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 progress his Department has made in its review of how child maintenance is calculated.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has completed a review of the child maintenance calculation. This focused on ensuring the calculation strikes the right balance between both parents, encourages compliance, and secures more money for children.
Following the review, we plan to reduce the income tolerance used for reassessments from 25 per cent to 15 per cent and include unearned income within the standard calculation.
These changes will ensure that maintenance liabilities more accurately reflect parents' full financial circumstances and that, where parents receive income from sources other than PAYE earnings, such as rental income, investments, dividends or other unearned income, their children routinely benefit from it through child maintenance calculations.
Our priority is now to take forward these targeted changes, as part of our broader programme of reforms, at the earliest appropriate opportunity to deliver meaningful improvements for the families who rely on the child maintenance system.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the regulation of bailiffs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is strengthening the regulation of the private enforcement (bailiff) sector. On 28 August 2026, I announced our plans to amend the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014 so that enforcement agents may only obtain a certificate to practice if they work for a firm accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) or are accredited by the ECB themselves if operating independently.
In effect, this means all bailiffs will be under the oversight of the ECB. If they do not comply, they will not receive a license to operate.
This will ensure that all enforcement agents undertaking Taking Control of Goods activity are subject to consistent professional standards and oversight, and that those facing enforcement action are able to access an independent complaints process.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of pressures in general practice on levels of (a) patient safety, (b) GP burnout and (c) demand for urgent care services, NHS 111 and accident and emergency departments.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the 2026/27 GP Contract, changes were introduced to strengthen expectations around access to same-day assessment and management of urgent patient needs, helping practices ensure patients with urgent clinical needs can be assessed and directed to the most appropriate care in a timely way.
NHS England's Primary Care Patient Safety Strategy supports improvement through implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), learning from patient safety incidents, development of a patient safety culture, and support for safer systems of working across primary care. NHS England also continues to support initiatives intended to reduce pressure across care pathways and improve patient access to appropriate services, recognising that system pressures can affect quality and safety across the National Health Service.
Additionally, the Department commissions the periodic National GP Worklife Survey to understand general practitioners’ (GPs) experiences at work and to help inform policymaking.
NHS England undertakes significant work regarding anticipated demand on NHS 111 services. This is based on a review of historical and current demand, using data on calls received over a rolling six-week period. The commissioning and provision of these NHS 111 services is the responsibility of integrated care boards.
Limitations of data capture in primary care and different models of delivery mean that there is no real time measure of primary care pressures and these may be variable across a provider area. NHS 111 providers rapidly flex resources, when possible, when demand deviates from forecasted demand.
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 discussions she has had with representatives of general practice regarding the objectives set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, including on achieving increased focus on prevention and continuity of care, in the context of levels of funding and workforce capacity in general practice.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practitioners (GPs), and their representative groups, were consulted during the preparation of the 10-Year Health Plan, and we will continue to work with them closely to address any issues arising during its implementation, including during the annual GP Contract consultation.
We are investing £601 million in GPs in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to £14 billion. This builds on last year’s £1.1 billion of investment. This uplift represents a 4.5% cash increase, or 2.2% real terms increase, and includes the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration recommended pay increase of 3.5%.
Thanks to actions taken by the Government, we have the highest number of fully qualified GPs since 2015, and steps are being taken to grow the GP workforce further. In July 2024, there were 27,735 fully qualified full-time-equivalent GPs, and as of July 2026, there are 30,218, which is over 2,400 more GPs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of (a) the adequacy of the manner in which international travel risks are assessed for repeat or high-risk sexual offenders, and (b) whether existing travel notification and restriction measures are sufficient to protect the public.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps the management of travel-related risks posed by registered sex offenders (RSOs) under review. International travel risks are assessed through established offender management arrangements, including Active Risk Management System (ARMS) assessments, which inform the level of monitoring and international information sharing undertaken. RSOs are required to notify the police of foreign travel in advance, and information relating to higher-risk offenders may be shared by the National Crime Agency with overseas partners through Interpol channels.
The police have robust measures available to protect the public from sexual harm posed by convicted offenders and by individuals who have not been convicted, but who nevertheless pose a risk of sexual harm. This includes through Sexual Harm Prevention Orders and Sexual Risk Orders which can impose restrictions and/or requirements on individuals depending on the nature of the case, such as preventing travel abroad. For both, breach is a criminal offence. The Government is also continuing to strengthen the management of RSOs through measures in the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding improvements to their quality of service and reliability.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 2026/27, show an improvement.
Royal Mail has also published a quality of service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.
Ministers will continue to press Royal Mail for improvements in quality of service and reliability.
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, (a) what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations of the Fuller Inquiry, particularly in relation to a statutory regulatory scheme for funeral directors; and (b) what consideration has been given to the potential merits of requiring that individuals working with the deceased in funeral homes and other non-NHS settings be subject to a DBS check or similar vetting procedure.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 1 September, available at the following link:
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-09-01/hcws295
We will provide further updates in due course, including on progress in implementing the recommendations in the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report.
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 her department is taking to provide more British Sign Language interpreters in emergency care settings.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL) can access health services safely and without avoidable barriers.
In June 2026, the Government announced plans to significantly increase the number of interpreters for deafblind people through the funding of interpreter competency sessions.
Under the Equality Act 2010, National Health Service organisations must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, including providing appropriate communication support where required.
NHS organisations are also expected to comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which requires providers to identify and meet patients' information and communication needs, including those of people who use BSL. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and staff engagement.
NHS England is also rolling out the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag, which will enable health and care services to record and share information about support patients may require when accessing care.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (a) what assessment she has made of the potential impact of HMRC’s proposals for more timely payments in Income Tax Self-Assessment on taxpayers with variable incomes, including sole traders and freelancers; and (b) what safeguards will be put in place to prevent cash-flow difficulties arising from overestimated tax liabilities.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced more timely payments for Income Tax Self Assessment and committed to developing the policy with stakeholders through a public consultation. The consultation closed on 4th August 2026 and responses are being analysed.
The Budget 2025 announcement followed the usual tax policy-making process, including consideration of impacts on customers with variable incomes.
The government is carefully analysing consultation responses and any potential safeguards to ensure appropriate support is available for affected customers.
Future impacting based on the evidence of the consultation will be carried out by the government as usual as part of any future Budget announcements.
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 potential impact of removing Level 5 and Level 6 leadership and management apprenticeships from levy funding on social mobility.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer of 20 April 2026 to Question UIN 126931.