Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government who attended the first meeting of the early years screen time advisory group on 22 January; and what was discussed in that meeting.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The early years screen time advisory group is comprised of the following members:
All members of the group attended the first meeting of the early years screen time advisory group on 22 January, alongside officials from the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.
This introductory meeting focused on agreeing ways of working, including delivery timelines and approaches to evidence gathering, and the scope of the early years screen time guidance. The group also discussed the dissemination of the guidance.
Minutes of the meeting will be published in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to increase availability of renal psychology services for kidney patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Mental health and psychosocial support, such as renal psychology services, for people living with kidney disease is a key priority within NHS England’s programme to improve renal care. The Renal Service Transformation Programme, published in 2023, provides a national framework for raising standards across the renal pathway, including a strengthened focus on supporting the emotional and psychological needs of patients.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has conducted research into the potential impacts on long-term rehabilitation of Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Section 67 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 requires the Secretary of State to prepare and publish an annual report about the steps taken to support the rehabilitation of IPP and Detention for Public Protection (DPP) offenders and their progress towards release from prison or licence termination and lay the report before Parliament.
Although there has not been research conducted in this area the Government published its latest IPP Annual Report on 17 July 2025, which included a commitment for HMPPS Psychology Services to complete a review of the Never Released IPP cohort. The review aims to ensure the current barriers to IPP progression are considered and services reviewed relating to these findings to support IPP progression. We will report on the outcome of this review in our next Annual Report, which is due to be published this summer.
The 2025 Annual Report also contained a refreshed version of the IPP Action Plan, which includes measurable targets to ensure transparency and accountability.
Through the IPP Action Plan we have significantly improved support for those serving the IPP sentence, with greater access to rehabilitation and mental health support.
Changes we have made in the Sentencing Act 2026 will provide IPP offenders with an earlier opportunity for licence termination, whilst allowing suitable time for support and rehabilitation in the community and ensuring victims and the public are best protected from harm.
Asked by: Alex McIntyre (Labour - Gloucester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of educational psychologists in Gloucester constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is why the department has already invested more than £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million invested in training more than 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services for a minimum period of three years.
Following a Joint Area SEND inspection in Gloucestershire in December 2023, leaders in the local area have developed a local strategy to improve access to educational psychologists, including a virtual service. Officials and SEND advisors from both the department and NHS England meet regularly with Gloucestershire local area leaders to monitor progress.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to determine the number of educational psychologists required to meet demand as part of the Government's forthcoming plans for SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are already investing more than £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of more than 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments. Trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this period is three years.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of educational psychologists to respond to SEND needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why we are already investing more than £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of more than 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments. Trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this period is three years.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) encourage people into the educational psychologist profession and (b) retain educational psychologists in the profession.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. That is why the department is already investing more than £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of more than 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments. Trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this period is three years.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS provision for complex mesh removal surgery; and what steps he is taking to ensure patients can access specialists with required expertise.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres in operation across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management.
The specialised services for service users with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence, vaginal, or internal and external rectal prolapse specification published by NHS England sets out the requirement for an MDT approach to mesh services and suggests membership could include a psychologist. The specification also details that psychology services should be co-located or available to the mesh MDT.
The Department has commissioned, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, a £1.56 million study to develop patient reported outcome measures (PROM) for prolapse, incontinence, and mesh complication surgery. Longer term, the PROM will be integrated into the pelvic floor registry which monitors and improves the safety of mesh patients. It records the surgical mesh implants, and related medical devices, given to patients, and the organisations and surgeons that have carried out the procedures.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of unresolved mesh complications on the mental health of women impacted; and what support is available for those women.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are nine specialist mesh centres in operation across England, ensuring that women in every region with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse get the right support. Each mesh centre is led by a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to ensure patients get access to the specialist care and treatment that they need, including pain management.
The specialised services for service users with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence, vaginal, or internal and external rectal prolapse specification published by NHS England sets out the requirement for an MDT approach to mesh services and suggests membership could include a psychologist. The specification also details that psychology services should be co-located or available to the mesh MDT.
The Department has commissioned, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, a £1.56 million study to develop patient reported outcome measures (PROM) for prolapse, incontinence, and mesh complication surgery. Longer term, the PROM will be integrated into the pelvic floor registry which monitors and improves the safety of mesh patients. It records the surgical mesh implants, and related medical devices, given to patients, and the organisations and surgeons that have carried out the procedures.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 progression rates from subjects such as a) psychology, b) sociology and c) English studies and creative arts on priority sector recruitment.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 24 November to PQ 90863.