5 APPG Officer Positions (as of 18 Jun 2025)
Carbon Monoxide, Children of Alcoholics, Children who need Palliative Care, Dying Well, Hospice and End of Life Care30 APPG Memberships
Healthy Places, Australia and New Zealand (ANZAC) and the Pacific Islands, Commonwealth, Adoption and Permanence, Antimicrobial Resistance, Autism, Beyond Pills, Carers, Creative Health, Defibrillators, Dementia, Dentistry and Oral Health, Environment, Explosive Weapons and their Impact, Grief Support and the Impact of Death on Society, Health, Housing and Care for Older People, Internet, Communications and Technology, Less Survivable Cancers, Life Sciences, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases, Music Education, Occupational Safety and Health, Pharmacy, Smoking and Health, Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies, Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention, University, Long Covid, Vulnerable Groups to Pandemics39 Former APPG Officer Positions
Acquired Brain Injury, Air Ambulances, Alcohol Harm, Allergy, Australia and New Zealand, Bereavement Support, Bladder and Bowel Continence Care, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Carers, Child Contact Centres and Services, Commonwealth, Commonwealth Games, Complex Needs, Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis, Continence Care, Coronavirus, Cyber Security, Dementia, Global Health, Health, Hospice and Palliative Care, Intensive Care, Japan, Liver Disease and Liver Cancer, Medical Research, Multiple Sclerosis, Music Education, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Obesity, Occupational Safety and Health, Parkinson's, Patient Safety, Recovery from Addictions, Skin, Smoking and Health, Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies, Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention, Treatment of AddictionDivision Voting information
Debates during the 2024 Parliament
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
(29 debate interactions)
(4 debate interactions)
Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
(4 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(19 debate contributions)
(12 debate contributions)
(10 debate contributions)
(7 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(1,885 words contributed)
(1,537 words contributed)
(1,321 words contributed)
(1,134 words contributed)
Lords initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
4 Bills introduced by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff
Parallel Parliament Note:
The provisions of the Bill were ultimately enacted through the Online Safety Act 2023.
A Bill to require OFCOM to establish a unit to advise the Secretary of State regarding the use of social media platforms to encourage or assist serious self-harm and activities associated with risk of suicide; and for connected purposes
A Bill to make provision for equitable access to palliative care services; for advancing education, training and research in palliative care; and for connected purposes
Tuesday 23rd February 2016
A bill to make provision for NHS service commissioners to ensure that persons for whom they have responsibility for commissioning physical and mental health services have access to specialist and generalist palliative care and support services; to enable hospices to access pharmaceutical services on the same basis as other services commissioned by a clinical commissioning group; and to make provision for treatment of children with a life-limiting illness
A Bill to make provision for equitable access to palliative care services; for advancing education, training and research in palliative care; and for connected purposes.
Thursday 9th June 2016
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 19 Written Questions
(View all written questions)DfT is committed to long term strategies for road investment. As announced in the October Budget, a decision was taken to postpone the start of the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), to allow Ministers time to make an assessment of priorities for roads. DfT will provide funding through an Interim Settlement to National Highways covering 2025-26, to allow for important maintenance and enhancement activities to continue. The planned start of RIS3 is April 2026 and the drink-drive limit will not form part of the RIS.
This Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. Since the general election, the Department has begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade. The Department will share more details in due course.
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The number of people, by legacy benefit, sent a Migration Notice and of those that made a claim to Universal Credit is only available to December 2024.
These statistics are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore, with the last update on 18 February. The next official statistics update is due on 13 May, which will have data to end of March 2025. There will also be people who claim Universal Credit (natural migration) without being asked, which will have been counted in the overall published People on UC statistics.
The latest available statistics are provided in the separate spreadsheet and available at Stat-Xplore - Table View.
Our Move to UC official statistics analytical datasets do not contain terminal illness information and work to identify, understand, link data and quality assure would only be available at disproportionate cost.
