Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 engage people with Down Syndrome in policy development following the consultation entitled Down Syndrome Act 2022 draft statutory guidance, published on 5 November 2025.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through the implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, the Government is striving to improve life outcomes for people with Down syndrome, raise awareness and understanding of their needs, and break down barriers to opportunity that they, and other disabled people, face.
Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome. The Department engaged extensively with stakeholders, including people with lived experience of Down syndrome, to inform the development of the draft guidance, which was published for public consultation on 5 November 2025.
The consultation on the draft guidance closed on 30 March 2026. The Government will consider the responses received through the consultation to inform the final guidance to be published.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 raise awareness of the needs of people with Down Syndrome.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through the implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, the Government is striving to improve life outcomes for people with Down syndrome, raise awareness and understanding of their needs, and break down barriers to opportunity that they, and other disabled people, face.
Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome. The Department engaged extensively with stakeholders, including people with lived experience of Down syndrome, to inform the development of the draft guidance, which was published for public consultation on 5 November 2025.
The consultation on the draft guidance closed on 30 March 2026. The Government will consider the responses received through the consultation to inform the final guidance to be published.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much and what proportion of UK fertiliser supply goes through (a) the strait of Hormuz and (b) the surrounding region.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK imported below 1% of its fertilisers directly from the Gulf region in 2025. However, some of the UK’s trade partners import fertilisers from the Middle East, either for onward shipment to the UK or for production inputs, creating indirect dependencies. The Strait of Hormuz is also critical for fertiliser supply chains which depend on products such as natural gas, urea, ammonia, and sulphur exported from Gulf countries.