Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to help secure the release of Craig and Lindsey Forman from arbitrary detention in Iran.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on 19 February following the sentencing of Lindsay and Craig Foreman. The sentence is completely appalling and totally unjustifiable. We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family. In the meantime, their welfare is our priority and we will continue to provide consular assistance to them and their families.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to ringfence a proportion of UK ETS revenues generated from maritime to fund alternative fuels and port grid upgrades.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 February 2026 to Question UIN 111996.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that HMRC provides clear information about interest on delayed and forward payments.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC provides guidance on the interest applied to tax that is paid late, and on the repayment interest paid when taxpayers are owed money. The rates and explanatory information are published on GOV.UK and reviewed regularly to ensure they remain accurate, accessible and up to date.

Details of HMRC’s current interest rates for late and early payments are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-hmrc-interest-rates-for-late-and-early-payments/rates-and-allowances-hmrc-interest-rates

For customers who need extra help, including those who are vulnerable or digitally excluded, HMRC provides dedicated tailored support through their Extra Support Team. They can offer additional assistance over the phone and help customers understand what interest applies and why.

Anyone worried about meeting their tax obligations on time should contact HMRC as early as possible to discuss options, such as setting up a time to pay arrangement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all the (a) patient representative organisations, (b) clinical associations and (c) providers of NHS-funded autism and ADHD services NHS England has engaged with (i) before and (ii) since publishing proposed guide prices for autism and ADHD services in its 2026/27 payment scheme consultation, in respect of the prices proposed.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all service providers to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2026-27-nhsps-consultation/

NHS England is currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation and were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September 2025.

Prior to the publication of the consultation, NHS England undertook broad engagement with a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

In addition to the engagement that was undertaken as part of the wider NHS Payment Scheme consultation, the following engagement took place on this policy area prior to consultation:

• engagement with the Independent Healthcare Provider Network (IHPN), representing independent sector providers; and
• engagement with healthcare policy professionals, clinicians, patient representative organisations, commissioners, and providers.

In addition, the following engagement took place on this policy area post-consultation:

• further engagement with the IHPN, representing independent sector providers;
• engagement with integrated care boards;
• engagement with independent sector providers;
• engagement with mental health trusts; and
• engagement with clinicians.

NHS England was informed by a variety of sources when developing the policy and associated guide prices, for instance:

• the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guidelines CG142, CG128, and CG170, and NICE’s quality standards, which are available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS51;
• NHS England’s published National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/;
• NHS England’s published reports of the ADHD taskforce, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adhd/;
• local integrated care board service specifications;
• pricing information in a sample of contracts for provision of autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services; and
• a number of relevant academic papers, including, in particular, Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Findings from a rapid realist review, which contains autism diagnostic assessment costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment NHS England has made of the difference in levels of healthcare resource consumed in conducting (a) children’s autism assessments and (b) children’s ADHD assessments; and what account of this assessment NHS England took in proposing guide prices for autism and ADHD services, as set out in its 2026/27 payment scheme consultation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all service providers to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2026-27-nhsps-consultation/

NHS England is currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation and were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September 2025.

Prior to the publication of the consultation, NHS England undertook broad engagement with a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

In addition to the engagement that was undertaken as part of the wider NHS Payment Scheme consultation, the following engagement took place on this policy area prior to consultation:

• engagement with the Independent Healthcare Provider Network (IHPN), representing independent sector providers; and
• engagement with healthcare policy professionals, clinicians, patient representative organisations, commissioners, and providers.

In addition, the following engagement took place on this policy area post-consultation:

• further engagement with the IHPN, representing independent sector providers;
• engagement with integrated care boards;
• engagement with independent sector providers;
• engagement with mental health trusts; and
• engagement with clinicians.