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
15 Department of Health and Social Care Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's DHSC questions)Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we are equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new ‘MyCarer’ section to the NHS App.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026. The commission will start a national conversation about what care and support working age adults, older people, and their families expect from adult social care, including exploring the needs of unpaid carers who provide vital care and support.
In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes, through practical changes like installing stair lifts or level access showers, to make them safe and suitable for their needs. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our health system has struggled to support those with complex needs, including those with dementia. Under the 10-Year Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in the quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.
Commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and funded by NHS England and the Welsh administration, the National Audit of Dementia Memory Service Spotlight reports include data on aspects of the diagnostic process, including waiting times and variation in service delivery in terms of diagnosis speed, neuroimaging use, and post-diagnostic support. The aim is to aid commissioners and providers in planning and targeting improvement where appropriate.
The Government is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, with further information available at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ website, in an online only format.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The work undertaken so far to address the issues regarding contaminated blood in the United Kingdom has been related to the hepatitis C and HIV infections.
The Infected Blood Inquiry, in its Expert Report to the Infected Blood Inquiry: Statistics noted in relation to hepatitis B (HBV), that “due to the limitations in the data available, it is not possible to answer the questions set with any reasonable accuracy when compared to other infections we investigated. There was a lack of an integrated approach at the onset of donor screening in 1971/72 to identify donors who were infectious HBV carriers. Furthermore, people infected with HBV have never received financial support, and so funds are not a source of data.”
For these reasons, the Government has not made an assessment of the number of victims from contaminated blood that have been infected with HBV or hepatitis D in the United Kingdom, due to the lack of available data.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
External engagement is a fundamental part of what United Kingdom ministerial Government departments do. We recognise the importance of promoting transparency through engagement and the need to take a balanced and proportionate approach. Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations, including engagement with the alcohol industry, are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website, in an online only format.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is currently reviewing options for the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards. Introduction of the Liberty Protection Safeguards would include a revised Code of Practice. We will set out our plans in due course.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill continues to be a matter for Parliament. The Government is neutral on the substantive policy questions relevant to how the law in this area could change, and on the principle of assisted dying.
The impact assessment considered different scenarios for illustrative purposes only, and does not indicate a Government position. If the bill progresses, detailed work on a delivery model would need to be developed.
As part of this work, the Government would consult with relevant stakeholders before bringing forward affirmative regulations on the training requirements for assessing doctors.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) welcomes proposals to improve the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) programme, which offers screening for the development dysplasia of the hip. Proposals to modify the programme can be submitted to the UK NSC via its annual call for topics. To date the UK NSC has not received a request to review the current programme. The UK NSC is also aware that the National Institute for Health and Care Research has funded a research fellowship to explore screening for hip dysplasia, and looks forward to reading its published report in due course.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Gas Safety Installation and Use Regulations 1998 require hospitals, care homes, and hospice owners to ensure gas appliances are installed and maintained properly by a competent gas safe registered engineer. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises that this is the most effective way to reduce the risk from carbon monoxide. We have no current plans to change the regulations in place for hospitals, care homes, and hospices, unless experts at HSE revise their advice.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to better care and support for people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists and researchers, representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the devolved administrations, ME/CFS charities, and organisations and patients with lived experience of ME/CFS.
We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, with three broad themes of boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of those living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish the final delivery plan by the end of March 2025.
Research is an important pillar of the delivery plan for ME/CFS. Future planned action to support research in this area will take a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, recognising the value of patient and public representatives in particular.
The Department funds research on ME/CFS through the NIHR and the MRC. The NIHR and the MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring the next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, through for example research fellowships, and, in the case of the NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. The NIHR welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners, including patient representative groups and industry, to stimulate further research in this area.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to better care and support for people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have reconvened the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, including senior Department and cross-Government officials, ME/CFS specialists and researchers, representatives from NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC), the devolved administrations, ME/CFS charities, and organisations and patients with lived experience of ME/CFS.
We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by responses to the 2023 consultation on the interim delivery plan, alongside continued stakeholder engagement via the ME/CFS Task and Finish Group, with three broad themes of boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of those living with ME/CFS. We aim to publish the final delivery plan by the end of March 2025.
