Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of clinical trials of donanemab and lecanemab for treating Alzheimer's conditions; and whether they plan to provide those drugs through the NHS.

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

In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for assessing whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on a careful evaluation of clinical and cost effectiveness.

NICE is currently evaluating both lecanemab and donanemab and has not yet published final guidance. NICE was unable to recommend either treatment in its final draft guidance, concluding that the benefits observed in clinical trials, when weighed against the risks and the overall cost, meant they could not currently be considered good value for the NHS. NICE’s independent Appeal Panel has upheld appeals against NICE’s draft recommendations, and its Appraisal Committee will meet to consider the appraisals on 10 June.

The Government has not made a separate assessment of the clinical trials beyond NICE’s independent evaluation.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of current fuel supplies in the UK; and what discussions they have held with forecourt operators about securing supplies of petrol and diesel.

Answered by Lord Whitehead

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current supply of carbon dioxide for food production and preservation; and what steps they are taking to ensure adequate supplies of carbon dioxide.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is actively monitoring the supply of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) which is critical to the UK’s food and drinks sectors. At present, there are no reported shortages of CO2 in the food sector.

The Government has shored up the UK’s critical supplies of CO2 by temporarily restarting the Ensus bioethanol plant in Wilton, Teesside. This will increase short-term UK production capacity and reduce reliance on imports. Defra is working with businesses and other government departments in developing systems to maintain continuity of CO2 supply.

The Government will continue to work closely with industry to monitor supply conditions and ensure that robust contingency arrangements remain in place to protect critical food supply chains.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to maintain the place of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)

The UK Government is committed to delivering for all communities in Northern Ireland which is an important part of the United Kingdom.

The Spending Review provided the Northern Ireland Executive with £19.3bn per year on average, the largest settlement in real terms since devolution in 1998. On 22 April, we announced a £50m Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal, which will help small and medium-sized businesses and start-ups in Northern Ireland by making it easier for them to enter the wider UK defence supply chain.

The Government is committed to protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market. We are strengthening connections between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and implementing the commitments in the Safeguarding the Union command paper.

As set out by the Chancellor at the Budget we are providing £16.6 million of new funding over the next three years for an Internal Market Package to boost trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Package, which will be delivered in partnership with the Northern Ireland Executive, includes £2.25 million of new funding for Intertrade UK to advise on and promote trade within the United Kingdom. This includes identifying and addressing barriers to trade within the UK internal market.

The Government is committed to upholding the Good Friday Agreement in letter and in spirit, including the principle of consent upon which it rests.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to utilise industrial capacity in Northern Ireland to support the defence investment plan.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the defence investment plan.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 28 October 2025 (HL10911), what evidence the Clinical Panel considered in their 2021 review of the Clinical Commissioning Policy: Gastroelectrical stimulation for gastroparesis, published in 2016.

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

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as gastroparesis under the UK Rare Diseases Framework. We published the fifth annual England action plan in February 2026, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance the priorities of the framework.

NHS England’s Clinical Panel considered evidence submitted to review the existing commissioning policy on gastroelectrical stimulation for gastroparesis. This included three evidence papers: a prospectively collected database summary from national gastroparesis registries from the US; a paper comparing surgical treatment (pyloric surgery) with gastric electric stimulation; and an outcome paper from 2011, assessing the long-term clinical outcomes of gastric electrical stimulation therapy using a single manufacturers device.

The evidence considered was more recent than that included in the original 2016 evidence review. However, NHS England concluded that the additional evidence was limited and did not constitute a sufficiently robust clinical evidence base to support any revision to the current policy position, under which the procedure is not routinely commissioned. Clinicians may trigger a review of NHS England’s commissioning policies if new evidence is published.

NHS England does not hold data identifying the number of patients who have received gastric electrical stimulation in each of the past five years. There are a small number of patients who had an electrical stimulator inserted before the ‘not for routine commissioning’ policy was published, who will have presented to services for battery changes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many gastroparesis patients have received gastric electrical stimulation by the NHS in England in each of the past five years.

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

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as gastroparesis under the UK Rare Diseases Framework. We published the fifth annual England action plan in February 2026, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance the priorities of the framework.

NHS England’s Clinical Panel considered evidence submitted to review the existing commissioning policy on gastroelectrical stimulation for gastroparesis. This included three evidence papers: a prospectively collected database summary from national gastroparesis registries from the US; a paper comparing surgical treatment (pyloric surgery) with gastric electric stimulation; and an outcome paper from 2011, assessing the long-term clinical outcomes of gastric electrical stimulation therapy using a single manufacturers device.

The evidence considered was more recent than that included in the original 2016 evidence review. However, NHS England concluded that the additional evidence was limited and did not constitute a sufficiently robust clinical evidence base to support any revision to the current policy position, under which the procedure is not routinely commissioned. Clinicians may trigger a review of NHS England’s commissioning policies if new evidence is published.

NHS England does not hold data identifying the number of patients who have received gastric electrical stimulation in each of the past five years. There are a small number of patients who had an electrical stimulator inserted before the ‘not for routine commissioning’ policy was published, who will have presented to services for battery changes.

Found: Letter dated 13/05/2026 from Lord Whitehead to Lord Hay of Ballyore regarding what assessment they have