Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Every child achieving and thriving, published on 23 February 2026, what consideration was given to education otherwise than in school or at school (EOTIS/EOTAS) provision when developing the White Paper; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes in the White Paper on children currently accessing EOTIS/EOTAS.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, proposes the introduction of Specialist Provision Packages for all children and young people with complex needs, including those children and young people whose needs are currently met through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages of support.
After a 12-week consultation period, including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.
As part of that continued engagement, we intend to publish a consultation on the use of EOTAS provision in the coming weeks. It is crucial that we get support for EOTAS children and young people right, particularly given their often complex needs. This consultation will seek views to ensure we meet those specific needs, and that these children and young people benefit from the inclusive education we want for all.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of criminal court delays on civil proceedings awaiting those judgements.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government inherited a record and rising Crown Court backlog, with victims facing intolerable delays for justice. We asked Sir Brian Leveson to undertake an Independent Review of the Criminal Courts. In response the Government is delivering record financial investment in the courts, implementing system efficiencies, and legislating for pragmatic structural reforms to how and where some criminal cases are heard.
Where there are related criminal proceedings, the civil courts already have established case management powers to take account of any resulting delay. Under Practice Direction 23A in the Civil Procedure Rules, parties may apply for a stay on civil proceedings where there are related criminal proceedings, and the common law allows the court to determine that application in light of the particular facts and the interests of justice. These mechanisms mitigate the potential detrimental impact of extended criminal proceedings, ensuring that parties have appropriate access to justice in the civil courts.
The Government keeps the performance of both the criminal and civil courts under continual review and closely monitors the impact of delays across the justice system.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the VAT registration threshold on small businesses; and if she will consider raising the VAT registration threshold to support entrepreneurs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are not in the VAT system at all.
Any consideration of changes to the threshold would have to carefully balance potential impacts on small businesses, the economy as a whole, and tax revenues. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to support Wildlife Crime Officers and National Wildlife Crime Units to charge developers that contravene the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In England, a range of legislation provides strong protections for wildlife species and their habitats. Key frameworks such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 make it an offence to deliberately harm, disturb or otherwise interfere with protected species, except where permitted under licence.
In practice, this means development and land management activities must account for protected species at an early stage and either avoid impacts or, where necessary, secure appropriate mitigation and licensing. These frameworks are designed not to prevent activity outright, but to ensure that impacts on wildlife are minimised and that long-term recovery and sustainability are supported.
If a developer is investigated and found to have committed an offence under the WCA then they can get up to a six-month prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine. Wildlife crime is unacceptable. Defra is a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime and directly assists law enforcers in their investigations. Defra is providing £530,000 to the Unit in 2026/27.
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 he is taking to ensure equitable access to testing for prostate cancer in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving outcomes for people with prostate cancer and reducing inequalities in access to diagnosis across England, including in Bromsgrove.
The National Cancer Plan for England, published in February 2026, sets out action to improve earlier diagnosis, speed up treatment, and ensure that patients can benefit from advances in cancer care, regardless of where they live. Patients across England will benefit from expanded diagnostic capacity, including community diagnostic centres, improved use of data to identify delays, and the rollout of innovative technologies and diagnostic pathways.
NHS England and integrated care boards are supported to identify and address unwarranted variation in access to diagnostics, so that patients can access high‑quality testing regardless of where they live.
The Plan is backed by significant funding committed by the Government at the Spending Review, including £200 million in 2026/27 for local Cancer Alliances. Cancer Alliances are expected to use this funding to deliver local early diagnosis plans, including activity to improve awareness and access to testing for cancers such as prostate cancer, based on local need. In Bromsgrove, as elsewhere in England, access to testing is delivered in line with national standards and local commissioning decisions made by integrated care boards, supported by Cancer Alliances.
The Government has accepted the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation to introduce a targeted prostate cancer screening programme for men with a known BRCA2 gene variant and a family history of prostate, breast, ovarian, or pancreatic cancer. Screening using the prostate specific antigen test will be offered to all eligible men between the ages of 45 and 61 years old every two years starting from 2027.
On 2 June 2026, the Government announced up to £20 million of investment to improve prostate cancer research and treatment, including up to £18 million to expand the TRANSFORM trial so that all eligible Black men will be invited to take part in stage 2. The TRANSFORM trial, which is co-funded by Prostate Cancer UK and the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the Department’s research arm, is testing the best ways to detect prostate cancer earlier and save more lives, while avoiding unnecessary treatment and the associated harms.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to (a) promote the use of made in Britain labelling on products and (b) prevent that labelling being used when a large part of the production process has been outside of the UK.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin. The government does not have plans to introduce such a requirement on behalf of consumers.
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products including in response to requests for information by consumers. Alleged breaches of this legislation should be reported to the Citizens Advice consumer service in the first instance.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of making care homes non-exempt from the High Value Council Tax Surcharge on care home financial viability, the level of care received by care home residents and local authority finances.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is currently consulting on its proposed list of discounts and exemptions for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge; this includes care homes.
The Government welcomes views as part of the consultation, including on any specific issues relating to care homes which respondents feel we should consider.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration she has given to exempting care homes from the High Value Council Tax Surcharge in line with social landlords.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is currently consulting on its proposed list of discounts and exemptions for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge; this includes care homes.
The Government welcomes views as part of the consultation, including on any specific issues relating to care homes which respondents feel we should consider.
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, what steps he is taking to ensure ethical practices by major retirement housing providers in regard to leaseholder rights; and whether he plans to alter the retirement housing service charges system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the importance of helping older people to live independently at home for as long as possible and is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market, including retirement or sheltered housing. We are also committed to ensuring that leaseholders, including those living in retirement homes, are protected from unfair and unreasonable practices.
There are currently two government-approved codes of practice in force in relation to the residential leasehold sector and private retirement housing. These are the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Management Service Charge Code and the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (AHRM) Code of Practice. The enforcement of standards set out in these codes can be taken into account as evidence, at court or tribunal hearings.
Individual leases set out what services leaseholders may expect to receive, and what they should pay for. By law variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to works or services, the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges, they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. We continue to analyse the feedback received and will set out next steps in due course.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People's Housing Taskforce report, including its recommendation that the government should implement the Law Commission’s 2017 recommendations to regulate event fees and a comprehensive report into resale values to support better consumer understanding and sector development.
On 27 January 2026, we published the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278), a guide to the draft Bill which can be found on gov.uk here, and to the draft Impact Assessment for the draft Bill which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sharp edges on plastic collars of tethered bottle caps on the safety of people with pre-existing conditions.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All products placed on the UK market must be safe. Under the General Product Safety Regulations, producers are required to ensure that products are safe under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, including where product features may present a risk to consumers. Producers are also expected to take account of the characteristics of those likely to use the product. Concerns about an unsafe product should be reported to Citizens Advice in the first instance. Producers must monitor the products they have placed on the market for any safety issues that may emerge and take action to mitigate risks.