Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were assessed for a role in the Prison Service by nationality in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department welcomes job applications from everyone, irrespective of background, identity, experience, or circumstance, and particularly those underrepresented in our workforce.
The number of people assessed for a role in the prison service by nationality from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 is provided in the attached table 1.
All staff undergo robust assessments and training before they work in prisons. Our strengthened vetting process roots out those who fall below our high standards.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people applied to join the Prison Service by nationality in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department welcomes job applications from everyone, irrespective of background, identity, experience, or circumstance, and particularly those underrepresented in our workforce.
The number of people who applied for a role in the prison service by nationality from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 is provided in the attached table 1.
All staff undergo robust assessments and training before they work in prisons. Our strengthened vetting process roots out those who fall below our high standards
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 is he taking to reduce NHS waiting times in Ashfield.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care, including in the Ashfield constituency. We have already exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, with three million more delivered between July 2024 and January 2025.
In Ashfield, Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board has been working with local National Health Service trusts and independent sector providers to secure additional capacity to see, diagnose and treat patients; review all waiting times; reduce any inequity of waits; and support patient choice.
We have also increased diagnostic capacity in Ashfield through investment in new computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scanners and reducing wasted appointments through improved communication with patients. This has resulted in waits for diagnostic tests improving significantly, contributing to improvements in the overall waits for diagnosis and treatment. It has also led to a reduction in the number of patients waiting more than 52 weeks for surgery and improvements in the number of patients who are seen and treated within 18 weeks.
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 remove net zero targets for key strategic industries.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our targets are there to help us seize the economic opportunity of the century – and we are absolutely committed to them.
So, instead of leaving great British industries without a long-term plan for their future, we will help them become more secure and sustainable, creating and protecting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the 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, regarding the report entitled Seventh Carbon Budget by the Committee on Climate Change, published on 26 February 2025, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cumulative capital expenditure required for (a) transmission grid upgrades, (b) distribution grid upgrades and (c) household insulation measures to 2050.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The actual costs of delivering the Seventh Carbon Budget will be determined by the choices that government makes. The costs and funding scenarios set out in the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget report are illustrative and do not represent government policy and Government is not bound to accept their recommendations.
In 2022, the Government published the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework which included an estimate of cumulative 2021-2050 load-related total expenditure for net zero of £100-120bn for onshore transmission and £70-90bn for distribution network.
The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.
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, whether his Department has made an estimate of the percentage reduction in heat demand that household insulation measures will deliver on existing housing stock.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department publishes annual estimates of the impact of installing insulation measures through government schemes on domestic gas consumption in England and Wales.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps is he taking to support the steel industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Steel is a top priority for this Government. As shown with the passing of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, this Government will not hesitate to take unprecedented steps to safeguard the future of steelmaking in the UK, protecting jobs, national security and supply chains.
We have completed the roll out of the British Industry Supercharger, which from this month means our steel industry will save an estimated £320mn – £410mn this year. This is on top of continuing the network charging compensation scheme.
We have taken action to make public procurement of UK-made steel easier and increased support for businesses to report unfair international trade practices. We have continued to develop the policy and approach for the steel strategy.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much her Department has spent on keeping foreign nationals imprisoned in prisons in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category of prisons. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on GOV.UK alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts. Data on the number of Foreign National Offenders in custody is published in Offender Management Statistics quarterly on GOV.UK.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. The Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Between 5 July 2024 and 22 March 2025, 3,594 FNOs have been returned – 16% more than the 3,101 in the same period 12 months prior, under the previous government.
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, whether his Department is taking steps to help shorten waiting times for dementia diagnoses.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible.
We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. The Government is also committed to transforming diagnostic services, including the detection and diagnosis of dementia, and will support the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scanners.
The Dementia Care Pathway: Full Implementation Guidance, commissioned by NHS England, outlines the dementia care pathway and the associated benchmarks to support improvements in the delivery and quality of care and support. It showcases good-practice examples of services that have successfully reduced their waiting times. Further information is available at the following link:
To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, NHS England has developed a dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers of memory services with appropriate data and enable targeted support where needed.
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, whether his Department plans to provide additional support to carers of people with Parkinson’s disease.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need.
Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers and carers of people with Parkinson’s disease.
To support unpaid carers, on 7 April 2025 the Government increased the Carer's Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to £196, the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage. This represents the largest increase in the earnings limit since the Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976.
We are also providing support for unpaid carers. The Better Care Fund can be used for unpaid carer support, including short breaks and respite services for carers. The Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) has also provided a total of £42.6 million to support innovation and scaling in adult social care. More than half of the ARF projects are focused on identifying, recognising, and supporting unpaid carers.