Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive about establishing a national allergy register in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving care for people with allergies, and ensuring that they receive high-quality care and support and access to the latest treatments.
NHS England does not collect national data on allergy prevalence or services, nor does it issue specific guidance. In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.
Data regarding all anaphylaxis-related deaths in England and Wales are documented by the Office for National Statistics, and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology also holds a register to capture and learn from fatal cases of anaphylaxis, which has been operational since 1992, namely the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Registry (UKFAR).
NHS England’s National Patient Safety Team is working with the UKFAR to develop a mechanism for sharing relevant patient safety information relating to anaphylaxis incidents, including the reporting of anaphylaxis in hospitals. The aim will be for the UKFAR to extract and share patient safety incidents reported to the national databases, the National Reporting and Learning System and the Learn from Patient Safety Events service, relating to severe allergic reactions. Work has been progressing on this, and a search strategy has been agreed upon.
For these reasons, the Government has had no discussions with the Scottish Government or Northern Ireland Executive about establishing a national allergy register in the United Kingdom. However, the Department co-chairs the Expert Advisory Group on Allergy, which brings together external allergy stakeholders, the Department and representatives from the devolved governments, to discuss the development of an external national allergy strategy that will be presented to the four governments of the UK to respond in early 2026. The group aims to support the growth and delivery of comprehensive specialist allergy services across the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to establish a national allergy register for England and Wales.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving care for people with allergies, and ensuring that they receive high-quality care and support and access to the latest treatments.
NHS England does not collect national data on allergy prevalence or services, nor does it issue specific guidance. In conducting health needs assessments to inform their commissioning decisions, integrated care boards will have access to a wide range of data sources, including public health data, hospital statistics, primary care data, and social care metrics.
Data regarding all anaphylaxis-related deaths in England and Wales are documented by the Office for National Statistics, and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology also holds a register to capture and learn from fatal cases of anaphylaxis, which has been operational since 1992, namely the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Registry (UKFAR).
NHS England’s National Patient Safety Team is working with the UKFAR to develop a mechanism for sharing relevant patient safety information relating to anaphylaxis incidents, including the reporting of anaphylaxis in hospitals. The aim will be for the UKFAR to extract and share patient safety incidents reported to the national databases, the National Reporting and Learning System and the Learn from Patient Safety Events service, relating to severe allergic reactions. Work has been progressing on this, and a search strategy has been agreed upon.
For these reasons, the Government has had no discussions with the Scottish Government or Northern Ireland Executive about establishing a national allergy register in the United Kingdom. However, the Department co-chairs the Expert Advisory Group on Allergy, which brings together external allergy stakeholders, the Department and representatives from the devolved governments, to discuss the development of an external national allergy strategy that will be presented to the four governments of the UK to respond in early 2026. The group aims to support the growth and delivery of comprehensive specialist allergy services across the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the focus on care in the community in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England, what steps they are considering to enable pharmacies to administer all adult NHS vaccinations, including for shingles and pneumococcal, to support equitable uptake from all communities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have plans to enable community pharmacies to administer all National Health Service adult vaccinations. To take forward our commitment to give community pharmacy a bigger role in prevention by expanding their role in vaccine delivery, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are piloting the use of community pharmacy across several routine vaccination programmes, including respiratory syncytial virus for older adults.
In addition, the national booking service opened on 1 September 2025, allowing all eligible adults the opportunity to book their seasonal flu and/or COVID-19 vaccination appointments from 1 October 2025.
We will continue to work with NHS England to explore and evaluate opportunities to expand the role of community pharmacy in vaccination delivery where this may support our efforts to improve uptake.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the focus in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England on care in the community, what steps they are taking to enable pharmacies to administer all adult NHS vaccinations, including for shingles and pneumococcal disease, to support equitable uptake in all communities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not currently have plans to enable community pharmacies to administer all adult National Health Service vaccinations. To take forward our commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan to give community pharmacy a bigger role in prevention by expanding their role in vaccine delivery, we are piloting the use of community pharmacy across several routine vaccination programmes including respiratory syncytial virus for older adults.
In addition, the national booking service opened on 1 September 2025, allowing all eligible adults the opportunity to book their seasonal flu and/or COVID-19 vaccination appointments from 1 October 2025.
We will continue to work with NHS England to explore and evaluate opportunities to expand the role of community pharmacy in vaccination delivery where this may support our efforts to improve uptake.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the capability of the Harland and Wolff shipyard to construct Royal Navy defence warships before the contract for that project was awarded.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Building on the success of the Type 31 Frigate competition, one of the main aims of the programme was to see British shipbuilders play a key role in the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship competition and for companies, including British firms, to tender for the design and build of the FSS ships. The competition sought to maximise the economic and social contribution shipbuilding can make in the UK, including encouraging investment in domestic shipyards, whilst balancing the need to deliver value for money and an overall compliant solution to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s needs.
