Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce a universal transferrable record for people with learning disabilities under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan will transform the National Health Service, shifting care from analogue to digital. We know that patients, including those with a learning disability, often have to tell their story at every appointment. The single patient record means that they will only need to tell it once. The record will improve secure access for patients and clinicians and ensure seamless treatment across the NHS. This will connect a patient’s health history in one secure place, accessible through the NHS App. Patients will get a legal right to access their single patient record by default and will be able to check their own information and alert clinicians where there are errors.
In addition, the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated.
On 30 June 2025, a revised Accessible Information Standard was published. It describes how NHS and adult social care services should identify, record, flag, share, meet, and review people’s information and communication support needs. The revised Accessible Information Standard is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/accessible-information-standard/
In 2024, NHS England also published guidance on health and care passports, which are designed to be a quick and easy way to give health and social care professionals more information about people with a learning disability and other disabled people so that they can provide the right care and treatment. The guidance on health and care passports is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/health-and-care-passports/
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of regulating AI systems at the point of (a) use and (b) development.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Artificial intelligence is the defining opportunity of our generation, and the Government is taking action to harness its economic benefits for UK citizens. As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Departments are working proactively with regulators to provide clear strategic direction and support them on their AI capability needs. Through well-designed and implemented regulation, we can fuel fast, wide and safe development and adoption of AI.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 support people living with arthritis in Gosport constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making.
As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. Launched in December 2024, with 17 ICBs selected in the first cohort, including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, GIRFT teams have deployed their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services. The GIRFT programme is continuing to develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high-quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future, including those in Gosport constituency.
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these will help deliver improvements to arthritis care in all parts of the country.
More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including arthritis, closer to home.
Additionally, to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100
Whilst guidelines published by NICE are not mandatory, their implementation by ICBs will improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of (a) properties and (b) property management companies owned by private equity firms on (i) service charges paid by and (ii) the quality of services provided to residents of leasehold properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold data on the impact of properties and property management companies owned by private equity firms on service charges and the quality of services provided to residents of leasehold properties.
On 4 July, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. For an overview of the proposals set out in the consultation, I refer the hon. Member to the associated Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS780). We invite views on the proposals from leaseholders and all those involved in managing leasehold buildings.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring landlords to re-tender for a new property management company when than 50% of all leaseholders support re-tendering.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 4 July, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here.
The consultation seeks views on proposals to strengthen regulation of managing agents, including powers to appoint a manager or replace a managing agent and the introduction of mandatory professional qualifications for managing agents.
The government will set out further measures to strengthen regulation of managing agents in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to update regulations in the fertility industry.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) published Modernising Fertility Law in November 2023, which made a number of recommendations for legislative change, including around its regulatory powers. Ministers have met with the HFEA Chair and discussed the emerging regulatory challenges.
The Government is considering the HFEA’s priorities for changing the law and will decide how to take this forward at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Just one ocean policy brief entitled, Plastic chewing gum: a hidden microplastic health hazard and plastic polluter, published on 19 June 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made of the potential implications for policies of the recommendations made in the Just one ocean policy brief entitled, Plastic chewing gum: a hidden microplastic health hazard and plastic polluter. The Government is currently considering further actions that can be taken to address the challenges associated with single-use plastic products. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, to reduce the use of unnecessary or harmful single-use plastic products.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance she is providing to sweetshop businesses on VAT applied to freeze-dried products.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Guidance on which types of food are zero-rated and which are standard-rated for VAT purposes can be found in VAT Notice 701/14 Food products on GOV.UK. Confectionery is covered at paragraph 3.6.
Businesses which have read the guidance and are still unsure of the correct VAT treatment of their product can contact HMRC for further support.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that NHS England's guidance entitled Play well – resources for health play services for England, published on 2 June 2025, is policy across the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.
To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.
To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 ensure that children's right to play is (a) maintained and (b) supported in healthcare settings.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.
To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.
To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.