Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of maintaining levels of funding commitment to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to tackling global health challenges and will continue to work with all international partners towards the collective goal of a healthier, safer and more prosperous world. We have long been a strong supporter of the Global Fund and are proud to be co-hosting the 8th replenishment this year in partnership with South Africa. Over the coming months, we will work through decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used, and the impact on specific programmes, informed by internal and external consultation and impact assessments.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote (a) the sexual and reproductive health and rights and (b) other rights of women and girls globally.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are strongly committed to standing up for the rights of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). We are proud of the UK's long history as an influential global leader on gender equality and SRHR. We will continue to use our diplomacy with partners to defend and champion these fundamental rights in international fora. We will also make strategic use of our funds and technical partnerships.
For example, in December 2024, the Prime Minister announced the Grassroots and Counter Rollback programme. This strengthens local and national civil society organisations' and movements' ability to expand access to SRHR and counter rollback. It focuses on neglected issues, including safe abortion, and marginalised groups whose rights and access to services are denied or being attacked. As the largest donor to the UNFPA Supplies Partnership (£60 million in 2024), the UK continues to ensure SRHR commodities reach where they are needed most.
On International Women's Day, I appointed Harriet Harman to be the new UK Special Envoy on Women and Girls, progressing our foreign policy and development objectives to protect women and girls' rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, access to education and freedom from gender-based violence. Following this appointment, she spoke at a UK co-hosted event at the Commission on the Status of Women to galvanise renewed action to end child marriage. She also launched a Signature Initiative to champion the vital role of women's rights organisations and drive a focus on supporting them across our policy and programming.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will continue funding the Women’s Integrated Sexual Health Programme, implemented by MSI Reproductive Choices and IPPF.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is proud to defend and promote universal and comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Official Development Assistance (ODA) is one of multiple levers to achieve this. Over the coming months, we will work through how the ODA budget will be used in future years, informed by internal and external consultation and consideration of equalities impact assessments ahead of making decisions on budgets for individual programmes in the autumn.
The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA requires significant shifts in the shape and scale of the work we do. However, we will continue to work with international and national partners and use targeted funding, technical partnership and diplomatic engagement to provide leadership on SRHR.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
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 community provision of palliative care in Stafford constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs, including the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, which covers the Stafford constituency, are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
As set out in the Government’s recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we are determined to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative care and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.
The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that, in future, services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining how to operationalise the required shifts in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms are in place to (a) monitor and (b) hold accountable (i) CAFCASS and (ii) family courts in private law proceedings where safeguarding concerns for children are identified; and what procedures there are to ensure action is taken in cases involving known risks to prevent serious harm.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As a Non-Departmental Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the oversight and assurance arrangements for Cafcass are carried out in accordance with the Arms-Length Body Code of Practice. Specific areas of oversight are also covered in the Framework Document between the Ministry of Justice and Cafcass, which broadly sets out sponsorship governance arrangements, financial management and performance reporting. Cafcass is subject to regular inspection by Ofsted. The most recent inspection took place in January 2024 and key findings are available here.
The judiciary is independent, and the Government therefore does not hold them to account, however support is available in the family courts where safeguarding concerns are identified and to ensure that action is taken to protect children.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2024 to Question 11995 on Park Homes: Sales, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the 10 percent commission on the sale of park homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44299 on 16 April 2025.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her plan is for the next phase of free breakfast club provision in primary schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to delivering on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.
From the start of the summer term, we have funded 750 schools to deliver a free breakfast club as early adopters.
We are currently working through the outcomes of the latest spending review and the departmental business planning processes. Further details will follow in due course, including the timing of national rollout and the details of funding and support for schools.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what correspondence her Department has had with Fenland District Council on their decision not to permit the passage of the Terra Marique barge on the River Nene between Sutton Bridge and Wisbech.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department sought clarification from Fenland District Council of its decision not to permit passage, and the Council confirmed that its decision had been made on the basis of a risk assessment by qualified advisers. The Department remains committed to its ‘water-preferred’ abnormal load movement policy.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on tackling online misogynistic radicalisation.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling misogyny, both online and offline, is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade and we will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published this year. I have regularly engaged with VAWG stakeholders to help inform this work and held a roundtable on technological harms.
Asked by: Leigh Ingham (Labour - Stafford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of male GCSE attainment in Stafford constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Data is available at Staffordshire local authority level, and shows that 36.3% of boys achieved grade 5 or above in English and mathematics GCSE in 2024, down from 37.2% in 2023. Attainment 8 for boys in 2024 was 41.0, down from 41.9 in 2023.
Through the department’s work to deliver the Opportunity Mission, we will improve opportunities and life chances across the country for all children and young people.
High and rising standards are the key to strengthening outcomes and closing gaps for every child and young person no matter who they are or their background, helping them to achieve and thrive.
The department will deliver this through excellent teaching and leaders, a high quality curriculum, strong accountability with faster school improvement and an inclusive system which removes the barriers to learning.
The department’s new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams are designed to accelerate improvement in education standards across England by providing targeted interventions as well as universal support to all schools. RISE teams will be working with Staffordshire County Council and local multi-academy trusts in the county to develop the RISE Regional Plan to address gaps in attainment.