Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to make Relationship and Sex Education mandatory in post-16 education settings.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department recognises the importance of promoting healthy relationships to young people. This is why relationships and sex education (RSE) is a standard element of the personal development tutorial system in further education.
These regular tutorials allow students to hear about and discuss subjects important to their lives as responsible, active citizens, such as British values, resilience and how to navigate the world of work.
Education in healthy relationships is at the core of each college’s programme. Students participate in debates about respect, consent, misogyny, gender stereotyping, coercive control, sexual violence and sexual health, and consider the impact of negative behaviours.
Ofsted’s personal development judgement evaluates a college’s intent to provide for the personal development of learners, and the quality of the way in which it does this. Education in healthy relationships is one of the areas of focus.
The department has engaged an expert college leader, Polly Harrow, to develop a toolkit for colleges to drive the quality and consistency of RSE. The toolkit, to be launched in November, will provide tutorial materials and delivery advice, giving all colleges the skills and confidence to deliver on personal development effectively, and to tackle misogyny head on.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that NHS England's guidance entitled Play well – resources for health play services for England, published on 2 June 2025, is policy across the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.
To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.
To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children's right to play is (a) maintained and (b) supported in healthcare settings.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.
To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.
To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 the report by the Royal College of Nursing entitled Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, published on 15 May 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience and expertise. We are committed to providing high-quality support to internationally educated nursing staff to help their integration into the National Health Service workforce and to creating a compassionate and inclusive work culture that has a focus on staff health and wellbeing.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, on levels of retention of internationally educated nursing staff in the NHS. This government remains committed to developing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The Immigration White Paper set out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training and the labour market to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
The report by the Royal College of Nursing, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, touches on some important issues, including on support and retention of internationally educated nursing staff. The Department will reflect further on the report and its recommendations, as we strive to continuously improve on the measures we already have in place, set out below, to support internationally recruited healthcare staff.
On specific measures, the NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan includes a High Impact Action that addresses the importance of ensuring that internationally recruited healthcare staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career.
Successful induction processes and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance to retain newly recruited international staff so that they receive clear communication, guidance and support around their conditions of employment. The NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award scheme was set up to recognise a commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives at every stage of recruitment and beyond. As well as helping to standardise the quality and delivery of pastoral care, this award is an opportunity for trusts to have their work recognised and to demonstrate their commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives.
NHS Employers has also published the International Retention Toolkit which outlines the actions employers can take to ensure internationally recruited staff will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in the NHS. The toolkit is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/international-retention-toolkit
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
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 the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 13 May 2025, on levels of retention of internationally-educated nursing staff in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience and expertise. We are committed to providing high-quality support to internationally educated nursing staff to help their integration into the National Health Service workforce and to creating a compassionate and inclusive work culture that has a focus on staff health and wellbeing.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, on levels of retention of internationally educated nursing staff in the NHS. This government remains committed to developing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The Immigration White Paper set out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training and the labour market to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
The report by the Royal College of Nursing, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, touches on some important issues, including on support and retention of internationally educated nursing staff. The Department will reflect further on the report and its recommendations, as we strive to continuously improve on the measures we already have in place, set out below, to support internationally recruited healthcare staff.
On specific measures, the NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan includes a High Impact Action that addresses the importance of ensuring that internationally recruited healthcare staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career.
Successful induction processes and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance to retain newly recruited international staff so that they receive clear communication, guidance and support around their conditions of employment. The NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award scheme was set up to recognise a commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives at every stage of recruitment and beyond. As well as helping to standardise the quality and delivery of pastoral care, this award is an opportunity for trusts to have their work recognised and to demonstrate their commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives.
NHS Employers has also published the International Retention Toolkit which outlines the actions employers can take to ensure internationally recruited staff will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in the NHS. The toolkit is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/international-retention-toolkit
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support internationally educated nursing staff during their first years in the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We hugely value our health and social care workers from overseas who work tirelessly to provide the best possible care and enhance our health and care workforce with their valuable skills, experience and expertise. We are committed to providing high-quality support to internationally educated nursing staff to help their integration into the National Health Service workforce and to creating a compassionate and inclusive work culture that has a focus on staff health and wellbeing.
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of the White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, on levels of retention of internationally educated nursing staff in the NHS. This government remains committed to developing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The Immigration White Paper set out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth. The changes set out include a complete overhaul of the relationship between the immigration system, training and the labour market to support sustainable growth as well as a sustainable immigration system.
The report by the Royal College of Nursing, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, touches on some important issues, including on support and retention of internationally educated nursing staff. The Department will reflect further on the report and its recommendations, as we strive to continuously improve on the measures we already have in place, set out below, to support internationally recruited healthcare staff.
On specific measures, the NHS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan includes a High Impact Action that addresses the importance of ensuring that internationally recruited healthcare staff feel welcomed and valued at the start of their career.
Successful induction processes and ongoing pastoral and professional support is of the utmost importance to retain newly recruited international staff so that they receive clear communication, guidance and support around their conditions of employment. The NHS Pastoral Care Quality Award scheme was set up to recognise a commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives at every stage of recruitment and beyond. As well as helping to standardise the quality and delivery of pastoral care, this award is an opportunity for trusts to have their work recognised and to demonstrate their commitment to supporting internationally educated nurses and midwives.
NHS Employers has also published the International Retention Toolkit which outlines the actions employers can take to ensure internationally recruited staff will want to stay, thrive and build lasting careers in the NHS. The toolkit is available at the following link:
https://www.nhsemployers.org/publications/international-retention-toolkit
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she has made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that newly appointed pension fund trustees are aware of the responsibility to consider climate risks in investments.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are a range of governance and reporting requirements that trustees, including new trustees, must meet. For trustees in scope, this includes disclosing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies in the Statement of Investment Principles (SIP) and explaining how and the extent to which those policies have been followed over the scheme year. Guidance is available from the Pensions Regulator (TPR) to help trustees understand these requirements and the 2024 Market Oversight Review provides further insight into TPR’s expectations around ESG duties.
The Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021 place requirements on trustees in our largest occupational pension schemes to demonstrate how they are managing climate-related risks and opportunities in an annual Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report. TPR’s Guidance includes a step-by-step example to help trustees develop their understanding of the requirements and upskill newer trustees. In a 2024 review of TCFD reports, TPR reported confidence in trustees maintaining up-to-date knowledge and understanding of climate risk.
As set out in their Climate Adaptation Report (2025), TPR is proactively focused on raising trustee awareness of climate-related systemic risks. TPR also continues to support new trustees through specific guidance and the Trustee toolkit, a free online learning programme that helps trustees gain the relevant skills, knowledge and understanding needed to fulfil their role.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Preparing for Healthy Relationships toolkit developed by the Mayor of London to address violence against women and girls; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of rolling the toolkit out nationally.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade. Education has a crucial role to play in preventing and tackling harmful behaviour, helping children and young people to develop empathy, boundaries and respect for difference.
Through compulsory relationships education, all pupils will learn how to form positive and respectful relationships and develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around sexual harassment and sexual violence.
The department is reviewing the statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, and as part of this review we are looking at how to ensure that the guidance equips pupils, starting in primary, to form healthy and respectful relationships. We are analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence to determine how this can fully complement our wider actions to tackle VAWG. Ministers have been clear that the RSHE guidance must support schools to tackle misogynistic attitudes and help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to develop healthy relationships.
We are currently considering how best to support teachers to deliver high-quality RSHE and are aware of many of the programmes and toolkits already in place, including the Healthy Relationships toolkit developed by Tender and launched by the Mayor of London, which we understand is free for schools to use if they wish. As with other curriculum subjects, the department does not advise schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, not least because schools operate in a variety of different contexts and have both the expertise and knowledge that makes them best placed to make these decisions. The department does not endorse or promote third-party resources to schools.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using the Child Maintenance Service on the (a) mental health and wellbeing of its users and (b) relationships between separated parents when inaccurate awards are made and not amended.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring it delivers a safe service which is sensitive to the needs of all customers that use it.
We recognise that some customers may face difficult circumstances particularly at a time of separation and the need to handle customer cases sensitively and accurately, particularly around calculations.
We introduced a Customer Experience Strategy and an Implementation Plan which aims to fully equip caseworkers with the tools, skills and support required to deliver service excellence. We are well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if we become aware that the mental health and wellbeing of any customer is at risk. Caseworkers have received extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps, support tools and procedures to support vulnerable parents experiencing financial or emotional crisis. This includes the National District Provision Toolkit and Affordability Hub which provides invaluable information to allow caseworkers to signpost to national and local support organisations for debt help and mental health assistance across the UK.
To ensure calculations are accurate the department continues to build on its already proportionate and cost-effective controls, such as:
Where a single accidental error relating to the maintenance calculation is made, a challenge can be raised by a parent or their representative within time, and corrections can be applied by a caseworker without the need for a mandatory reconsideration (MR).
We have introduced a robust 3 Tier Quality Framework to rigorously monitor accuracy as part of our service ambition to further reduce error and increase our accuracy levels. The National Audit Office set a target of monetary value errors under 1%. CMS accuracy consistently meets this, remaining above 99% accuracy.
The government has also committed to reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s trends. Any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 merits of implementing the Parkinson's UK Parky Charter.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We acknowledge the challenges that neurology services have been facing, particularly regarding the workforce, delays to treatment and care, and the lack of information and support that some patients have experienced.
However, whilst no assessment has been made on the potential merits of the Parkinson’s UK Parky Charter, I am pleased that there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
These national initiatives include the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme to develop a new model of integrated care for neurology services.
Furthermore, we have delivered an additional two million appointments between July and November 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, seven months ahead of schedule, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.
This summer, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients, including those with Parkinson’s, on time again. We will ensure the National Health Service has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.
Approximately 89% of prescription items are currently dispensed free of charge, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place. People with Parkinson’s who are 60 years old or over are entitled to free prescriptions. For those that have to pay for prescriptions, the cost can be capped by purchasing a pre-payment certificate. Additionally, the NHS Low Income Scheme can provide help with health costs on an income-related basis.
The Government spent £79.06 million on research into Parkinson’s between 2019/20 and 2023/24, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and is continuing to invest in Parkinson’s disease research.