Every parliamentary written question tabled by Marie Goldman this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 142 · this parliament
Pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 117942, which stakeholders she plans to engage with on the commencement of Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010; and what her planned timeline is for that engagement process.
I refer the Hon member to the answer on 16 March 2026 (PQ 117942).
Pursuant to the Answer to Question 117942 on Candidates: Equality, whether Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 can be commenced in time to apply to candidate selections for the next General Election.
I refer the Hon member to the answer on 16 March 2026 (PQ 117942).
What estimate she has made of the number of claimants for the Windrush compensation scheme whose applications are being processed.
As of the end of December 2025, the Windrush Compensation Scheme had received 11,133 claims. Of those, 10,696 claims (over 94% of all claims received) had received a final decision, with 9,061 claims fully closed.The Government remains committed to improving the Windrush Compensation Scheme. To ensure those who wish to apply to the scheme are supported to do so, the Government launched the £1.5 million Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund in 2025, enabling trusted local organisations to help claimants gather evidence and complete applications. The Year 2 funding round opened on 12 January and closed on 6 February, with successful bids to be announced shortly.Work is also underway, in collaboration with the Windrush Commissioner, to review the scheme’s application process.
Whether she has considered the potential merits of reforming the application process to the Windrush compensation scheme.
As of the end of December 2025, the Windrush Compensation Scheme had received 11,133 claims. Of those, 10,696 claims (over 94% of all claims received) had received a final decision, with 9,061 claims fully closed.The Government remains committed to improving the Windrush Compensation Scheme. To ensure those who wish to apply to the scheme are supported to do so, the Government launched the £1.5 million Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund in 2025, enabling trusted local organisations to help claimants gather evidence and complete applications. The Year 2 funding round opened on 12 January and closed on 6 February, with successful bids to be announced shortly.Work is also underway, in collaboration with the Windrush Commissioner, to review the scheme’s application process.
What estimate she has made of the number of people eligible for compensation under the Windrush compensation scheme that have not made a claim.
As of the end of December 2025, the Windrush Compensation Scheme had received 11,133 claims. Of those, 10,696 claims (over 94% of all claims received) had received a final decision, with 9,061 claims fully closed.The Government remains committed to improving the Windrush Compensation Scheme. To ensure those who wish to apply to the scheme are supported to do so, the Government launched the £1.5 million Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund in 2025, enabling trusted local organisations to help claimants gather evidence and complete applications. The Year 2 funding round opened on 12 January and closed on 6 February, with successful bids to be announced shortly.Work is also underway, in collaboration with the Windrush Commissioner, to review the scheme’s application process.
What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Windrush compensation scheme.
As of the end of December 2025, the Windrush Compensation Scheme had received 11,133 claims. Of those, 10,696 claims (over 94% of all claims received) had received a final decision, with 9,061 claims fully closed.The Government remains committed to improving the Windrush Compensation Scheme. To ensure those who wish to apply to the scheme are supported to do so, the Government launched the £1.5 million Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund in 2025, enabling trusted local organisations to help claimants gather evidence and complete applications. The Year 2 funding round opened on 12 January and closed on 6 February, with successful bids to be announced shortly.Work is also underway, in collaboration with the Windrush Commissioner, to review the scheme’s application process.
What engagements she has had with the Windrush Commissioner since he took up that role.
The Independent Windrush Commissioner, since his appointment last year, has engaged regularly with the Minister for Migration and Citizenship and senior Home Office officials and will continue to do so as part of his role in overseeing progress on the Government’s commitments.
With reference to the Government’s response of 8 January 2026 to the Pavement parking: options for change consultation, whether the research commissioned by her Department will include (a) measurement of physical damage to footways attributable to pavement parking and (b) an estimate of the annual cost to local authorities of repairing such damage.
The research announced on 8 January 2026 focuses on measuring the current prevalence and impacts of pavement parking, providing a baseline against which the effects of future legislation can be measured.This study will include a measure of public satisfaction with pavement condition, but not a direct measure of physical damage attributable specifically to pavement parking. We are also working with a sample of local authorities to collect data on the financial impacts to local authorities, including the annual costs of pavement maintenance arising from pavement parking.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a joint committee of cross-party MPs and peers to conduct post-legislative scrutiny of the (a) the Gender Recognition Act and (b) the Equality Act 2010.
The Government is currently prioritising working through the implications of the Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland vs Scottish Ministers case, including reviewing the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Code of Practice for services, associations and public functions. We are also focused on delivering our manifesto commitments to deliver a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, equalising all strands of hate crime, and reviewing health services to ensure that all trans people receive appropriate and high-quality care. As with all major pieces of legislation, the Equality Act 2010 is constantly kept under review to ensure that it operates as intended in a changing and evolving social and economic environment.
With reference to his Answer to Question 103509, when he expects Dame Lynne Owens’ independent investigation into the mistaken release of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford on 24th of October 2025 to conclude.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a five-point national action plan to reduce releases in error, which includes strengthening release checks across prisons and commissioning an independent review led by Dame Lynne Owens.The Deputy Prime Minister has recently received the review and is carefully considering Dame Lynne’s findings and recommendations. The Government will respond shortly.
What steps the Government is required to take before it can commence section 106 of the Equality Act 2010.
The Government is committed to commencing section 106 of the Equality Act 2010, requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections in accordance with regulations.We are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under section 106.We will engage with stakeholders, including political parties, in due course.
What steps she is taking to improve transport accessibility in the East of England.
