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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a set of core national production standards for domestically produced and imported food.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s Trade Strategy is clear that we will not lower food standards and will uphold strong animal welfare and environmental protections.

The Government will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage or presents ethical concerns and, where necessary, will use the full range of powers at Government’s disposal to address these concerns and protect our sensitive sectors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure people with (a) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder clear and (b) autism have accessible information about their Right to Choose a provider under the NHS Constitution.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, which will be relevant to the issues raised by the Hon Member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to provide clearer (a) national commissioning guidance and (b) implementation support on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for NHS Integrated Care Boards.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, which will be relevant to the issues raised by the Hon Member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to provide clearer (a) national commissioning guidance and (b) implementation support on autism for NHS Integrated Care Boards.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, which will be relevant to the issues raised by the Hon Member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to The Pensions Commission’s Interim Report Pension 2050: Evidence and Future Priorities, what steps he is taking to (a) encourage and (b) support self-employed workers to save into a private pension.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The proportion of the self-employed who are saving into a pension has fallen significantly, from almost 50% in the late 1990s to less than 20% at present. As highlighted in the Pensions Commission’s interim report, for those whose income solely comes from self-employment, only 4% are contributing to a pension.

While self-employed workers are not eligible for Automatic Enrolment, the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) must accept individuals who are self-employed, who wish to join a pension scheme.

The Pensions Commission has been asked to explore wider steps to improve pension outcomes, including for the self-employed. The Commission published its interim report on 19 May 2026, setting out areas of focus on the longer-term challenges around retirement adequacy, especially for those at the greatest risk of undersaving. The Government will set out its plans following the Pensions Commission’s final report, which is due in early 2027.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a Government-backed Collective Defined Contribution scheme for self-employed workers.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The proportion of the self-employed who are saving into a pension has fallen significantly, from almost 50% in the late 1990s to less than 20% at present. As highlighted in the Pensions Commission’s interim report, for those whose income solely comes from self-employment, only 4% are contributing to a pension.

While self-employed workers are not eligible for Automatic Enrolment, the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) must accept individuals who are self-employed, who wish to join a pension scheme.

The Pensions Commission has been asked to explore wider steps to improve pension outcomes, including for the self-employed. The Commission published its interim report on 19 May 2026, setting out areas of focus on the longer-term challenges around retirement adequacy, especially for those at the greatest risk of undersaving. The Government will set out its plans following the Pensions Commission’s final report, which is due in early 2027.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to strengthen the evidence base on the use of digital and AI-enabled tools in (a) attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and (b) autism assessments to enable the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to update guidance in line with emerging evidence.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, which will be relevant to the issues raised by the Hon Member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to enable stronger (a) oversight and (b) accountability across ADHD and autism services by the Care Quality Commission.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, which will be relevant to the issues raised by the Hon Member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve continuity of care for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, was published on 9 October, providing analysis and recommendations across a wide range of issues relating to the current provision of services in this area.

The Government issued an initial response on the day of publication, available at the link below, but we will set out the full action we are taking in response to the review recommendations in our new Mental Health Strategy to be published later this year, which will be relevant to the issues raised by the Hon Member:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-pledges-earlier-support-to-tackle-mental-health-crises

The Government remains fully committed to developing and publishing a revised cross-Government autism strategy in line with the Autism Act 2009. We will engage on the development of the revised autism strategy, including on whether the scope of the autism strategy should be extended to cover ADHD.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 28 August 2026 to Question 24272, whether a similar internal strategic review of awareness of (a) mental health and (b) neurodiversity will be conducted by the Countering Violent Extremism Hub.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)

At the Five Country Ministerial in Sydney, August 2026, Five Eyes partners agreed to the Home Office proposal to establish a Countering Violent Extremism Hub in London. This was agreed as a practical way to strengthen our existing cooperation on shared countering violent extremism challenges.

The Hub is distinct from Prevent programmes and does not have a role in the design or delivery of Prevent safeguarding training. Consequently, there are no plans to review Prevent safeguarding training as part of the Hub's creation, including in relation to awareness of these characteristics.

River Lavant

Administration of PAPYRUS

Barbering and hairdressing

Independent cafes and coffee shops