Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the number of small businesses in Wokingham constituency in January (a) 2021, (b) 2022, (c) 2023, (d) 2024 and (e) 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 21st February is attached.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of eligible pensioners who were not claiming Pension Credit in Wokingham constituency on 31 January 2025.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Published DWP Pension Credit Take-up statistics estimate that up to 760,000 households who were entitled to receive Pension Credit did not claim the benefit. These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK

Latest caseload statistics show that as of August 2024, there were 1,359,773 people in receipt of Pension Credit in Great Britain, of which 798 were in Wokingham constituency. This data is available via DWP Stat-Xplore.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve the reliability of signalling on the Great Western Main Line out of Twyford.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ministers have met with both Great Western Railway and Network Rail on operational performance which is the Secretary of State’s key focus for improvement. Recent performance for Network Rail has improved including the infrastructure on the mainline around Twyford. Improving signalling is part of an ongoing project between Network Rail western region and Great Western Railway.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure that written Parliamentary questions are answered on time.

Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account. I have written to all members of Cabinet to remind Ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' PQs.

The Procedure Committee monitors individual department’s PQ performance and it recently published a report into performance in the 2023–24 Session (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8673/written-parliamentary-questions-departmental-performance-in-session-202324/publications/). I look forward to working with the Committee on this and other matters.

I encourage hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport in response to the question from the hon. Member for Wokingham of 17 December 2024, Official Report, column 87WH, when she intends to write regarding Twyford car park.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail is intending to resurface the station car park at Twyford as part of its renewals programme. This will be done in accordance with current standards, which will likely result in fewer parking spaces in the car park. Great Western Railway is working with Network Rail and local stakeholders on options to provide additional car parking spaces at Twyford.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February to Question 29747 on AstraZeneca, if he will place a copy of the requested letter in the House of Commons Library.

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

Due to commercial confidentiality considerations, we are unable to place the requested letter in the House of Commons Library. As with any application for Government grant funding of this nature, all cases undergo rigorous due diligence, which assesses whether the investment represents good value for money for the taxpayer.

The Government remains committed to improving the business environment for Life Sciences companies. We continue to engage positively with AstraZeneca on the new Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, due to be published in late Spring. This will set out a comprehensive plan of how the Government intends to drive growth in the sector.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make it his policy to conduct a lessons learned review following the negotiations with AstraZeneca for investment in Speke.

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

AstraZeneca’s decision not to invest in Speke is deeply disappointing. The Government regularly reviews it’s grant process and routinely seeks applicant feedback. The Government also continues to engage positively with AstraZeneca, including on the new Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, due to be published in late Spring. This will set out a comprehensive plan of how the Government intends to drive growth in the sector. Support includes the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which will allocate up to £520 million to deliver economic growth and build health resilience.

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 18 February 2025 to Question 30436 on GPs, what proportion of the 38,000 additional roles recruited through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme are GPs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Over 38,000 direct patient care roles such as pharmacists and physios have been recruited into practices and primary care networks (PCNs) from March 2019 to December 2024. This data does not include general practitioners (GPs) employed through the scheme.

PCNs have been able to recruit newly qualified GPs through the scheme since October 2024. Information on the number of recently qualified general practitioners for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is currently being collated but is not yet published. We are working to collate and verify the data and establish its reliability, which is necessary before any dataset can be published.

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 18 February 2025 to Question 30436 on GPs, what progress he has made of recruiting more than 1,000 GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

When the Government became aware of the reports of general practitioner (GP) unemployment amongst newly qualified GPs, we acted immediately and identified £82 million of additional funding to allow for newly qualified GPs to be employed through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, as a first step in addressing the issues of GP unemployment and increasing capacity so that patients can access appointments.

