Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support and identify Universal Credit recipients with dual or multiple exceptionalities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department recognises that some Universal Credit (UC) claimants experience multiple or complex needs, which can make it more difficult for them to access and manage their claim or to move towards work.

To identify such claimants, DWP colleagues are trained to recognise indicators of vulnerability through claimant interactions, behaviours and information provided during the claim process. Work Coaches and specialist staff are supported by training, guidance and internal expert roles to ensure claimants with complex needs receive an appropriate and personalised service, with safeguarding considerations applied where necessary.

Any additional support needs are recorded on the UC system to ensure they are consistently recognised and acted upon.

Where multiple needs are identified, tailored support is put in place according to individual circumstances. This can include:

• additional time and flexibility in meeting requirements;
• alternative communication channels, including telephone or face‑to‑face support;
• home visits for those unable to engage through standard routes; and
• referrals to specialist support, including third‑party organisations where appropriate.

In addition, wider support is available through services such as Help to Claim and through adjustments to UC processes to ensure that those with health conditions or disabilities receive the financial support and work‑related requirements appropriate to their capability.

The Department continues to review and strengthen its approach to identifying and supporting vulnerable claimants, including those with multiple needs, to ensure they can access UC and receive the support to which they are entitled.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to (a) collect and (b) publish data on the number of people whose work capability is affected by (i) migraine and (ii) related headache disorders.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does collect data on people whose work capability is affected by (i) migraine and (ii) related headache disorders. We publish WCA health conditions outcomes data by ICD10 summary groups because people may have multiple conditions within each summary group. Therefore, only the summary group is retained for publication purposes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has for improving provision for people with eating disorders.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has recently updated guidance for children and young people’s eating disorder services, strengthening early identification and ensuring care is joined up across schools, primary care, and specialist services, with faster access to treatment where an eating disorder is suspected.

NHS England expects to publish the Mental Health Personalised Care Framework shortly. The mental health personalised care framework sets out the approach and related principles and actions for delivering personalised care for adults and older people with severe mental health problems.

In addition, a modern service framework for severe mental illness, including eating disorders, is being developed to improve the quality and consistency of care across the whole pathway.

As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England has established 15 Adult Eating Disorder Provider Collaboratives across England to oversee specialised adult eating disorder services. In addition to delivering inpatient care, these collaboratives are supporting the development of intensive community and day treatment models, helping more people receive care closer to home where clinically appropriate and reducing reliance on inpatient admission and geographical variation, while implementing improved processes supporting earlier discharge from hospital.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made for the implications for her policies of recent bans on male chick culling in (a) Germany, (b) France and (c) Austria.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

The Government is aware of the strong public feeling on the culling of male chicks. The Animal Welfare Strategy for England, published in December 2025, sets out that the Government would like to see an end to the practice of killing day-old chicks and is committed to encouraging industry to end the practice. The Government pays close attention to international precedent when formulating its policies.

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 potential impact of delayed migraine diagnosis on patient outcomes.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises that delays in diagnosis and treatment can affect individuals’ quality of life and may lead to greater symptom burden and wider impacts on education, employment, and wellbeing.

Clinical management of migraine is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which has published guidance on the diagnosis and management of headaches. This guidance helps clinicians to diagnose migraine more promptly and to provide appropriate acute and preventive treatments based on individual clinical need.

NHS England is supporting improvements in migraine care through national programmes such as the RightCare headache and migraine toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time neurology programme. These initiatives are focused on reducing unwarranted variation in care, improving diagnostic accuracy, particularly in primary care, and ensuring patients can access specialist services where appropriate.

Responsibility for commissioning migraine services rests with integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan and deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. This includes access to primary care, specialist neurology services, and newer treatments where clinically indicated.

There are currently no plans to establish a national champion for migraine. The Department continues to engage with NHS England, clinical experts, and patient groups to understand the challenges faced by those living with migraine and to consider how services and support can be improved.

More broadly, the Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people with long-term conditions through ongoing system reform, workforce expansion, and a focus on earlier diagnosis and better community-based care.

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 improve the time and accuracy of migraine diagnosis in primary care.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises that delays in diagnosis and treatment can affect individuals’ quality of life and may lead to greater symptom burden and wider impacts on education, employment, and wellbeing.

Clinical management of migraine is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which has published guidance on the diagnosis and management of headaches. This guidance helps clinicians to diagnose migraine more promptly and to provide appropriate acute and preventive treatments based on individual clinical need.

