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.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department provides to mobility scooter users who use public roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has developed a comprehensive guide for users of mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs, including legal requirements and relevant Highway Code information. This is available online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-on-the-road-some-guidance-for-users
Further information about the classes of mobility scooters and the requirements to use them can be found online at www.gov.uk/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-rules/classes.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of casualties involving mobility scooters.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the number of casualties, split by casualty severity, that resulted from road injury collisions involving at least one mobility scooter in Great Britain, for the most recent ten-year period that data is available for.
It should be noted that these figures include all casualties from collisions involving at least one mobility scooter. The casualties may be the mobility scooter users themselves, other road users, or pedestrians. There may also be other vehicles involved in the collision.
Year | Killed | Seriously Injured | Slightly Injured |
2014 | 9 | 60 | 149 |
2015 | 8 | 60 | 159 |
2016 | 14 | 68 | 185 |
2017 | 5 | 59 | 182 |
2018 | 13 | 74 | 172 |
2019 | 12 | 58 | 192 |
2020 | 2 | 55 | 139 |
2021 | 8 | 84 | 219 |
2022 | 9 | 101 | 239 |
2023 | 17 | 94 | 229 |
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people were injured in collisions with mobility scooters in 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Figures on the number of collisions involving mobility scooters for 2024 are not yet available as these statistics have not yet been published. These figures will be available following the publication of “Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report: 2024” in September 2025.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to include mobility scooters within the scope of dangerous (a) driving and (b) cycling legislation.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While we keep the scope of the dangerous driving and cycling legislation under review, we do not currently have any plans to extend this to mobility scooters.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations of the Safer Streets for All report by Living Streets and the Bikeability Trust, published on 19 May 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department welcomes the findings of this report and will consider its recommendations carefully as we develop our future plans for active travel and road safety.