Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for the processing of Disabled Facilities Grants applications for people with motor neurone disease.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises the importance of timely and efficient delivery of home adaptations including through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to help enable people with progressive conditions such as motor neurone disease (MND) to live independently in a safe and suitable environment.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the DFG to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Local authorities have discretion in managing their DFG funding, and can publish a local housing assistance policy including detail on how they will respond to rapidly progressing conditions such as MND. For example, they can waive the means test or fast track the DFG process for people with MND.

This is clearly set out in government guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disabled-facilities-grant-dfg-delivery-guidance-for-local-authorities-in-england) which encourages local authorities to streamline the application process to improve the delivery of adaptations, including for people living with MND. While it is for local authorities to determine the flexibilities that best meet the needs of their residents, the guidance also encourages them to prioritise urgent cases and work towards good practice timescales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of victims reporting spiking to the police.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through food or drink, vape, or needle. It can affect anyone, at any time and in any setting, regardless of gender, sexuality or age.

Between January 2021 and June 2023, the police received 19,347 reports of spiking. However, it is important to note that the principal offence rule prioritises recording the most serious offence, which means cases of spiking linked to other offences are captured under that substantive category rather than separately in central data.

Additionally, we assess that spiking crimes are underreported for a range of reasons, including embarrassment, lack of trust in the police or assumption that the police could not help or would not believe victims. To help overcome this and encourage more suspected victims of spiking to come forward, including anonymously if they so wish, the Police have launched an online reporting tool, available on police.uk.

The government is enhancing how the police record and report spiking crimes. From April 2026, spiking will be part of the Police’s Annual Data Requirement which will improve both the quality and quantity of data, as well as the frequency of reporting.

The Home Office will also look to utilise the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS), a computer-assisted classification tool, to greatly improve the analysis of the data it receives. NDQIS will have a range of benefits including being able to identify crimes which were facilitated by spiking, such as rape or sexual assault. We expect this to give us a better understanding of the scale of spiking and its use in enabling other crimes.

Tackling spiking is a government priority. We are implementing a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen awareness, prevention and detection, enhance support for victims and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, including:

• In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these appalling incidents.
• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority are also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.
• We are funding two weeks of increased policing activity on spiking with the aims of raising awareness, encouraging reporting, and gathering more evidence to support spiking prosecutions. The first was on the week commencing 15 September to align with University Freshers weeks. The second week will be in December.
• We continue to fund research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits to assist with better detection of spiking crimes.
• We are also exploring options to enhance and make more convenient the process for collecting and processing urine samples from spiking victims.
• In July 2025 the Government published updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education for schools in England. In the new curriculum, to be implemented by September 2026, secondary pupils will learn about the risks associated with spiking, alongside consent, and other drug, alcohol, tobacco and vaping related issues.
• We have commissioned a leading University to undertake academic research to better understand some of the important driving factors that contribute to spiking incidents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support victims of spiking.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through food or drink, vape, or needle. It can affect anyone, at any time and in any setting, regardless of gender, sexuality or age.

Between January 2021 and June 2023, the police received 19,347 reports of spiking. However, it is important to note that the principal offence rule prioritises recording the most serious offence, which means cases of spiking linked to other offences are captured under that substantive category rather than separately in central data.

Additionally, we assess that spiking crimes are underreported for a range of reasons, including embarrassment, lack of trust in the police or assumption that the police could not help or would not believe victims. To help overcome this and encourage more suspected victims of spiking to come forward, including anonymously if they so wish, the Police have launched an online reporting tool, available on police.uk.

The government is enhancing how the police record and report spiking crimes. From April 2026, spiking will be part of the Police’s Annual Data Requirement which will improve both the quality and quantity of data, as well as the frequency of reporting.

The Home Office will also look to utilise the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS), a computer-assisted classification tool, to greatly improve the analysis of the data it receives. NDQIS will have a range of benefits including being able to identify crimes which were facilitated by spiking, such as rape or sexual assault. We expect this to give us a better understanding of the scale of spiking and its use in enabling other crimes.