Information on the number of recently qualified GPs for which primary care networks are claiming reimbursement via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme is currently being collated, but is not yet published. We are working to verify the data and establish its reliability, which is necessary before any dataset can be published.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the French Government's decision to ban products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has recently completed a rapid review of the Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023 and will introduce a revised EIP in 2025. The revised EIP will include the Government's approach to managing chemicals, including the risks posed by PFAS. Other work is continuing across the Government to help us assess levels of PFAS occurring in the environment, their sources and potential risks to inform future measures. This includes the initiation of a UK REACH dossier investigating whether to restrict the use of PFAS in firefighting foams. We also monitor measures being taken in other jurisdictions such as France to inform possible approaches in the UK.

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 promote awareness of oesophageal cancer month.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for replacing Professor Sir Mike Richards as chair of the UK National Screening Committee.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Professor Sir Mike Richards was appointed as Chair of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) on 11 March 2022. Appointments to the UK NSC are made in line with the principles of public appointment as set out by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The first term of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ appointment is due to come to an end on the 10 March 2025 and a chair’s appraisal will be carried out by the English Chief Medical Officer to determine whether the appointment should be extended for a second term. The appointment can be extended up to three terms, not exceeding 10 years.

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 promote awareness of brain tumour awareness month.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

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 promote awareness of kidney cancer awareness month.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

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 promote prostate cancer awareness month.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

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 6 February 2025 to Question 29713 on radiotherapy machines, when he plans to publish the funding allocation for the £70 million investment for replacing older radiotherapy machines.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England will be writing shortly to those trusts which have been allocated funding for a replacement machine. There are currently no plans to publish full details of the funding allocation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 29832 tabled by the hon. Member for Wokingham on 6 February 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to Questions 29832 and 29833 on 11 March 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 29833 tabled by the hon. Member for Wokingham on 6 February 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to Questions 29832 and 29833 on 11 March 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the number of pubs in Wokingham constituency in January (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022, (e) 2023, (f) 2024 and (g) 2025; and which constituency in (a) England, (b) the South East and (c) Berkshire has the most pubs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th March is attached.

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 help reduce resource disparities among NHS Trusts for cancer (a) care and (b) treatment.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available and accessible to patients. The National Health Service will also maximise the pace of the roll-out of the additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer.

The National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre is currently undertaking a range of audits which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary. This will enable the NHS to understand where to increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients.

The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this.

The Department will also refresh the Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, so the NHS has the staff it needs to treat patients on time again.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on data sharing to identify households eligible for energy social tariffs.

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

The department is working closely with other government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, to understand how we can better use and share data to better target support at customers that need help. I am also leading a working group with Energy UK and other stakeholders to consider how we can take further sustained action on improving affordability and accessibility of energy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution by the Leader of The House of the 27 February 2025, Official Report, column 954, when he expects the NHS England ADHD taskforce to be ready to report with recommendations.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are supportive of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce that NHS England has established, which is working to bring together those with lived experience, experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer of 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with NICE on the introduction of comprehensive guidance on the management of cholangiocarcinoma.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance through its technology appraisals programme recommending several medicines for use in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma that are now funded by the National Health Service for eligible patients.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the residual value of second-hand electric vehicles.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government works closely with the automotive industry to monitor the health of the used electric vehicle (EV) market. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles attends a used EV industry steering group. This includes stakeholders representing independent and franchised dealerships, vehicle auctioneers, rental and leasing companies, and the repair sector. This group actively follows the development of prices and residual values in the used EV market.

Industry intelligence suggests the recent volatility in EV prices was caused by shifts in the supply and demand of used EVs. Such shifts are likely to be felt more strongly in the used EV market, as it is still at an early stage. The Government expects prices and residual values to stabilise as the market matures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to convene a roundtable of (a) pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) manufacturers, (b) patient advocacy groups, (c) Government stakeholders and (d) other relevant stakeholders on tackling shortages of PERT.

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

The Department currently has no plans to convene a roundtable regarding the shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). The Department regularly engages with all suppliers of PERT to discuss the latest stock position and the steps that are being taken to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Through work with suppliers, we have managed to secure additional volumes of PERT for 2025. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market.