NHS England was informed by a variety of sources when developing the policy and associated guide prices, for instance:

• the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guidelines CG142, CG128, and CG170, and NICE’s quality standards, which are available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS51;
• NHS England’s published National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/;
• NHS England’s published reports of the ADHD taskforce, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adhd/;
• local integrated care board service specifications;
• pricing information in a sample of contracts for provision of autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services; and
• a number of relevant academic papers, including, in particular, Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Findings from a rapid realist review, which contains autism diagnostic assessment costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all the (a) academic papers and (b) other sources of evidence that NHS England has considered in setting its proposed guide prices for autism and ADHD services, as proposed in its 2026/27 payment scheme consultation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The statutory consultation for the NHS Payment Scheme 2026/27, which closed on 16 December 2025, provided an opportunity for all service providers to review the consultation guidance and provide comments and feedback. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2026-27-nhsps-consultation/

NHS England is currently reviewing this feedback to inform the final 2026/27 Payment Scheme. This consultation was open to the public, but NHS England specifically reached out to all National Health Service providers, commissioners, and independent sector providers of NHS-funded autism diagnostic assessment services and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services to ensure they were aware and were able to respond to the NHS Payment Scheme consultation and were invited to an NHS Payment Scheme engagement session in September 2025.

Prior to the publication of the consultation, NHS England undertook broad engagement with a number of clinicians, policy professionals, commissioners, and providers of ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment services prior to the publication of the NHS Payment Scheme consultation.

In addition to the engagement that was undertaken as part of the wider NHS Payment Scheme consultation, the following engagement took place on this policy area prior to consultation:

• engagement with the Independent Healthcare Provider Network (IHPN), representing independent sector providers; and
• engagement with healthcare policy professionals, clinicians, patient representative organisations, commissioners, and providers.

In addition, the following engagement took place on this policy area post-consultation:

• further engagement with the IHPN, representing independent sector providers;
• engagement with integrated care boards;
• engagement with independent sector providers;
• engagement with mental health trusts; and
• engagement with clinicians.

NHS England was informed by a variety of sources when developing the policy and associated guide prices, for instance:

• the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guidelines CG142, CG128, and CG170, and NICE’s quality standards, which are available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/QS51;
• NHS England’s published National framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance/;
• NHS England’s published reports of the ADHD taskforce, available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/adhd/;
• local integrated care board service specifications;
• pricing information in a sample of contracts for provision of autism diagnostic assessment services and ADHD services; and
• a number of relevant academic papers, including, in particular, Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Findings from a rapid realist review, which contains autism diagnostic assessment costs.

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 his Department provides timely letters of clearance to bereaved families and the executors of the estates of the deceased.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

When someone dies, we understand this is a very difficult and distressing time for their family and those close to them. We aim to make our processes as clear, straightforward and supportive as possible and to minimise any unnecessary worry or effort for bereaved families.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is notified of a death through several routes, including the Tell Us Once service, telephone contact, written correspondence, or digital notifications following registration of the death with the General Register Office. Once we receive notification, we update all relevant benefit and pension records and ensure the appropriate teams contact the next of kin or executor as required.

For customers over State Pension age, we aim to complete our review within:

• 15 days where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, or

• 20 days where there is no surviving spouse or civil partner.

This includes updating the deceased person’s record, checking any changes to entitlement, and contacting the person responsible for the estate where needed.

Once the State Pension record has been closed and no pension arrears are due, we issue a Death Acknowledgement Letter to the person handling the estate. This may be a surviving spouse or civil partner, a next of kin, or an executor. These letters are issued regardless of how we were notified of the death and within the relevant processing timescales.

To avoid causing unnecessary distress, we do not issue a Death Acknowledgement Letter if more than eight weeks have passed since the date of death.

If pension arrears are due, a Death Acknowledgement Letter is not issued. Instead, where required, we issue an application form for death arrears. When an arrears payment is made, a remittance notice is generated automatically.

Where a survivor’s pension review is required, we issue a revised Pension Entitlement Notice in line with established processing standards.

Working age benefits are also notified through the Tell Us Once service.

For New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance and New Style Employment and Support Allowance, further correspondence addressed to the customer is stopped once a death is recorded. As these benefits are paid in arrears, payments are made directly to the person who applies for the arrears.

When Universal Credit (UC) is notified of the death of a claimant or a dependent child, UC staff record the death as a priority. For online claims, notifications are uploaded to the claimant’s UC digital account. For telephone claims, notifications are sent by post to the appropriate recipient.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the accessibility of suicide fora to children through gaming chats.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services, including in-scope gaming services, to prevent all users from encountering illegal suicide and self-harm content, and children from legal content encouraging, promoting, or providing instructions for suicide or self-harm.

