Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
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 whether funding for epilepsy research is proportionate to the prevalence of epilepsy.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Departmental investment in the NIHR facilitates the direct funding of research projects through NIHR programmes, support for researchers to develop and conduct research through NIHR translational infrastructure, and a workforce to deliver research on behalf of other funders through NIHR research delivery infrastructure.
Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, through the NIHR, the Department invested £12.8 million in direct research funding on epilepsy. This investment in epilepsy research allows us to continue to develop our understanding of the condition, including on its prevalence, and make a real difference to people living with epilepsy.
Whilst no assessment has been made of whether the funding for epilepsy research is proportionate to the prevalence of epilepsy, the NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including epilepsy. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase funding opportunities for epilepsy research.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage on 1 June 2026 to Question 4032.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the April 2026 business rates revaluation and the withdrawal of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief on post offices, including on small and rural branches.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Post offices are eligible for small business rates relief or 100 per cent rural rate relief if they meet certain conditions.
Post offices losing rural rate relief, Small Business Rates Relief, or RHL relief at the 2026 revaluation are eligible for the Supporting Small Business scheme, which caps bill increases at the higher of £800 a year, or the relevant Transitional Relief caps.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including post offices. The new RHL multipliers replace the temporary RHL relief that had been winding down since the pandemic. Unlike RHL relief, the new multipliers are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there is no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England benefit.
Later this year the Government will publish a High Streets Strategy to support all high streets nationally and equip local authorities with the tools they need to drive long-term high street regeneration.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered introducing targeted business rates relief for post offices in England.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Post offices are eligible for small business rates relief or 100 per cent rural rate relief if they meet certain conditions.
Post offices losing rural rate relief, Small Business Rates Relief, or RHL relief at the 2026 revaluation are eligible for the Supporting Small Business scheme, which caps bill increases at the higher of £800 a year, or the relevant Transitional Relief caps.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including post offices. The new RHL multipliers replace the temporary RHL relief that had been winding down since the pandemic. Unlike RHL relief, the new multipliers are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there is no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England benefit.
Later this year the Government will publish a High Streets Strategy to support all high streets nationally and equip local authorities with the tools they need to drive long-term high street regeneration.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the High Streets Strategy will include a policy on business rates support for post offices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Post offices are eligible for small business rates relief or 100 per cent rural rate relief if they meet certain conditions.
Post offices losing rural rate relief, Small Business Rates Relief, or RHL relief at the 2026 revaluation are eligible for the Supporting Small Business scheme, which caps bill increases at the higher of £800 a year, or the relevant Transitional Relief caps.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including post offices. The new RHL multipliers replace the temporary RHL relief that had been winding down since the pandemic. Unlike RHL relief, the new multipliers are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there is no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England benefit.
Later this year the Government will publish a High Streets Strategy to support all high streets nationally and equip local authorities with the tools they need to drive long-term high street regeneration.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on introducing a Clean Air Act to enshrine the World Health Organisation's 2021 Air Quality Guidelines into law.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to cleaning up our air and protecting the public from the harm of pollution. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines inform our approach to improving public health. However, as the Guidelines do not take into account national circumstances or achievability, they cannot be readily adopted everywhere. We remain committed to continuous improvement and the WHO Guidelines will continue to inform our evidence when considering next steps.
Air pollution comes from many different sources and has wide-ranging impacts. Issues such as air quality, climate action, public health and nature recovery are closely linked, creating opportunities for policies that deliver benefits across all these areas. Because of this, every part of government has a role in shaping policies that help reduce air pollution and its effects. I will continue to work collaboratively with colleagues across government to tackle key sources of air pollution, such as through transport, health and energy policy.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration she has given to (a) revising Daily Air Quality Index thresholds to align with health evidence and (b) expanding the air pollution alert system to include fine particulate matter 2.5.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is taking forward work to improve how air quality information is communicated to the public. Health advice accompanying the Daily Air Quality Index was updated in 2025, ensuring the advice is clinically accurate and aligns with the latest health evidence. Alongside the updated health advice, the Government is considering how the Daily Air Quality Index can be updated and is continuing work to improve digital systems and air quality alerts to ensure that information is timely, accessible, and presented in a clear and user‑friendly way. An expanded alerts service will be incrementally released over the course of the next 5 months which will incorporate all DAQI pollutants, including PM2.5.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the planned ODA funding within the Human Development thematic directorate will be for a) global health, b) women and girls, c) equalities, d) civil society, e) safeguarding, f) governance and g) education in 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence have been released from prison in each of the last seven years broken down by prison.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The requested data is provided in the attached file. The data provided covers the number of prisoners serving IPP sentences released for the first time, broken down by prison, for the period 2018 to 2024 in England and Wales. The data does not cover release decisions following recall.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department has assessed the potential impact on the NHS in winter 2026-27 of providing the shingles vaccination programme to adults aged 80 in April 2027; and whether it has considered launching the programme in autumn 2026 alongside the seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In November 2024, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provided advice on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme for adults aged 80 years old and over. The Government continues to carefully consider the JCVI’s advice.
We are taking key steps to ensure the National Health Service is prepared for the colder months. This winter, approximately half a million more people were vaccinated against flu compared to the previous season, though we know there is further to go next winter. We are undertaking a comprehensive ‘lessons learned’ review to help us identify what worked well, where persistent pressures remain, and what actions we need to prioritise going into next winter.