Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including guidance on the role of internal audit in providing independent assurance on telecommunications security risks, in the context of the review of the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of governance arrangements for broadband providers regulated by Ofcom, in the context of the open letter from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors to Ofcom of 1 August 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will support Ofcom in developing best practice guidance for telecoms companies on (a) board leadership, (b) governance and (c) the role of internal audit in managing cyber and data security risks.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of major broadband providers not having internal audit functions on (a) risk management and (b) cybersecurity governance .
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the financial health of the market under close review and Ofcom have powers to request financial information from providers. The Telecommunications Security Code of Practice provides guidance on how communications providers can meet statutory requirements to secure their networks and services. These include requirements on auditing, governance and board responsibilities. Ofcom monitor and enforce compliance with these requirements. Following detailed engagement with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Ofcom and communications providers, the Government have launched a public consultation on proposed updates to the Code, which is open until 22 October.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the affordability of ground rents in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details on our detailed plans for existing ground rents in due course.
Data on ground rents is collected as part of the English Housing Survey and published in the leasehold experience fact sheet. The latest publication found that 77% of leaseholders currently pay a ground rent with an average ground rent of £304. This publication includes information on ground rents by region.
High ground rents which escalate rapidly create affordability issues both directly through the increased cost leaseholders face by also by making it harder for leaseholders to mortgage or sell their properties. In a 2023 survey undertaken by Propertymark, a leading membership body for property agents, 78 per cent of their members reported that a leasehold property with an escalating ground rent will struggle to sell, even if priced correctly.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 potential impact of the 10 Year Health Plan on people experiencing multiple forms of (a) social and (b) economic exclusion.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Social justice runs through our 10-Year Health Plan, which sets out a reimagined service designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as to give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with it on their own terms. We know everyday life poses greater health risks to the most disadvantaged in society, and that the current model of care works least well for those who already experience disadvantage and are far more likely to have complex needs.
We have undertaken an impact statement and an equalities impact assessment for the 10-Year Health Plan and these will be published shortly.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of people waited less than 6 weeks for their first treatment for talking therapies in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) North Tyneside in May 2025; and if he will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of first treatments were (i) a session with a therapist and (ii) guided self-help.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of referrals to NHS Talking Therapies with their first treatment in May 2025, and the number and percentage of referrals with first treatment within six weeks of the referral being received, for Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside:
Local authority | All referrals with first treatment in May 2025 | Referrals with first treatment within six weeks of referral being received | |
Number of referrals | Number of referrals | Percentage of total | |
Newcastle upon Tyne | 555 | 515 | 93% |
North Tyneside | 320 | 305 | 95% |
Source: NHS Talking Therapies dataset, NHS England.
In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of these referrals by the specific therapy provided, in total and as a percentage of total referrals:
All referrals with first treatment in May 2025 | Referrals with first treatment with therapist | Referrals with first treatment of guided self help | |||
Local authority | Number of referrals | Number of referrals | Percentage of total | Number of referrals | Percentage of total |
Newcastle upon Tyne | 555 | 545 | 98% | 10 | 2% |
North Tyneside | 320 | 130 | 40% | 190 | 60% |
Source: NHS Talking Therapies dataset, NHS England
Notes:
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 10 July 2025 to Question 62460 on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services, whether a date has been set for the showcase event for post-acute infection conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A provisional date of 6 November 2025 has been set for the showcase event for post-acute infection conditions. The event looks to encourage researchers to join the myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID research field, to enable new collaborations across specialties and disciplines to stimulate further vital research.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 potential impact of the 10 Year Health Plan on victims of (a) modern slavery and (b) human trafficking.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
When developing the 10-Year Health Plan, workshops were held for people experiencing multiple forms of social and economic exclusion played a large part in it, including victims of modern slavery.
As part of the recommendations from the review into modern slavery risk in NHS supply chains in December 2023, it was recommended to lay regulations with a view to eradicate modern slavery, supporting the amendment of Section 12zc in the NHS Act 2006.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England in collaboration have developed detailed guidance to support the embedding of the regulations and policies throughout a procurement exercise. This ensures alignment of procurements conducted under all legal regimes including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023 and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
A public consultation for the content and approach of those regulations was launched in Autumn 2024. A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) was laid in both Houses of Parliament on 21 November 2024 to launch the consultation, and is available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-11-21/hcws245.
As set out in the WMS, the draft regulations and guidance were published alongside the consultation. The consultation closed in February 2025 and the Department published a consultation report in June, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-proposed-regulations-and-guidance/outcome/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-government-response. It is planned to lay the regulations in the autumn, to come into force in the spring/summer of 2026.
The published guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-proposed-regulations-and-guidance. This refers to a risk assessment tool that NHS England have developed based on the six characteristics to help assess modern slavery risks as set out in the Public Procurement Policy Note on identifying and managing modern slavery risks. These are: industry type; nature of the workforce; supplier location; context in which the supplier operates; commodity type; and business/supply chain model.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
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 equitable (a) access to long covid services, (b) care outcomes and (c) patient experience for people with long covid.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Since April 2024, the commissioning of post-COVID, or long COVID, services have been the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), following the closure of the national post-COVID programme.
ICBs are responsible for commissioning specialist services for long COVID that meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding. In the commissioning of services, commissioners should take account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, commissioning guidance, and other best practice.
NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-COVID services, which sets out the commissioning, service requirements, and oversight of post-COVID services by ICBs in England for adults, and children and young people. It outlines the elements that post-COVID services should include and the principles of care for long COVID. The guidance also sets out that a proportion of long COVID services funding should be allocated to tackling health inequalities. The commissioning guidance is available at the following link: