Written questions by Smart.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the current Life in the UK test.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to update the content of the Life in the UK test;; and when she expects a revised version to be introduced.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her department is taking to reduce the waiting times for visa administrative reviews.

Applications for administrative review have increased and intake has doubled within the last five years. Resource for the Administrative Review Unit is now more than double the equivalent 2021 staffing levels in response to this continuing high demand.Adm...

Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to support cross-community interfaith work.

Interfaith relations are vital for strong, cohesive communities. Learning about different faiths and beliefs builds mutual understanding and contributes to community cohesion. The government’s support for cross-community interfaith work is demonstrated by...

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of not paying interest on unpaid compensation awards for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme on claimants, the estates of deceased claimants and bereaved fa

The Government has decided not to adjust individual compensation awards to account for interest a person could have received, or investments that someone could have made or could make in the future. The compensation scheme does not pay interest on awards ...

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the level of the threat posed by Russia to UK elections.

The Government is committed to upholding and strengthening UK democracy by protecting against foreign interference, improving political transparency, adding tougher checks for donations and closing loopholes by reinforcing electoral legislation against fo...

What assessment his Department has made of the potential of anti-USAG-1 antibody therapy for tooth regeneration; and what steps he is taking to ensure UK (a) researchers and (b) patients can partic

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which supports clinical, public health, social care and global health research in partnership with the National Health Service, academia and wider stakeholde...

What recent progress, he has made in reforming the Penalty Charge Notice system for unpaid prescription charges.

The Government has no such plans for reforming the Penalty Charge Notice system.

What assessment he has made of the barriers faced by patients in returning NHS-issued walking aids for reuse or recycling; and what steps he is taking to ensure return schemes are accessible to pat

The National Health Service is committed to reducing waste, whilst also delivering cost savings and minimising environmental impact, as set out in the Delivering a Net Zero NHS report. Since the publication of the report in 2020, there have been substanti...

Whether his Department received communications from Ministers (a) regarding representations from Peter Mandelson about policy matters in their departments and (b) expressing concerns about such communications be

I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Gove...

Whether his Department received communications from Ministers (a) regarding representations from Peter Mandelson about policy matters in their departments and (b) expressing concerns about such communications be

I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Gove...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps were taken to help mitigate potential conflicts of interest arising from Lord Mandelson's commercial interests before she took up the post of Ambassador to the Uni

As has been made clear in documents that were published in the Government's response to the Humble Address, on 1 June 2026, measures were put in place to manage Peter Mandelson's declared conflicts of interest. As was also made clear in the Chief Secretar...

With reference to Appendix H of her Department's document entitled Blue Badge scheme local authority guidance (England), updated on 3 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the model pr

The model proforma was last reviewed in 2019 following the changes to the eligibility criteria. The Department works with the Blue Badge Digital Service supplier and with local authorities to help improve the service for all applications from people with ...

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness the Blue Badge application process for people with non-visible or hidden disabilities, including deafness.

The model proforma was last reviewed in 2019 following the changes to the eligibility criteria. The Department works with the Blue Badge Digital Service supplier and with local authorities to help improve the service for all applications from people with ...

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that emergency applications for grants of probate are processed promptly; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of staffing levels at the Probate Servic

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff in 2026, alongside system and process improvements and a programme of upskilling in order to improve the processing time for applications and to ensure outstanding caseload does not increase. Se...

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in the prison estate for prisoners with neuromuscular and other progressive degenerative conditions, including the ti

NHS England commissions prison health care services into every prison in England to the equivalence of the community, to include range, access and quality of service. Access to specialist consultants and referrals into specialised support is available in ...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that road safety interventions can be targeted at locations with high numbers of damage-only collisions and near-misses before a (a) killed and (b) seriously injure

Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 39 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act to take steps both to reduce and prevent collisions. It is not for the Department to take steps to define local interventions but for local authorities to determine what...

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) complexity and (b) length of the Disability Living Allowance claim form on claimants; and whether he plans to amend the form.

The Disability Living Allowance claim form is under regular review to ensure that it is as easy to understand as possible, and that the information collected is complete. Recently, work has been undertaken to improve the legibility of the claim form. This...

What steps his Department is taking to help support shops, small businesses and public buildings to host publicly accessible defibrillators.

The Government’s position is that local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating, and maintaining automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Over 110,000 defibrillators are registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the independent AED database. Over 30,000 of these were added between September 2023 and July 20225, many as a result of local community led action.

For what reason NHS England has designated vacuum bell therapy for pectus excavatum as the responsibility of Integrated Care Boards rather than including it within the specialised commissioning arrangements that cover surgical correction of pectus excavatum; and whether his Department plans to review that designation.

The factors that determine whether a service is a prescribed specialised service are: the number of individuals who require the service; the cost of providing the service or facility; and the number of people able to provide the service or facility.Vacuum bell therapy for pectus excavatum is not designated as a prescribed specialised service. Non surgical management of pectus excavatum is considered a pathway based intervention better managed through local medical pathways. Responsibility for commissioning therefore sits with integrated care boards (ICBs) rather than NHS England or the Department. There are no current plans to change this approach.NHS England will continue to encourage ICBs to prioritise commissioning non surgical medical treatments for patients with pectus excavatum as part of an integrated pathway. In addition, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is funding the RESTORE trial, which will inform future commissioning decisions in relation to surgery. More information on the RESTORE trial is available at the following link:https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR158749