Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his department is taking to support local authorities in introducing Article 4 Directions to manage the number of Houses in Multiple Occupation in areas of high deprivation in the Medway area.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 9161 on 22 June 2026.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her department has allocated to further education and skills provision for Gillingham and Rainham in the current financial year; and what steps the Department are taking to improve qualification levels and employment outcomes for young people in that area.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
For the 2025/26 academic year, a total of £7.1 million has been allocated to five academies within the Gillingham and Rainham constituency, for the education of 16 to 19 students. This figure will increase to £7.9 million for the 2026/27 academic year, and includes funding for an additional academy, with new 16 to 19 provision.
In the 2025/26 academic year, of the funds allocated to further education institutions delivering within the Medway Local Authority area, we have released around £10 million for learners resident within Gillingham and Rainham constituency.
The government is seeking to improve qualification levels and employment outcomes for young people through reforms to post‑16 education and skills.
These include expanding technical and vocational education, strengthening apprenticeships and higher‑level technical training, and creating clearer pathways into skilled employment.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding is available to support the regeneration of high streets in towns such as Gillingham, and what steps his department is taking to support local authorities in reversing high street decline in their areas.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
This Government is working to help Gillingham and the wider Medway area thrive. Gilligham has received £20m of Pride in Place funding, out of £60m given to Medway Council. This comes alongside £1.5m of Pride in Place Impact Funding to support high street regeneration in Gillingham and Chatham.
The Government will bring forward a High Streets Strategy later this year backed by £301m, which includes funding for the Pride in Place Community Right to Buy Fund and High Street Rental Auctions. This will empower communities to take control of local assets and bring vacant properties back into use.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his department has made of trends in the level of child poverty in the Gillingham and Rainham constituency; and what steps his department is taking to reduce child poverty in that area.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Statistics on the number and proportion of children living in relative poverty, including in parliamentary constituencies, are published annually in the Children in low income families: local area statistics https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2022-to-2025.
Our Child Poverty Strategy sets out immediate action to reduce child poverty while delivering the foundations for long-term change. This includes removing the Universal Credit two-child limit, which is expected to lift 450,000 children out of relative poverty in the final year of this Parliament. Taken alongside other measures, including extending Free School Meals to all children in households in receipt of Universal Credit, the strategy will lift 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament, which is expected to lead to the largest reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.
The Strategy is supported by wider investment in families, including over £30 million for breakfast clubs, measures to cap branded school uniform costs, the introduction of Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, £600 million over three years for the Holiday Activities and Food programme, and expanded free childcare. We are also strengthening local efforts to tackle child poverty through community projects and family services, including the £500 million Better Futures Fund
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
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 adequacy of GP provision in Gillingham and Rainham; and what steps his department is taking to improve access to primary care services for residents in areas of higher deprivation within that area.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Gillingham and Rainham sits within NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board, where there was a 0.5% increase in general practice appointments in the 12-months to May 2026 compared to the previous year. In May 2026 there were a total of 1005 full-time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs), an increase from 933 in May 2025.
Kent and Medway ICB keeps GP provision under regular review, and as part of this has commissioned an independent review by the National Association of Primary Care into under-doctoring across the system. The review found that under-doctoring is not simply a numerical GP headcount issue, but a structural and geographically uneven capacity challenge shaped by clinical complexity, demographic pressure, workforce configuration, and changing professional expectations. It also found that some localities, including areas of higher deprivation, feel these impacts more.
In response to the review, the ICB is implementing a 24-month General Practice Improvement Plan, which will focus on improving access and responsiveness, strengthening practice resilience, supporting workforce stability and supervision, improving digital and telephony performance, reducing avoidable workload from primary-secondary care interface issues, and developing neighbourhood-based care models with general practice at their core.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) mental health and (b) long-term support is available for women living with the consequences of pelvic mesh injuries.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ongoing and deeply felt.
There are nine specialist mesh centres across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need.
The current service specification requirements include psychology services, which should be available. It also states that patients should be able to have follow up reviews for up to five years post-surgery. On discharge from the Specialised Mesh Service at five years, there will be clear instructions for the general practitioner to refer the person back if there are any new problems.
However, services can always improve. NHS England has now completed their internal audit of mesh centres across England conducted in 2025, which was designed in partnership with patient representatives. Though the audit is showing the value and impact of the service delivered by mesh centres, with nearly 3,000 patients now seen in the services since their introduction, equating to 700 per year, there are distinct areas for improvement and a timeline for these improvements will be made at pace.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government's timetable is for increasing defence spending to meet NATO commitments; and whether he is satisfied that current funding levels are sufficient to deter Russian aggression and maintain the UK's obligations to its allies.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government remains committed to spending 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2035, as agreed at the NATO summit last year.
As the third-largest financial contributor, and the only European Ally to commit our full nuclear deterrent to NATO, the United Kingdom already plays a central role across the Alliance.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the transfer of Southeastern to public ownership will improve service reliability at Gillingham and Rainham stations.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Southeastern has been in public ownership since Oct 2021. Overall, Southeastern is performing well above the industry average for both reliability and punctuality. In fact, they are currently ranked fourth out of 14 DfT managed train operators for both Cancellations and T-3 (% of the station stops within 3 minutes of scheduled time) and their latest results for both measures are up year-on-year, showing they are continuing to improve through initiatives across their network, including the routes serving Gillingham and Rainham, such as:
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the £2.5 billion social housing loan fund for 2026 to 2030 will benefit housing providers in Medway; and what steps are being taken to address homelessness in Gillingham and Rainham.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
To support the delivery of new social and affordable housing, the government will make available £2.5 billion in low interest loans to Private Registered Providers, with £1 billion available outside of London.
The loans will be made available via a competitive bidding process, following confirmation of initial grant allocations made through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
The government has set out its plans to address the root causes of homelessness, shift the system towards prevention, and tackle the worst forms of homelessness through the National Plan to End Homelessness, which can be found on gov.uk here.
This is backed by £3.6 billion funding from 2026/27 to 2028/29. Medway Council will receive £12 million through the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant.
Asked by: Naushabah Khan (Labour - Gillingham and Rainham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase police presence and reduce anti-social behaviour in town centres in Medway.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Act, we are rolling out new enhanced powers to enable local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour offenders. And our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee has ensured that every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead, and a local action plan in place to crack down on offenders who blight our communities.
We are also delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel into roles across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament As of 28 February 2026, Kent Police have grown by 71 (FTE) Neighbourhood since March 2025.
Every neighbourhood, including those in the Medway towns, has named, and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally and forces have increased patrols in town centres and other key locations based on local demand and intelligence.
Furthermore, the Safer Streets Summer Initiative ran from June the September last year. The core aim was to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), street crime and retail crime in Town Centres, and to increase confidence in policing through increased collaboration at a local level. Kent Police participated in the initiative with 15 locations, three of them in Medway covering Chatham, Brompton, and Rochester.