Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she had made of the potential merits of using the Consumer Prices Index for the calculation of interest charges on students loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Interest rates on student loans have been consistently linked to a widely recognised and adopted measure of inflation. Interest rates are set in legislation in reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March and are applied annually on 1 September until 31 August.
The Office for National Statistics has undertaken a substantial programme of work over the past two years to enhance how inflation is measured and this will be carried over into student loans. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that from 2030 (at the earliest), movements in RPI will be aligned with The Consumer Prices Index as viewed here: https://obr.uk/box/the-long-run-difference-between-rpi-and-cpi-inflation/.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer to Question UIN 118386, answered on 11 March 2026, how many incidents of sewage discharges occurred in Sherwood Forest constituency in 2025; and which rivers and bodies of water were most affected.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Data for 2025 is not yet available. We expect this to be published by April 2026.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent senior Environment Agency staff from moving to roles in the private water industry after leaving their position.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
External Appointment Departure rules are in place to assess and manage this leaver risk. Employees must notify the Environment Agency (EA) of planned moves, enabling actual or perceived conflicts to be assessed and managed. During notice periods, the EA removes decision‑making powers and changes duties if actual or perceived conflicts are identified. Last year the EA strengthened its policy and now includes a provision for disclosure and conflict of interest management in senior contracts of employment.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide better access to historic data on sewage discharges.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is improving public access to information on sewage discharges.
Since Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) was introduced in 2015, water companies have progressively installed monitors on storm overflows. Coverage increased over time and reached 100% of storm overflows in England by the end of 2023. The Environment Agency has published annual EDM data on storm overflow spills since 2020, providing both national statistics and site level information.
To strengthen transparency further, the Environment Agency publishes water quality and effluent data through its online Water Quality Explorer. As part of the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, EDM data will be incorporated into this platform, enabling sewage discharge information to be accessed in a single place.
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 also requires water companies to install EDM monitors at 50% of emergency overflows by 2030 and at 100% by 2035. Discharges must be reported within one hour of the initial spill, with data subject to independent scrutiny by the water regulators.
Historic information prior to EDM installation is more limited and was not collected consistently. Available datasets continue to be published where they exist to support transparency and public scrutiny.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to stop Severn Trent Water from discharging sewage in Sherwood Forest constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 makes it a statutory requirement for all water companies to produce annual Pollution Incident Reduction Plans showing how they will meet our expectation of reducing pollution incidents by 40%.
Between 2025 and 2030, a historic amount, over £10 billion, is being invested in improving nearly 2,500 storm overflows in England, targeted at those affecting the most sensitive sites for ecological and human health.
To reduce spills from storm overflows in Sherwood Forest, Severn Trent is investing in its Storm Overflow Action Plan, which focuses on reducing rainwater entering sewers, increasing storage capacity and improving wastewater treatment.
All of the approximately 15,000 storm overflows in England are now monitored, with discharge data being published in near real time. The Environment Agency has asked companies to install new flow-to-full monitors at wastewater treatment works. to ensure that permit conditions are met during the sewage treatment process.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of sewage discharges occurred in Sherwood Forest constituency in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025; and which rivers and bodies of water were most affected.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2024, Severn Trent Water Limited reported 414 sewage spills through storm overflows from their permitted assets (sewage treatment works and combined sewer overflows) in the Sherwood Forest constituency.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
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 implications for his policies of the ruling over Paul versus Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has made on secondary victims of medical negligence.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has asked David Lock KC to look at the issue of secondary victims for maternity clinical negligence cases only. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
There are no plans to extend the scope of the work wider than maternity clinical negligence cases.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish revised guidance for Health Building Notes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have interpreted this question as asking when the Department plans to publish revised Health Building Notes (HBNs). HBNs are developed and published by the NHS England Estates division and are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates/health-building-notes/
Planned updates to these HBNs are based on their prioritisation related to identified changes in policy, regulation, technology, and clinical practice, as well as available resources. We are systematically updating these and working closely with specialists in the devolved administrations to progress updates to the HBNs and other guidance.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to allocate additional funding to improve accessibility at (a) playgrounds, (b) parks and (c) recreational facilities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Parks and recreational facilities are an essential part of local social infrastructure. They provide places for social connection, support health and wellbeing and increase community engagement. At Budget, the Chancellor announced £18 million of investment over two years to refurbish up to 200 playgrounds across England, helping to renew communities and advance the government’s Pride in Place commitment. We will announce how this funding will be allocated in due course.
Local authorities support adults and children to lead more active lives through access to public leisure services, green space, parks and playground spaces. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities and that procurement is up to the discretion of Local authorities rather than the government
In addition to this, the National Model Design Code provides a toolkit for planners in councils to produce local design codes that pay particular attention to inclusive design when developing places. This includes a specific reference to making play areas accessible and inclusive for all.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost of removing the three month waiting period for Child Disability Living Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no plans to remove the three month qualifying period for Child Disability Living Allowance and no estimate has been made of the cost of doing so. The three month qualifying period is not a waiting period. Its purpose is to help establish that the disability or health condition, and the resulting care, supervision or mobility needs are of a long-standing nature. This ensures that disability benefits are targeted to support those with long term health conditions or disabilities.
Children applying for DLA do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to the benefit. The case manager will always look at whether, and for how long, the person has required the necessary level of help for care and/or mobility purposes before the date of claim and consider whether some or all of the qualifying period has already been completed.
Children claiming DLA under the special rules for end of life do not have to satisfy the three month qualifying period. Their claim is fast tracked, and they are eligible for the higher-rate care component from the date of claim.