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 the availability of stroke-related medicines in Northumberland; and what steps he is taking to ensure the equal provision of medicines across England.

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

We are aware of a supply issue affecting aspirin 300 milligram suppositories until late June 2025, which are used outside of their license of pain and inflammation, for their antiplatelet effect after a stroke. We have issued shortage management guidance to the National Health Service advising on the alternative, aspirin 150 milligram suppositories, which remain available for affected patients.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Northumberland is not held centrally.

Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. We have drawn on up-to-date intelligence and data on the root causes of medicine supply issues, with manufacturing problems being the most dominant root cause. The Department works closely with industry, the NHS, manufacturers, and other partners across the supply chain to make sure patients across the UK can access the medicines they need.

The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and to strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. We have plans underway to increase the awareness of our work.

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 adequacy of the provision of emergency healthcare in (a) rural and (b) urban areas in the North East.

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

Integrated care board are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local communities, including in the North East, as they are best placed to take those decisions.

However, more broadly, the Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance is not at the high standard that patients should expect. We are committed to returning to the safe operational waiting time standards set out in the NHS Constitution.

We have set out plans on the action to be taken to improve services this year and will shortly publish a 10-Year Health Plan, which will set out the radical reforms needed to make the National Health Service fit for the future.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the accrual of debt to their pension by divorcing service personnel due to the application of the current actuarial rules on Pension Sharing Orders.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

The legislative basis for Pension Sharing Orders (PSOs) was borne out of the Welfare Reform and Pension Act 1999, which contained provision for the making of PSOs for couples divorcing after 1 December 2000. The legislation is owned by the Department for Work and Pensions and, where a PSO is awarded in respect of a serving or former member of the Armed Forces, the relevant pension scheme is obliged to comply with the provisions of the Act. The rules on PSO’s are applied to all public sector pension schemes in the same manner as stipulated by the primary legislation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many newly upgraded mobile masts will be in North Northumberland constituency; and what plans he has to develop the shared rural network in North Northumberland constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

In North Northumberland, there are four government funded Home Office masts that are due to be upgraded as part of the Shared Rural Network. The first of these upgrades at Herdlaw Farm should be activated in July and we will write to you with the details once the mast is delivering new coverage. The remaining masts in Mindrum, Bell Hill and The Ladyship Field will be activated no later than by the end of next year in line with the overall programme’s delivery timescales.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to (a) measure and (b) report on progress on reducing youth homelessness through the forthcoming homelessness strategy.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people.

We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.

We continue to measure the number of young people owed a homelessness duty through the quarterly and annual accredited homelessness statistics, which remain our official and most robust statistics on youth homelessness.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support local authorities with (a) preventative and (b) early-years support for ECHPs in the North East.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed and thrive in their education and as they move into adult life.

Early intervention is critical to prevent unmet needs from escalating. To support early years educators to meet emerging needs, the department has launched new training resources to help educators support children with developmental differences. We have also announced 1,000 further funded training places for Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinators in the 2025/26 financial year, which will be targeted at settings in the most disadvantaged areas.

The department, in partnership with NHS England, continues to improve access to speech and language therapy in early years settings and primary schools through the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinder project. This is being delivered through nine regional pathfinder partnerships within the department’s change programme. In the North East, this is being led by Hartlepool Local Authority.

The department’s North East Regions Group also maintains regular engagement with all 12 local authorities in the area, providing tailored support to individual authorities, as well as regionally.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with local authorities to help reduce the time taken for ECHP tribunals to be heard in the North East.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department is working closely with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to help reduce the time families wait for appeal hearings about education, health and care (EHC) plan appeals.

MoJ recently recruited 70 new judges and increased administrative staffing by 10% to help process appeals. The use of judicial case management powers to settle cases earlier has also been expanded, and the Tribunal Procedure Committee have recently amended its rules to allow individual judges to determine whether appeals against a refusal to conduct an EHC needs assessment should be conducted in writing (known as ‘on paper’), which is quicker than a full oral hearing.

