Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the Rapid Support Forces on their requirement for international NGOs to register in Darfur; and what steps she is taking to help coordinate an international response to prevent organisations losing access to Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government remains deeply concerned by the recent directives issued by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Humanitarian Agency, that requires humanitarian organisations, including the UN, to register their presence in areas of RSF-control or face expulsion. Millions of Sudanese people, who are already in dire need of lifesaving aid and assistance, could be cut off from aid.
The UK, together with our international partners and the UN, has been lobbying the RSF leadership and their affiliated militias to rescind these requirements, and the RSF has agreed to extend the original 12 May deadline for registration by one month. It is critical that a lasting solution is found that does not further restrict the ability of humanitarian actors to operate throughout Sudan.
We remain committed to using all levers to press the warring parties to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan and adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Government will publish its response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s report on the health impacts of breast implants and other cosmetic procedures.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the important work of the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) and remains committed to addressing longstanding concerns around safety in the cosmetic sector.
We will issue the Government’s response to the WEC report on cosmetic procedures once the Department’s consultation on our proposed approach to introducing legal safeguards for high-risk cosmetic procedures is published. We intend to publish the consultation in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 patients with suspected craniocervical instability in the context of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are not (a) misdiagnosed and (b) inappropriately managed.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the challenges faced by patients with hypermobile Ehlers‑Danlos syndromes (hEDS) and associated conditions, including suspected craniocervical instability (CCI), which can be complex to diagnose and manage.
In England, decisions about diagnosis, investigation, and treatment are made by clinicians based on individual clinical need and the best available evidence. In doing so they can access consensus-backed guidelines from the Ehlers-Danlos Society and Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, which can help differentiate benign joint hypermobility from true neurological instability, minimising misdiagnosis and ensuring safe, conservative management.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their populations, including access to appropriate specialist services. Where clinically appropriate, patients can be referred across specialties, including neurology, rheumatology, pain management, and neurosurgery, to support a multidisciplinary approach to care.
We will continue to work with NHS England and stakeholders to improve awareness, coordination of care, and clinical understanding of complex multi‑system conditions such as hEDS and CCI.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to launch a consultation on phasing out the use of carbon dioxide to slaughter pigs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in this Government’s animal welfare strategy, Defra will consult on banning carbon dioxide gas stunning of pigs and on possible timescales for phasing out this method. Further details will be set out later this year.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to extend business rates relief to independent gyms and fitness centres.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pubs rents in business rates valuations are analysed differently to some other sectors. While most hospitality and leisure properties are valued by comparing the size of the property, pubs are valued by comparing their turnover potential. Industry bodies have highlighted concerns with how costs are accounted for in this methodology, particularly during periods of high inflation. The Government agrees this needs to be looked at and is therefore launching a review which will explore how pubs are valued for business rates. In the meantime, pubs are being provided with additional support.
Independent gyms and fitness centres will continue to benefit from the wider £4.3 billion support package announced at Budget, which protects against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties, including gyms and fitness centres.
As a result, over half of ratepayers see no bill increases this year, including 23 per cent whose bills go down. Most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less this year, or £800 for the smallest properties.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Oral Statement of 5 February 2026 on Sudan, Official Report, column 438, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen closer work through local partners in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the comments made by the Foreign Secretary in her article for the Daily Telegraph on 15 April marking the third anniversary of the war in Sudan, where she said:
Amid all this horror, another Sudan endures, defined not by violence, but by courage. Across the country, civilians continue to step forward where the state has collapsed, working to keep their communities alive.
Local emergency responders travel neighbourhood by neighbourhood, providing food, water and medicine in conditions of danger and deprivation that few could imagine. They are unpaid, unaligned, and often targeted by the warring parties precisely because of the alternative model of life they represent.
They are not simply delivering aid. They are preserving the social fabric of their country and showing that Sudan's future does not belong to armed men battling for power, but to citizens committed to dignity and coexistence. They must be recognised as the rightful architects of Sudan's future.
