In Parliament
- Rejoining the EU — [Sir Edward Leigh in the Chair] (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: Will the hon. Member give way?
- Rejoining the EU — [Sir Edward Leigh in the Chair] (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: I must apologise, Mrs Barker, if we look as if we are having a debate just with the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex. However, does the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Dr Pinkerton) not find it strange how picky the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex is being in the facts that he chooses to employ? Last year, Poland grew by 3.75% and Spain by 2.8%; their growth outstripped ours. Of...
- Rejoining the EU — [Sir Edward Leigh in the Chair] (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: I have absolutely no reason to doubt what the hon. Member says. This does not just come down to GDP; it comes down to the detail—the minutiae—of the pain that we are going through as a country in all sorts of areas as a result of not being in the European Union. For years, we were a problem for the EU and it used to think about us, but the EU has moved on and we need to recognise that....
- Rejoining the EU — [Sir Edward Leigh in the Chair] (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: No, I am sorry, I am not giving way. I have been encouraged by our Chair to move on, so that everyone gets a chance to speak and not just the hon. Gentleman. One area where I have to declare a personal interest is in enabling our musicians and performers to tour freely again. They are people like my nephew Freddy and his band, Caroline. British acts played 21% fewer shows in Europe in 2024...
- Rejoining the EU — [Sir Edward Leigh in the Chair] (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I hate to bring real people into this argument and into the statistics. However, there is a Spanish-Italian delicatessen in my constituency—I am sorry that for some people it has no importance—and it has gaps on its shelves. I asked the staff why, because their customers are there and the owner is there. What they told me is...
- Written Answers — Department of Health and Social Care: NHS: Databases (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on NHS trusts’ access to existing analytical tools, insights and operational capabilities delivered through the Federated Data Platform should the current contract with Palantir not be extended.
- Written Answers — Department of Health and Social Care: NHS: Databases (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has estimated the cost of not extending the current contract with Palantir, including any termination, exit or break clause payments that would become payable if the contract were not renewed.
- Written Answers — Department of Health and Social Care: NHS: Databases (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what arrangements are in place to ensure continuity of service and the transfer of knowledge, systems and operational capability to an alternative supplier if the Palantir contract is terminated or not extended.
- Written Answers — Department of Health and Social Care: NHS: Databases (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what payment schedule is set out in the Federated Data Platform contract with Palantir; what contractual milestones, deliverables or performance criteria trigger payments; and what proportion of the total contract value has been paid to date against each such milestone.
- Written Answers — Department of Health and Social Care: NHS England (12 Oct 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains the Government's policy that all (a) specialised services and (b) highly specialised services currently commissioned centrally by NHS England will continue to be commissioned nationally by the Secretary of State following the abolition of NHS England; and whether there will be any reduction in the scope of services...
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals (15 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that decision makers progress Mandatory Reconsideration cases in a timely manner; and whether the Department collects data on the number of cases outstanding beyond specified timescales.
- Pharmacies: Government Funding — [Mr Clive Betts in the Chair] ( 9 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: I congratulate the hon. Member for Leicester East (Shivani Raja) on securing the debate. My hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Sadik Al-Hassan) will be aware that measles outbreaks are increasing, not least because of a decline in measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. The Government told the Health and Social Care Select Committee, on which I serve, that they need to do more...
- Online Safety ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: This is a really tremendous statement—I welcome it, and congratulate and thank my right hon. Friend for it. We have touched on the tech companies. Sadly, we can expect them to push back, and they may get support on the other side of the Atlantic. I encourage my right hon. Friend to work closely with our friends in the European Union who have similar aims to protect their children to give...
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a statutory time limit for Mandatory Reconsiderations consistent with response time requirements that apply to other public administrative processes.
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether consideration has been given to requiring the Department to determine Mandatory Reconsiderations within a specified maximum period.
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to introduce a statutory time limit for the completion of Mandatory Reconsiderations.
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the impact of Mandatory Reconsideration delays on claimants' financial wellbeing and mental health.
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken to complete a Mandatory Reconsideration was in the most recent year for which figures are available.
- Written Answers — Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Benefits: Appeals ( 8 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Mandatory Reconsideration requests were outstanding for more than (a) one month, (b) three months and (c) six months at the latest date for which data is available.
- Health Bill: New Clause 96 - Integrated care boards: duty as to visiting etc ( 7 Sep 2026)
Ben Coleman: I am also a member of the APPG, and I was also at that meeting. On the Health Committee, we raised the point about these short-term pilots, and we managed to get an extra year’s funding. I have to say—I will say this as the person I am—that I feel that if this was a problem that predominantly affected white people instead of black people, it would be taken a lot more seriously. I think...