NHS England is supporting improvements in migraine care through national programmes such as the RightCare headache and migraine toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time neurology programme. These initiatives are focused on reducing unwarranted variation in care, improving diagnostic accuracy, particularly in primary care, and ensuring patients can access specialist services where appropriate.

Responsibility for commissioning migraine services rests with integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan and deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. This includes access to primary care, specialist neurology services, and newer treatments where clinically indicated.

There are currently no plans to establish a national champion for migraine. The Department continues to engage with NHS England, clinical experts, and patient groups to understand the challenges faced by those living with migraine and to consider how services and support can be improved.

More broadly, the Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people with long-term conditions through ongoing system reform, workforce expansion, and a focus on earlier diagnosis and better community-based care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered creating a national champion for migraine.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises that delays in diagnosis and treatment can affect individuals’ quality of life and may lead to greater symptom burden and wider impacts on education, employment, and wellbeing.

Clinical management of migraine is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which has published guidance on the diagnosis and management of headaches. This guidance helps clinicians to diagnose migraine more promptly and to provide appropriate acute and preventive treatments based on individual clinical need.

NHS England is supporting improvements in migraine care through national programmes such as the RightCare headache and migraine toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time neurology programme. These initiatives are focused on reducing unwarranted variation in care, improving diagnostic accuracy, particularly in primary care, and ensuring patients can access specialist services where appropriate.

Responsibility for commissioning migraine services rests with integrated care boards, which are best placed to plan and deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. This includes access to primary care, specialist neurology services, and newer treatments where clinically indicated.

There are currently no plans to establish a national champion for migraine. The Department continues to engage with NHS England, clinical experts, and patient groups to understand the challenges faced by those living with migraine and to consider how services and support can be improved.

More broadly, the Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people with long-term conditions through ongoing system reform, workforce expansion, and a focus on earlier diagnosis and better community-based care.

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 help achieve rental convergence in the social housing sector.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1283).

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 the potential impact of migraine on employment, absenteeism and economic inactivity.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of migraine on employment and economic inactivity. This information isn’t available as the Labour Force Survey, the primary source for data on labour market participation and economic inactivity, only reports figures by long‑term health condition and does not include a category for migraines.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support and identify students with dual or multiple exceptionalities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Effective early identification and intervention is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In an inclusive system, settings should be confident in recognising a full range of needs, including where high ability coexists with additional needs in dual or multiple exceptionalities, and in meeting these through evidence‑based approaches.

Many settings already identify needs effectively. We will build on this by strengthening the evidence base and supporting practitioners to recognise complex profiles, including pupils who may be both gifted and require special educational needs support, ensuring strengths are not overlooked and barriers are addressed early.

We are introducing clearer statutory expectations on schools to identify and meet needs as early as possible, monitor progress closely, and put timely support in place.

To underpin this, we are developing National Inclusion Standards through an independent expert panel, providing practical, evidence‑informed tools for identifying and supporting diverse needs.

In addition, we are investing over £200 million to deliver a landmark inclusion training package, including strengthened Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the views of service users are taken into account in the design of mental health services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that the views of service users and people with lived experience are essential to the design and delivery of mental health services.

We are committed to working closely with experts by experience to ensure their perspectives are at the heart of our work. This includes shaping our new cross Government mental health strategy for England, which is being informed by a Call for Evidence, alongside targeted engagement on key policy topics, and meaningful engagement with people with lived experience.

As part of this wider programme of reform, the Severe Mental Illness Modern Service Framework is helping to put these principles into practice. We have established a third co-chair, Jo Lomani, a national mental health co-production lead and expert by lived and living experience. Jo has been brought on board to support the implementation of our lived-experience involvement and co-production strategy on the modern service framework, helping to ensure that people who use mental health services stay at the centre of everything we do.

More broadly, we are putting patient feedback and outcomes front and centre of mental health services, improving transparency and using people’s experiences to drive improvements in quality, safety and accountability.

Our reforms also support co production and person centred care, ensuring that people with lived experience are directly involved in the design and delivery of services. For example, community based models such as mental health centres and neighbourhood approaches bring together National Health Service, local authority, and voluntary sector partners, embedding collaboration with people with lived experience and local communities in service design and delivery.

Bank holiday for celebrations if England win the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Dual nationals without British passports

England men's football team

Death sentences in Iran

Communications blackout and human rights in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Jean Currie’s contribution to her community

Retirement of Tracy Thirlwall

Found: present: Simon Hoare (Chair); Richard Baker; Markus Campbell- Savours; Charlotte Cane; Sam Carling; Peter Lamb