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, what litigation costs his Department incurred in Wilson and others v Bayer Pharma and others, [2023] EWHC 1282 (QB); and how many representatives of his Department attended the Royal Courts of Justice for that hearing.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A total of £469,613.30 in legal costs, as of the end of May 2025, excluding VAT, has been incurred by the Department of Health and Social Care via the Government Legal Department representing them on the Wilson and others v Bayer Pharma and others case. Another matter, Forshaw, was litigated at the same time where the costs were included within the billing for Wilson, but it is not possible to split the costs on these cases because that data is not available in that format.
Four legal representatives on behalf of the Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) attended the hearing in May 2023 at the Royal Courts of Justice, namely a senior Government Legal Department lawyer accompanied by a legal executive, and two Counsel, a King's Counsel and a barrister. There were no attendees from the Department of Health and Social Care or the MHRA.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his oral contribution on 10 July 2025 in response to a Question from the hon. Member for Tatton, Official Report, column 1112, how much money has been saved as a result of the implementation of the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure guidance, published on 14 May 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The CS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure guidance remains in place.
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, with reference to the FOI request 2024/00205, when the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency plans to publish (a) details of its investigation into the advertising activities of the company Zoe and (b) for what reason the conclusion of the investigation has been delayed.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) investigates allegations of non-compliance with medical device regulations. Where appropriate, they can use their enforcement powers to ensure action is taken against devices that pose a serious risk to public health. All investigations are handled in a timely manner.
Information about allegations of non-compliance, investigations, and outcomes are generally exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, therefore the MHRA does not routinely publish the outcomes of their investigations, including those within the Freedom of Information request referenced. However, where there are concerns about the safety of a medical device, the MHRA will warn the public, for example through National Patient Safety Alerts.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 64425 on Malaria: Research, whether the positive rt-PCR tests were validated against viral cultures of West Nile virus.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The samples were collected outside the cold chain, which means it was not possible to grow live virus from the mosquito blood meals or salivary glands. The validation is made by comparing the sequences with an international database of West Nile virus isolates and showed sequence identity with a cluster of other viruses from the WNV-1a branch.
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, with reference to page 94 of his Department's policy paper entitled Fit for the future: 10 year health plan for England, published in July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transferring the hosting arrangement for the Patient Safety Commissioner to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the level of independence of that post.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dr Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. The review sets out a broad aim to streamline, simplify, and consolidate functions across the patient safety landscape. Dr Dash made nine recommendations which the Government has accepted in full and fed into the 10-Year Health Plan.
The review specifically recommends that the patient safety commissioner is hosted by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The office of the patient safety commissioner remains accountable to the Department, as it is now.
The Patient Safety Commissioner will play an important role in holding the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to account for its work on patient safety and in ensuring that patient safety and the voice of patients remains a core priority in the agency’s work.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposals for a Remote Betting & Gaming Duty on (a) levels of investment in the UK, (b) consumer costs and (c) levels of illegal gambling.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is consulting on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one. The Government welcomes views from stakeholders, as part of the consultation process.
No final policy decisions have been made. If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts, including to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
DCMS works closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with powers to move quickly and effectively to take down illegal gambling websites.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 58984 on Information Commissioner's Office: Wilmslow, what (a) consultations and (b) impact assessments his Department carried out before approving the decision to relocate the Information Commissioner's Office.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Office of Government Property was satisfied that the relocation to the proposed new offices better suited the requirements of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) based on the information provided and our engagement with the Government Property Agency.
It also understood that the ICO had undertaken the relevant external consultation and impact assessments needed to assess the relocation options.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people claiming asylum had a criminal record before entering the UK in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. For further information regarding security checks during the asylum screening process, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-screening-and-routing/asylum-screening-and-routing-accessible.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ascertain previous offences of people claiming asylum in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. For further information regarding security checks during the asylum screening process, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-screening-and-routing/asylum-screening-and-routing-accessible.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department shares information with local police forces on the criminal records of asylum seekers placed in their area.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office communicates regularly with local police forces, and with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to assess the operational implications of housing asylum seekers in different areas and regions around the country, and will always do what is necessary to protect the safety and security of each local community affected.