Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 adequacy of the workforce capacity in children’s community health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s community services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community service waiting times via the Community Health Services SitRep data collection, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly and is available at the following link:
The National Health Service has also published an overview of the core community health services that integrated care boards, service providers, and their partners should consider when planning services for their local population, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/standardising-community-health-services/
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for children’s community health services; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for those services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:
A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/
As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 support Integrated Care Boards to reduce waiting times for (a) speech and language therapy, (b) physiotherapy, (a) community paediatrics and (d) other community health services for children.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:
A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/
As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 introduce a maximum waiting time target for children’s community health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community health services are an essential building block in developing a neighbourhood health service, working closely with primary care, social care, and other community services to provide more care in the community to spot problems early.
We are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for children’s services. We are working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services and on actions to reduce waiting times for these services.
NHS England continues to monitor community services waiting times via the Community Health Services (CHS) SitRep data collection which collects monthly data on waiting lists and waiting times for community health services, to assess the number of people on them and the length of time they wait for services. Data is published monthly, and is available at the following link:
A metric on waits of over 52 weeks for CHS is included in the 2025/26 National Oversight Framework, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-oversight-framework-2025-26/
As part of our work to improve access to children’s CHS, NHS England commissioned NHS Benchmarking to undertake an analysis of provider data on Community Paediatrics to develop a detailed understanding of activity and the opportunities for improvement and transformation. The report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent attacks on Kurdish-majority areas on (a) the long-term stability of regions formerly liberated from ISIS with the support of the Syrian Democratic Forces and (b) the UK’s ongoing counter-terrorism objectives in Syria and Iraq.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.
We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.
Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with (a) representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces and (b) other local partners on measures to protect civilians in Kurdish-majority areas of northern Syria from further attacks.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.
We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.
Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government have (a) carried out bombardments of and (b) caused civilian casualties in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo on 6 October 2025.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.
We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.
Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with her international partners to help support humanitarian access to Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.
We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.
Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July to Question 61880 on Western Sahara: Trade Agreements, what discussions she has had with Sahrawi representatives on trade with Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Trade agreements negotiated by the UK are conducted with sovereign states and in accordance with international law. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials regularly meet Sahrawi representatives to discuss UK policy on Western Sahara, including trade.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July to Question 61881 on Western Sahara: Origin Marking, what discussions her Department has had with Tesco on the adequacy of its labelling of products from Western Sahara.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under UK regulations, supermarket product selection remains a matter of retailer discretion, contingent upon compliance with food and labelling laws. Retailers operate independently and make sourcing decisions based on commercial, ethical, and consumer considerations.
All supermarkets are expected to support honest and transparent labelling of food products, and the Government routinely engages with industry representatives to support best practices.
We work to maintain high standards on the information that is provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions.