Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will reject plans to establish a quarry at the former Hatfield Aerodrome.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Due to the quasi-judicial role of MHCLG Ministers in the planning system, I am unable to comment on the details of individual cases.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will bring forward the statutory review of the Jet Zero strategy.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This Government is committed to delivering greener transport as part of its missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.
We are progressing a range of measures to support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector at pace. The Government has introduced the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate and the SAF Bill to provide revenue certainty for UK SAF producers, is delivering airspace modernisation, which will see cleaner, quicker and quieter journeys, and is providing funding to support the develop of low and zero emission aerospace technologies.
While there are no statutory obligations for the Government to review the Jet Zero Strategy, we continue to keep our approach to support the decarbonisation of aviation under review.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Business rates: forward look, updated on 11 September 2025, on what date the Valuation Office Agency will publish a full list of updated rateable values for all non-domestic properties.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency plans to publish draft valuations for the 2026 Rating List on 26 November 2025, and the new list will take effect on 1 April 2026.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 as part of the New Hospital Programme of the adequacy of the number of helipads available for air ambulance use.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The clinical need and business cases for helipads at New Hospital Programme schemes will continue to be reviewed as schemes’ business plans progress through the usual assurance processes. As part of the Hospital 2.0 standardisation work, we are continuing to assess the advantages and disadvantages of both rooftop and ground-level helipads for inclusion in new hospital designs.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 27 May to Question 51941 on Paraneoplastic Encephalomyelitis: Diagnosis, if his Department will write to the laboratories that do provide testing for the condition and ask whether they provide testing for KLHL11 antibodies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to write to laboratories that provide testing for paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis to ask whether this includes KLHl11 antibody testing.
27 pathology networks across England are working to provide a vast range of tests to ensure the accurate and timely diagnosis of conditions. This includes those tests that are typically used to support the diagnosis of paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis, such as immunology tests.
The Government is supporting pathology networks to increase digital capabilities by March 2026 to reduce unnecessary waits and repeat tests, to ensure that patients receive their results sooner. This is supported by £600 million of capital in 2025/26 for diagnostics. This investment also provides funding for the automation of histopathology laboratories.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increased use of VPNs on the level of (a) data and (b) national security risks since the introduction of the Online Safety Act.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department is monitoring the impact of circumvention techniques, including VPNs, on the Online Safety Act. Ofcom told Parliament last month that UK usage of VPN apps had declined from an initial peak when the Act’s child safety duties commenced.
There are legitimate reasons for using VPNs, including enhancing cybersecurity and protection against hostile regimes. The National Cyber Security Centre has guidance for organisations that use VPNs.
Organisations processing personal data, which could include VPN providers, are subject to data protection legislation that is enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office. This includes obligations to process people’s data fairly, lawfully and ensure it is held securely.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
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 27 October 2025 to Question 77609 on Medical Treatments: Cost Effectiveness, what percentage of completed NICE appraisals for brain tumour medications have led to approval for use of a medication by the NHS in the last 12 months.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not published final guidance on any brain tumour appraisals in the last 12 months.
NICE is currently developing guidance on the use of vorasidenib for treating astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with IDH1 or IDH2 mutations after surgery in people 12 years and over and recently consulted on its draft recommendations. NICE currently expects to publish final guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had discussions with (a) NICE and (b) Servier on the barriers to approving Vorasidenib for use by the NHS for the treatment of low glade glioma.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department officials regularly speak with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to discuss a range of issues, including the status of individual appraisals. As NICE is an independent body, it would not be appropriate for the Department to interfere in the development of NICE’s recommendations on specific medicines. The Department has had no discussions about the appraisal of vorasidenib with Servier.
NICE recently published draft guidance for consultation on the use of vorasidenib for treating astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma with IDH1 or IDH2 mutations after surgery in people aged 12 years and over. The consultation closed on 4 November 2025 and NICE’s independent appraisal committee is scheduled to meet on 20 November 2025 to consider its recommendations in light of the consultation responses.
It is important that we have a system in place for making evidence-based decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service, based on an objective assessment of their costs and benefits.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain submitted by Syrian nationals (a) before October 2024 and (b) to date are pending decision.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested is not centrally held.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 September2025 to Question 75189 on Pigs: Animal Welfare, how many complaints of illegal slaughter on pig farms the Animal and Planet Health Agency has received in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) take all complaints of illegal slaughter, and serious breaches of animal welfare, seriously. On receipt of a complaint, APHA will triage the details provided to determine the action required. The number of
complaints is not publicly available.
Local authorities lead on enforcement and prosecutions with support from APHA where needed to provide veterinary expertise and evidence. Any successful prosecution for welfare offences taken by a local authority is published in the annual Section 80 report under the Animal Health Act 1981 which is laid in Parliament. The data for this report is held and provided by the local authorities.