Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures are being taken to ensure student safety on university campuses in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands, and (c) the UK.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I stand with Members across this House in expressing my sorrow at the killing of Khaleed Oladipo near De Montfort University on 4 February 2026, and I pay tribute to the members of the public and emergency services who fought to save him.
Student safety is of utmost importance. As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for setting their own policies and security arrangements to ensure the safety of students and staff on campus, maintaining robust welfare and risk‑management procedures to protect their students, even though they do not operate under a statutory safeguarding duty.
In the wake of Mr Oladipo’s death, De Montford University continues to work proactively with staff and students to offer support and reassurance. Enhanced police patrols remain in place. Universities also provide a range of practical support to help keep students safe and supported while on campus.
In August 2025, the Office for Students strengthened its regulatory oversight through a new registration condition for all English universities that sets out clear requirements for preventing and responding to harassment of all kinds on campus.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the relationship between housing supply and economic growth in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Investment in housing and infrastructure in all parts of the country, including Leicester, Leicestershire and the East Midlands, drives future economic growth and higher living standards.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department plans to issue guidance on the potential risks of genetic defects in children born from consanguineous relationships.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has published training modules about close relative marriage and genetic risk for midwives and health visitors. The training modules have been published for health professionals to access and there are no plans to publish them more widely. There are no plans to issue public facing guidance.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to a) Leicester and b) Leicestershire to reduce NHS waiting lists.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service funding for local services, including in Leicester and Leicestershire, is allocated to integrated care boards using NHS England’s Fair Share model and the NHS resource allocation formula.
This formula is designed to support equal opportunity of access for equal need, taking into account factors such as demography, morbidity, levels of deprivation, and the unavoidable costs of providing services in different areas. It is based on independent academic research and overseen by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation, which provides advice to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chief Executive of NHS England.
Through the 2025 Spending Review, announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in June 2025, the Government has prioritised health with a record investment in the health and social care system. The Government is providing £29 billion more day-to-day funding in real terms by 2028/29 than in 2023/24, alongside the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real-terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period.
This will support delivery of our commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, including patients in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of NHS patients in a) Leicester b) Leicestershire and c) the East Midlands were referred to private health providers for treatment in the last twelve months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent sector providers have a role to play in supporting the National Health Service as trusted partners to recover elective services by using additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst delivering value for money.
Data for NHS referrals into the independent sector is broken down by NHS commissioning regions. We are therefore unable to reliably calculate the percentage of NHS referrals into the independent sector at the levels requested.
Between January 2025 and December 2025, latest available data, there were a total of 3,637,634 new patient pathways for elective care in the Midlands region. Of these, 5.70%, or 207,268, were at independent sector providers.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the level of digital exclusion in Leicester; and what steps she is taking to improve the level of digital skills and access.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world – helping families save money, get a better job, and access services like the NHS more easily.
But we know some people face real barriers. Data from 2025 shows that 18% adults in the UK labour force lack essential digital skills for work, while 7% of households in the East Midlands do not have access to the internet.
That’s why we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, and why we’re now delivering the foundations: better connectivity, more devices reaching people who need them, and support to build skills and confidence in communities across the UK.
This has included launching the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, with £35,391.97 going to Leicester City Council and £90,625 to Wesley Hall Community Centre, helping more people across the UK get the access, skills and confidence to get online.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the evidential basis for the decision to freeze the student loan repayment threshold for graduates; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of this on graduates' disposable incomes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The fiscal situation this government inherited means we’ve had to make tough but fair choices, including on student loan repayment threshold freezes.
Student loan borrowers repay a portion of their income (typically 9%) above the repayment threshold. A Plan 2 graduate earning £30,000 will repay only around £4 a month in FY2026–27. The student finance system is heavily subsidised by government, and lower-earning graduates will always be protected, with any outstanding loan and interest cancelled at the end of the repayment term. It is right that those who are able to repay do so.
The Department for Education has published analysis of the impact of the repayment threshold freeze on total repayments here.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of SEND transport contracts on local authority spending; and whether she plans to introduce annual cost caps.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We know challenges in the SEND system are creating pressures on home-to-school travel. We will reform the SEND system to enable more children to thrive in local mainstream settings. This will mean fewer children need to travel long distances to access education, reducing the burden on local authorities. The reforms will be set out in the Schools White Paper.
Local councils decide how to arrange travel for eligible children. They use a mix of in-house services, public transport passes and contracts with private operators. Contracts are a matter for the council and operator. We encourage councils to have robust arrangements. Many are reviewing and improving their procurement practices.
We are supporting councils through a new home-to-school travel data collection to support benchmarking, publishing guidance to support joined-up decision-making, and creating a bespoke home-to-school travel funding formula within the local government finance settlement. We have no current plans to introduce a price cap.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education having completed their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not held.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education without completing their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not held.