Tackling spiking is a government priority. We are implementing a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen awareness, prevention and detection, enhance support for victims and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, including:

• In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these appalling incidents.
• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority are also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.
• We are funding two weeks of increased policing activity on spiking with the aims of raising awareness, encouraging reporting, and gathering more evidence to support spiking prosecutions. The first was on the week commencing 15 September to align with University Freshers weeks. The second week will be in December.
• We continue to fund research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits to assist with better detection of spiking crimes.
• We are also exploring options to enhance and make more convenient the process for collecting and processing urine samples from spiking victims.
• In July 2025 the Government published updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education for schools in England. In the new curriculum, to be implemented by September 2026, secondary pupils will learn about the risks associated with spiking, alongside consent, and other drug, alcohol, tobacco and vaping related issues.
• We have commissioned a leading University to undertake academic research to better understand some of the important driving factors that contribute to spiking incidents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of spiking.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through food or drink, vape, or needle. It can affect anyone, at any time and in any setting, regardless of gender, sexuality or age.

Between January 2021 and June 2023, the police received 19,347 reports of spiking. However, it is important to note that the principal offence rule prioritises recording the most serious offence, which means cases of spiking linked to other offences are captured under that substantive category rather than separately in central data.

Additionally, we assess that spiking crimes are underreported for a range of reasons, including embarrassment, lack of trust in the police or assumption that the police could not help or would not believe victims. To help overcome this and encourage more suspected victims of spiking to come forward, including anonymously if they so wish, the Police have launched an online reporting tool, available on police.uk.

The government is enhancing how the police record and report spiking crimes. From April 2026, spiking will be part of the Police’s Annual Data Requirement which will improve both the quality and quantity of data, as well as the frequency of reporting.

The Home Office will also look to utilise the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS), a computer-assisted classification tool, to greatly improve the analysis of the data it receives. NDQIS will have a range of benefits including being able to identify crimes which were facilitated by spiking, such as rape or sexual assault. We expect this to give us a better understanding of the scale of spiking and its use in enabling other crimes.

Tackling spiking is a government priority. We are implementing a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen awareness, prevention and detection, enhance support for victims and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, including:

• In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these appalling incidents.
• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority are also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.
• We are funding two weeks of increased policing activity on spiking with the aims of raising awareness, encouraging reporting, and gathering more evidence to support spiking prosecutions. The first was on the week commencing 15 September to align with University Freshers weeks. The second week will be in December.
• We continue to fund research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits to assist with better detection of spiking crimes.
• We are also exploring options to enhance and make more convenient the process for collecting and processing urine samples from spiking victims.
• In July 2025 the Government published updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education for schools in England. In the new curriculum, to be implemented by September 2026, secondary pupils will learn about the risks associated with spiking, alongside consent, and other drug, alcohol, tobacco and vaping related issues.
• We have commissioned a leading University to undertake academic research to better understand some of the important driving factors that contribute to spiking incidents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing drug prices on patients.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No such assessments have been published. We will always prioritise the needs of National Health Service patients, and we are protecting the NHS with record investment and reform to deliver better health care.

Investing in the newest medicines so that patients can get access to life saving treatments is a critical part of a modern health care system and one that many charities and patient groups frequently call for.

Life sciences are a cornerstone of our modern industrial strategy, driving growth through world-class research, advanced manufacturing, and innovation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people reported spiking incidents to the police in each of the last five years.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through food or drink, vape, or needle. It can affect anyone, at any time and in any setting, regardless of gender, sexuality or age.

Between January 2021 and June 2023, the police received 19,347 reports of spiking. However, it is important to note that the principal offence rule prioritises recording the most serious offence, which means cases of spiking linked to other offences are captured under that substantive category rather than separately in central data.

Additionally, we assess that spiking crimes are underreported for a range of reasons, including embarrassment, lack of trust in the police or assumption that the police could not help or would not believe victims. To help overcome this and encourage more suspected victims of spiking to come forward, including anonymously if they so wish, the Police have launched an online reporting tool, available on police.uk.

The government is enhancing how the police record and report spiking crimes. From April 2026, spiking will be part of the Police’s Annual Data Requirement which will improve both the quality and quantity of data, as well as the frequency of reporting.

The Home Office will also look to utilise the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS), a computer-assisted classification tool, to greatly improve the analysis of the data it receives. NDQIS will have a range of benefits including being able to identify crimes which were facilitated by spiking, such as rape or sexual assault. We expect this to give us a better understanding of the scale of spiking and its use in enabling other crimes.

