Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals in the Autumn Budget 2025 on community pharmacies in Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 2026/27 national community pharmacy funding arrangements will be subject to consultation with Community Pharmacy England, which will commence shortly.

Funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/2026. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of school absence fines on (a) neurodiverse children and (b) their families.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ promotes a 'support first' approach, which sets clear expectations about how schools, local authorities and wider services should work together with families to address attendance barriers. This includes where a pupil's attendance is affected by their neurodiversity.

The guidance is clear that schools should work in partnership with families, establish strategies to remove any in-school barriers these pupils face, and consider support or reasonable adjustments.

The department has also introduced a national framework for issuing fixed penalty notices which strengthens protections for parents with an expectation that attendance support will have been provided before a penalty notice can be used.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he will publish the Defence Investment Plan.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will be published when it is ready. Our aim is to ensure decisions in the DIP are robust and support the development of both current and future capabilities, helping to drive the transformation of our Armed Forces described in the Strategic Defence Review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered removing prescription charges for patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans to add cystic fibrosis to the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate which exempts the holder from paying the National Health Service prescription charge.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taken to reduce the waiting times for a decision on Access to Work claims from Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to reducing waiting times for Access to Work. We have increased the number of staff processing Access to Work claims by 27% and applications from customers who are about to start a job or who are renewing are prioritised.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper launched a consultation on the future of Access to Work which has now concluded. Following over 47,500 responses from individuals, charities and other stakeholders, as well as 18 consultation events, we published our summary of the responses to the Pathways to Work Green Paper consultation on 30 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the number of neurodivergent children living in temporary accommodation in (a) Yeovil constituency (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Homelessness is far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including neurodivergent children. Accommodation provided to homeless households must be suitable to their needs. The government collects and publishes data on the support needs of households owed a homelessness duty (which includes households with support needs due to learning disabilities).

In October 2025 the government announced £10.9 million funding for 61 councils with the highest levels of children in temporary accommodation. This funding will be used to increase access to support and services for families and make a tangible impact on their quality of life whilst they remain in need. This will deliver positive benefits for education and health outcomes, including school attendance.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are introducing a single unique identifier for children nationally to help improve information sharing and safeguarding, which means practitioners and services working with families and children must receive and share relevant information about children and families they support, including to assess safeguarding risks effectively. We will introduce a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs that a child is in temporary accommodation.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the experiences of neurodivergent children living in temporary accommodation in Yeovil constituency

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Homelessness is far too high, and this can have a devastating impact on those affected, including neurodivergent children. Accommodation provided to homeless households must be suitable to their needs. The government collects and publishes data on the support needs of households owed a homelessness duty (which includes households with support needs due to learning disabilities).

In October 2025 the government announced £10.9 million funding for 61 councils with the highest levels of children in temporary accommodation. This funding will be used to increase access to support and services for families and make a tangible impact on their quality of life whilst they remain in need. This will deliver positive benefits for education and health outcomes, including school attendance.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are introducing a single unique identifier for children nationally to help improve information sharing and safeguarding, which means practitioners and services working with families and children must receive and share relevant information about children and families they support, including to assess safeguarding risks effectively. We will introduce a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GPs that a child is in temporary accommodation.

Octagon Memory Choir

Orchard Gymnastics

Career of Ann Lambert

Radiotherapy in the National Cancer Plan

Bird gathering licences

Sinking of SS Tilawa