Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of establishing an interim clinician-led access pathway for eligible patients with Friedreich’s ataxia while NICE’s appraisal of omaveloxolone remains unresolved, and what comparative assessment her Department has made of the access arrangements available in Scotland and Wales.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 19 October in response to Question HL3794, Biogen must confirm that it is willing to re-engage with the evaluation process before further action on access to Omaveloxolone for National Health Service patients can be considered.
The Early Access to Medicines Scheme and Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway exist to support the development of medicines before they are licensed, which is not applicable in this case. Nor can NHS England consider providing funding through the Innovative Medicines Fund, in a situation where a company has failed to engage with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, as doing so would circumvent and undermine the established and independent appraisal process in a damaging way.
Health is devolved, and decisions on access to medicines in Scotland and Wales are matters for the respective devolved administrations.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of whether the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway and Innovative Medicines Fund providing an interim route for Friedreich’s ataxia patients.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 19 October in response to Question HL3794, Biogen must confirm that it is willing to re-engage with the evaluation process before further action on access to Omaveloxolone for National Health Service patients can be considered.
The Early Access to Medicines Scheme and Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway exist to support the development of medicines before they are licensed, which is not applicable in this case. Nor can NHS England consider providing funding through the Innovative Medicines Fund, in a situation where a company has failed to engage with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, as doing so would circumvent and undermine the established and independent appraisal process in a damaging way.
Health is devolved, and decisions on access to medicines in Scotland and Wales are matters for the respective devolved administrations.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what data her Department holds on how many people in Widnes and Halewood constituency died from lung cancer each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th September is attached.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many learner drivers have had their driving test cancelled by the DVSA (a) once and (b) more than once in each month since April 2025.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows how many learner drivers have had their driving test cancelled by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) once, and more than once, in each month since April 2025.
Please note, this data is based on the month the test was scheduled to take place, which might not be the same month the cancellation was made.
| Cancelled once | Cancelled more than once |
Apr-25 | 10,824 | 46 |
May-25 | 13,019 | 71 |
Jun-25 | 10,641 | 102 |
Jul-25 | 11,134 | 47 |
Aug-25 | 9,642 | 63 |
Sep-25 | 12,260 | 98 |
Oct-25 | 13,307 | 113 |
Nov-25 | 12,725 | 80 |
Dec-25 | 12,067 | 84 |
Jan-26 | 12,107 | 107 |
Feb-26 | 10,786 | 94 |
Mar-26 | 13,329 | 75 |
Apr-26 | 10,065 | 78 |
May-26 | 10,518 | 42 |
Jun-26 | 13,814 | 102 |
Jul-26 | 13,081 | 70 |
Aug-26 | 12,048 | 38 |
DVSA does not take the decision to cancel tests lightly and will only do so as a last resort. DVSA will try to find another examiner to provide cover if it can, but this is not always possible.
DVSA publishes data on car practical test cancellation reasons by month and driving test centre (DTC) on GOV.UK. This data, in report DRT122B, is updated annually and currently shows data to March 2026. The next update is due to be published in June 2027.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in Widnes and Halewood are on the waiting list for access to NHS Dentistry.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested by the Hon Member is not recorded at a constituency level.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the average age of diagnosis of children with Asthma in the Cheshire and Mersey ICB area.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance for asthma diagnosis, which is available at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/asthma/diagnosis/assessment/
There are 22,025 children, those who are under 16 years old, registered to a Cheshire and Merseyside general practice with a diagnosis of asthma in their primary care record. They have an average age at diagnosis of five years and 10 days, based on the earliest confirmed asthma diagnosis recorded in the available primary care data.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the earliest age a child can receive a diagnosis for Asthma.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance for asthma diagnosis, which is available at the following link:
https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/asthma/diagnosis/assessment/
There are 22,025 children, those who are under 16 years old, registered to a Cheshire and Merseyside general practice with a diagnosis of asthma in their primary care record. They have an average age at diagnosis of five years and 10 days, based on the earliest confirmed asthma diagnosis recorded in the available primary care data.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders who volunteered under the Early Return Scheme have been removed for the UK since 1 April 2024.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested on the longest time period to return a foreign national offender (FNO) under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) since 1 April 2024 is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish data on FNOs removed under ERS in the ad-hoc transparency release, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026 - GOV.UK
FNOs are referred to the Home Office for deportation immediately following sentencing. Time spent on remand means many prisoners will reach their ERS window immediately or very soon after they are sentenced. It is therefore not always possible for the Home Office to carry out all the case working and administrative processes as soon as an FNO becomes eligible for removal under ERS, even when they wish to return voluntarily.
The Home Office has worked closely with HM Prisons and Probation (HMPPS) to ensure the ERS runs as efficiently as possible and in the last year (ending July 2026) delivered a record number of ERS returns, 3,141 which is a 20% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.
We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what has been the longest time period to return a foreign national offender who volunteered under the Early Return Scheme since 1 April 2024.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested on the longest time period to return a foreign national offender (FNO) under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) since 1 April 2024 is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish data on FNOs removed under ERS in the ad-hoc transparency release, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 July 2024 and 31 July 2026 - GOV.UK
FNOs are referred to the Home Office for deportation immediately following sentencing. Time spent on remand means many prisoners will reach their ERS window immediately or very soon after they are sentenced. It is therefore not always possible for the Home Office to carry out all the case working and administrative processes as soon as an FNO becomes eligible for removal under ERS, even when they wish to return voluntarily.
The Home Office has worked closely with HM Prisons and Probation (HMPPS) to ensure the ERS runs as efficiently as possible and in the last year (ending July 2026) delivered a record number of ERS returns, 3,141 which is a 20% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior.
We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train delays have there been each year since 2020 caused by trains hitting animals on the track.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold a centrally published series showing the number of train delays that were caused specifically by trains striking non-human animals on the railway. Operational incident and delay attribution data are recorded and managed by Network Rail and train operators.