Tackling spiking is a government priority. We are implementing a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen awareness, prevention and detection, enhance support for victims and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, including:

• In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these appalling incidents.
• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority are also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.
• We are funding two weeks of increased policing activity on spiking with the aims of raising awareness, encouraging reporting, and gathering more evidence to support spiking prosecutions. The first was on the week commencing 15 September to align with University Freshers weeks. The second week will be in December.
• We continue to fund research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits to assist with better detection of spiking crimes.
• We are also exploring options to enhance and make more convenient the process for collecting and processing urine samples from spiking victims.
• In July 2025 the Government published updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education for schools in England. In the new curriculum, to be implemented by September 2026, secondary pupils will learn about the risks associated with spiking, alongside consent, and other drug, alcohol, tobacco and vaping related issues.
• We have commissioned a leading University to undertake academic research to better understand some of the important driving factors that contribute to spiking incidents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve reporting rates for incidents of spiking.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through food or drink, vape, or needle. It can affect anyone, at any time and in any setting, regardless of gender, sexuality or age.

Between January 2021 and June 2023, the police received 19,347 reports of spiking. However, it is important to note that the principal offence rule prioritises recording the most serious offence, which means cases of spiking linked to other offences are captured under that substantive category rather than separately in central data.

Additionally, we assess that spiking crimes are underreported for a range of reasons, including embarrassment, lack of trust in the police or assumption that the police could not help or would not believe victims. To help overcome this and encourage more suspected victims of spiking to come forward, including anonymously if they so wish, the Police have launched an online reporting tool, available on police.uk.

The government is enhancing how the police record and report spiking crimes. From April 2026, spiking will be part of the Police’s Annual Data Requirement which will improve both the quality and quantity of data, as well as the frequency of reporting.

The Home Office will also look to utilise the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS), a computer-assisted classification tool, to greatly improve the analysis of the data it receives. NDQIS will have a range of benefits including being able to identify crimes which were facilitated by spiking, such as rape or sexual assault. We expect this to give us a better understanding of the scale of spiking and its use in enabling other crimes.

Tackling spiking is a government priority. We are implementing a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen awareness, prevention and detection, enhance support for victims and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, including:

• In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these appalling incidents.
• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority are also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.
• We are funding two weeks of increased policing activity on spiking with the aims of raising awareness, encouraging reporting, and gathering more evidence to support spiking prosecutions. The first was on the week commencing 15 September to align with University Freshers weeks. The second week will be in December.
• We continue to fund research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits to assist with better detection of spiking crimes.
• We are also exploring options to enhance and make more convenient the process for collecting and processing urine samples from spiking victims.
• In July 2025 the Government published updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education for schools in England. In the new curriculum, to be implemented by September 2026, secondary pupils will learn about the risks associated with spiking, alongside consent, and other drug, alcohol, tobacco and vaping related issues.
• We have commissioned a leading University to undertake academic research to better understand some of the important driving factors that contribute to spiking incidents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure perpetrators of spiking are (a) detected and (b) arrested.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an abhorrent crime and illegal in any form, whether through food or drink, vape, or needle. It can affect anyone, at any time and in any setting, regardless of gender, sexuality or age.

Between January 2021 and June 2023, the police received 19,347 reports of spiking. However, it is important to note that the principal offence rule prioritises recording the most serious offence, which means cases of spiking linked to other offences are captured under that substantive category rather than separately in central data.

Additionally, we assess that spiking crimes are underreported for a range of reasons, including embarrassment, lack of trust in the police or assumption that the police could not help or would not believe victims. To help overcome this and encourage more suspected victims of spiking to come forward, including anonymously if they so wish, the Police have launched an online reporting tool, available on police.uk.

The government is enhancing how the police record and report spiking crimes. From April 2026, spiking will be part of the Police’s Annual Data Requirement which will improve both the quality and quantity of data, as well as the frequency of reporting.

The Home Office will also look to utilise the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS), a computer-assisted classification tool, to greatly improve the analysis of the data it receives. NDQIS will have a range of benefits including being able to identify crimes which were facilitated by spiking, such as rape or sexual assault. We expect this to give us a better understanding of the scale of spiking and its use in enabling other crimes.

Tackling spiking is a government priority. We are implementing a comprehensive set of actions to strengthen awareness, prevention and detection, enhance support for victims and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice, including:

• In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these appalling incidents.
• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority are also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.
• We are funding two weeks of increased policing activity on spiking with the aims of raising awareness, encouraging reporting, and gathering more evidence to support spiking prosecutions. The first was on the week commencing 15 September to align with University Freshers weeks. The second week will be in December.
• We continue to fund research into the efficacy of rapid urine testing kits to assist with better detection of spiking crimes.
• We are also exploring options to enhance and make more convenient the process for collecting and processing urine samples from spiking victims.
• In July 2025 the Government published updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education for schools in England. In the new curriculum, to be implemented by September 2026, secondary pupils will learn about the risks associated with spiking, alongside consent, and other drug, alcohol, tobacco and vaping related issues.
• We have commissioned a leading University to undertake academic research to better understand some of the important driving factors that contribute to spiking incidents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with deaf people on their experience of (a) the healthcare system and (b) social care.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Both my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and I meet regularly with external sector partners on a variety of issues, including those who represent the deaf community.

