Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help reduce waiting times for complaints and enquiries to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While DSIT acts as the ICO’s sponsor department within government, it is an independent regulator and accountable to Parliament.
To address their backlog, the ICO has introduced a new data protection complaints framework that sets out how it assesses and prioritises each case and determines the extent to which it is appropriate to investigate. This approach is designed to help the ICO focus its resources on the most serious issues and provide more timely outcomes. The framework can be viewed at: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-framework/.
From 19 June 2026 when relevant provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 come into force, controllers will also be required to have a process in place to acknowledge data protection complaints from members of the public within a month of receipt and respond to the complaint without undue delay. If complaints are dealt with effectively by organisations, this will further reduce pressure on ICO’s resources.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consultation his Department held with patients, carers, NHS staff and voluntary sector organisations before bringing forward the Health Bill.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health Bill gives effect to the Prime Minister’s March 2025 commitment to abolish NHS England, as well as reforms and recommendations set out in the 10-Year Health Plan and Dr Penny Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, both published in July 2025. There was significant public, stakeholder, and workforce engagement during the development of 10-Year Health Plan. In addition, Dr Dash engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including patients and user groups, commissioners, and providers of health and social care, and people who have been harmed by poor-quality care.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department will take to ensure the independent oversight of complaints and safeguarding concerns under the reforms proposed in the Health Bill.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The independent oversight of complaints will continue. The independent Care Quality Commission will continue to perform its important role in ensuring National Health Service providers have an effective and accessible system for handling complaints from service users.
Statutory safeguarding concerns will continue to be managed through the safeguarding accountability and assurance framework, which sets outs the safeguarding roles and responsibilities of all individuals working in providers of NHS-funded care settings and NHS commissioning organisations. Oversight will continue to be provided by the regional safeguarding team and Regional Chief Nurse.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of whether the FCA’s supervisory actions prior to the collapse of Hartley Pensions were sufficient to protect SIPP holders.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Hartley Pensions is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is responsible for supervising firms and protecting consumers. The FCA imposed requirements on the firm prior to its failure, as soon as it became aware of operational, financial and regulatory issues. In July 2022 the FCA requested that the firm enter administration in the interests of clients. FCA supervisory action in relation to this case is ongoing.
HMT works closely with the FCA to monitor the sector and address emerging risks.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory classification of melatonin in the UK compared with other countries.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not undertaken a formal assessment comparing the United Kingdom’s prescription-only classification of melatonin with its status in other countries. In the UK, melatonin is regulated as a prescription only medicine. Decisions on how medicines are classified are made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) upon receipt of an application from a company, in accordance with the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. This process considers each medicine’s safety profile, effectiveness, and whether it can be used without medical supervision.
Other countries may allow melatonin to be sold over-the-counter or as a supplement, for example in the United States. Such differences reflect varying regulatory frameworks and healthcare contexts internationally.
The UK remains responsive to new evidence, and the MHRA will continue to consider any well-founded applications to reclassify melatonin or similar products, ensuring that patient safety and clinical benefit remain paramount.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 issue updated guidance to local authorities on minimum contact standards for adult social care front-door services, including call handling, voicemail and email triage; and whether local authorities will be required to publish performance metrics.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including local authorities’ front doors. The assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for improvement, facilitating the sharing of good practice and helping us to target support where it is most needed. Reports are made available on CQC’s website at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports
Many local authorities are modernising their adult social care front door services, improving their websites and introducing digital self-service tools, integrating with health services and empowering residents to manage their care needs online, thereby reducing the time taken to access essential information and freeing up capacity to deliver timely assessment.
We are working with People with Lived Experience and the sector to test how the Government can support these efforts to improve people’s experience of navigating adult social care at the front door. Next, we will prototype national online information and advice to help people access basic information more easily and reduce avoidable demand on local authority front doors.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if HMRC will publish the value‑for‑money assessments underpinning its use of Managed Service Providers for customer contact services.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s use of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) is not primarily driven by cost savings. HMRC uses MSPs to support the delivery of flexible and reliable customer service for taxpayers.
All HMRC activity is assessed for value for money using standard Civil Service approaches. These assessments are not typically published.
MSPs form an important part of HMRC’s overall resourcing model. As with many other government departments, they help HMRC maintain consistent customer service while providing flexibility that cannot be easily achieved through a single, fixed internal workforce.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans HMRC has to reduce its use of Managed Service Providers for customer contact services.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s use of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) is not primarily driven by cost savings. HMRC uses MSPs to support the delivery of flexible and reliable customer service for taxpayers.
All HMRC activity is assessed for value for money using standard Civil Service approaches. These assessments are not typically published.
MSPs form an important part of HMRC’s overall resourcing model. As with many other government departments, they help HMRC maintain consistent customer service while providing flexibility that cannot be easily achieved through a single, fixed internal workforce.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 the mental health and wellbeing of midwives in the NHS, including access to occupational mental health services, support after traumatic experiences in maternity care, and measures to reduce burnout and stress in maternity services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health and wellbeing of all National Health Service staff is a top priority, and we are working to improve the support available to staff. NHS organisations have a responsibility to create supportive working environments for their staff, including access to high quality health and wellbeing support, occupational health provision, employee support programmes, and a focus on healthy working environments.
At a national level, NHS staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health and wellbeing support, including trauma and addiction.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will shortly introduce a set of staff standards for NHS staff, covering issues such as working healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will focus on making sure staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to publish the outcome of the consultation on a private parking code of practice.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government intends to lay the Private Parking Code of Practice in Parliament in autumn 2026 and will publish its consultation response at the same time.