Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) set a national target for dementia diagnosis rate and (2) set a referral-to-diagnosis standard for dementia, or include it in the same 18-week target as other conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In developing the Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia, we are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with dementia.
As part of this exercise, we will consider what interventions should be supported to improve diagnosis waiting times, which we know are too long in many areas. We are considering all options to help reduce variation, including reviewing metrics and targets.
The modern service framework will identify the best evidenced interventions that would support progress towards an outcome goal and set standards on how those interventions should be used.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how brain tumour tissue is fresh frozen and stored; and whether they plan to issue clear national guidance to standardise this across the country to assist with future clinical trials, personalised treatments and research.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a specific, standalone assessment of how brain tumour tissue is fresh frozen and stored. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh-freezing, or snap-freezing, of tissue samples have already been developed across pathology networks in England. It is, however, the responsibility of individual pathology services to maintain their own SOPs for the fresh freezing of tissue samples. These protocols outline local capabilities and practices, including access and storage capacity for neurosurgery services. Furthermore, NHS England has completed a gap analysis of the need for freezer capacity and is now looking at how to support services to provide an equitable expansion of that capacity.
NHS England has also produced national sample handling guidance of solid tumours to standardise the collection, processing, and transport of tumour samples, helping to maintain DNA quality and access to precision diagnostics. The guidance is regulated by the Human Tissue Authority, so that human tissue is removed, stored and used in an appropriate, respectful and well-managed way, with consent from patients and families. This ensures human tissue, including brain tumour tissue, can be used to assist in clinical trials, personalised treatment and research. The Department and NHS England will work with professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists, to review tissue retention guidance and consent processes.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what specific funding they are providing to support research and diagnosis of endometriosis.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2024/25, through the NIHR, the Department committed £1.3 million for new research projects on gynaecological conditions and menstrual health, which includes endometriosis. This is building on the existing portfolio commissioned in this area. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including endometriosis. In recognition that some areas of women’s health have been underserved in research, the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England commits to prioritising research through the NIHR in areas of unmet need in women’s health, such as endometriosis.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) timeline, and (2) key milestones, of the changes to passenger rail fares, including integrated contactless ticketing in city regions, as set out in Better Connected: a strategy for integrated transport, published on 2 April.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is working with mayoral combined authorities and local partners to implement improvements to passenger fares and ticketing, with work accelerated in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. With initial delivery of schemes in the West Midlands by spring 2027, and Manchester later this year. We are also exploring options for further improvement with smarter ticketing to passengers in the North and East Midlands, with cutting-edge digital trials.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for full implementation of the Public Service Vehicle (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Public Service Vehicles (Accessible Information) Regulations 2023 (AIR) require the provision of audible and visible route and location information on board most local bus and coach services in Great Britain. The regulations have been applied on a phased basis; local services subject to the Regulations must comply with them by October 2026, with the last tranche of partially compliant vehicles needing to comply by October 2031. We expect operators to ensure this happens on time.
The Government understands and recognises the specific challenges to comply with AIR within some parts of the sector, for example the rail replacement sector. We continue to work closely with partners to assess the sector’s readiness for full compliance and to provide support to help them achieve this. This includes the development of new technological solutions for providing information on board coaches, funding for smaller operators, alongside the existing time-limited exemption from the technical requirements of AIR, which is due to end on 31 July 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the dismissal of a non-executive director of the Department for Transport Operator Limited, Chris Gibb, following reported criticism of revised plans for HS2; and what impact they expect that to have on the provision of independent expert advice on rail policy.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Chair terminated Chris Gibb’s employment following a breach of his terms of appointment.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a freight facilities grant in England, or an interest free loan scheme, to support with the cost of new siding connections.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport currently has no plans to re-instate the Freight Facilities Grant in England or offer interest free loans to support the cost of new siding connections.
The Department has committed £20m in 2026/27 to the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme, which assists companies with the operating costs associated with running rail or inland water freight transport instead of road, where rail or inland waterway transport is more expensive.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which organisations will be involved in the development of the Accessible Travel Charter; and what the timetable is for the development of the charter.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department has committed to creating an Accessible Travel Charter. This will set out commitments for participating transport providers and authorities to sign up to, which are clear to passengers and move us closer to the Department’s ambition for a barrier-free transport system.
We remain fully committed to working with operators across all transport modes, local government, regulators, disabled people, and their representative organisations. 160 organisations have been invited to contribute to the development of the Charter to date, either through a written survey, participation in workshops to frame our approach, or meetings with officials. We are also grateful for the ongoing scrutiny provided by the Department’s Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), which provides independent expert advice.
We want to continue to engage as widely as possible as we develop the Charter principles. We will continue this work by organising further targeted sessions as the work evolves, including through direct engagement with people who have lived experience, to ensure this is fully embedded.
The Charter will set out outcome-focused commitments across the emerging themes of culture shift, accessible information and transport providers working together better locally in disabled passengers’ interests. Setting out what passengers should expect across all modes of transport, these principles will provide a clear and practical framework for improving the accessibility of our transport network.
Our aim is to publish the Charter before the end of 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review how vehicle excise duty is calculated for all road vehicles, including motorcycles, to remove any inconsistencies in the system.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions. As of April last year, zero emission and hybrid cars, vans and motorcycles now pay VED in a similar way to petrol and diesel vehicles.
There are no current plans to review how VED is calculated for all road vehicles. The Government regularly reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs at fiscal events to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy.
Asked by: Baroness Pidgeon (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the timetable and key stage points are for each commitment set out in Better Connected: a strategy for integrated transport, published on 2 April.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Better Connected sets this Government’s vision for people-focussed transport, supported by 40 new commitments to be delivered during this Parliament. Timescales and delivery milestones vary by commitment and will be monitored through the Department's internal governance process.
The strategy also sets out a framework for monitoring progress using headline metrics linked to the eight priorities. Baseline measures for these metrics are being developed to ensure they are robust and aligned with local transport authority outcome frameworks, where possible, drawing on a combination of existing national data sources and new primary data collection.
Further detail will be provided through a progress update in due course.