In May 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend attended a constituency event marking Deaf Awareness Week, which was held by the Empowering Deaf Society. At the event, my Rt Hon. Friend heard from deaf people about the challenges faced by their community. Further information on the event is available at the following link:

https://liamodell.com/2025/05/07/wes-streeting-health-secretary-social-care-deaf-bsl-british-sign-language-parliament-empowering-deaf-society-stephen-timms-disabled-people-deaf-awareness-week/

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequate availability of apprenticeships for people leaving (a) secondary school and (b) college.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We have introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors of the economy, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.

To support employers to offer apprenticeships, the government provides £1,000 payments to employers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19 to 24-year-old apprentices who have an education, health and care plan or have been, or are, in care.

Government also pays employers up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.

In addition, employers benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of interpreters used in the court system in each of the last fives years; and what languages these interpreters were for.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice uses interpreting and translation services provided under contract.

The information requested is not held centrally.

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 introducing stronger penalties for antisocial nuisance bikers.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. We are giving police the powers they need to tackle anti-social driving in both rural and urban areas so that they will be able to more easily seize these vehicles from offenders and dispose of them.

The Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will enhance police powers to seize nuisance vehicles which are used in an anti-social manner by removing the requirement to first give a warning to the offender and allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

The Government has also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.

Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially by sending a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to give the police more powers to deal with antisocial nuisance bikers.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. We are giving police the powers they need to tackle anti-social driving in both rural and urban areas so that they will be able to more easily seize these vehicles from offenders and dispose of them.

The Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will enhance police powers to seize nuisance vehicles which are used in an anti-social manner by removing the requirement to first give a warning to the offender and allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

The Government has also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.

Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially by sending a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase police recruitment.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

For 2025/26, we are providing a total of up to £376.8 million specifically to support officer headcount levels as set out in the Police Funding Settlement. This includes £270.1m which is administered through a ringfenced grant. Police and Crime Commissioners will be able to access this ringfenced funding by demonstrating that they have met their officer headcount targets.

In addition, we have made £200 million available in FY 2025/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department currently has an English proficiency requirement for prison officers.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The prison officer recruitment process assesses English language proficiency at multiple stages, without requiring a separate English test or formal qualifications such as GCSEs at the point of application. The process for recruiting prison officers across all Public Sector Prisons is the same for all applicants, both UK and non-UK nationals, with candidates appointed based on merit, in line with the fair and open Civil Service recruitment principles.

Once candidates have passed the application and online test stages, they are assessed via His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service’s centralised Online Assessment Centre (OAC), which is conducted by trained human assessors who evaluate candidates in real time. Candidates undertake a written assessment, role-play exercises and a structured interview, all designed to assess whether they possess the written and spoken communication skills required for the prison officer role.

The centralised OAC process upholds consistent standards across all applicants and cannot be bypassed through automated or multiple-choice responses alone. This approach ensures that any difficulties in understanding instructions or in expressing responses clearly are identified and reflected in the assessment outcome. The assessment process also includes fitness and medical checks, which are applied to the same standard for all candidates, regardless of nationality.

We continuously evaluate our assessment process for all stages of prison officer recruitment to ensure best practice and integrate improvements appropriately as new tools and methodologies become available. Future changes to the assessment process will continue to assess a candidate’s English proficiency against the communication skills required for the prison officer role and will remain aligned with professional attainment levels used across comparable professions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the number of foreign nationals in prison.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The number of foreign national offenders in prison is published as part of the Offender Management Quarterly statistics series. The series can be accessed with the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.

Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the prison population do not have (a) English and (b) another native UK languages as a first language in each of the last five years; and what languages such prisoners did speak as a first language.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested is not centrally recorded.

Collecting it would involve a search of the records of each prisoner in England and Wales over the last five years. It could not, therefore, be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaf individuals have been wrongly assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 as a result of communication barriers in the last 12 months.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold the requested data.

