Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of commissioning arrangements in NHS breast screening services that result in staff providing NHS services being employed on terms and conditions different from NHS Agenda for Change contracts.

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

Breast screening services that deliver the NHS Breast Screening Programme are mainly within National Health Service trusts, with staff on Agenda for Change terms or conditions or medical staff on the consultant, both medical and dental, pay scale. The exception to this is the very small number of breast screening services provided by private providers. Staff delivering breast screening are directly employed by the host organisation not by NHS England.

With regards the plans to transfer NHS England’s direct commissioning function to integrated care boards from April 2027, staff will remain on NHS terms and conditions.

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 potential impact of standalone council elections that do not align with another principal authority as a result of local government organisation on the finances of parish and town councils; and what consideration has been given to providing support for the costs incurred.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Where the government makes a structural changes order to implement a proposal for local government reorganisation in an area, the legislation can provide for the alignment of parish councils to the electoral cycle of their new principal council. This is a matter for councils in areas undergoing reorganisation to consider in their discussions on the legislation with the Department. Decisions on the funding of parish and town council elections are a matter for local government, and central government has no role in funding town and parish councils.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that delays in deciding visa extension and in-country switching applications for existing care workers do not lead to the loss of experienced staff from care homes supporting vulnerable residents during the transition period to 2028.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

UK Visas and Immigration is not currently experiencing any delays in the processing of visa extensions or applications for switching in-country. Up to date processing times can be found at: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK, and, Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK.

The adult social care sector enjoys direct access to UKVI, via Directors of Adult Social Services across England and DHSC funded Regional Partnerships. Contact information can be found here: Support offer to international ASC workers whose employer's sponsor licence has been revoked - GOV.UK.

Short breaks provision and support for carers in Surrey

British couple detained in Iran

St Neots Walk and Talk 4 Men 5th anniversary

Funding for rural Britain

Funding for rural fire and rescue services