Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 95517 on Access to Work Programme, what data his Department has used to determine that there should be a focus on ensuring consistency in decision-making; and if he will publish that data.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department routinely focuses on strengthening case manager learning, ensuring colleagues have the skills and expertise required to apply Access to Work policy and guidance fairly and consistently. This approach has been driven by our commitment to continuous improvement rather than by specific data sources.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 95517, whether the Department has conducted a review or internal audit the consistency of decision-making applied within Access to Work since January 2020.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We hold regular consistency meetings with all Service Assurance Managers, during which cases are reviewed collectively and discuss any instances where inconsistencies may arise. This ensures that all managers apply processes and guidance correctly and uniformly, helping to support a fairer process. We are also reviewing all aspects of Access to Work as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded wait time was on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The below table shows the Average Time to Answer and Maximum Time to Answer for all calls to Bereavement Services in an hours, minutes and seconds format (hh:mm:ss), itemised by each of the requested Reporting Years.
Please note, that the current *2025 – 2026 reporting year, shows data up to and including 22/02/2026 only.
Reporting Year | Product Line | Average Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss) | Maximum Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss) |
2021-2022 | Bereavement Services | 00:06:36 | 01:26:43 |
2022-2023 | Bereavement Services | 00:07:32 | 01:33:00 |
2023-2024 | Bereavement Services | 00:06:32 | 01:04:58 |
2024-2025 | Bereavement Services | 00:07:53 | 01:55:07 |
2025-2026* | Bereavement Services | 00:06:02 | 00:50:59 |
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with regard to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, how many unannounced audits were there in 2024; and whether she plans to increase the number of unannounced audits by inspectors.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There were 10 unannounced audits in 2024, as reported in the published Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) 2024 Annual Report.
ASRU will increase the number of unannounced audits as part of its programme of regulatory strengthening. The inspectorate is being expanded from an average of 14.5 inspectors in 2023 to 22 by March 2026, enabling a greater volume of risk‑based audits across the system.
Both announced and unannounced audits play an important role in providing regulatory assurance. The number of audits alone should not be taken as a measure of regulatory impact: audit quality, depth and scope are central to assessing compliance effectively.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, between 1 January 2026 and 28 February 2026, how many licences have been granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for projects that use a) cats b) dogs c) horses and d) non-human primates.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Between 1 January 2026 and 28 February 2026, one project licence was granted which authorised the use of dogs, and one was granted that authorised the use of non-human primates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. No project licences were granted within this period that authorised the use of cats or horses.
Official statistics are published on an annual basis and are available here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-statistics
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review how teacher suspensions are used in disciplinary investigations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
By law, all maintained schools are required to have a capabilities policy, which sets out disciplinary and grievance procedures in the workplace. As employers, all schools and trusts must follow all aspects of employment law and equalities legislation in employment decisions. They should ensure that members of their workforce are fully aware of the process by which they can seek redress as a result of any grievance relating to their work at the school.
Guidance for schools on disciplinary and grievance matters is provided by ACAS in its Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance, which makes clear that an employer has a legal 'duty of care' to support an employee during suspension and to look out for their wellbeing.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what oversight exists to ensure schools comply with national procedures when suspending teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
By law, all maintained schools are required to have a capabilities policy, which sets out disciplinary and grievance procedures in the workplace. As employers, all schools and trusts must follow all aspects of employment law and equalities legislation in employment decisions. They should ensure that members of their workforce are fully aware of the process by which they can seek redress as a result of any grievance relating to their work at the school.
Guidance for schools on disciplinary and grievance matters is provided by ACAS in its Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance, which makes clear that an employer has a legal 'duty of care' to support an employee during suspension and to look out for their wellbeing.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to monitor the welfare of teachers while they are suspended.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
By law, all maintained schools are required to have a capabilities policy, which sets out disciplinary and grievance procedures in the workplace. As employers, all schools and trusts must follow all aspects of employment law and equalities legislation in employment decisions. They should ensure that members of their workforce are fully aware of the process by which they can seek redress as a result of any grievance relating to their work at the school.
Guidance for schools on disciplinary and grievance matters is provided by ACAS in its Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance, which makes clear that an employer has a legal 'duty of care' to support an employee during suspension and to look out for their wellbeing.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 the accessibility of transport on barriers to employment experienced by disabled people.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly conducts research and analysis that looks at the barriers faced by disabled people such as the ‘Work aspirations and support needs of health and disability customers’ and this can be found on GOV.UK. One way the Department supports disabled people to work with transport accessibility is through Access to Work. Access to Work contributes to the disability-related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition in the workplace that are beyond standard reasonable adjustments. It does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments. The grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of cases in which there have been miscommunications with respect to the Person Escort Record in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Obtaining the information requested relating to possible miscommunications with respect to person escort records would require each prison to undertake a manual search of all such records for the period in question. That could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.
When a prisoner arrives in prison reception, risk assessment procedures are carried out in accordance with HM Prison and Probation Service’s current policy frameworks. During the reception process, staff review all available documentation, including the person escort record, and any existing Digital Prison Service alerts, as well as undertaking an observational assessment of the prisoner’s presentation and behaviour. A structured reception screening is then carried out by both operational and healthcare staff, to identify any risks relating to suicide or self-harm, violence, vulnerability, physical or mental health issues, or other safeguarding concerns. In addition, a cell-sharing risk assessment (CSRA) is completed for all prisoners new to custody, to identify whether they would be likely to cause serious harm to another prisoner if they were to share a cell. When a prisoner is transferred, their CSRA accompanies them. If the CSRA cannot be located at the time of transfer, a new assessment is undertaken to ensure that risks are appropriately identified.
The processes relating to capturing and transferring risk management information are set out in the Person Escort Record Policy Framework. The framework is currently being reviewed: this will help to capture a broader range of risk information, and support more accurate and consistent completion of the form.