Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the formation of criminal cash-intensive businesses.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The latest National Risk Assessment, published by this Government in July, highlights the continued threat of cash-based money laundering to the UK. The Government is committed to ensuring cash-intensive businesses such as candy retail stores and barbershops are not exploited by criminals who seek to launder their cash enabling them to profit from their illegal activities.
The Government’s approach to tackling money laundering is set out in the Economic Crime Plan 2 which includes action to disrupt cash-based money laundering and strengthen system wide coordination. The Government, working in partnership with law enforcement and other agencies, is closely monitoring the level of illicit activity in the high street and actively considering whether further systemic interventions are needed to tackle this threat.
Using new powers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, Companies House is also taking stronger action to monitor and safeguard the company register to ensure accurate information, prevent misuse of the register for economic crime, and build public trust in the UK business environment.
Operationally, in March 2025, the National Economic Crime Centre in the National Crime Agency, coordinated a three-week crackdown against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses involving 19 different police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units, as well as national agencies including HMRC, Trading Standards and Home Office Immigration Enforcement. In total, 380 premises were visited across the three-week operation, with officers securing freezing orders over bank accounts totalling more than £1m, executing 84 warrants and arrested 35 individuals. Officers also seized more than £40,000 in cash, 200,000 cigarettes, 7,000 packs of tobacco, over 8,000 illegal vapes and two vehicles.
This is the first phase of targeted action against criminals and organised crime groups who use high-street businesses to launder criminal monies.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the Covid-19 vaccination eligibility criteria on (a) clinically vulnerable people who qualified for vaccination in Autumn 2024 and (b) levels of hospital capacity during the 2025–26 cold and flu season.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s policy on groups eligible for vaccination programmes is based on the advice of the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Over time, the risk from COVID-19 has reduced across the United Kingdom population, through exposure to the virus, changes in the virus and vaccination.
The JCVI carefully considered the latest evidence on the risk of illness, serious disease in specific groups, as well as cost-effectiveness analysis, to provide the Government with advice on the autumn 2025 programme. The evidence indicates that whilst the risk from COVID-19 is now much lower for most people, adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults, and those who are immunosuppressed are those at highest risk of serious COVID-19 disease. A more targeted vaccination programme, aimed at individuals, with a higher risk of developing serious disease, and where vaccination was considered potentially cost-effective, was advised for autumn 2025.
Whilst current COVID-19 vaccines provide good protection against hospitalisation and/or death for those at highest risk, they provide very limited protection against acquiring COVID-19 infection or mild illness, meaning any potential public health benefit of reducing transmission is much less evident.
Long term health consequences following COVID-19 infection, including post-COVID syndromes, such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.
The JCVI has proactively published an updated list of Research Recommendations, encouraging future investigations on the exploration of data and evidence on the benefit of vaccination amongst post-COVID syndromes, and those with underlying medical conditions who are not currently eligible.
The JCVI keeps all vaccination programmes under review. Accordingly, the Government will consider any additional advice from the JCVI in due course. Further information on the details of the modelling and analysis considered are within the 2025 and spring 2026 advice, on the GOV.UK website.
Information is collected on hospital bed occupancy and on the reason for hospital admissions. It is, however, not possible to determine which admissions associated with COVID-19 were for individuals who were eligible for vaccination in autumn 2024 but no longer eligible in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's document entitled National assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England 2024, updated on 22 January 2025, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of insurance premiums for (a) households (b) businesses and (c) public buildings following the publication of that document.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Insurers consider a range of factors in setting premiums for insurance policies that include cover against flooding. This will include factors such as previous claims history, as well as future risk of flooding. Insurance companies may use Environment Agency data, alongside their own commercially available modelling to inform their assessment of the risk. The decision to insure a property is a commercial decision made by the insurer.
I work closely with the insurance industry, for example, through the Floods Resilience Taskforce, which includes an Action Group focused on improving flood insurance provision and uptake, and the Insurance Roundtables, most recently held on 13 October, where leaders discussed how insurers can support customers to access affordable cover and improve experiences at the point of claim.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley on the case of the late Police Constable Hannah Byrne.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A response to the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley's correspondence, ref CC08164, was sent on 16 October.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of recognising Essential Tremor as a disability.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. The Act defines ‘long-term’ in this context as having lasted, or being likely to last for, at least 12 months, or likely to last for the rest of the life of the person.
