Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
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 ensure that ambient voice technology used in the NHS captures structured, coded clinical data at the point of care rather than unstructured free-text notes; what criteria his Department uses to determine which suppliers are eligible for reimbursement under clinical AI scribing programmes; and whether AI scribing tools embedded within wider electronic patient record contracts are required to meet the same governance and registry standards as dedicated ambient voice technology suppliers listed on the NHS England Ambient Voice Technology Supplier Registry.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, working with NHS England, is putting in place national support to help National Health Service organisations adopt and scale ambient voice technology (AVT) as appropriate for their respective areas, to help adopt AVT safely and consistently where there is evidence of benefit. NHS England will continue to work with systems, suppliers, and national partners to support adoption at pace where products meet the necessary standards for safety, effectiveness, interoperability, and value for money.
At present, NHS organisations are required to select AVT products from the NHS AVT Self-Certified Supplier Registry. This applies to standalone products or those natively integrated into Electronic Patient Record systems. In order to be allowed onto the registry, suppliers are required to evidence capabilities that show summarisation of output aligned to structured templates and configuration, including suggesting the relevant clinical codes.
While NHS England remains in the process of mobilising a wider programme to support the adoption of AVT, no decision has yet been taken on the eligibility criteria for participating organisations to receive funding, but we will provide further updates in due course.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
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 establish a national deployment pathway for ambient voice technology, to move beyond repeated local pilots towards system-wide adoption across the NHS.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, working with NHS England, is putting in place national support to help National Health Service organisations adopt and scale ambient voice technology (AVT) as appropriate for their respective areas, to help adopt AVT safely and consistently where there is evidence of benefit. NHS England will continue to work with systems, suppliers, and national partners to support adoption at pace where products meet the necessary standards for safety, effectiveness, interoperability, and value for money.
At present, NHS organisations are required to select AVT products from the NHS AVT Self-Certified Supplier Registry. This applies to standalone products or those natively integrated into Electronic Patient Record systems. In order to be allowed onto the registry, suppliers are required to evidence capabilities that show summarisation of output aligned to structured templates and configuration, including suggesting the relevant clinical codes.
While NHS England remains in the process of mobilising a wider programme to support the adoption of AVT, no decision has yet been taken on the eligibility criteria for participating organisations to receive funding, but we will provide further updates in due course.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
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 ensure that NHS weight management services support long-term weight maintenance.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Supporting people to achieve and maintain weight loss over the long term is a core principle of National Health Service weight management services. National, integrated care board, and local authority commissioned services combine behavioural support, healthier eating, physical activity, and relapse prevention to help people sustain weight loss and improve their long-term health.
Nationally commissioned services, such as the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme and the suite of Healthier You programmes, such as the NHS Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing, the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, and the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission, all place a strong emphasis on supporting long term weight maintenance. These services are designed not only to help people achieve and sustain weight loss and a healthy weight, but also to prevent, improve, or manage obesity related long-term conditions, including reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and supporting remission for those already living with the condition.
The NHS continues to evaluate and develop its weight management services to ensure they reflect the latest clinical evidence and support people to achieve sustainable improvements in their health and reduce future demand on NHS services.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish data on the performance of local obesity services, including service coverage, waiting times, and patient outcomes split by age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
NHS England has established the National Obesity Audit (NOA) to improve understanding of weight management services across England. The audit analyses data collected from hospitals, community settings, and general practices on weight management services and interventions commissioned, or funded, by local authorities and the National Health Service. The NOA currently publishes information on specialist weight management services and bariatric surgery and is continuing to work towards a comprehensive picture of obesity care, including service access, outcomes, and inequalities, to support service improvement and development.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the current regulatory framework for news publishers in (a) raising press standards and (b) addressing (i) discrimination and (ii) other abuses.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
As a government we are closely following trends in media consumption and are carefully considering the best route forward to safeguard public trust in our news media.
In the UK, there is a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from government. An independent press is important for press freedom and to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. However, with this freedom comes responsibility. We expect all publishers, both local and national, to operate within the bounds of the law and adhere to high ethical and professional standards, as well as ensure appropriate routes to redress if these standards are not met.
The majority of traditional publishers are members of IPSO. Some publishers have joined Impress, while others, including the Financial Times and the Guardian, have chosen to stay outside either regulator with their own detailed self-regulatory arrangements. These regulators enforce codes of conduct, for both print and online news publications, which provide guidelines on a range of areas including discrimination. If they find that a newspaper has broken the code of conduct, they can order corrections.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of (a) reduce the vehicles that are blocking pavements and (b) unroadworthy vehicles parked for long periods of time in public areas.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Through measures in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill we will implement the necessary primary legislation to allow local transport authorities to prohibit pavement parking across their areas, putting power in the hands of local leaders. Even in locations where a pavement parking prohibition does not exist, virtually all local authorities (those with designated civil parking enforcement powers) will be granted the power to tackle the worst instances of pavement parking (unnecessary obstruction), through secondary legislation introduced later this year.
The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 gives local authorities the power to remove certain abandoned vehicles without notice. The legislation on abandoned vehicles falls within the remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with (a) the World Health Organization, (b) Gavi and (c) the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to help eradicate polio.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided to question 76022 on 17 September 2025.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including the names of a child's parents or legal guardians within the body of their passport.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to introduce a (a) formal and (b) accessible complaints system for veterans when public bodies fail to meet their obligations under the Armed Forces Covenant.
Answered by Al Carns
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community under the Armed Forces Covenant. Work is currently underway to put the Covenant fully into law, meaning that the Legal Duty will apply across a broad range of policy areas and to Central Government, Devolved Governments and at a local level.
The MOD is considering its plans for implementation of the extended Duty, and this could include how the bodies subject to it are informed about their responsibilities and encouraged to comply.
Enquiries or complaints about Covenant signatories can be directed to the MOD via [email protected], and organisations failing to meet their pledge may have their Covenant status reviewed. The MOD will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure these processes remain accessible and effective in holding public bodies accountable.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to reach a decision on the immigration status application of children born in the UK whose biometric enrolment has been completed; and what measures are in place to ensure that these children have access to (a) healthcare, (b) child benefits and (c) other essential services.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
There are a range of immigration routes through which children who are born in the UK may apply for and obtain Leave to Remain. Information about our service standards for specific immigration routes can be found at:
Customer service standards - GOV.UK.
An application only becomes valid, and the service standard period will only apply, once the application has been submitted, biometric enrolment (facial photograph and fingerprints) has been completed and all required information has been provided.
Access to healthcare, child benefits and other essential services are all matters for other Government Departments. However, the Home Office does facilitate access by departments to our digital immigration records to support their decision-making.