Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies comply with section 830 of the Companies Act 2006 on dividend payments; and whether he plans to (a) strengthen enforcement and (b) introduce disclosure requirements.

Answered by Justin Madders

Under section 830, companies may only pay a dividend if they have sufficient accumulated realised profits to make the payment. The Government intends to give the audit regulator responsibility for issuing guidance on how companies calculate their realised profits for such purposes as part of wider plans to introduce an Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill when Parliamentary time allows. Additionally, the Government intends in the coming months to consult on options to modernise the corporate reporting framework, which will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to give feedback on how to simplify and reduce reporting as well on possible additional disclosure requirements around realised profits.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to include dementia specialist nurses in the Neighbourhood Health Service model; and what steps he is taking to ensure access to dementia specialist nurses in every community.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and so they could include dementia specialist nurses. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services may look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.

Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses/admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.

Under the 10-year plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.  We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to revise the document entitled The Principles governing intelligence sharing to include an explicit prohibition on authorising cooperation where there is a real risk of torture, published on 18 July 2025.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare

Your question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department has been passed to me for reply. ‘The Principles relating to the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees’ (‘The Principles’) came into force on 1 January 2020 and includes a commitment for the guidance to be reviewed every five years. That review is underway and the Government will update the House on the outcome in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support (a) campesino, (b) Indigenous and (c) Afro-descendent communities facing (i) land dispossession and (ii) forced evictions in Honduras.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK recognises the importance of addressing land dispossession and forced evictions in Honduras. Our Embassy in Guatemala City, which maintains our relations with Honduras, closely monitors cases of criminalisation, intimidation, and defamation against human rights defenders working on environmental issues, as well as communities at risk of eviction or already displaced. Officials at our Embassy and in London maintain regular contact with civil society organisations on this issue. The UK publicly supports the efforts and struggles of these communities and engages in diplomatic advocacy with the authorities in Honduras.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that bereaved parents have equal access to specialist psychological support following (a) pregnancy and (b) baby loss.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support.

As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are now available in all areas of England. These services provide specialist psychological support for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.

All trusts in England are also signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway. This pathway is designed to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care for parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss.

We also recognise the importance of maternity bereavement services being available at all times. Seven day a week bereavement services are in the process of being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department's review of the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance guidance will include consideration of specific cases in which assistance was provided despite credible risks of torture or the application of the death penalty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Overseas Security and Justice Assistance (OSJA) assessment is an essential tool to ensure that the UK's overseas security and justice assistance meets our human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) obligations, increases respect for the rule of law, and supports UK values.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is currently reviewing the Government's guidance for OSJA assessments so that it remains robust, effective and fit for purpose. As part of that review, we have engaged a range of stakeholders - including civil society organisations and Parliamentarians - through structured discussions. We are considering all the feedback received, including country examples that will help to inform the review process.

With countries whose practice raises questions about their compliance with international legal obligations, we ensure that our co-operation accords with our own international and domestic obligations; the UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture and is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.

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 28 June 2025 to Question 61726, if he will publish: (a) the data source for the reported 8.9% increase in doctors working in clinical oncology between 2021 and 2023, (b) the number and percentage increase in consultant clinical oncologists over that same period and (c) the number of consultant clinical ncologists per capita by Integrated Care System or NHS Trust area, including identification of the five areas with the lowest consultant-to-population ratios.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes monthly data on the number of staff employed by National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) in England, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics

It should be noted that the change in doctors working in the specialty of clinical oncology is between February 2024 and February 2025, the latest period for which data is available.

As of February 2025, there were over 1,800 full time equivalent doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is almost 150, or 8.9%, more than in 2024.

The change in the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of clinical oncology employed by NHS trusts and ICBs in England between 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2023 was 14.1%; the change over the same period in consultant clinical oncologists was 12.2%.

The following table shows the number of FTE consultant clinical oncologists employed by NHS trusts or ICBs per million population by ICB area for February 2025:

Source: NHS England

Notes:

1. This data should be viewed with an understanding of the structure of delivery of system wide cancer services, where delivery of some specialist services will be concentrated in specific ICB areas.
2. Consultant oncologist data is taken from NHS England published data
3. ICB populations are taken from Office for National Statistics sub national population projections for mid-2025, which are available at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/datasets/populationprojectionsforsubintegratedcareboardsbyfiveyearagegroupsandsexengland

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will include targets to improve timely diagnosis of (a) myeloma and (b) other blood cancers.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.

To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.

We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) ethical, (b) legal, and (c) safeguarding implications of UK residents entering commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas; and whether the Government plans to review the legal framework in such cases.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has no plans to review the legal framework for international surrogacy arrangements.

The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family.

The Government recognises that international surrogacy is a complex area, and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has published guidance for British nationals seeking international surrogacy arrangements.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will amend Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to prevent irrelevant previous disclosures being used as bad character evidence in sexual offence trials; and if she will issue guidance to the (a) CPS, (b) police and (c) judiciary on this.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is absolutely committed to improving the experience of victims at court.