The Department also has frequent conversations with representatives from the impacted patient groups so that they are informed on the supply situation and the mitigation actions being taken.

In December 2024, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to consider these unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are put in place and implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will create an action plan to tackle shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy drugs.

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

The Department currently has no plans to convene a roundtable regarding the shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT). The Department regularly engages with all suppliers of PERT to discuss the latest stock position and the steps that are being taken to boost production to mitigate the supply issue. Through work with suppliers, we have managed to secure additional volumes of PERT for 2025. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market.

The Department also has frequent conversations with representatives from the impacted patient groups so that they are informed on the supply situation and the mitigation actions being taken.

In December 2024, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to consider these unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure local mitigation plans are put in place and implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include the latest update on PERT availability and easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of heat batteries on (a) peak electricity demand and (b) grid flexibility in the UK energy system.

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

Heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs and do not require outside space. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand, which could impact peak electricity demand

The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) VAT reductions or grants and (b) other financial incentives to encourage the adoption of heat battery technology in UK households as part of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan.

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

VAT treatment is the responsibility of the Treasury, and they keep all taxes under review. Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) can benefit from zero rated VAT, until April 2027, and the Department continues to engage with the Treasury and HMRC regarding ESMs.

Heat batteries are a promising technology but they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will use more energy to meet the same heating demand. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries in Government grant programmes as the supporting evidence base develops, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure the National Cancer Plan includes prevention measures to help tackle the wider modifiable risk factors of cancer beyond smoking.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year.

The Government recognises the importance of primary and secondary prevention within a holistic approach to improving cancer outcomes. With this aim, the plan will set out how we will fight cancer on all fronts, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment, and research, and we will look at a wide range of modifiable risk factors.

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 merits of including a dedicated chapter within the National Cancer Plan on children and young people.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The structure of the National Cancer Plan document will be decided in due course. However, the plan will address the unique experiences of children and young people with cancer. To support this, on 4 February 2025, we relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of heat battery technology to the Warm Homes Plan; and what steps he is taking to support the (a) development and (b) deployment of heat batteries in domestic heating systems.

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

Heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs, do not require outside space, and can be cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstances. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand.

The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries as the supporting evidence base develops.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to improve public awareness and consumer advice on the benefits of heat battery technology as part of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan.

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

Heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs, do not require outside space, and can be cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstances. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand.

The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries as the supporting evidence base develops.

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 potential impact of levels of deprivation on the mortality rate among cholangiocarcinoma patients.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognize that there are particular challenges for a number of different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts incidence and mortality rates, including for those with cholangiocarcinoma.

To improve early intervention and reduce mortality rates, NHS England’s Help Us, Help You campaigns seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the care they need. The current Help Us, Help You campaign is focused on addressing symptoms of abdominal and urological cancers, which includes cholangiocarcinoma.

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 level of deprivation on the incidence rate of cholangiocarcinoma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognize that there are particular challenges for a number of different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country, and that this impacts incidence and mortality rates, including for those with cholangiocarcinoma.

To improve early intervention and reduce mortality rates, NHS England’s Help Us, Help You campaigns seek to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the care they need. The current Help Us, Help You campaign is focused on addressing symptoms of abdominal and urological cancers, which includes cholangiocarcinoma.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include proposals to (a) improve earlier diagnosis and (b) increase access to treatments of cholangiocarcinoma in the National Cancer Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year. The Prime Minister’s Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and earlier diagnosis to accessing treatment and ongoing care, and will apply to all cancer types, including rare cancers such as cholangiocarcinoma. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care, to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 11 of Cancer52 and GRAIL's report on improving diagnosis for rare and less common cancers, published in February 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the finding that 37% of people with rare and less common cancer say they saw their GP three or more times before they were diagnosed, compared to the national average of 21.7%; and what steps he is taking to reduce disparities in cancer diagnosis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including rare and less common cancers earlier and to treat them faster.

