Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to speed up endometriosis diagnosis and treatment.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (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.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has plans to undertake further research into the potential health impacts of long-term exposure among regular users of 3G pitches.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made, and none is planned at this time. But we take any evidence of public health problems seriously, and continue to monitor the concerns that have been raised on this issue.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential public health risks associated with exposure to chemicals and other substances used in 3G pitches.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made, and none is planned at this time. But we take any evidence of public health problems seriously, and continue to monitor the concerns that have been raised on this issue.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal options he is considering to provide further support for entrepreneurs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Chancellor is fully focused on his priorities, to give families and businesses a bit of breathing space, back British jobs, and drive growth in every postcode, underpinned by a commitment to meet the fiscal rules.
This includes supporting entrepreneurship across the UK. The Chancellor's commitment to this is reflected in the appointment of Alex Depledge MBE as Entrepreneurship Adviser, providing expert advice across government on the barriers facing entrepreneurs and scaling businesses to help inform policymaking.
As has always been the case, decisions on tax are a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events, rather than routinely commenting on rumour, speculation or proposals.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of regulations protecting child influencers and child content producers from exploitation and harm; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of strengthening legal protections in this area.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
During the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, the government committed to review The Children (Performance and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014 and will do so in the future. These regulations currently cover public performances and paid sporting and modelling. The review will include careful consideration of which activities should fall in scope and how best to ensure that children can continue to access positive opportunities, while also safeguarding their safety, wellbeing and best interests.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on plans to improve and upgrade the A259 coast road.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The proposed A259 South Coast Road Corridor scheme, promoted by East Sussex County Council (ESCC), is part of the Department’s Major Road Network/Large Local Majors (MRN/LLM) Programme and is currently at Strategic Outline Case (SOC) stage.
The Department is currently waiting for further work on the SOC to be completed by ESCC, and for further funding details. Officials are in regular contact with ESCC and continue to support them with the development of the SOC for this scheme.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration she has given to establishing a new NHS community health hub in Peacehaven.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July to Question 17076.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve Royal Mail delivery performance, including in Saltdean and Rottingdean.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough.
The government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.
Ofcom is investigating Royal Mail’s 2025-26 quality of service performance, and Royal Mail has published a service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.
The government will continue to press Royal Mail for improvements in service quality.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Government recognises the vital role that universities play in delivering opportunity, supporting skills, driving innovation and contributing to economic growth across the country.
While higher education providers are responsible for managing their own finances, the Government remains committed to creating a secure future for the sector so it can continue to deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy.
We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in academic year 2025/26. We are also increasing tuition fee caps in line with forecast inflation in 2026/27 and 2027/28 and will legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase tuition fee caps for future academic years. Over the next five years, these uplifts could generate around £6 billion of additional income for the sector.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper also sets out the Government’s commitment to placing higher education on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthen financial resilience and adopt more effective operating models.
We continue to work closely with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education providers in England, to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape and ensure that the interests of students and taxpayers are protected.
More broadly, the White Paper sets out how we will support the sector to become more specialised and efficient, and better aligned with the needs of the economy.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support pubs and the hospitality sector.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Government recognises the value pubs and hospitality venues bring and the challenges they face. As such, the Government has announced a 20% cut to business rates bills for pubs from April 2027. This is in addition to the 15% relief off 2025/2026 bills, with bills frozen in real terms for a further two years. When taken together, these packages are worth nearly £250 million next year and will benefit around 32,000 pubs, social clubs and live music venues.
Separately, on 24 August 2026, the Government announced a review of pub and hotel business rates valuations to build a fairer system for the future.