Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to protect vulnerable consumers from disproportionate online insurance price increases.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. This is usually informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics. The government does not usually intervene in these decisions.

However, the government is committed to ensuring that insurers treat their customers fairly and insurance companies are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive). The FCA monitors firms to make sure they provide products that are fair value, and, where necessary, it will take action.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support newly qualified midwives in securing employment following the completion of their training placements.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and will ensure thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and ensuring a seamless transition from training to employment.

Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives, to further ease the recruitment strain.

These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle shortages of medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Medicine supply issues are global in their nature and, while we cannot always prevent them, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and to mitigate risks to patients. There is a team in the Department that deals with medicine supply problems by working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others operating in the supply chain. We also work with partners to ensure alternative treatments are available to patients until their usual treatments are back in stock.

The Department has been notified of a discontinuation of apomorphine (APO-go PFS) 50mg/10ml pre-filled syringes from September 2025 used in the management of Parkinson’s Disease. Alternative formulations of apomorphine remain available for patients and management guidance has been issued to the National Health Service.

On 11 August, we published a policy paper titled Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines. This marks the beginning of a new phase of work planned and aims to provide greater transparency of the further actions that the Department and NHS England are taking to protect patients from medicines shortages and strengthen medicines supply chain resilience. The paper is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines

Prostate screening in Hampshire

Equitable national prostate cancer screening

Ban trophy hunting imports

Shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy

New blood cancer drug

Restless legs syndrome

Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2025

Review into breast cancer screening

Implications for rural communities of the Autumn Budget 2024

Found: MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos Manuela Perteghella Alex Brewer

Found: MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos Manuela Perteghella Alex Brewer

Found: MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos Manuela Perteghella Alex Brewer

Found: MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos Manuela Perteghella Alex Brewer

Found: _NC32 John Milne Mr Paul Kohler Ellie Chowns Sarah Dyke Gideon Amos Chris Coghlan Alex Brewer Rachel

Found: MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos Manuela Perteghella Alex Brewer

Found: _NC33 John Milne Mr Paul Kohler Ellie Chowns Sarah Dyke Gideon Amos Chris Coghlan Alex Brewer Rachel

Found: MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos Manuela Perteghella Alex Brewer

Found: Carmichael Tessa Munt Ian Roome Caroline VoadenVikki Slade Josh Babarinde Lisa SmartWera Hobhouse Alex Brewer