We are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

We are committed to ensuring that GPs have the right training and systems to identify cancer. The Department will continue to look at opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to transform diagnostic performance and ultimately bring down waiting times. The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including for rare and less common cancers. It will aim to speed up diagnosis and treatment and will ensure that all patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

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 with NHS England to help improve (a) early diagnosis rates of and (b) access to treatments for cholangiocarcinoma in the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Integrated Care Board area.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including cholangiocarcinoma.

To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We will continue to prioritise and improve early cancer diagnosis, including for cholangiocarcinoma, by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and better access to treatment.

Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and improving access to treatment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to include cholangiocarcinoma in the target group of 75% of cancers diagnosed at stage one or two by 2028.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including cholangiocarcinoma.

To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We will continue to prioritise and improve early cancer diagnosis, including for cholangiocarcinoma, by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and better access to treatment.

Our forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and improving access to treatment.

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 effectiveness of existing cancer stages.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Earlier diagnosis remains a key priority for the Government for stageable and non-stageable cancer types. For stageable cancers, there is a clear link between early staging and increased survival rates. Earlier diagnosis is also linked to better outcomes for non-stageable cancers. Many of the actions we are implementing to improve the earlier staging of stageable cancers, such as improving awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, and increasing referral routes and the availability of diagnostics, also have a positive impact on non-stageable cancer outcomes.

Furthermore, to support the early diagnosis of non-stageable cancer types, NHS England currently implements non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations thereof, that can indicate several different cancers. From NHS England’s national evaluation, blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with non-stageable cancer types. It will aim to speed up diagnosis and treatment and will ensure that all patients have access to the latest treatments and technology.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to strengthen (a) early intervention and (b) prevention strategies to reduce the number of people entering the cancer pathway.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

To improve early intervention, NHS England is running the Help Us, Help You campaign, which was relaunched on 6 January 2025. The Help Us, Help You campaign seeks to address the barriers that are deterring patients from accessing the National Health Service.

Furthermore, the Government recognises the importance of primary and secondary prevention within a holistic approach to improving cancer outcomes and reducing the number of people entering the cancer pathway. With this aim, the new National Cancer Plan will set out how we will fight cancer on all fronts, from prevention to diagnosis, treatment, and research.

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 improve access to grant funding for cholangiocarcinoma research.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department invests £1.6 billion each year in research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. These investments are pivotal for informing the efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes, and include research into cholangiocarcinoma and cancers of the bile duct. An example of a current award is “a single arm pilot study of Brodalumab in the treatment of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis”, with a total award value of £751,000.

The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cholangiocarcinoma research. 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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies on rare cancer prognosis in the national cancer plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has announced that a National Cancer Plan for England will be published this year. The Prime Minister’s Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future, and an essential part of this is achieving our goal to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and earlier diagnosis to accessing treatment and aftercare, including personalised care and care planning. It will apply this to all cancer types, including rare cancers. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to improve the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years.

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 increase the survival rates of people with (a) intrahepatic and (b) extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service is taking crucial steps to improve cancer outcomes for patients across England, including for intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

For stageable cancers, such as cholangiocarcinoma, there is a clear link between early staging and increased survival rates. Many of the actions we are implementing to improve the earlier staging of stageable cancers, such as improving awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, and increasing referral routes and the availability of diagnostics, have a positive impact on patient outcomes.

To help achieve this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week. We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. It will focus on speeding up diagnosis and treatment and ensuring that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. The overarching goal of the plan is to ultimately bring this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.

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 increase the prognosis rate for cholangiocarcinoma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Health Service is taking crucial steps to improve cancer outcomes for patients across England, including for intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

For stageable cancers, such as cholangiocarcinoma, there is a clear link between early staging and increased survival rates. Many of the actions we are implementing to improve the earlier staging of stageable cancers, such as improving awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, and increasing referral routes and the availability of diagnostics, have a positive impact on patient outcomes.

