Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will instruct the UK Health and Security Agency to add service personnel (a) who flew atomic surveillance missions and (b) for whom he recently extended the eligibility criteria for the Nuclear Test Medal to the long-term Government study into the mortality of nuclear veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has reset the relationship with Nuclear Test Veterans and the organisations that support them. We remain committed to listening to their concerns and working collaboratively to address them.
In consultation with scientists at the UK Health Security Agency, we have established that it is not possible to add new individuals to the Nuclear Test Veteran longitudinal studies without biasing or affecting the results of the fifth and final analysis. It is important that these studies are carried out to the highest standards, therefore no new individuals have been added to the cohorts.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recent declassification of the Merlin database and file reference ES 38/ZGWGV, whether service personnel took part in a mission to sample the Soviet nuclear weapon known as Tsar Bomba.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The information in ES38/ZGWGV suggests that Service personnel were involved in at least one sampling sortie after the Tsar Bomba test in October 1961. However, the unit records from this time are now held by The National Archives, and it is not possible to complete a full search without incurring disproportionate cost. No further information is held by the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in South Shields constituency compared with national averages; what steps he is taking to ensure that respiratory health is prioritised; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.
Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs for South Shields and England where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:
Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence | 2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025) | 2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025) |
South Shields | 1030 | 890 |
England | 608,449 | 423,588 |
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.
Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for South Tyneside can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
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 merits of a respiratory Modern Service Framework, in the context of (a) NHS winter pressures and (b) health outcomes for long-term respiratory conditions and short-term respiratory illnesses such as flu.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish all radiation research on British servicemen held by The Technical Cooperation Programme of the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Technical Cooperation Programme (TTCP) is a defence innovation network that has enabled cooperation in Defence and Security Science and Technology for nearly 70 years between five nations’ Defence organisations: UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The subject of this question dates back many decades. In the years since the activities in question, there have been various changes to organisations and the TTCP arrangements themselves. These complicate the matter of identifying information which may be held in our historical records; and establishing whether any information held can be released under the terms of our international agreements.
I will write to the hon. Member with further details.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is her policy that the business rates system should level the playing field between high street businesses and online retailers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including grassroots music venues, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid.
Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Without this support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the reasons why the recent business rates revaluation results in projected increases of up to 76 per cent in liabilities for pubs over the three-year revaluation period, after transition, compared with projected increases of around 16 per cent for distribution warehouses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including grassroots music venues, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid.
Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Without this support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to amend policies on non-stun slaughter in the upcoming animal welfare strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year. We will set out our priorities for animal welfare in the strategy upon publication.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contingency plans the government has to (a) identify and (b) remove asbestos in schools scheduled for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete remediation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department takes the safety of children and those who work with them incredibly seriously.
By the end of this parliament, every school and college in England, that is not being fully or substantially rebuilt, will be reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) free.
For those schools needing to be rebuilt, under the School Rebuilding Programme every project will be in delivery by the end of the Parliament, with over half already underway.
When asbestos is encountered in the process of removing RAAC, it will also be removed.
More broadly, responsible bodies are duty-holders for asbestos management within their buildings and must follow requirements and standards set by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The department requires responsible bodies to have robust asbestos management plans in place to manage their buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties, drawing on appropriate professional advice. HSE advice remains that it is generally safest to manage asbestos-containing materials in place, providing they are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed.
Asked by: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of families are eligible to participate in the Healthy Start scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start Scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start Scheme and the latest uptake figures, where data is available, are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, at the following link:
https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/
This data is based on individual people and is not the same as the number of families or households as there could be multiple beneficiaries living within one household. In September 2025, Healthy Start supported over 356,000 people.
The latest uptake figures, where data is available, are from March 2022. These figures represent the uptake across both the paper based and digital scheme. The paper based scheme closed at the end of March 2022.
Due to an issue that was identified with the source data that is used to calculate the uptake of the Healthy Start Scheme, the uptake percentage is not currently being published. Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care continue to work with the Department for Work and Pensions and the NHSBSA to resolve this issue. The issue has only affected the data on the number of people eligible for the scheme. It has not prevented anyone from joining the scheme or continuing to access the scheme if they were eligible.