Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individual properties are being used as dispersal accommodation for asylum seekers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on the number of asylum seekers at a regional and local level. The department does not publish data at a property level, but at a person level.
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers. These statistics can be found at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish a timeline for the transfer of the £2.3bn investment reserve to BCSSS members.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Chancellor announced in the budget the transfer of the full reserve of £2.3bn which will increase member incomes by 41%. The transfer has been completed and the required amendments to the scheme rules agreed and signed.
Implementation is a matter for the Trustees but we understand they have put processes in place so that the first payments will be made on 23 December.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department are taking to ensure universities have adequate mental health support services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that all students are well supported during their time at university.
Higher education providers have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students, which includes those with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities.
Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their provider. In addition to reasonable adjustments, Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available for the provision of more specialist support.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, has recently appointed Sir Steve West as Higher Education Student Support Champion to lead the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce is instrumental in assessing and driving improvements in mental health support across the sector, including taking forward recommendations from the recent national review of higher education student suicides.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to ensure universities have adequate disability support services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that all students are well supported during their time at university.
Higher education providers have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students, which includes those with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities.
Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their provider. In addition to reasonable adjustments, Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available for the provision of more specialist support.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, has recently appointed Sir Steve West as Higher Education Student Support Champion to lead the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce is instrumental in assessing and driving improvements in mental health support across the sector, including taking forward recommendations from the recent national review of higher education student suicides.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department are taking to help support university students living with (a) Chron's and (b) Colitis.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to ensuring that all students are well supported during their time at university.
Higher education providers have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students, which includes those with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities.
Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their provider. In addition to reasonable adjustments, Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available for the provision of more specialist support.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, has recently appointed Sir Steve West as Higher Education Student Support Champion to lead the Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce is instrumental in assessing and driving improvements in mental health support across the sector, including taking forward recommendations from the recent national review of higher education student suicides.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 increase awareness of endometriosis amongst medical professionals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In November 2024 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated their guideline on endometriosis to make firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with a suspected diagnosis. This will help women receive a diagnosis and effective treatment faster. This guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG73)www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG73
Additionally, the General Medical Council has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom. The content for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis. This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK.
Endometriosis is also included in the core curriculum for trainee general practitioners, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2025 to question 88331 on Health Services: Foreign Nationals, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on the cost 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 has had and continues to have regular discussions regarding overseas visitors with NHS England to ensure that the system works as effectively and fairly as possible.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 access to disability medical equipment for (a) adults and (b) children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, and responsibility for providing equipment to disabled people typically falls to the National Health Service and local authorities.
We expect ICBs to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2022, NICE published relevant guidance in relation to children, called Disabled children and young people up to 25 with severe complex needs: integrated service delivery and organisation across health, social care and education, which is available at the following link:
The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, requires that from 2026/27 all ICBs and Community Health Services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty, including under the Care Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Responsibility for managing the market for these services, including commissioning and oversight of delivery, rests with local authorities.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department are taking to ensure people have access to adequate counselling support for disability diagnoses.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs.
More people, including those experiencing depression and anxiety associated with a disability, now have better access to counselling support provided through NHS Talking Therapies services. We have increased the number of therapy sessions so that more than 670,000 people completed a course of treatment last year, compared to 567,000 in 2016/17.
We plan to expand NHS Talking Therapies still further so that 915,000 people complete a course of treatment by March 2029, with improved effectiveness and quality of services.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 reduce the time taken for the delivery of disability medical equipment to (a) adults and (b) children.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, and responsibility for providing equipment to disabled people typically falls to the National Health Service and local authorities.
We expect ICBs to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2022, NICE published relevant guidance in relation to children, called Disabled children and young people up to 25 with severe complex needs: integrated service delivery and organisation across health, social care and education, which is available at the following link:
The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, requires that from 2026/27 all ICBs and Community Health Services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty, including under the Care Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Responsibility for managing the market for these services, including commissioning and oversight of delivery, rests with local authorities.