Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the recommendation on page 45 of the Foreign Affairs Committee's report, Tilting horizons: the Integrated Review and the Indo-Pacific (HC 172, Session 2022–23), what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing an A-level in Chinese Ancient Civilisation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has no current plans to introduce an A level in Chinese Ancient Civilisation. There is scope for Chinese civilisation to be covered in the A level subject content for history, depending on the awarding body specification taught.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what performance data her department holds for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder services covering the years 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26 in respect of (a) the total number of referrals per month; (b) the total number of patients on the waiting list per month; (c) the average waiting time from referral to assessment appointment; (d) the average waiting time between assessment appointment and initiation of treatment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested information is not held in the format requested.
For Early Intervention in Psychosis services, NHS England publishes rolling quarterly data as part of the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, available at the following link:
For NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, NHS England publishes monthly statistics and annual data, which are available via the following link:
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what performance data her department holds for NHS Talking Therapies, for anxiety and depression services covering the years 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26 in respect of (a) the total number of referrals per month; (b) the total number of patients on the waiting list per month; (c) the average waiting time from referral to assessment appointment; (d) the average waiting time between assessment appointment and initiation of treatment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested information is not held in the format requested.
For Early Intervention in Psychosis services, NHS England publishes rolling quarterly data as part of the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, available at the following link:
For NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, NHS England publishes monthly statistics and annual data, which are available via the following link:
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what performance data her department holds for Early Intervention of Psychosis services covering the years 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26 in respect of (a) the total number of referrals per month; (b) the total number of patients on the waiting list per month; (c) the average waiting time from referral to assessment appointment; (d) the average waiting time between assessment appointment and initiation of treatment.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested information is not held in the format requested.
For Early Intervention in Psychosis services, NHS England publishes rolling quarterly data as part of the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, available at the following link:
For NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression, NHS England publishes monthly statistics and annual data, which are available via the following link:
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of inactivity, defined as less than 30 minutes activity per day, on the mental health of 11 to 16 year olds in England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no such assessment has been made by the Department, Sport England has published data indicating that mental wellbeing is lower for children aged seven to 16 years old who are less active when compared to more active children.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2026 to question 35911, what the cost per grade was of settling legal actions arising out of the dismissal of Senior Civil Servants in Grades (a) 5, (b) 6 and (c) 7 in (i) 2024, (ii) 2025 and (iii) 2026 to date broken down into (A) legal costs incurred and (B) compensation paid.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The Department does not disclose information where the numbers involved are sufficiently small that publication could lead to the identification of individual human resources (HR) cases.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her department will publish their Transport Resilience Strategy.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises the importance of a secure and resilient transport system. As set out in the National Resilience: Annual Statement on 14 July 2026, the government will publish a Transport Resilience Strategy before the end of this (calendar) year. The strategy will set out how we will work across the transport sector to increase resilience to the wide range of risks we face, so that disruption is reduced and the everyday experience of people and businesses who use the transport network is improved.
The department is already taking forward work to strengthen transport resilience, including through the Climate Adaptation Strategy for Transport and work to improve understanding of cross-sector interdependencies and single points of failure across the transport network.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when her department will publish their Energy Resilience Strategy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has been working closely with industry, the National Energy System Operator, and the regulator to develop the Energy Resilience Strategy to ensure it is comprehensive, robust and reflects the range of risks and opportunities facing the energy system. We expect to publish the strategy by the end of 2026.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether her Department holds information on the (a) number and (b) value of exit payments made under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme by Departments since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departmental exit numbers and overall cost are published on GOV.UK as part of the annual Civil Service statistics: 2026, and within each individual department’s annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Understanding behaviours and expectations in the UK: a guide for asylum seekers, published on 19 August 2026, the total number of copies of the publication that have been distributed to date; and the total cost of producing and publishing the publication to date.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
No physical materials have been printed, ordered or distributed and therefore no distribution costs have been incurred.
The total cost of the development of the posters and the leaflets was £21,635.