The Law Commission has concluded its comprehensive review into the use of evidence in sexual offence prosecutions. This is a helpful report, and an important opportunity to consider how we can make changes to the criminal justice system, so that practitioners and juries do not rely on so-called rape myths and misconceptions when making decisions in court.

The review has made recommendations on the admissibility of evidence related to previous disclosures, as well as the admissibility of other evidence – for example sexual behaviour evidence. We are carefully considering these recommendations and will set out our approach in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of (a) education, (b) skills and (c) work provision in prisons.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS are committed to improving the quality of education, skills and work provision in prisons to support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We have introduced key roles such as the Head of Education, Skills and Work, and Neurodiversity Support Managers.

We are supporting prisoners into skilled work while in custody through vocational training, complementing governor-commissioned vocational courses with an apprenticeship programme which can now be accessed in both the open and closed estates and a Future Skills Programme which provides sector specific training to prisoners nearing release resulting in guaranteed interviews with employers.

We continue to work closely with the New Futures Network, the prison service’s specialist employment team, to expand job and training opportunities both in custody and on release. We are also prototyping a new ‘working week’ initiative which aims to increase the volume of work in prisons and strengthen community business links to boost employability.

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 ensure that NHS staff who are assaulted at work do not face (a) loss of pay, (b) punitive attendance management processes and (c) risk of dismissal while recovering from injuries sustained in the course of their duties.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS trusts are independent employers that have their own policies and procedures for managing staff sickness absence. Sickness absence policies and procedures should be fair, reasonable and comply with existing employment legislation.

For all NHS staff, including those on the Agenda for Change (AfC) contract and medical contracts, the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook provides entitlement of up to 6 months full and six months half occupational sick pay when staff are too ill to work. The Handbook also states that when calculating an employee’s sick pay entitlement, absence caused by injuries attributable to NHS employment will be disregarded and should not count toward sickness absence totals.

Where NHS staff are off work due to a work-related injury or illness, they may be eligible for NHS injury allowance. Injury allowance tops up pay to 85% of an individual’s earnings for up to 12 months when on reduced pay or half pay.

To address variance in how NHS organisations manage sickness absence attendance, NHS England is currently working to develop a ‘Supporting Attendance’ Human Resources policy framework. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/future-of-human-resources-and-organisational-development/nhs-people-policy-frameworks/

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 51809 on Enforcement Conduct Board, when he plans to set out his Department's approach to ensuring appropriate oversight of (a) enforcement firms and (b) agents operating under the Taking Control of Goods procedure.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government will strengthen the oversight of enforcement firms and agents that use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on how to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should play any role in accrediting enforcement agents. The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK counter-terrorism cooperation of the detention of Bechir Akremi; and whether he has considered the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in relation to his case.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is aware of the ongoing detention of Mr Bechir Akremi. We are clear on the importance of continued public commitment to respect for the rule of law, and all Tunisians' civil, political, social, and economic rights, including the right to a fair trial. The UK respects Tunisia's judicial processes and calls for all cases to be tried in an independent, transparent manner.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Tunisian counterpart on (a) the mass trial of political figures in April 2025 and (b) the need for (i) due process and (ii) humane treatment for political detainees in Tunisia.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK monitors the situation in Tunisia closely. As noted in a statement by the UK at the Human Rights Council last October, the space for political participation in Tunisia has shrunk considerably and the way legitimate political actors have been arrested raises serious questions about the independence of the judiciary.

During my visit to Tunisia in July, I raised our concerns on the human rights and civil society environment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with representatives of Tunisian civil society to understand more about the situation. The Foreign Secretary also noted the importance of political participation and human rights in discussions with the Tunisian Government in January. Our Ambassador in Tunisia regularly raises individual cases of concern in discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK actively explores a range of programmes and activities to encourage and support an open society.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Tunisian counterpart on (a) the detention of political figures in Tunisia in recent years and (b) compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK monitors the situation in Tunisia closely. As noted in a statement by the UK at the Human Rights Council last October, the space for political participation in Tunisia has shrunk considerably and the way legitimate political actors have been arrested raises serious questions about the independence of the judiciary.

During my visit to Tunisia in July, I raised our concerns on the human rights and civil society environment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with representatives of Tunisian civil society to understand more about the situation. The Foreign Secretary also noted the importance of political participation and human rights in discussions with the Tunisian Government in January. Our Ambassador in Tunisia regularly raises individual cases of concern in discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK actively explores a range of programmes and activities to encourage and support an open society.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report by Bite Back entitled Fuel us, don't fool us, published in July 2025; and what steps she is taking to strengthen compliance with the School Food Standards across all education settings.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

To ensure the quality and nutrition of school meals, the department is working with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.

We are aware of Bite Back’s ‘Fuel Us, Don’t Fool Us,’ School Food report. We are engaging with stakeholders, including Bite Back, on revising the school food standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.

School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the school food standards and should work with the headteacher and senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.

In November 2024, the department and the National Governance Association launched an online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This training is designed to improve understanding of the school food standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their-whole school approach to food.

As with all aspects of the school food standards review, we will keep our approaches to compliance under consideration.​

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