Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce delays, costs and duplication in parental-order proceedings for children born through overseas surrogacy arrangements and to provide greater legal certainty for intended parents while applications are determined.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We express our sympathies for those currently experiencing challenges during parental-order proceedings, and we will carefully assess any suggestions for potential improvements to make those arrangements operate more clearly and efficiently.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has considered introducing a streamlined process for recognising legal parenthood established through overseas surrogacy arrangements in jurisdictions with robust regulatory safeguards, judicial oversight and independent legal advice.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We express our sympathies for those currently experiencing challenges during parental-order proceedings, and we will carefully assess any suggestions for potential improvements to make those arrangements operate more clearly and efficiently.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of delays of more than six months in the determination of complaints by the Property Ombudsman on freehold homeowners; whether she plans to introduce enforceable maximum timescales for complaint adjudication; and what steps she is taking to improve the accountability and effectiveness of redress mechanisms available to homeowners in disputes with private estate management companies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has made no such specific assessment and has no plans to introduce a statutory timeframe for determining complaints through government-approved property agent redress schemes.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 12172 on 8 November 2024 and the Written Ministerial Statements made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210) and 12 October 2026 (HCWS363)
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered introducing a service standard for in-country parent family visa applications; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken for processing on applicants with British children unable to travel abroad for employment purposes without their applications being withdrawn.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, including service standards for processing in-country parent family visa applications.
Applicants are provided with information on current processing times for Further Leave to Remain (FLR) FP applications via GOV.UK. The published guidance advises that the current average processing time for applications made on the basis of private life is approximately 12 months. (Family visas: apply, extend or switch: Apply on the basis of your private life - GOV.UK)
These complex applications require a detailed consideration of an applicant’s family circumstances. Decision makers may need to assess compelling compassionate circumstances outside of the Immigration Rules. The Home Office exercises its duty under s.55 Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 when considering applications and expedite requests to ensure that any child’s best interest is considered.
There are no immediate plans to review the criteria for expediting applications.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the criteria for expediting parent family visa applications to take account of applicants facing loss of (a) employment and (b) income as a result of the time taken to process applications.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, including service standards for processing in-country parent family visa applications.
Applicants are provided with information on current processing times for Further Leave to Remain (FLR) FP applications via GOV.UK. The published guidance advises that the current average processing time for applications made on the basis of private life is approximately 12 months. (Family visas: apply, extend or switch: Apply on the basis of your private life - GOV.UK)
These complex applications require a detailed consideration of an applicant’s family circumstances. Decision makers may need to assess compelling compassionate circumstances outside of the Immigration Rules. The Home Office exercises its duty under s.55 Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 when considering applications and expedite requests to ensure that any child’s best interest is considered.
There are no immediate plans to review the criteria for expediting applications.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Guildford.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific data requested by the Hon Members is not centrally held. They may find useful information on the prevalence and treatment of respiratory conditions in their local areas at the Department’s Fingertips website, at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profiles
In addition, the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, published by the UK Health Security Agency, provides weekly surveillance of respiratory virus activity in England, including hospital admission rates specifically for influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus. This is available at the following link:
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking in response to the recommendations of the Dame Annie Hudson review of social work professional regulation to reduce delays in the handling of fitness-to-practise and cause-for-concern cases by Social Work England; and what target timeframe has been set for the resolution of such cases.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Independent Review of Social Work Professional Regulation, led by Dame Annie Hudson, identified the need for sustained improvement in Social Work England’s fitness to practise function. The government accepted the review’s recommendations and has made improving timeliness and effectiveness a key priority.
Social Work England is expected to produce a robust, externally supported, end-to-end Fitness to Practise Strategic Improvement Plan, with clear milestones and performance measures to drive sustained improvement and address the issues identified by the review.
The department has strengthened its oversight of Social Work England’s performance and is closely monitoring progress. Should sufficient and sustained improvement not be demonstrated, the government will consider what further action may be appropriate.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will introduce statutory time limits for fitness-to-practise and cause-for-concern investigations by Social Work England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government does not currently propose statutory time limits for individual cases, as its immediate priority is ensuring Social Work England delivers sustained improvements to the timeliness and effectiveness of the process.
The department recognises the importance of resolving fitness to practise cases promptly, both to protect the public and provide timely outcomes for social workers. Social Work England is the independent regulator responsible for operating fitness to practise processes.
The Independent Review of Social Work Professional Regulation identified fitness to practise as a priority for improvement. In response, the government has asked Social Work England to deliver a comprehensive, end-to-end strategic improvement plan, including revised forecasts and timeliness performance measures. The department is strengthening its oversight and monitoring progress closely.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what mechanisms are in place to review indefinite leave to remain applications that have been outstanding for more than 12 months where no formal processing service standard applies; and what steps her Department takes to communicate with affected applicants about the reasons for delays.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All Indefinite Leave to Remain visa routes are subject to a Service Level Agreement (SLA).
The service level agreements for settlement applications are published on gov.uk and can be found here - Settlement: customer service standards - GOV.UK
A non-exhaustive list of scenarios where an application may take longer to process than the published SLA can be found here - Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
If any application is set to fall outside the published SLA, the customer is informed of this via email outlining that their application still remains under consideration and gives examples of scenarios which may have incurred the delay. If the delay is related to further input being required from the customer this is also highlighted to them.
Where a case cannot be decided within the published service standard, it is kept under regular review to support its progression and ensure a decision is made as soon as possible.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to support sectors that do not qualify for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We understand the challenge that high industrial electricity prices present to businesses, and we are standing firm alongside industry to provide robust support.
Those ineligible for BICS may be eligible for the British Industry Supercharger which supports around 600 of the most electricity-intensive businesses by exempting them from paying the indirect costs of the Contracts for Difference, Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market, and compensates them for network charges.
The Government's clean power mission aims to achieve a zero-carbon power system by 2030 to secure domestic energy supplies, lower household and business bills, and drive economic growth.