Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to implement early identification models in schools to (a) identify and (b) help those at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to getting back on track to ending homelessness and is open to innovative solutions to do this.
Preventing homelessness is critical to getting back on track to ending homelessness. Our upcoming cross-Government homelessness strategy will put prevention at its core and set a clear vision for tackling homelessness.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing ringfenced funding for school counselling services.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
School-based counselling services can play an important role in supporting pupil mental wellbeing, and many schools already provide access to counselling support.
However, counselling is not suitable for all needs, and many pupils benefit from other in-school support, including from trained pastoral staff, NHS-funded mental health support teams, school nurses, educational psychologists and other professionals. It is important that schools retain the freedom to decide what pastoral support to offer pupils based on their specific needs, making the best use of their funding. School funding increased by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, taking total core school funding to £65.3 billion.
The government has also committed to provide access to mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of whether the membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board includes adequate expertise in (a) public health, (b) nutrition, (c) environmental science, (d) climate policy and (e) sustainable farming.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Food Strategy Advisory Board is a deliberately small group of senior leaders who represent a wealth of experience and important elements within the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. The Board’s role is to provide independent advice to support the development of the food strategy. Appointments are considered in terms of the collective insight they bring to national food policy. We keep membership under review to ensure representation from throughout the food sector and the necessary expertise.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will require local authorities to consider the needs of young people as a specific group in their local housing needs assessments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework already makes clear that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community and plan accordingly. These groups should include, but are not limited to, those who require affordable housing, families with children, looked after children, students, and people who rent their homes.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2025 to Question 69086 on Armed Conflict: Children, whether her Department has had discussions with stakeholders on the potentials merits of a children in conflict strategy.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is deeply concerned about the worsening situation for children in conflicts around the world. We continue to call on all parties to armed conflict to immediately end and prevent grave violations against children and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect children. We will also continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders including civil society, the Untied Nations, international organisations and overseas partners to develop the most effective policy responses to the issues around children in conflict.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department a) has recently made and b) plans to make changes to the eligibility criteria for Disabled Students Allowance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not recently made changes to the eligibility criteria for Disabled Students’ Allowance and has no current plans to do so.
As part of wider reforms set out in the government’s post-16 education and skills white paper, the department is committed to improving access and support for all students in higher education, including those with disabilities.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Universal Credit taper in incentivising part-time work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The taper rate aims to make customers financially better off in work by ensuring that their Universal Credit award is reduced by less than their earned income.
Universal Credit has a single taper rate of 55% and some customers will also benefit from a work allowance which is the amount someone can earn before their Universal Credit award starts to reduce.
Once a customer is earning more than their work allowance (if applicable), their Universal Credit starts to be reduced at a consistent rate.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 increase access to specialist wheelchairs for children in Nottingham East constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, and responsibility for providing disabled children’s equipment would typically fall to the National Health Service and local authorities.
NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, with the aim of supporting improvements where required. Further information can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/national-wheelchair
NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving intervention and equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025 which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/
The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB is actively working to ensure equitable access to specialist wheelchair services across the region, including Nottingham City and South Nottinghamshire. This is being pursued through:
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the obstacles working class people face to working in the film and television sectors.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. The sector’s skilled and dynamic workforce is one of its key strengths, but more work still needs to be done so that, regardless of their background, people feel that a creative career is an option for them.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we are supporting creative apprenticeships and providing funding for partners including Screenskills and the BFI Film Academy to open pathways for young people, in particular those from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million Creative Careers Service, which aims to build awareness of creative careers and provide specialist advice with a particular focus on priority areas where children face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities.
In film and TV specifically, we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan that we will be investing £75 million in the UK’s film and TV industry over the next three years. This includes support for the next generation of filmmakers.
The Government is pleased to see industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity in the creative industries such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A creative career should never be the preserve of a privileged few. The sector’s skilled and dynamic workforce is one of its key strengths, but more work still needs to be done so that, regardless of their background, people feel that a creative career is an option for them.
Making creative careers accessible for everyone is a key priority for the Government. That is why we are supporting creative apprenticeships and providing funding for partners including Screenskills and the BFI Film Academy to open pathways for young people, in particular those from underrepresented backgrounds.
The Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) is working with industry to deliver a UK-wide £9 million Creative Careers Service, which aims to build awareness of creative careers and provide specialist advice with a particular focus on priority areas where children face the greatest barriers to accessing creative opportunities.
In film and TV specifically, we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan that we will be investing £75 million in the UK’s film and TV industry over the next three years. This includes support for the next generation of filmmakers.
The Government is pleased to see industry initiatives to monitor and improve diversity in the creative industries such as Project Diamond and the TV Access Project. However, there clearly remains work to do and we want to see stronger efforts from industry to improve socio-economic diversity and representation in the creative industries.