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 improve access to (a) services and (b) support for people affected by Functional Neurological Disorder.

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

The majority of services for people with neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorder (FND), are commissioned locally. Integrated care board (ICB) commissioners are best placed to configure services for their populations, supported by clinical guidance.

NHS England’s Neuroscience Transformation Programme is supporting ICBs to deliver the right services, at the right time for all neurology patients, which includes providing care closer to home.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and RightCare Toolkits, including the Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, the Headache and Migraine Toolkit, and the Epilepsy Toolkit, aim to improve care for patients with neurological conditions by reducing variation.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently developing the guidance Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury, which is expected to be published in October 2025. The guideline covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms resulting from acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury or peripheral nerve disorder, progressive neurological disease, or FND. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181

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 13 May to Question 50928 on Brain: Tumours, what discussions he has had with (a) the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit and (b) other stakeholders in the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad on prioritising vaccine trials for brain cancers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad (CVLP) is a platform that will speed up access to clinical trials for cancer vaccines and immunotherapies for patients who have been diagnosed with cancer. NHS England is responsible for the overall delivery of the CVLP and has contracted the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit to manage the day-to-day delivery of the platform. The platform is designed to be company and clinical trial agnostic so any company, including those developing vaccines for brain tumours, can contact the CVLP to explore how the platform can support their research.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and officials have not had discussions to prioritise cancer vaccine trials for brain or other cancer types. However, the Government is taking measures to boost brain cancer research. We are working closely with the patient and researcher communities to stimulate high-quality research applications through: establishing a national Brain Tumour Research Consortium to bring together researchers from different disciplines to drive scientific advancements in how to prevent, detect, manage and treat brain tumours; a dedicated funding call for research into wraparound care and rehabilitation for people living with brain tumours; and a partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission to fund the next generation of researchers through the Allied Health Professionals Brain Tumour Research Fellowship programme.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including brain tumours. 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 brain tumours to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has assessed the potential merits of reintroducing the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents Programme.

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

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing a total of £310 million in further targeted grants to improve services and wider recovery support, which includes housing and employment. Further details are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-2025-to-2026/drug-and-alcohol-treatment-and-recovery-funding-allocations-2025-to-2026

All local authorities can invest some of their funding allocation on interventions that strengthen the support available to children and families affected by alcohol and/or drugs, according to local need.

The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:

https://www.talktofrank.com/

For these reasons, there are no national plans to reintroduce the Children of Alcohol Dependent Parents Programme.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP claimants had a registered appointee in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The total number of PIP claimants with an appointee in July 2025 was 251,400.

Notes:

- The value provided has been rounded to the nearest 100.

- The value provided only accounts for claimants under DWP policy ownership (England, Wales or abroad).

- The value provided reflects the caseload at the end of July 2025 – the latest available data.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children live with an (a) an alcohol dependent parent and (b) a parent drinking at higher risk levels.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In 2023/24, there were 72,410 child in need episodes where ‘alcohol misuse: concerns about parent’ were recorded.

Our statutory guidance, “Working together to safeguard children”, sets out that practitioners should be alert to the need for early help for a child who is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for them, such as alcohol misuse. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.

Our Families First Partnership programme, backed by over £500 million investment per year over the next three years from 2025/26, is rolling out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection. Funding will be increased by at least £300 million between 2026/27 and 2027/28, as part of the £555 million investment from the transformation fund.

These reforms will produce a fundamental shift in the way we respond to children and families who need help, including supporting those living with alcohol dependent parents.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children living with alcohol dependent parents.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In 2023/24, there were 72,410 child in need episodes where ‘alcohol misuse: concerns about parent’ were recorded.

Our statutory guidance, “Working together to safeguard children”, sets out that practitioners should be alert to the need for early help for a child who is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for them, such as alcohol misuse. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.

Our Families First Partnership programme, backed by over £500 million investment per year over the next three years from 2025/26, is rolling out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection. Funding will be increased by at least £300 million between 2026/27 and 2027/28, as part of the £555 million investment from the transformation fund.

These reforms will produce a fundamental shift in the way we respond to children and families who need help, including supporting those living with alcohol dependent parents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with NICE on assessing (a) Optune and (b) other tumour treating field therapies for use in the UK.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No discussions have been held between the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on assessing (a) Optune and (b) other tumour treating field therapies for use in the UK.

NICE considered the use of tumour treating fields (TTF) in its guideline on brain tumours (NG99) published in 2018 and recommended that the treatment should not be offered for the management of newly diagnosed glioblastoma or recurrent high-grade glioma, based on an assessment of the evidence available at the time.

