Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average response time is for correspondence from members of the public and from Members of Parliament acting on behalf of their constituents; what targets are in place for responding to correspondence; and what steps the Department is taking to ensure that enquiries submitted via MPs’ offices are acknowledged and replied to promptly.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
MP enquiries continue to be treated as a matter of high priority. There is clear guidance avail-able to all staff regarding the expected timeframe for responding to enquiries from MPs, which is accessible via the Department’s intranet.
The Department for Work and Pensions aims to respond to MP enquiries within 15 working days. Where this is not feasible, such as in complex cases, the Department remains committed to providing a response at the earliest opportunity.
Higher volumes of MP enquiries combined with a rise in more complex complaints, which take longer to investigate, has caused some delays with our responses. We are in the process of recruiting more complaint handlers to reduce our response times.
Data on responses to correspondence from MPs is regularly published and can be found here:
Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and peers - GOV.UK
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the number of social rented homes built through the planning system in Bedford and in England over the past five years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The number of social rented homes delivered in each local planning authority through Section 106 agreements (S106) since 1991-92 is available in Live Table 1011, on gov.uk here.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 101017 on 6 January 2026 and UIN 107221 on 28 January 2026, and to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771) and 28 January 2026 (HCWS1283 and HCWS1286).
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 introduce a requirement for local planning authorities to include targets for social rented housing within their local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107221 on 28 January 2025.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend planning rules to include measures relating to the long-term stewardship and public accessibility of green spaces provided as part of residential development.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that local plans should make sufficient provision for green infrastructure, which is defined as a multifunctional network of green and blue spaces.
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes a proposed requirement for local plans to set standards for green infrastructure.
The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment has been made of the effectiveness of national planning policy in securing the long-term management and maintenance of public open spaces in residential developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes proposals relating to the provision of new or improved open space.
The consultation on changes to the NPPF is available on gov.uk here and will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026.
I also refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people who leave employment due to long-term health conditions or disability can access Employment and Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment without (a) delays and (b) repeated appeals.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to providing timely and accurate support to people whose ability to work is affected by long-term health conditions or disabilities through Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Anyone who claims ESA and PIP must satisfy the relevant conditions of entitlement, regardless of the circumstances in which the claim is made. Initial decisions on claims will be made without delay once all evidence needed is available.
Decisions are made within a statutory framework, which allows for revision within one month of notification, with extensions where reasonable. Decisions may also be revised or superseded where there has been official error, where new medical evidence is presented or where a customer has had a relevant change in circumstances. These provisions help ensure accurate decision making and reduce the need for repeated appeals.
We recognise that some customers have complex needs and may require additional support and reasonable adjustments, including adapted communication, additional time, and advocacy from representatives or appointees.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued on the consideration of occupational health reports when assessing claims for (a) Employment and Support Allowance and (b) Personal Independence Payment for people with cognitive or fluctuating conditions.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides comprehensive training and guidance for assessment providers and the health professionals (HPs) who carry out both Work Capability Assessments (WCA) in Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC), and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments. The WCA Handbook and the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide (PIPAG) sets out how HPs should evaluate all relevant evidence when assessing a claimant’s functional limitations against the respective criteria.
Both WCA and PIP assessments are functional assessments, focusing on the impact of health condition(s) or disability. HPs consider all available evidence. DWP decision makers give due consideration to all available evidence when making decisions on benefit entitlement, including the HP’s assessment report and any evidence provided by the individual, their GP or consultant, and anybody else that provides them with formal or informal support.
HPs receive training on cognitive and fluctuating conditions and how these might impact on how individuals perform the activities/descriptors which form the assessments.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has assessed the risks associated with holdings of United States Treasury securities; and what steps she is taking to manage prudential financial risk in relation to those holdings.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury works closely with the UK’s independent financial regulators, including the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority, to monitor risks to the UK financial system.
The results from the latest Bank of England Bank Capital Stress Tests from December 2025, indicate that major UK banks have the capacity to continue to support the economy through a stress scenario that incorporated a severe global aggregate supply shock, high advanced-economy inflation, higher global interest rates, deep and simultaneous recessions in the UK and global economies, with materially higher unemployment, and sharp falls in asset prices.
These results support the FPC’s judgement that banks’ current levels of capital are sufficient to support the real economy, even if economic, financial and business conditions became substantially worse than expected.
The Bank of England’s 2024 System Wide Exploratory Scenario also showed the system has an improved ability to absorb large price swings in assets, including sovereign bonds.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
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 merits of introducing a (a) tuition fee remission and (b) loan-forgiveness scheme for students who commit to a period of service in the NHS following graduation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no current plans to pay loan instalments for healthcare students or to write off student loan debt in exchange for service in the National Health Service.
The Government keeps the funding arrangements for students under close review and must make sure that finite financial resources are balanced with the level of support students require. This ensures that we make the best use of public funds to deliver value for money.
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.