The FSS ship contract was awarded to Navantia UK (NUK), with Harland & Wolff (H&W) as a strategic subcontractor and part of the winning consortium. The build strategy was, and remains, that all three ships will be assembled from blocks manufactured in H&W’s shipyards in the UK and Navantia's shipyards in Spain. Final assembly, systems integration and testing of the ships is planned to take place in Belfast.
In order to deliver this build strategy, the contract required an investment of approximately £100 million in Belfast for recapitalisation of production facilities and investment in skills transfer, knowledge and technology.
Throughout the FSS ship’s competition procurement process all bidders were subject to economic and financial standing tests consistent with the relevant UK public procurement legislation and rules. On contract award, the Ministry of Defence’s assessment was that H&W were able to deliver their part of the programme. NUK are responsible for managing their subcontractors, including H&W, with protections ensured through the prime contractual arrangements.
Following H&W’s insolvency and NUK’s acquisition of the four H&W yards in January 2025, the works to recapitalise the Belfast shipyard have restarted; this investment will further strengthen UK capability, modernising the shipbuilding facilities in Belfast and leading to increased productivity and capacity.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expedite a decision on recommending PCV20 for paediatric use, given that the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation, at its February meeting, indicated a preference for PCV20 to extend protection against pneumococcal disease in children but noted that modelling work remained ongoing.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meeting in February 2025, the Committee discussed the use of different available vaccines in the infant pneumococcal vaccination schedule. The JCVI considered that the modelling that was presented at the time suggested there should be a preference for PCV20 in the current 1+1 schedule, provided it could be obtained at a cost-effective price, and that PCV13 and PCV15 could be considered equivalent to each other and suitable for use.
Following the meeting, and in discussions with the Chair, it was agreed that the JCVI and its pneumococcal sub-committee should be given further time to properly scrutinise the models before providing final advice. This was reflected in the minutes of both the February and June 2025 meeting minutes.
Further work on the models is ongoing, meaning JCVI advice remains outstanding on PCV20 in infants. The Department will consider any further JCVI advice on the pneumococcal vaccines used in the infant vaccination schedule in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the National Literacy Trust’s recent report, Young people and teachers’ use of generative AI to support literacy in 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government's Opportunity Mission aims to remove barriers and ensure every child achieves and thrives by providing the best start in life. We are building the evidence base on the impact of technology in education through the EdTech Evidence Board, the Testbed programme, and research into technology and cognitive development.
In its interim report, the Curriculum and Assessment Review noted the importance of the curriculum keeping pace with the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information. The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children develop the strong media literacy skills needed to navigate an increasingly digital world, including the skills to use generative artificial intelligence safely and effectively, to recognise credible sources of information, and to identify misinformation.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer my noble Friend to the answer of 22 July 2025 to Question HL9295.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide teachers with training in media literacy and guidance on the use of generative artificial intelligence during their teacher training courses.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is supporting teachers and leaders to use generative artificial intelligence (AI) safely and effectively to help improve outcomes and reduce workload. We have published free online materials, developed with sector experts, to support staff to use AI safely and effectively in their settings.
In October 2024, Ofcom published its three-year Media Literacy Strategy, which commits to supporting teachers through continuing professional development (CPD), evaluation of training outcomes and stronger collaboration with regional partners to share learnings and effective practices.
In addition, the department funds the National Centre for Computing Education, which provides teachers with free CPD and resources to support the teaching of computing, including media literacy, and AI topics.
As AI and educational technology develop, we will continue to explore how we can drive the safety and efficacy of technology used in education.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to encourage teachers to use generative artificial intelligence as a teaching and lesson planning resource.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
From our research and engagement with the sector, the department has learnt that generative artificial intelligence (AI) could be used for a range of purposes including lesson and curriculum planning and supporting personalised learning.
The department is supporting teachers and leaders to use generative AI safely and effectively to help improve outcomes and reduce workload, including publishing free online materials, developed with sector experts. Oak National Academy’s AI lesson assistant is already helping teachers save time on planning, with reported savings of around three hours per week. Initiatives such as the AI tools for education competition and the Education Content Store pilot are encouraging innovation and evidence-based development of AI tools for marking and feedback. As AI and educational technology develop, we will continue to explore how we can drive the safety and efficacy of technology used in education.