Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of sodium valproate on families affected by fetal valproate syndrome in Northern Ireland; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure a UK-wide redress scheme for those affected by that syndrome.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The impact of sodium valproate on families affected by fetal valproate syndrome in Northern Ireland is a transferred matter and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive, therefore an assessment has not been made by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity. Although the Hughes Report and its recommendations only cover patients harmed in England, the Government recognises that any response will likely have implications for the whole of the United Kingdom, and is engaging with the devolved administrations on the Hughes Report.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure local authorities have equal access to funding for special educational needs and disabilities services.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for English local authorities’ high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND in England to £11.9 billion.

The department is now in the process of calculating indicative high needs funding allocations for local authorities next year through the national funding formula (NFF), which we expect to publish by the end of November.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data his Department holds on the number of lorries turned away at Northern Ireland ports for carrying cargo incorrectly listed on their manifests.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In line with the commitments we have made, as we move to our new UK internal market system we will ensure that the only checks when goods move within the UK internal market system are those conducted by UK authorities as part of a risk-based or intelligence-led approach to tackle criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease risks. But in order not to undermine that approach, as is the case across the UK we do not disclose the specific number or nature of interventions made by UK authorities.

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 (a) increasing public awareness of the symptoms of, (b) provide timely access to (i) diagnostic tests and (ii) treatments for and (c) otherwise take steps to improve early diagnosis rates for ovarian cancer.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms, including symptoms of ovarian cancer, as well as encouraging body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an early point. Previous phases of the campaign have focused on abdominal symptoms which, among other abdominal cancers, can be indicative of ovarian cancer.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including ovarian cancer, as quickly as possible, to treat it faster, and to improve outcomes. This is supported by NHS England’s key ambition on cancer to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.

To ensure women have access to the best treatment for ovarian cancer, NHS England commissioned an audit on ovarian cancer. The aim of the audit is to provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the NHS and the need to improve cancer waiting-time performance and cancer survival. In particular, he has highlighted the need to improve the number of patients starting their treatment within 62 days of referral and to increase the number of patients diagnosed at an earlier stage.

The Government will set out any further priorities on cancer, including on early diagnosis, in a national cancer plan. The national cancer plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.

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 ensure that people with ADHD receive the level of support set out in the guidelines by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence entitled Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management, published on 14 March 2018.

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

The Department is currently considering next steps to improve access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments and support in England. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments and support, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision in England and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD and to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.

Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems in England, which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services, to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department plans to provide through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to projects in Northern Ireland in the 2024-25 financial year; and if she will take steps to ensure that further allocations are used to help tackle economic inactivity.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides £67.5 million for projects in Northern Ireland this financial year.

The Autumn Budget announced that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, for which the previous government made no plans beyond March 2025, will be extended for 2025-26 at a reduced level of £900 million.

With this transitional arrangement, Northern Ireland will continue to benefit from investment next year in local growth, providing certainty of funding in advance of wider local growth funding reforms. This will provide the flexibility to deliver the most important local projects for Northern Ireland, including projects helping those at risk of being left behind.

My department will update the fund prospectus and confirm the Northern Ireland funding allocation for 2025-26 as soon as possible.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief on family-owned farms in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK; and what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to help ensure the (i) sustainability and (ii) generational continuity of agricultural businesses in (A) regions where farming is a part of the local economy and heritage and (B) other areas.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Agricultural land and associated buildings are exempt from business rates.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government provided £5 billion across this year and next to support the ongoing transition towards a more productive and environmentally sustainable agricultural sector in England. This will strengthen the domestic sector, and improve food security.

The devolved governments’ settlements for 2025-26 are the largest in real terms of any settlements since devolution.

Rory McIlroy, DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai

Amy Adair, world medal in karate

Harry Ferguson Museum of Innovation

Olympics opening ceremony

Funding priorities in Northern Ireland

50th anniversary of the Birmingham pub bombings

World Diabetes Day 2024

Release of Emily Damari