Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the tax information and impact note, Private School Fees – VAT Measure, published on 15 November 2024, given that pupil losses in the independent school sector have already exceeded the level forecast for the 2029/30 school year.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Introducing VAT on private schools will raise £1.7 billion per year by 2029/30. Since the VAT measure on private school fees has come into effect, the Office for Budget Responsibility has continued to re-cost the revenue raised each year. At Autumn Budget 2025 the re-costing of the measure showed it will raise around £40 million per year more than originally forecast, reaffirming the detailed analysis conducted when this policy was introduced.

The overall fall in private school pupil numbers since the policy came into effect is in line with expectations and reflects demographic change across the whole school system, not the VAT policy alone. We have seen pupil numbers fall across primary, secondary, and independent schools alike. This is primarily driven by falling birth rates, following a peak in 2012, as cohorts move through secondary school age and smaller year groups enter primary.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb col 1), which two newly reconfigured Integrated Care Board (ICB) areas do not currently have a Fracture Liaison Service (FLS); whether the statement that 23 of the 25 newly reconfigured ICB areas have at least one FLS now represents the Government’s measure of progress towards national rollout by 2030; if so, when that measure was adopted; if not, by what metric the Government measures progress towards delivering FLS "across every part of the country"; and whether the Government would regard their commitment to universal coverage as fulfilled if every newly reconfigured ICB area had at least one FLS.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 1 September in response to Question HL2030, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

Our 10-Year Health Plan is clear that the future National Health Service must be more preventative, more integrated, and deliver more care closer to home, including for people with osteoporosis.

The Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030, and we are clear that everyone at risk of fragility fractures should be able to benefit from high-quality, timely care that supports prevention, early intervention, and effective management. We are pursuing those goals across the whole pathway of fracture prevention, including improving access to diagnosis, supporting the adoption of effective treatments, and encouraging local systems to develop services that identify people at the highest risk of future fractures and intervene early.

Earlier this year, the Government announced £2.6 million of funding for 20 new DEXA bone density scanners across England. Tens of thousands of patients will benefit from faster access to bone scans as a result, helping to ensure that people with bone conditions, such as osteoporosis, get diagnosed earlier. This builds on the first wave of 13 DEXA scanners announced last year. In 2025, over 21,000 extra DEXA scans were delivered in England compared with 2024.

We continue to work closely with NHS England to improve access to fracture prevention services and to explore the best ways of supporting local systems to deliver high-quality care which meets the needs of their populations. The Government has been clear that integrated care boards are best placed to shape services for their localities and we have set expectations, through the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy, that they should prioritise community-based models when commissioning new services.

Progress in this area can be monitored through activity and outcomes reported through the Fracture Liaison Service Database.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what consultations they undertook in advance of the establishment of the Prize Competition Council on 1 July; whether they included the Advertising Standards Authority, the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Institute of Promotional Marketing in any such consultations; and what was the result of those consultations.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Prize Competition Council (PCC) was established independently of the Government.

Whilst DCMS did not have a role in establishing the PCC, DCMS engaged extensively with a wide range of stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, to develop the Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators.

Published in November 2025, this Code sets a clear and uniform approach across the sector to strengthen player protections, increase transparency and improve accountability.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb cols 2–3), how many patients were identified by, assessed by and commenced on treatment through Fracture Liaison Services in England in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025; and what the equivalent figures are for the latest date for which figures are available.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The FLS database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by FLSs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The data is based on an annual data collection from all FLSs that have registered and participated in the audit in a given year. The following table shows the latest estimates of the number of FLSs in England for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Complete data for 2026 is not yet available, and data for 2025 is still being updated:

Source: the FLS Database, accessed on 20 August 2026.

The FLS Database does not provide specific dates for when each service became operational, nor does it provide estimates of how many patients have been identified by FLSs on a monthly basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb cols 2–3), how many Fracture Liaison Services were operating in England in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025; how many were operating on the latest date for which figures are available; and what definition they use of an operating Fracture Liaison Service.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The FLS database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by FLSs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The data is based on an annual data collection from all FLSs that have registered and participated in the audit in a given year. The following table shows the latest estimates of the number of FLSs in England for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Complete data for 2026 is not yet available, and data for 2025 is still being updated:

Source: the FLS Database, accessed on 20 August 2026.

The FLS Database does not provide specific dates for when each service became operational, nor does it provide estimates of how many patients have been identified by FLSs on a monthly basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Merron on 6 July (HL Deb cols 2-3), how many additional Fracture Liaison Services have become operational since July 2024; and how many additional patients have been identified, assessed or treated by those services as a result.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme, which includes a dedicated Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) database, is a clinical audit of fracture prevention care, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The FLS database collects, measures, and reports on the care provided by FLSs in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The data is based on an annual data collection from all FLSs that have registered and participated in the audit in a given year. The following table shows the latest estimates of the number of FLSs in England for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Complete data for 2026 is not yet available, and data for 2025 is still being updated:

Source: the FLS Database, accessed on 20 August 2026.

The FLS Database does not provide specific dates for when each service became operational, nor does it provide estimates of how many patients have been identified by FLSs on a monthly basis.

Found: Meeting Steering Group for Change Member Appointment (C/26–27/21 [UNRESTRICTED]) Following Lord Black of Brentwood