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 help ensure that deaf people are not wrongly identified as lacking mental capacity due to communication barriers.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 already provides a legislative basis for providing interpreters, including British Sign Language interpreters, for people with specific communication needs. One of the foundational principles of the MCA is that individuals must be given all possible support to make, or participate in making, their own decisions. This includes taking "all practicable steps" to help them understand, weigh up information, and communicate their choice. Section 3.11 of the MCA Code of Practice provides detailed guidance on this.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will also launch a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice on the Liberty Protection Safeguards in the first half of next year. This consultation will seek the views of those affected, including members of the deaf community and experts who work with deaf individuals. The responses from this consultation will be used to inform a final MCA Code of Practice which will be laid in Parliament.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to ensure that BSL interpreters are provided during mental capacity assessments.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 already provides a legislative basis for providing interpreters, including British Sign Language interpreters, for people with specific communication needs. One of the foundational principles of the MCA is that individuals must be given all possible support to make, or participate in making, their own decisions. This includes taking "all practicable steps" to help them understand, weigh up information, and communicate their choice. Section 3.11 of the MCA Code of Practice provides detailed guidance on this.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will also launch a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice on the Liberty Protection Safeguards in the first half of next year. This consultation will seek the views of those affected, including members of the deaf community and experts who work with deaf individuals. The responses from this consultation will be used to inform a final MCA Code of Practice which will be laid in Parliament.

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 help improve the (a) autonomy and (b) wellbeing of deaf residents in care homes.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population. That is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and to commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes encouraging a wide range of service provision to ensure that people have a choice of appropriate services that put the wellbeing of the people who draw on care at the centre of decisions.

Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are also expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard, which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.

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 ensure that British Sign Language services are provided in care homes in England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population. That is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and to commission a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. This includes encouraging a wide range of service provision to ensure that people have a choice of appropriate services that put the wellbeing of the people who draw on care at the centre of decisions.

Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are also expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard, which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation services in the prison system for each of the last five years.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The requested information has been provided in the tables below.

Translation:

Interpreting:

The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users whom English is not their first language. Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers whilst maintaining high standards of service delivery.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of prison officers who do not have English as a first language.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation services in the court system for each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested can be found in the tables below.

Translation:

Interpreting:

The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users whom English is not their first language. Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers whilst maintaining high standards of service delivery.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to support parents who have to leave work following a child’s diagnosis of cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research, with the aim of ensuring that all patients, including children and young people with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The National Institute for Health and Care Research, funded by the Department, funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including cancer clinical trials.

The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England.

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 improve (a) treatment and (b) support for children with cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to maximising the United Kingdom’s potential to lead the world in clinical research, with the aim of ensuring that all patients, including children and young people with cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The National Institute for Health and Care Research, funded by the Department, funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research, including cancer clinical trials.

The Department is committed to improving outcomes and patient experience for children and young people with cancer. NHS England has published service specifications that set out the service standards required of all providers of children and young people’s cancer services. The requirements include ensuring that every patient has access to specialist care and reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment for childhood cancer. The specifications are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-b/b05/

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The taskforce will explore opportunities for improvement, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan for England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on how many people resident outside the UK received medical treatment on the NHS in each of the last three years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not collect or hold the information requested.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the cost to the public purse of treatment for people who came to Britain only for (a) health and (b) medical treatment in each of the last three years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not collect or hold the information requested.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools remain politically neutral when teaching.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Ashfield to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43267.

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 help ensure there is adequate mental health support in Ashfield constituency.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning National Health Service mental health services to meet the needs of people in Ashfield.

Nationally, the Government is committed to creating an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents people from developing mental health problems, and improves the lives of people living with a mental health problem including those in the Ashfield constituency.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments and neighbourhood mental health centres, and increasing access to talking therapies and evidence-based digital interventions.

The recently published Medium Term Planning Framework sets targets for integrated care boards to expand coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges, expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement Support schemes, and eliminate inappropriate out-of-area placements by 2029.

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 help ensure veterans receive appropriate support for PTSD.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In addition to the mainstream mental health services commissioned by integrated care boards, NHS England commissions Op COURAGE which is the bespoke integrated veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. The service provides a fully integrated mental health care pathway for veterans, which includes support for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. People benefit from personalised care plans, ensuring they can access support and treatment both in and out of hours. Op COURAGE is available across England and individuals can contact the service to make an appointment or ask someone to do this on their behalf.

The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services and can instead choose to use mainstream services in the National Health Service, such as talking therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many tests for spiking were conducted in hospitals in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The requested data is not collected centrally. NHS England does not routinely collect hospital admissions data specifically related to spiking, nor the number of tests conducted explicitly labelled as being for spiking in hospitals.

