Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, where data on payments made by the medicines and medical devices industries to the healthcare sector will be published, following the publication of the Government’s forthcoming guidance on payment disclosure for industry.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of transparency and public trust in the health system. In line with Recommendation 8b of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, the Government consulted in 2023 on proposals to improve transparency of payments made by the medicines and medical devices industries to the healthcare sector.
Following consideration of the consultation responses, the Government has decided to implement guidance, rather than introduce secondary legislation under section 95 of the Health and Care Act 2022, in the first instance. The forthcoming guidance, which is expected to be published this year, will set out how and where payment information should be disclosed to ensure it is publicly accessible. Legislation remains an option for the future.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will introduce secondary legislation building on section 95 of the Health and Care Act 2022 to mandate the disclosure of payments made by the medicines and medical devices industries to the healthcare sector.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the importance of transparency and public trust in the health system. In line with Recommendation 8b of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, the Government consulted in 2023 on proposals to improve transparency of payments made by the medicines and medical devices industries to the healthcare sector.
Following consideration of the consultation responses, the Government has decided to implement guidance, rather than introduce secondary legislation under section 95 of the Health and Care Act 2022, in the first instance. The forthcoming guidance, which is expected to be published this year, will set out how and where payment information should be disclosed to ensure it is publicly accessible. Legislation remains an option for the future.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2026 to question 113071, whether he plans to bring forward legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to introducing legislation to enable the removal of peerages from disgraced peers. We will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer on 12 March 2026 to question 117273, if she will provide financial assistance to schools to accommodate pupils from nearby private schools that have closed.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
School funding is increasing by £1.7 billion in 2026/27, meaning that core school budgets will total £67 billion, an increase on the £65.3 billion provided in 2025/26.
In 2026/27, the most deprived schools have, on average, attracted the largest per pupil funding amounts through the schools National Funding Formula.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 23 February 2026 to Question 113069 on Folic Acid, what steps will be taken to stop wholemeal flour and other non-wheat products being voluntarily fortified with folic acid.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government introduced legislation in England on 14 November 2024 to mandate the fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid based on strong scientific assessment and modelling. The policy is estimated to prevent approximately 200 babies being born with neural tube defects each year.
Voluntary fortification of other foods with folic acid has existed for many years, mainly in products such as breakfast cereals and the Government has no plans to restrict it.
The fortification level for non-wholemeal flour was set using extensive modelling that accounted for existing voluntary fortification. This work showed that voluntary fortification makes only a small contribution to the number of people exceeding the recommended upper level for folic acid intake. On this basis, introducing limits on voluntary fortification was not considered necessary and would add regulatory complexity for businesses.
The level of folic acid fortification will be kept under review as part of the evaluation of this policy.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the toxicology non-clinical studies for zapomeran, also called Kostaive, mRNA covid-19 vaccine following its approval for adults by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not publish non-clinical studies, in line with Section 64 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, the MHRA has published a public assessment report (PAR) for Kostaive. This PAR includes the MHRA’s assessment of the non-clinical data submitted. This PAR is accessible to the public on the MHRA’s products website at the following link:
https://mhraproducts4853.blob.core.windows.net/docs/0e710f66d3e04b6346f668178c02524de9248f57
This product was authorised via the International Recognition Procedure ‘Route B’ process, with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) acting as the reference regulator. Further information on the EMA’s assessment of Kostaive, including its own PAR, is accessible to the public on the EMA’s website at the following link:
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/kostaive
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance her Department will offer to parents at independent schools that are closing to help them take over the running of the school.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is for private schools, as private businesses, to manage their operations and take decisions on closure. All children of compulsory school age are entitled to a state-funded school place, should they need one. The department continues to support local authorities to ensure sufficient places for pupils.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 13 February 2026 to Question 111118 on Coronavirus: Research, what is the definition of the word “routine” in this context.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the context of the answer to Question 111118 of 13 February 2026, “routine” refers to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority standard practice on publications of audit outcomes.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
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 18 December 2025 to question 98754, what his planned timetable is for publication of the packaging change report.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published an overview of the completion of the work by the expert working group (EWG) and subsequent advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) in December 2025 on the MHRA website.
The MHRA has been working with healthcare partner organisations to take forward the recommendations of the EWG and the advice of the CHM. This includes seeking the views of patients with a range of mental health conditions on the proposed updates to the regulatory position for the 28 antidepressants involved in the review in relation to the warnings on suicidal behaviour. The MHRA is ensuring that those who take part receive appropriate safeguarding and signposting, which is required to support their involvement in this work. It is estimated that this user testing will be completed within three months.
It is not possible to confirm the timetable for the publication of the public assessment report until the regulatory position is finalised.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects to bring forward legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government will provide further details about legislation to create a system to remove peerages from peers in due course.