Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase firefighter remuneration in line with inflation.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Setting firefighter pay is the responsibility of local employers, working through the National Joint Council. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government plays no role in the negotiation or funding of firefighter pay.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 on of not offering prescriptions longer than the standard 28-day cycle to patients with long-term, stable conditions on both GP practices and patients of GPs; and whether he plans to amend the NHS standard prescription cycle guidance for GPs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prescribing durations are typically 28, 56, or 84 day intervals. There are no current national contract requirements, standards, criteria or guidance as to optimal prescription length from NHS England. Currently, prescription duration is guided by local prescribing policies, guidance from professional regulators, the General Medical Council, and professional bodies, including the British Medical Association. These indicate that determining the optimal prescription duration in any individual case requires consideration of many factors including clinical appropriateness, patient safety, patient compliance, types of medicines, and required monitoring frequency.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adherence to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for the standards of (a) care and (b) accommodation for dogs; and how many times the Animals in Science Regulation Unit has found sites to not be complaint with those standards in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit conduct audits to ensure establishments comply with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.
The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides a robust and rigorous regulatory framework that protects animals used in science. All establishments licenced under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including dogs.
All non-compliance cases are published in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s Annual Reports which are available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people who cannot afford mobile data can access (a) the NHS app and (b) other government digital services without incurring personal cost.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In February 2025, the government published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan which outlines the first five actions we are taking on digital inclusion. This includes ensuring that digital services are inclusive and accessible. The industry pledges in the Plan include providing free mobile data to individuals in need and supporting community hubs to provide free Wi-Fi to allow people to get online without incurring personal cost.
In addition, in August we launched the £9.5m Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, to support and expand local community initiatives to get people online and help tackle data poverty.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) the Music and Dance Scheme and (b) other school funding schemes in the context of current levels of inflation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries.
The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings (a) he and (b) the former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government have had with housebuilders who complete more than 500 units per year since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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) improve medical supply chains and (b) ensure that patients are able to obtain medications prescribed to them; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a framework requiring follow-ups with patients issued prescriptions to confirm they have successfully accessed medication.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In early August, the Department published the policy paper Managing a robust and resilience supply of medicines, which provides greater transparency of the supply chains we rely on, the actions we take to protect patients from medicine shortages when they occur, and the steps we are taking to enhance resilience in our supply chains. The publication outlines a number of actions which are underway, including:
Although the Department has made no specific assessment of the potential merits of a framework requiring follow-ups with patients issued prescriptions, it is worth noting that prescribers are expected to provide information to their patients regarding their medicines and ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for the monitoring, follow-up, and review of medication.
Pharmacists also play a key role in enabling patients to access medicines. For example, the New Medicine Service is an advanced service offered by community pharmacies, providing patients with advice to address any possible side effects, issues, or questions that patients who are prescribed a new medicine may have.
The service focuses on treatments for long-term conditions including asthma and hypertension. Early interventions of this type can improve medication adherence, patient outcomes, and can reduce pressure on the wider National Health Service.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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 adequacy of the provisions in place to make NHS healthcare accessible to people who are (a) deaf or (b) have hearing loss; and whether he plans to improve these provisions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local population, including deaf people and people who have hearing loss.
Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.
NHS England are rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.
Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
On 30 June 2025, NHS England published a revised AIS. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using NHS services.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's timetable is for reviewing the Personal Independence Payment assessment process and whether his Department plans to consult with (a) disabled people, (b) carers and (c) the wider public during that review process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, carers, experts, MPs and others. We have also confirmed that a majority of the Review’s leadership group will be disabled.
This group will not work alone: it will shape a programme of participation and engagement that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Over the summer, I met with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, disability, welfare and carers’ charities, think tanks and other experts to discuss and listen to how we should approach co-production in the Timms Review.
We are working through this feedback and will provide an update shortly.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
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) work with GP practices to ensure nursing staff receive pay increases in line with national recommendations and (b) facilitate the shift of pay awards from October to April so that no portion of annual remuneration is lost; and what assessment he has made of the need for a framework that guarantees government-allocated funding for staff pay is used for that intended purpose.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the general practice (GP) nursing workforce is sustainable, supported, and valued for the work they do.
As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is up to GPs how they distribute pay and benefits to their staff. Funding for GP nursing pay is not ringfenced and contractual arrangements do not place any specific obligations on GPs with regard to GP nurse terms and conditions.
The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration has recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay for 2025/26. We have provided an increase to core funding for practices to allow this 4% pay uplift to be passed on to salaried and contractor GPs.
We expect GP contractors to implement pay rises to other practice staff in line with the uplift in funding they have received.
The Government has committed to a new substantive GP Contract within this Parliament cycle, and we will continue to engage constructively with the General Practitioners Committee England on issues such as staffing.