Decisions on whether guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence are taken by the NICE prioritisation board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer, in line with its published prioritisation framework. NICE’s prioritisation board considered TTF for glioblastoma in July 2024 where they agreed the topic should not be prioritised but reconsidered when relevant key trials have completed.

At the meeting on 15 September 2025, the topic was reconsidered. The prioritisation board noted that some trials are ongoing, including a key trial that is likely to publish in 2026, and consequently agreed that the topic should still not be prioritised at this time, but revisited once those trials have published.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her department has instructed Thameslink to recruit more train drivers since 4 July 2024.

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

Since July 2024, the Department has continued to press Govia Thameslink Railway to deliver its on-going train driver recruitment programme which will increase Thameslink drivers by nearly 100 (circa 8 per cent). Training new drivers typically takes around 18 months. There are over 30 new drivers set to qualify this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions a repayment of overpaid tax to a customer who has submitted a voluntary self-assessment return been delayed by longer than (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC recognise that repayments are important for customers. They prioritise them and work hard to ensure they are processed as quickly and securely as possible.

Like any financial institution, HMRC are an attractive target for organised criminals who continually test their security and repayment controls. HMRC aim to balance ensuring prompt payments to eligible customers with effective revenue protection from fraudsters.

Voluntary returns are submitted by customers who are not required to file a Self Assessment return but choose to do so, often to reclaim overpaid tax. These cases can require additional manual checks, particularly where PAYE income is involved, to ensure repayments are not duplicated.

Because customers submitting voluntary Self Assessment returns are not required to file, these cases are not currently included separately in HMRC’s reported performance data. While these returns are worked and processed by operational teams, they fall outside the scope of published metrics and are therefore not counted in official service level reporting.

HMRC has communicated to agent communities that customers can help reduce delays by registering for Self Assessment before submitting a return. Additional staff have been deployed to reduce delays in processing voluntary Self Assessment repayment cases, particularly those requiring manual checks. Work is also underway to explore automation opportunities to improve processing times and reduce the number of customers affected by repayment delays.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a guest beer agreement scheme for pubs as part of (a) the Pubs Code and Pubs Code Adjudicator: statutory review and post-implementation review, 2022 to 2025 and (b) the review on retaining and expanding access to pubs for small brewers, as referenced in paragraph 2.44 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC295.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government recognises that independent breweries are essential to the diversity and character of our pubs. We're currently assessing the beer market to determine whether there are any structural barriers preventing small brewers from accessing pubs.

This review specifically references market access for small brewers, and will cover all subcategories of the pub sector, including leased and tenanted pubs. It will not, however, consider the merits of different pub models. We’re considering the review’s findings and will announce in due course any measures that may need to be taken.

The Pubs Code (the Code) applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs. Separate to the beer market review, the Government is currently conducting a statutory review into the operation of the Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Alongside this statutory review, the Government is also conducting a Post Implementation Review (PIR) which will consider the Pub Code’s impact since it was introduced in 2016

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 2.44 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC295, when he plans to publish a response to the consultation on retaining and expanding access to pubs for small brewers.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government recognises that independent breweries are essential to the diversity and character of our pubs. We're currently assessing the beer market to determine whether there are any structural barriers preventing small brewers from accessing pubs.

This review specifically references market access for small brewers, and will cover all subcategories of the pub sector, including leased and tenanted pubs. It will not, however, consider the merits of different pub models. We’re considering the review’s findings and will announce in due course any measures that may need to be taken.

The Pubs Code (the Code) applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs. Separate to the beer market review, the Government is currently conducting a statutory review into the operation of the Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Alongside this statutory review, the Government is also conducting a Post Implementation Review (PIR) which will consider the Pub Code’s impact since it was introduced in 2016

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 45426 on Beer: Small business, when he plans to announce further steps on encouraging small brewers to (a) retain and (b) expand their access to pubs.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government recognises that independent breweries are essential to the diversity and character of our pubs. We're currently assessing the beer market to determine whether there are any structural barriers preventing small brewers from accessing pubs.

This review specifically references market access for small brewers, and will cover all subcategories of the pub sector, including leased and tenanted pubs. It will not, however, consider the merits of different pub models. We’re considering the review’s findings and will announce in due course any measures that may need to be taken.

The Pubs Code (the Code) applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs. Separate to the beer market review, the Government is currently conducting a statutory review into the operation of the Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Alongside this statutory review, the Government is also conducting a Post Implementation Review (PIR) which will consider the Pub Code’s impact since it was introduced in 2016

Renewable energy and coal

Found: I have emailed Daisy Cooper MP as she is the MP for the area that I live in.