The Home Office has published public guidance for victims and witnesses of spiking, and a statutory report setting out measures to tackle spiking including training for door staff, research into testing, and coordinated policing. The guidance signposts victims to emergency medical care, police reporting, and victim support services. This information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spiking-advice-and-support

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) testing and (b) support in hospitals for victims of spiking.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The requested data is not collected centrally. NHS England does not routinely collect hospital admissions data specifically related to spiking, nor the number of tests conducted explicitly labelled as being for spiking in hospitals.

The Home Office has published public guidance for victims and witnesses of spiking, and a statutory report setting out measures to tackle spiking including training for door staff, research into testing, and coordinated policing. The guidance signposts victims to emergency medical care, police reporting, and victim support services. This information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spiking-advice-and-support

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 improve care for people with motor neurone disease.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissions the specialised elements of motor neurone disease (MND) care that patients may receive from 27 specialised neurology centres across England. Within these specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals and specialised treatment and support, according to their needs.

At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with MND, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically-led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with MND.

In August 2025, NHS England updated its service specification for specialised adult neurology services. The service specification outlines that specialised neurology centres must include services for neuromuscular disorders, including MND. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

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 research into motor neurone disease.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Government responsibility for delivering research into motor neurone disease (MND) is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Medical Research Council for MND.

The Government is investing in MND research across a range of areas, including an £8 million investment via the NIHR into the EXPERTS-ALS. This is a pre-clinical study which is designed to accelerate the identification and testing of the most promising treatment candidates for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): the most common form of MND.

The MND Translational Accelerator, supported by £6 million of Government funding, is connecting the UK Dementia Research Institute, the UK MND Research Institute and Dementias Platform UK. Twelve projects have been funded through the Accelerator; all aimed at speeding up the development of treatments for MND.

The NIHR and UKRI continue to welcome funding applications for research into MND.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to make (a) streets and (b) communities safer for women and girls.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government with a manifesto mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible.

In advance of the strategy, we have already introduced measures designed to strengthen the police response to VAWG, protect victims and hold perpetrators to account.

These include: funding to rollout Drive Project, a proven intervention for high-risk and high-harm domestic abuse perpetrators across England and Wales; embedding the first domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces; measures to tackle spiking to strengthen the law and improve the response victims receive, including committing to introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and piloting new spiking training for bar staff; measures focusing on preventing and tackling ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA), developing a statutory definition for HBA, community engagement campaigns, enhanced training and funding for support services; six measures to tackle stalking including statutory guidance to empower the police to release the identities of online stalkers to protect victims, and a review of the stalking legislation to ensure it is fit for purpose; and launching the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts which go further than any existing orders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with private social care providers on levels of challenges for their staff.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I regularly hold discussions with providers from across the social care sector, including private and voluntary sectors, and with local authority providers. This includes roundtables and site visits.

Department officials also regularly engage with private adult social care providers and sector representatives to understand the challenges faced by their workforce.

In order to gain a full understanding of issues affecting the workforce, the Department commissioned ‘The Adult Social Care workforce and their work-related quality of life survey’ which provides detailed evidence on the issues most affecting staff.

The full survey report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-social-care-asc-workforce-and-work-related-quality-of-life

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 support social care staff working in supported living accommodation.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the vital role of social care staff working in supported living accommodation in enabling people to live independently with dignity.

We are committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce. This will improve recruitment and retention and give staff better recognition for their vital work. The £500 million forms part of an increase of over £4 billion of additional funding available for adult social care in 2028-29, compared to 2025-26.

Ensuring staff have the skills and training needed to work in social care is also essential, both to attract people to join and remain in the workforce, and for the provision of high-quality care and support. That is why we have developed the Care Workforce Pathway, the first national career framework for adult social care, and, we are investing £12 million in learning and development through the Learning and Development Support Scheme, to enable eligible staff to complete eligible courses and qualifications.

These actions form part of our wider commitment to improving skills and support for the social care workforce.

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 help improve access to affordable home adaptations for people with motor neurone disease.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise how important the right housing arrangements are in supporting people to live as independently and safely as possible. In England, we continue to fund the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which is administered by local authorities. This grant helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes, including people with motor neurone disease, to adapt their homes.

We have provided an additional £172 million over this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG. This uplift could provide approximately 15,600 extra home adaptations to give people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in each of 2024/25 and 2025/26.