Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the lead for children and young people will be appointed to the National Cancer Board; what the process for this appointment will be; and whether stakeholders will be able to contribute to the appointment process.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to continuing its work with key cancer partners to deliver the commitments outlined in the National Cancer Plan. We are also committed to bringing together and coordinating the right people and partners, including charities and the third sector.
A reformed National Cancer Board will be accountable for delivery of the National Cancer Plan, and the first meeting of the board is expected in the coming months, when the full membership has been agreed. The appointment of the lead of children and young people’s cancer will follow in due course and will join the first meeting of the board. Charities and third sector organisations have been crucial to informing the development of the National Cancer Plan and we will continue to involve them throughout its implementation.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure charities and the third sector are involved in the delivery and implementation of, and accountability structure for, The National Cancer Plan for England, in particular with reference to children and young people.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to continuing its work with key cancer partners to deliver the commitments outlined in the National Cancer Plan. We are also committed to bringing together and coordinating the right people and partners, including charities and the third sector.
A reformed National Cancer Board will be accountable for delivery of the National Cancer Plan, and the first meeting of the board is expected in the coming months, when the full membership has been agreed. The appointment of the lead of children and young people’s cancer will follow in due course and will join the first meeting of the board. Charities and third sector organisations have been crucial to informing the development of the National Cancer Plan and we will continue to involve them throughout its implementation.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many newly qualified midwives have been supported into employment under the graduate guarantee to date; and how this compares to their initial objective that every newly qualified midwife will have the opportunity to join the health and social care workforce.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking a long-term approach to workforce planning, including strengthening the supply and retention of maternity staff as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. This includes ensuring that newly qualified midwives are supported into employment and that workforce decisions align with both service need and long-term sustainability.
Following an £8 million investment to expand midwifery workforce capacity, more than 850 additional temporary roles have been created to support and employ more newly qualified midwives since September 2025, supporting the Government’s objective that every newly qualified nurse and midwife in England can apply to join the health workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS trusts are not subject to recruitment freezes where they risk compromising delivery of the graduate guarantee.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking a long-term approach to workforce planning, including strengthening the supply and retention of maternity staff as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan. This includes ensuring that newly qualified midwives are supported into employment and that workforce decisions align with both service need and long-term sustainability.
Following an £8 million investment to expand midwifery workforce capacity, more than 850 additional temporary roles have been created to support and employ more newly qualified midwives since September 2025, supporting the Government’s objective that every newly qualified nurse and midwife in England can apply to join the health workforce.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to ensure eggs imported into the UK will continue to meet the same food safety, traceability and hen welfare standards during the transition to cage-free systems.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the UK’s trade strategy, the Government will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage. Where necessary, the Government will be prepared to use the full range of powers at the Government’s disposal to protect the UK’s most sensitive sectors.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to improve the quality and consistency of sorted scrap metal to meet increased demand for future electric arc furnace steelmaking in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Steel Strategy, announced on 19 March 2026, sets out the creation of a cross-government group consisting of DBT, DEFRA, DESNZ, other departments and devolved governments. The group will evaluate proposals and engage representatives from industry, unions, academia, and other stakeholders across the market, to ensure a sustainable supply of high-quality scrap for the domestic steel sector.
The Group will take into account that the UK demand for scrap could grow to 6.7m tonnes, whilst UK supply is around 10-11m tonnes a year.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure an equitable provision of radiotherapy treatment.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains committed to ensuring that all patients have timely access to cutting-edge cancer treatments, including radiotherapy. This commitment has been demonstrated by a £70 million investment into 28 new LINAC radiotherapy machines, which are currently being rolled out and replacing outdated, inefficient radiotherapy equipment. These new machines will reduce waiting times and increase treatment capacity by 15%, enabling an additional 27,500 patients to be treated each year.
We expect that local systems will continue to look for opportunities to streamline radiotherapy treatment services, improve treatment availability, and harness artificial intelligence technology to support oncologists to plan radiotherapy treatments faster and more accurately.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further action they are taking to procure UK-made steel for alterations and additions to (1) Royal Air Force, (2) Royal naval, and (3) army bases and installations.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is committed to creating the right conditions in the UK for a competitive and sustainable steel industry. The sector provides vital support to the UK’s defence capabilities, including specialist cast and forged steel components for a range of defence programmes. The department publishes its future pipeline for steel requirements, enabling UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for upcoming contracts.
The National Security Strategy, Strategic Defence Review, and Defence Industrial Strategy set out how a strong industrial base is critical for maintaining our national security infrastructure. While steel used in our major Defence programmes is generally sourced by our prime contractors from a range of UK and international suppliers, Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurement activity will continue to apply PPN 022, a policy aimed at increasing the use of British-produced steel in public contracts. The MOD also supports the recently published UK Steel Strategy which sets out a long-term plan to revitalise the UK steel sector and restore domestic production to sustainable levels.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to genetic testing for inherited cardiovascular conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing in the National Health Service plays an important role in diagnosing and managing inherited cardiovascular conditions. The National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD) outlines eligibility criteria for genomic testing, including for conditions such as familial hypercholesterolaemia, cardiomyopathies, Long QT syndrome, and Brugada syndrome. The NGTD is reviewed annually, with input from expert groups, to ensure it reflects the latest scientific advances and delivers value for money.
Seven NHS Genomic Medicine Service Alliances improve access to genomic testing, including for cardiovascular conditions, through the systematic embedding of genomics in end-to-end clinical pathways and clinical specialities, as well as improving clinicians’ awareness of genomic testing services available for patients.
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to creating a genomics population health service by the end of the decade. This will support earlier detection of inherited causes of major diseases and begin integrating genomic insights into cardiovascular disease prevention and care, including through a service evaluation with Our Future Health on Integrated Risk Scores and through neighbourhood health teams to increase equitable uptake of genomic testing.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to make procurement processes for British food producers more transparent and accessible.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to opening up public sector supply chains to a wider range of companies, particularly small and medium-sized (SME) businesses, including farmers and growers. The Government published a national procurement policy statement (NPPS) in February 2025. The NPPS sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to higher environmental standards that high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet. Given the limited information on the origin and sustainability of food in the public sector supply chain, Defra has begun collecting new data to understand how far public sector settings are serving food from local and sustainable sources and what further action is needed.