That is why we are protecting the UK's humanitarian support to Sudan and doubling our funding to these local responders, helping them to reach nearly two million people. Our aid will support that local leadership, not overshadow it. That is not only more effective; it is how a peaceful Sudan will be rebuilt.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether ICBs that are clustered have developed individual 5-year plans as set out in the medium term planning framework or if these have been developed jointly across cluster arrangements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most integrated care boards (ICBs) who are clustering have provided combined plans. Where ICBs have provided individual plans, they have referenced their clustering arrangements to ensure that the strategies are aligned.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Putney constituency compared with national averages during the last five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Putney and England, 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 December 2025) |
Putney | 725 | 705 |
England | 612,855 | 511,558 |
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 Wandsworth can be found at the following link:
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered integrating Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) and overlapping conditions such as PoTS, Mast Cell Activation, ME/CFS and Long Covid into NHS service specifications and clinical frameworks to improve outcomes for people with EDS, HSD and related conditions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises that people with Ehlers‑Danlos syndromes (EDS), hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), and related conditions such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, mast cell activation disorders, myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and Long Covid often experience complex, multisystem symptoms that require joined‑up care.
There is currently no single National Health Service service specification covering all these conditions collectively. However, care for people with EDS, HSD, and overlapping conditions is supported through a range of existing NHS service specifications, clinical guidelines, and frameworks. NHS England continues to keep service specifications and clinical frameworks under review to ensure they reflect emerging evidence and patient need.
The Department also recognises the concerns raised by patients and clinicians about craniocervical instability (CCI), particularly where it is suspected in people with EDS, HSD, and related conditions.
At present, the Department has not established a national multi‑disciplinary neurosurgical service for CCI. Neurosurgical services in England are commissioned by NHS England and are provided through established regional neuroscience centres, which already operate within multidisciplinary team arrangements to support complex spinal and neurological cases.
The evidence base for the diagnosis and surgical management of CCI remains limited and is an area of ongoing clinical debate. Decisions about service configuration, including whether to develop new national service models, must be informed by robust clinical evidence on effectiveness, safety, and patient outcomes, as well as by advice from NHS England and relevant clinical experts.
NHS England continues to keep specialised neurosurgical service arrangements under review, and patients with complex or rare presentations can be considered for assessment and management through existing specialist pathways. The Department will continue to work with NHS England and others to ensure that services for people with rare and complex conditions are safe, evidence‑based, and focused on improving patient outcomes.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered establishing a national multi‑disciplinary team for neurosurgery for craniocervical instability (CCI) to improve outcomes for people with EDS, HSD and related conditions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises that people with Ehlers‑Danlos syndromes (EDS), hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD), and related conditions such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, mast cell activation disorders, myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, and Long Covid often experience complex, multisystem symptoms that require joined‑up care.
There is currently no single National Health Service service specification covering all these conditions collectively. However, care for people with EDS, HSD, and overlapping conditions is supported through a range of existing NHS service specifications, clinical guidelines, and frameworks. NHS England continues to keep service specifications and clinical frameworks under review to ensure they reflect emerging evidence and patient need.
The Department also recognises the concerns raised by patients and clinicians about craniocervical instability (CCI), particularly where it is suspected in people with EDS, HSD, and related conditions.
At present, the Department has not established a national multi‑disciplinary neurosurgical service for CCI. Neurosurgical services in England are commissioned by NHS England and are provided through established regional neuroscience centres, which already operate within multidisciplinary team arrangements to support complex spinal and neurological cases.
The evidence base for the diagnosis and surgical management of CCI remains limited and is an area of ongoing clinical debate. Decisions about service configuration, including whether to develop new national service models, must be informed by robust clinical evidence on effectiveness, safety, and patient outcomes, as well as by advice from NHS England and relevant clinical experts.
NHS England continues to keep specialised neurosurgical service arrangements under review, and patients with complex or rare presentations can be considered for assessment and management through existing specialist pathways. The Department will continue to work with NHS England and others to ensure that services for people with rare and complex conditions are safe, evidence‑based, and focused on improving patient outcomes.