This could cover individual people who have Essential Tremor, where the condition has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to expedite the processing of visa applications for charity workers volunteering in adult care homes.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Any Charity Worker applying for Entry Clearance who qualifies under the Immigration Rules will have their case decided within 15 working days as a maximum.
Charity Workers must not be filling permanent positions, even if they are on a temporary basis. This includes performing routine activities for the sponsor.
Current visa processing times can be found at: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to commission research on (a) essential tremor and (b) other neurological movement disorders.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers research into neurological movement disorders via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). For example, the NIHR is funding the first James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership on essential tremor, which will bring together clinicians and families to understand the current unmet needs in the management and care of this group of patients and the challenges of living with essential tremor.
The NIHR is also funding a phase III trial, investigating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of rivastigmine patches in preventing falls for people with Parkinson’s disease. This approach is complemented by the STEPS II trial, which will determine if daily use of functional electrical stimulation improves walking speed in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Whilst there is no current funding call specifically for neurological movement disorders, the NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care and topics proposals can be submitted via the NIHR website at the following link:
https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic
These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on neurological movement disorders to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility both in terms of amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of Eli Lilly’s decision to increase the list price of Mounjaro by up to 170 per cent from September 2025 on people using the drug; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people continue to have affordable access to this treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As we shift the focus from treatment to prevention through our 10 Year Health Plan, we are determined to bring revolutionary modern treatments to everyone who needs them, not just those who can afford to pay.
NHS England has worked with Eli Lilly to ensure that the list price increase will not affect National Health Service commissioning of tirzepatide in England as a treatment for eligible patients, and we remain committed to the rollout of this medicine as a weight loss treatment based on clinical priority. This will enable 220,000 eligible people to access the medication over the first three years. Not everyone who wants tirzepatide will be able to access it at first, and the initial eligibility criteria will be for people with a body mass index of 40 or more in addition to four or more qualifying comorbidities.
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have also entered equivalent agreements to maintain their current commissioning approaches.
Pricing in the private market is a matter for Eli Lilly and for private providers. Private patients who are impacted by price increases should discuss any concerns with their private provider. This includes their options regarding payment plans, alternative treatments, and/or stopping or tapering off their current medication. Eli Lilly is working with private providers to support continued patient access.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress Ofcom has made on reducing the number of spoofed phone numbers being used by (a) spammers and (b) scammers.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
‘Spoofing’ is a common technique used by fraudsters and spam callers to disguise their telephone numbers and pretend to be someone else, such as a bank or another person.
Ofcom have already strengthened activity against ‘spoofed’ calls. New rules were introduced last year to ensure that operators block calls from suspicious numbers from the UK and overseas.
Ofcom have announced further initiatives which will make it more difficult for spammers and scammers to use UK telephone numbers to harm consumers. For instance, in July 2025 Ofcom launched a consultation proposing that telecoms companies withhold the caller ID (CLI) of calls that appear to come from a UK mobile number (+447) when they originate abroad, unless the number’s validity can be verified. This measure aims to close the loophole that previously allowed spoofed mobile numbers via roaming to bypass existing blocks.
The Home Office is also currently developing a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter. This new charter will build on the existing voluntary anti-fraud efforts in the telecoms sector and will aim to go further in identifying, preventing, and disrupting fraud activities.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
‘Spoofing’ is a common technique used by fraudsters and spam callers to disguise their telephone numbers and pretend to be someone else, such as a bank or another person.
Ofcom have already strengthened activity against ‘spoofed’ calls. New rules were introduced last year to ensure that operators block calls from suspicious numbers from the UK and overseas.
Ofcom have announced further initiatives which will make it more difficult for spammers and scammers to use UK telephone numbers to harm consumers. For instance, in July 2025 Ofcom launched a consultation proposing that telecoms companies withhold the caller ID (CLI) of calls that appear to come from a UK mobile number (+447) when they originate abroad, unless the number’s validity can be verified. This measure aims to close the loophole that previously allowed spoofed mobile numbers via roaming to bypass existing blocks.
The Home Office is also currently developing a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter. This new charter will build on the existing voluntary anti-fraud efforts in the telecoms sector and will aim to go further in identifying, preventing, and disrupting fraud activities.