It is difficult to estimate how many children access online suicide fora. Ofcom research indicates that fewer than 3 secondary school students in a thousand encounter suicide content through a broad category of websites, that would include suicide fora, during a four-week period. Five in a thousand encountered suicide content through online gaming platforms during the same period.

Ofcom’s first investigation under the Act targeted a pro-suicide forum. On 6 January, Ofcom confirmed it informed the forum provider that Ofcom is working towards issuing a provisional notice of contravention in relation to Act breaches.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the number of children accessing online suicide fora.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services, including in-scope gaming services, to prevent all users from encountering illegal suicide and self-harm content, and children from legal content encouraging, promoting, or providing instructions for suicide or self-harm.

It is difficult to estimate how many children access online suicide fora. Ofcom research indicates that fewer than 3 secondary school students in a thousand encounter suicide content through a broad category of websites, that would include suicide fora, during a four-week period. Five in a thousand encountered suicide content through online gaming platforms during the same period.

Ofcom’s first investigation under the Act targeted a pro-suicide forum. On 6 January, Ofcom confirmed it informed the forum provider that Ofcom is working towards issuing a provisional notice of contravention in relation to Act breaches.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with sporting (a) bodies, (b) venues and (c) events organisers on proposed changes to the role of the Care Quality Commission.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Manchester Arena Inquiry Volume Two report recommended the government make changes to the law to enable the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to regulate event healthcare at sporting venues and gymnasiums and under temporary arrangements at sporting and cultural events to ensure public safety.

The government and CQC has engaged a range of stakeholders within the health, sports and events sector. The government has also held a public consultation which fed into the development of these regulatory changes. The government and CQC continues this engagement, where the CQC will also develop further guidance for Treatment of Disease, Disorder, or Injury providers to support registering with the CQC.

DCMS officials regularly engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation, and will continue to do so with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events, to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his timetable is for (a) responding to the consultation on the private parking code of practice and (b) laying the code before Parliament; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is considering carefully the consultation findings and intends to lay the Code in autumn 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is responsible for reforming the regulation of funeral directors.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 27053 on Cancer: Health Services, how much funding his Department (a) has allocated and (b) plans to allocate to increase maximise radiotherapy productivity through AI.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on trends in the number of sporting and cultural events in the UK.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS officials engage with the sector on the impacts of regulation. DCMS will continue to engage with DHSC on the removal of exemptions for temporary sporting and cultural events to ensure impacts to event delivery are mitigated as far as possible in line with the policy recommendations from the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

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 of the exemption for temporary cultural and sporting events from laws mandating that medical providers be CQC registered for sporting events on the finances of that organisation.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 31 March 2026 to Question 120609.

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 of changes removing exemptions for temporary cultural and sporting events from laws mandating that medical providers be CQC registered on the number of cultural and sporting events in England.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Manchester Arena Inquiry recommended that the Government make changes to the law to enable the Care Quality Commission to regulate event healthcare at sporting venues and gymnasiums, and under temporary arrangements, at sporting and cultural events to ensure public safety.

The Government has considered the impacts of this change, and a public consultation allowed stakeholders to provide information on the potential effects. A de minimis impact assessment was developed. This considered the impacts the changes in regulation would have, including costs.

A link to the explanatory memorandum for the proposed changes in regulation and de minimis assessment is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2026/9780348279955/resources

Found: Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: enquiries@dcms.gov.uk www.gov.uk/dcms Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: This letter from Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport, to Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: Floor 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ E: enquiries@dcms.gov.uk www.gov.uk/dcms Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: Science, Innovation and Technology 100 Parliament Street London SW1A 2BQ www.gov.uk/dsit Dame Caroline Dinenage

Found: HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Dame Caroline Dinenage MP Chair, Culture,

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian

Found: Yours sincerely, Sarah Owen MP Chair, Women and Equalities Committee Cc: Dame Caroline Dinenage, Chair

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian

Submit Evidence (by 17 Apr 2026)

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee is inviting written submissions on the future of the BBC as part of a new inquiry into the Royal Charter Review. 

Submit Evidence (by 18 May 2026)

The inquiry, which will cover both domestic and international tourism, will explore how the UK promotes itself overseas, the role of culture and heritage in attracting visitors and how the UK competes with other destinations.