Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress she has made on revising the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In August 2024, the then Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms asked industry to consider revising the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice to better reflect community concerns and convened a roundtable discussion with network operators.
In response, industry established the Telecommunications Poles Working Group, which published best practice recommendations in March 2025. These set out expectations for operators on siting infrastructure and engaging with local authorities and communities.
The Government will continue to assess how the industry’s response to this issue affects the deployment of new networks, but has no plans to revise the Code of Practice further at this stage.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 78821, whether additional resources have been allocated to research on (a) Giloma, (b) Glioblastoma, (c) Astrocytoma, (d) DIPG and (e) DMG brain tumour types in the last year.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner on 10 November 2025 to Question 78821. As investment for cancer research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, 2024/25 is the most recent year that we have detailed data for by cancer type.
The Department invests almost £1.8 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.
As announced in the National Cancer Plan, investment in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, co-funding of the Cancer Research UK Brain Tumour Centres of Excellence, and other direct programmatic spend through NIHR funding streams totals a combined investment of £32.3 million since July 2024, and a total of £45.2 million since 2018, all of which is designed to accelerate brain cancer research. In addition, the NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, including research centres, which run studies, facilities and services, and the research workforce, leverages research funding from other donors and organisations. These NIHR investments in infrastructure are estimated to be £44.5 million over the period 2018/19 to 2024/25, enabling 298 brain tumour research studies to take place.
As part of this funding, the NIHR announced increased investment of over £25 million in the NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium. The world-leading consortium aims to transform outcomes for adults and children, and their families, who are living with brain tumours, ultimately reducing lives lost to cancer. Progress will be monitored through approved NIHR contract management processes over the period of the award contracts, which range from five to 10 years.
We continue to support researchers to develop and submit applications to the most appropriate programmes. The NIHR Research Support Service provides free, expert advice and support to applied health, public health, and social care researchers on the design and delivery of research and the development of research funding applications.
The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas in advance. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including all cancer types.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to consult on the regulation of fireworks.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that people hold a range of views on fireworks, including their impact on people, animals and local communities, as well as their importance to businesses and public events. The regulatory framework is kept under review, and I will continue to engage with business, consumer groups and charities to inform future policy decisions.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve working conditions for parents working in primary and secondary education settings.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is taking a range of steps to improve working conditions for parents working in schools.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 provides for the establishment of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). This will be a new statutory body with a remit to negotiate pay, terms and conditions, and advise on training and career progression for school support staff.
We have committed to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From the academic year 2027/28, schoolteachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay doubled from four weeks to eight weeks. We will also enable the SSSNB to prioritise maternity pay in its first year of operation to negotiate an equivalent improvement for support staff.
Wider government reforms which will also apply to schools over time, include the introduction of new requirements on pay gap reporting and workforce action plans, alongside changes to flexible working. We are also developing a new workforce retention programme to launch this autumn to reduce workload, improve wellbeing and diversity and increase availability of flexible working.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the parity of GCSE English Language and IGCSE English Language on the coursework route qualifications.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
GCSE English Language and IGCSE English Language are distinct qualifications, which are assessed and regulated in different ways.
GCSE English Language qualifications in England are regulated by Ofqual, with subject content set by the Department. These GCSEs are assessed through examinations only, with no coursework contributing to the final grade.
IGCSE English Language is a different qualification that is not regulated by Ofqual and includes a coursework component as part of its assessment.
The UK National Information Centre assesses the comparability of overseas qualifications with UK qualifications, including those in English.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of whether X continues to qualify for protection as a platform rather than a publisher under UK law.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act imposes a range of duties on user-to-user service providers, including X, requiring them to proactively identify, mitigate and manage risks to users, and to be accountable for the safety of their platforms.
Service providers must proactively mitigate risk of use for illegal activity and must address illegal content when it appears. They must also prevent children from encountering the most harmful content and must implement age-appropriate measures to protect children from other kinds of harmful content.
Ofcom, the independent regulator, has powers to take robust enforcement action where service providers do not comply with Act duties.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration his Department has given to reviewing NHS optical voucher values for children with complex visual needs, particularly those with conditions such as Albanism.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that children, including those with complex visual needs such as albinism, can access appropriate optical care and appliances.
National Health Service optical vouchers are designed to support eligible groups, including children, with the cost of clinically necessary glasses or contact lenses. Voucher values range from £42.40 to £233.56, with individuals with more complex prescriptions receiving the high voucher values. There are no plans for a review of NHS optical vouchers.
Children and young people with significant or complex vision impairment may also be supported through NHS low vision services. These services provide specialist assessment and, where appropriate, low vision aids to help maximise functional vision and independence.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's consultation document entitled Assistive software funded through Disabled Students’ Allowance, published on 26 March 2026, what steps she is taking to ensure that any restrictions to access to specialist software will not be detrimental to student learning.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s consultation on assistive software funded through Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) seeks to gather evidence on how best to modernise the support provided to take into account the huge advances in technology over recent years. As part of this, the consultation explores how the widespread availability of built‑in and free-to-access accessibility tools can meet some students’ needs without the use of specific specialist software products funded through DSA. The proposals in the consultation envisage that assistive software will continue to be funded through DSA where there is an additional disability-related need for it that cannot be met by any other software available to the student free of charge.
No policy decisions have yet been made. The consultation remains live until 18 June, and responses will inform final policy decisions following the consultation.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 2 June 2025 on Question 56485 on the limited capability for work and work-related activity element of Universal Credit, what progress has been made in reviewing the Child Maintenance calculation.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and ensuring it is fair for both parents and encourages willing and able compliance.
The outcome of the review and next steps will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that migration from legacy benefits to Universal Credit does not affect a benefit claimant's eligibility for Council Tax Reduction, including the level of reduction they are entitled to; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that local authorities treat the Universal Credit transitional element as a regular part of a Universal Credit award for the purposes of determining Council Tax Reduction eligibility.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not have any control over council tax schemes, and overarching responsibility for Local Council Tax Reduction lies with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). As a result, Council Tax Reduction entitlement may differ from the support customers previously received under legacy benefits.
We recognise that this can be difficult for customers, particularly where there has been no change in their overall household income following migration to Universal Credit. Transitional protection is designed to protect customers’ benefit entitlement levels when they move to Universal Credit. It does not provide cover for schemes that are administered by local authorities, including Council Tax Reduction, which are assessed separately from benefit entitlement.