To help achieve this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week. We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing the total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. It will focus on speeding up diagnosis and treatment and ensuring that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology. The overarching goal of the plan is to ultimately bring this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.

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 help raise awareness of cholangiocarcinoma.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

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 improve research into innovative screening methods; and if he will commit to rapidly (a) funding, (b) piloting and (c) implementing screening programmes recommended by the National Screening Committee.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has invested significant funding into the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which leads on research into screening programmes. For example, on 4 February 2025 the Department announced that nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test how cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. The Early Detection using Information Technology in Health trial is backed by £11 million of Government support, via the NIHR.

Another example is the TRANSFORM trial into prostate cancer research, which is a £42 million screening trial which aims to find ways of detecting prostate cancer earlier. Prostate Cancer UK is leading the development of the trial, with the Government contributing £16 million through the NIHR.

With regards to funding, piloting, and implementing screening programmes, ministers will consider the UK National Screening Committee’s (UK NSC) recommendations on a case by case basis. To date, every UK NSC recommendation has been accepted by ministers. Where a recommendation has been accepted, and no piloting is required, the National Health Service is asked to implement it at a pace in line with its capabilities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that GPs have access to clinical decision support tools for identifying rare or less common cancers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving diagnosis rates and access to treatment are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including rare and less common cancers.

We are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. We are also investing an additional £889 million in general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.

We are committed to ensuring that GPs have the right training and systems to identify cancer. Use of specific clinical decision support tools are agreed at a local level.

The recently announced National Cancer Plan, which will complement the 10-Year Health Plan and support delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, will set out further actions to improve diagnosis, including for rare or less common cancers. The plan will also provide further details on how we will ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.

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 (a) increase public awareness of the (i) signs and (ii) symptoms of cancer and (b) encourage people to act on them.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Strangford on 23 January 2025 to Question 24851.

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 estimate of the number of GPs recruited through the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in (a) 2024 and (b) 2023 (i) in total and (ii) per integrated care board.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

731 places were available on the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in 2023, while 777 places were available in 2024. The data is not available at integrated care board level.

As set out on the NHS England website, a decision has been taken not to fund Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme places for their recruitment year, which is due to very high competition ratios and the need to prioritise budgets. Record numbers of applicants have applied to general practitioner specialty training in recent years, including in those areas where take up has been historically low, meaning that there is not currently a need to financially incentivise trainees to train in those areas.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to extend funding for the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme for financial year 2025-26.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

731 places were available on the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme in 2023, while 777 places were available in 2024. The data is not available at integrated care board level.

As set out on the NHS England website, a decision has been taken not to fund Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme places for their recruitment year, which is due to very high competition ratios and the need to prioritise budgets. Record numbers of applicants have applied to general practitioner specialty training in recent years, including in those areas where take up has been historically low, meaning that there is not currently a need to financially incentivise trainees to train in those areas.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to provide GPs with training to diagnose brain tumours.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice

The curriculum for general practitioner (GP) specialty training is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), and has to meet the standards set by the GMC and be formally approved by them. Whilst the curriculum may not necessarily highlight a specific condition, it instead emphasises the skills and approaches a GP must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients. This is assessed by the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners Examination.

The RCGP provides several resources on cancer prevention, diagnosis and care for GPs, relevant for the primary care setting.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to extend the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond March 2025.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Wokingham to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

Tree Cities of the World and Wokingham Borough Council

Future of the adoption and special guardianship support fund

British companies and the transportation of Russian liquefied natural gas

Snares

Wellbeing of home educated children

Shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy

Changes to Overseas Development Assistance

Found: _NC19 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Cameron Thomas Jess Brown-Fuller Ian

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis

Found: _NC10 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover Liz Jarvis