The tribunal always prioritises phase transfer appeals for children and young people who are moving school/placement in September and offers parents and young people the opportunity to have appeals heard throughout school holidays and paper hearings when there is capacity.

As the tribunal are hearing 99.5% of appeals remotely, all regions across England are served equitably.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the safeguards to prevent the misuse of searches of the Office of the Public Guardian Registers by offenders to find the location of their past victims.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) does not provide location information in the results of register searches. The information given is limited to whether a power of attorney, deputyship order or guardianship order is in place, and the scope and nature of the power. The OPG cannot conduct a search of a register unless the requestor provides the address of the donor of the power or of the person subject to the Court order. A request without this information would deliver a “no result” response.

Sunderland's promotion to the Premier League

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to integrate freedom of religion or belief into their broader foreign policy and international development strategies

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. In December 2024, I detailed five Human Rights priorities including defending the rights of people belonging to vulnerable and marginalised groups. By championing FoRB for all, we are fighting back against the threats so many people face for simply what they do, or do not, believe in.

Working with the Special Envoy for FoRB, David Smith MP, we are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our multilateral and bilateral engagement. Where FoRB is under attack, other rights are often threatened too. Our policy is to defend the full range of rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in international human rights treaties to which we are a state party - including FoRB. We work to fully integrate human rights across our wider policy and development agendas to support meaningful change on the ground.

Found: detriment) only extend to England and Wales. 53 REPORT STAGE Wednesday 11 June 2025 _42 Adam Jogee David Smith

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Found: _42 Adam Jogee David Smith Leigh Ingham Stuart Andrew Dr Allison Gardner Alison Taylor Dame Meg

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Found: extend to England and Wales and Scotland. 51 REPORT STAGE Monday 9 June 2025 _42 Adam Jogee David Smith

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Found: extend to England and Wales and Scotland. 51 REPORT STAGE Friday 6 June 2025 _42 Adam Jogee David Smith

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Found: Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato Lizzi Collinge Gill Furniss Katrina Murray Lillian Jones David Smith

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentarians; Rushanara Ali MP (Homelessness Minister), Paula Barker MP, Bob Blackman MP, David Smith

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Parliamentarians; Rushanara Ali MP (Homelessness Minister), Paula Barker MP, Bob Blackman MP, David Smith

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Grender, Chris Vince MP, Steve Witherden MP, Baroness Lister, Shockat Adam MP, Harpreet Uppal MP, David Smith

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Grender, Chris Vince MP, Steve Witherden MP, Baroness Lister, Shockat Adam MP, Harpreet Uppal MP, David Smith

Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: with the Northern Ireland Executive on tackling violence against women and girls – Peter Lamb MP, David Smith

Children who need Palliative Care APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Co-Chair) Dr Zubir Ahmed MP Chris Bloore MP Jim Dickson MP Alison Bennett MP Luke Taylor MP David Smith

Children who need Palliative Care APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Co-Chair) Dr Zubir Ahmed MP Chris Bloore MP Jim Dickson MP Alison Bennett MP Luke Taylor MP David Smith

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Paula Barker MP (Elected Co- Chair), Bob Blackman MP (Elected Co- Chair, Registered Contact), David Smith

Homelessness APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Paula Barker MP (Elected Co- Chair), Bob Blackman MP (Elected Co- Chair, Registered Contact), David Smith

Dark Skies APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: pm Attendance Sir Peter Bottomley MP (APPG co-chair) Lord Rees of Ludlow (APPG co-chair) David Smith

Dark Skies APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Marrington (Campaign to Protect Rural England) Dr Robert Massey (Royal Astronomical Society) David Smith

British Council and Soft Power APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: Horrocks, Student Chester Heath Cook, Student Chris Williams, Teacher, Lincolnshire, England David Smith

Restorative Justice APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: David Smith West Yorkshire Combined Authority Carolyn Graham Merseyside OPCC Marie McLaughlin Manchester