Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the financial or legislative barriers to making the display of food hygiene ratings mandatory in England.

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

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is currently exploring a wide set of reforms to the existing food system, and this will include consideration of a statutory Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in England. As part of this work, the FSA will review the available legislative options and update its assessment of the associated costs and benefits of a statutory scheme. Ministers will consider proposals in due course.

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 2), how many Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) do not have a fracture liaison service in each of the NHS hospitals within the ICB.

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

Analysis of 2025 Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) data shows that the number of FLS’ in England has increased since 2024, from 80 to 83. These 83 services are based in 23 out of the 25 integrated care board (ICB) clusters.

Analysis of the 2025 data suggests that no ICB clusters had an FLS in each of the NHS hospitals within the ICB clusters. The number of FLS’ per ICB cluster ranged from one to eight.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to a public information campaign on systemic state-sponsored non-military efforts that disrupt economic and political systems in the UK; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such a campaign on national defence and deterrence.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The UK faces a growing, diversifying threat from malign activity by a number of states. Our security depends on a society that is informed, prepared and able to respond with confidence to different threats or risks when it matters most.

To that end, and as set out in the Strategic Defence Review, we have established a national conversation on defence and security. Central to our whole-of-society approach is the provision of clear public information and advice on all-hazards emergency preparedness, available through the Prepare website (www.gov.uk/prepare). When people know what immediate action they should take during an emergency or significant disruption to essential services, regardless of its origin, they strengthen our national resilience.

The National Security Strategy includes further details of the UK’s strategic framework for long term deterrence of disruptive activity.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether and how Osteoporosis is considered within wider preventative health policies.

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

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 the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government on how many occasions since July 2024 ministers have met representatives of the Royal Osteoporosis Society.

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

Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK. These publications show that, on 16 December 2025, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, Ashley Dalton MP, met the Royal Osteoporosis Society to discuss work and insights on Osteoporosis, bone health, and interventions such as Fracture Liaison Services. There have been several similar meetings at official level.

Found: Baroness Coffey Lord Jay of Ewelme Lord Krebs (acting Chair) Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Lord Rooker

Found: Lord Ashcombe Baroness Coffey Lord Jay of Ewelme Lord Krebs Lord Lennie Lord Redwood Lord Rooker

Found: Apologies and notices Apologies were received from Lord Lennie, Baroness Rafferty and Lord Rooker.

Found: Baroness Rafferty No relevant interests declared Lord Redwood No relevant interests declared Lord Rooker

This inquiry will consider how the UK can maintain a secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity supply during ‘dunkelflaute’ events – periods of low wind and solar energy generation. This will include an assessment of current UK preparedness for dunkelflaute conditions, future plans, and policy and regulatory gaps.