders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 68105 on 21 July 2025.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to introduce a minimum period of aftercare for trees planted on new housing developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not plan to introduce a minimum aftercare period for newly-planted trees.
Policy N3 of the National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August makes clear that development proposals should make provision for the long-term maintenance of both existing and newly-planted trees.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with the Department of Health and Social Care to raise awareness of diabetes distress amongst pastoral staff in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. In doing so, schools must have regard to the 'supporting pupils with medical conditions at school' statutory guidance, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
The governing body should ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they take on responsibility to support children with medical conditions. They should also ensure that any members of school staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions are able to access information and other teaching support materials as needed. This includes non-teaching staff such as pastoral staff.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve the availability of training for GPs on recognising and managing menopause.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 11 June in response to Question 6460, a new updated Medical Licensing Assessment came into force in September, which all students graduating from United Kingdom medical schools are required to pass before they can join the medical register, and which will encourage a better understanding among all new doctors of common women’s health problems, including the menopause.
In addition, NHS England is working on menopause workforce support packages for National Health Service employees and developing a range of tools and interventions that will help to upskill more general practitioners in menopause care, including awareness of mental health symptoms during menopause, and improve access to treatments.