Research is an important pillar of the delivery plan for ME/CFS. Future planned action to support research in this area will take a cross-sectoral and inclusive approach, recognising the value of patient and public representatives in particular.
The Department funds research on ME/CFS through the NIHR and the MRC. The NIHR and the MRC remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of ME/CFS, and are actively exploring the next steps for stimulating further research in this area. The MRC and NIHR currently fund research through a variety of routes, including infrastructure, research programmes, capacity building, through for example research fellowships, and, in the case of the NIHR, research delivery to support recruitment to studies. The NIHR welcomes the opportunity to work collaboratively with partners, including patient representative groups and industry, to stimulate further research in this area.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that alcohol deaths are now at record high levels. Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce alcohol-related harms.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The adoption of new treatments, including increasing the number and availability of minimally invasive cancer treatments, into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance and commissioner decisions. Both NHS England and the integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the NICE.
Where treatments are approved by the NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the NHS is required to fund and make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation.
We are committed to training the staff we need to get patients seen on time. The Government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it, including cancer patients.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Both NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs) are required to put in place access for any treatment that carries a positive recommendation from the Technology Appraisal programme, operated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Where treatments are approved by NICE through the Technology Appraisals programme, the National Health Service is required to fund and make them available within agreed timescales, which vary by technology. Implementation of any NICE approvals will be supported by the service readiness assessment and the development of additional capacity where necessary.
During 2024/25, NHS England will continue to support all ICBs in integrating the planning and commissioning of suitable specialised services with their wider population-level commissioning responsibilities, in line with their individual timeline for delegation. Service Development Funding (SDF) is available to support Cancer Alliances to deliver the priorities set out in the 2024/25 NHS Operational Planning Guidance; £266 million in SDF is being provided to Cancer Alliances in 2024/25. Funding comprises two allocations: place-based, provided to all Alliances on a fair shares basis; and, targeted, provided to a selection of Alliances for agreed targeted projects. Cancer SDF is provided to Cancer Alliances via their lead ICBs to enable them to deliver on NHS-wide priorities for cancer, in line with their local delivery plans which are included in their funding agreement.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Good practice for homecare is set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which can be found on the NICE’s website, in an online only format.
Services need to submit statutory notifications to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when a medicines incident reaches a specific threshold. This includes an allegation of abuse, the death of a person, an incident reported to or investigated by the police, or a serious injury.
Data on anything that does not constitute the CQC threshold is not held by the CQC, but may be held by individual providers as a recorded incident.
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
2 Ministry of Justice Questions
(View all Baroness Finlay of Llandaff's ministry-of-justice questions)At present there is no mandatory time period within which all funeral directors across England and Wales should collect the body of a person who has died and take them into their care.
The introduction of regulation into the funeral director sector requires thorough consideration due to the complexity and sensitive nature of the area. It is essential to ensure that the rights and dignity of deceased individuals and their bereaved family members are protected, while implementing measures that are proportionate.
For that reason, the Government is considering the full range of possible next steps to ensure appropriate standards are in place, including the potential for introducing some form of appropriate, proportionate regulation of funeral directors. An update on next steps will be provided in due course.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Law Commission is currently undertaking its “Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods” project which seeks to create a future-proof legal framework to address what happens to our bodies after we die and to make recommendations that will provide modern, certain and consistent regulation across different funerary methods. As part of this project, the Law Commission has considered issues surrounding direct cremation. Its recent “Burial and Cremation” consultation document invited evidence from consultees as to whether, in relation to direct cremations, there are cases where an applicant for the cremation will not know which crematorium will be used at the time of application.
The Government does not currently have plans to require all funeral directors and crematoria to publish their schedule of planned direct cremations. Direct cremations are subject to the same legislation as any other cremation. The Government will consider any changes to the legal framework governing direct cremations as part of any wider recommendations made by the Law Commission in due course. As the Law Commission project is still ongoing, we do not want to pre-empt its recommendations. We look forward to carefully considering these once published, which we expect to be towards the end of 2025.
Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)