Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of adding veterinary medicine to the list of second-degree courses eligible for tuition fee loans, including the potential impact on (a) access to the veterinary profession and (b) the UK’s veterinary workforce.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To ensure the student finance system remains sustainable, students who already hold a qualification at an equivalent or higher-level qualification (ELQ) to that of their current course are not normally eligible for tuition fee or maintenance loans. An exception has been made to these rules to encourage access to certain professions, including veterinary medicine. Students undertaking a full-time second degree in veterinary medicine starting before 1 January 2027 will qualify for maintenance support for the duration of their course.
This position will change under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, which will replace higher education student finance loans from 1 January 2027. An additional loan entitlement will be made available for a limited number of priority subjects, such as medicine. These are courses required to address priority skills needs and that align with the government’s Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of consumer protections for travellers booking short-term let accommodation through online platforms; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that booking platforms are held accountable for standards, health and safety control, and complaint handling.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Consumers who book short-term let accommodation through online platforms are currently protected through the consumer provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) 2024.
The DMCCA prohibits unfair commercial practices, including misleading actions and omissions, that are likely to impact the average consumer’s transactional decisions. Traders who engage in commercial practices that are misleading omissions, or misleading actions may be committing a criminal offence. The DMCC Act 2024 also clarifies that online marketplaces must exercise professional diligence in relation to consumer transactions promoted or made on their platforms.
The Government is also delivering a national mandatory registration scheme for short-term lets. This will help to raise standards of accommodation in the Visitor Economy in the UK, building consumer confidence and supporting fair competition. DCMS has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders, including booking platforms and consumers, to ensure a light-touch scheme that is fair, effective and robust.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 extending statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council to clinical technologists and sonographers on (a) workforce recruitment and retention, (b) diagnostic capacity and (c) patient safety within NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is clear that the professions protected in law must be the right ones and that the level of regulatory oversight must be proportionate to the risks to the public.
There are no current plans to extend statutory regulation by the Health and Care Professions Council to clinical technologists or sonographers.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 ensure that patients with the rare genetic form of Motor Neurone Disease within Hampshire have timely access to Tofersen; and what assessment he has made of regional disparities that prevent this being available across the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
NICE has selected tofersen for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis caused by SOD1 gene mutations as a topic for guidance development through its Highly Specialised Technology (HST) programme. The HST programme appraises medicines for the treatment of very rare, and often very severe diseases and evaluates whether they can be considered a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources. NICE is working with the company to confirm timelines for this evaluation. If NICE is able to recommend tofersen in draft guidance, NHS England is committed to exploring an interim funding agreement with Biogen to use the Innovative Medicines Fund to expedite NHS commissioning of the treatment as soon as a positive recommendation is made by NICE.
No assessment has been made of the extent of regional inequities in the provision of early access programmes for innovative treatments and people living with SOD1 motor neurone disease. Participation in company-led early access schemes is decided at an individual NHS trust level, and under these programmes, the cost of the drug is free to both the patients taking part in it, and to the NHS, although NHS trusts must still cover administration costs and provide clinical resources to deliver the EAP. NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes, providing advice on potential financial, resourcing, and clinical risks. ICSs should use the guidance to help determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the difference in cost between the warranty and the true cost for leaseholders with major water ingress defects in their home.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Most new build warranties cover damages caused by structural defects for a 10-year term. The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period. The terms of warranty should give more detail on what developers would be expected to cover in this timeframe.
Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. This procedure should be followed in the first instance.
If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to leaseholders with construction defects relating to roof waterproofing where the (a) developer, (b) freeholders and (c) warranty underwriter are in dispute.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Most new build warranties cover damages caused by structural defects for a 10-year term. The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period. The terms of warranty should give more detail on what developers would be expected to cover in this timeframe.
Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. This procedure should be followed in the first instance.
If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of introducing a national risk-stratified screening programme for prostate cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), which advises ministers on all screening matters, commissioned an evidence review modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. This included different potential ways of screening the whole population and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher-than-average risk, such as black men, men with the BRCA gene mutation, and/or men with a family history of cancer.
The modelling and evidence review reports are now complete, and the UK NSC plans to open a three-month public consultation towards the end of the year. After this, the UK NSC will make a recommendation on screening for prostate cancer. Ministers will then be asked to consider whether to accept the recommendation.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of prioritising care-experienced children for (a) mental health, (b) neurodiversity and (c) other NHS appointments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Although the Department is not convening a formal assessment, we believe that for care-experienced children and young people who are struggling with their mental health, fast access to early, high-quality support is critical. That is why the 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by expanding mental health support teams in schools and colleges in England, to reach full national coverage by 2029. This will build on the work that has already begun, including providing mental health support for almost one million more young people in schools this year and investing an extra £688 million in Government funding to transform mental health services, hire more staff, and deliver more early interventions.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 24 October 2025 to Question 82861 on Prescriptions: Fees and Charges, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) amending the process for applying for a maternity exemption certificate and (b) extending the backdating period for successful applications.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A healthcare professional, such as a midwife, practice nurse, health visitor or general practitioner, can complete the maternity exemption (MATEX) application as soon as they have confirmed the pregnancy, birth, or stillbirth. This confirms the individual is eligible for a MATEX certificate and acts as a mechanism of transferring evidence of eligibility from the patient’s individual health records to national systems and systems used by community pharmacies.
The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2015 allow for a MATEX certificate to be backdated one month before the date on which the application is received by the NHS Business Services Authority, the organisation which processes applications. The one-month backdating of certificates is a longstanding provision to allow for the administration time taken to receive, process and post a paper MATEX certificate to the patient, and also applies to digital certificates. The regulations do not allow a MATEX certificate to be backdated further and there are no current plans to amend this.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
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 extending eligibility for the Autumn 2025 COVID-19 vaccination to individuals under the age of 75 who, while not classified as immunosuppressed, have (a) COPD, (b) limited mobility and (c) other chronic health conditions that may increase their vulnerability to serious illness.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19.
The JCVI has advised that population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.
The focus of the JCVI advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed. The Government has accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2025 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups:
- adults aged 75 years old and over;
- residents in care homes for older adults; and
- individuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed.
As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.