The government is committed to improving passenger transport services, so they are more inclusive and enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity, including in the East of England.Our Bus Services Act 2025 includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local transport. Through the Act, we are helping authorities to provide safer and more accessible bus stations and stops; mandating more streamlined disability training for bus drivers and frontline staff and requiring local authorities to regularly review the accessibility of their bus networks through the development and publishing of a Bus Network Accessibility Plan.We are committed to improving the experience for disabled passengers on rail services and that is why we published the Department’s roadmap to an accessible railway. It sets out what we are doing now to improve the day-to-day travelling experience for disabled passengers in the lead up to Great British Railways being established. The Railways Bill will also establish a Passenger Watchdog to protect the rights of disabled passengers by monitoring service delivery, investigating persistent issues, setting minimum standards and advocating for improvements. We are also continuing to install accessible routes at stations through our Access for All programme.We are also committed to developing an Accessible Travel Charter. The Charter is a commitment to a shared vision for accessible travel. It will set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys, share best practice across organisations and create consistency in end-to-end journeys for disabled travellers.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of electric vehicle charge-point accessibility for disabled people.
The Government is committed to ensuring that public charging infrastructure is accessible for all. In November 2025, the British Standards Institution published the results of a review, commissioned by the Government and Motability Foundation, on changes needed to improve uptake of the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 standards for charge point accessibility. The recommendations from this review are now being used to inform revisions to the relevant charge point accessibility standards. We will continue to monitor the adoption of the standards and their impact on accessibility to assess the need for further measures.
If he will take steps to ensure that the National Cancer Plan tackles identity-based disparities in cancer care, including for people from (a) ethnic minority backgrounds, (b) disabled people and (c) LGBTQ+ communities.
The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, research, and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experiences and outcomes for all people with cancer.Reducing inequalities is also a key priority for the National Cancer Plan. The plan will look at the targeted improvements needed across different cancer types to reduce disparities in cancer survival and will develop interventions to tackle these. This includes looking at protected characteristics such as disability, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, as well as inequalities related to socioeconomic status, and geographic location.
What support his Department provides to Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in Chelmsford to meet cancer waiting times and ensure people with cancer receive timely care.
Improving cancer waiting times for patients is a high priority for the Government.We are seeking to achieve this goal through the increased use of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) which will increase the available capacity and bring healthcare closer to the community. CDCs are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country, with 103 of these being open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, offering at least one test in expanded hours, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around their busy working lives.The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the local provider for cancer services in Chelmsford, has been awarded funding for a replacement radiotherapy machine.The National Cancer Plan, which is due to be published soon, will set out how we will increase performance against our standards, speed up diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately provide better outcomes for cancer patients. It will ensure patients, including those in Chelmsford, have access to the latest treatments and technology and improve patient experience and outcomes.
What support his Department provides to Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in Chelmsford to recruit and retain specialist cancer nurses and cancer workforce.
The Government and NHS England are acting to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it including at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT).In 2024/25, an estimated 8,000 people received training to either enter the cancer and diagnostics workforce or develop in their roles.NHS England has also been expanding specialty training places in key professions, including histopathology, clinical radiology, and gastroenterology. Targeted national campaigns and outreach activities, for example in clinical oncology, also promote cancer career pathways, with a focus on increasing applications.Additionally, NHS England Workforce, Training and Education and the East of England Cancer Alliance work closely with MSEFT to understand local training needs. Together, they coordinate and allocate funding to ensure the cancer nursing workforce has access to the development pathways it requires, supporting both recruitment and long-term retention.MSEFT is preparing to launch an oncology nursing rotation across oncology wards, the chemotherapy unit and clinical nurse specialist (CNS) teams. Many of these CNS roles sit within the cancer division, supporting the development of competencies, and enable structured career progression for nurses alongside programmes of reform for workforce.To improve retention, NHS England is investing in structured career development and education support. The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme provides a nationally agreed framework for capability, career development, and education for nurses, allied health professionals, and the support workforce working in cancer care.
How his Department plans to engage key stakeholders on the assumptions underpinning the modelling of workforce numbers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be supported by independent external scrutiny to assess and test it.We are committed to engagement with external stakeholders. On 26 September 2025, we launched a formal call for evidence, which provided stakeholders the opportunity to contribute directly to the Plan’s development. This closed on 7 November 2025. The submissions to our call for evidence are being analysed to inform the development of the plan.
Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered the potential impacts on property owners of planning permission applications being permitted on their property from those who do not own it.
The planning system entitles anyone to apply for planning permission on any land, irrespective of ownership, but applicants are legally required to notify the owners of a site before they submit their planning application. This facilitates delivery of developments where land is in multiple ownership. The grant of planning permission has no effect on the ownership of the land and development cannot proceed without the agreement of the relevant landowner.
Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to ensure that Ofcom adequately enforces the Online Safety Act 2023 in the context of social media companies.
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties. Ofcom has our full backing in using all available powers to protect users.On 4 December 2025, Ofcom released a summary of the tech sector's response to the UK's new online safety rules. While there has been notable progress, further action is needed, including by major services.Government meets Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, including ensuring the swift implementation of the outstanding duties under the Act, and we continue to monitor outcomes through our joint evaluation programme.
Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the effectiveness of its implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Ofcom is the independent regulator for online safety and is responsible for scrutinising platforms’ risk assessments, requiring safety mitigations, and enforcing safety duties. Ofcom has our full backing in using all available powers to protect users.On 4 December 2025, Ofcom released a summary of the tech sector's response to the UK's new online safety rules. While there has been notable progress, further action is needed, including by major services.Government meets Ofcom regularly to discuss online safety, including ensuring the swift implementation of the outstanding duties under the Act, and we continue to monitor outcomes through our joint evaluation programme.