Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the statutory bereavement award under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976; whether he plans to review the level of that award; and whether an assessment has been made of the potential impact of the current level on the ability of families to pursue (a) legal claims for alleged clinical negligence and (b) other legal claims.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Bereavement damages are a fixed payment in acknowledgment of grief and are in no way intended to reflect the value of the life lost in monetary terms. They are only one element of the damages that may be awarded in a particular case, which for example can also include damages for dependency.
The Government’s position remains that it believes the existing legal framework, involving a fixed level of award and clear eligibility criteria, represents a reasonable, proportionate and practical approach.
There are no plans to review the level of the award, and the Government does not believe the level of the award has any impact on the ability of individuals to bring negligence claims.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for increasing available Units of Dental Activity in Somerset.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Taunton and Wellington constituency this is the Somerset ICB.
Since 2024, a minimum Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) value of £28 is in place to support practices with historically low UDA rates. ICBs have the flexibility to influence the UDA rate locally, which may help to support local interventions. The current differential UDA rates across England also allow providers to use differing pay rates for associate dentists to reflect the local market rates.
In July 2022, ICBs were given new powers to unilaterally rebase a provider’s dental contract if they have consistently failed to deliver the UDAs required, within a contractual tolerance of 96%. In practice this means that ICBs can reallocate these UDAs to practices who are able to deliver them, meaning more available care for patients.
We are committed to fundamentally reforming the dental contract by the end of the Parliament, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the 2026 Somerset Armed Forces Day's application for funding has been logged on his Department's systems.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Following successful engagement with the chairman of the Somerset Armed Forces Day (AFD) event, the MOD can confirm an AFD grant award of £5,000 for 2026 event.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has reviewed the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision of 30 October 2025 to accept legally binding commitments from major housebuilders to tackle anticompetitive behaviour and ensure industry-wide compliance; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that decision on competition enforcement, housing affordability and adherence to competition law.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government notes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision of 30 October 2025. The CMA is the UK’s independent competition authority responsible for enforcing competition law, and the Government does not review its individual enforcement decisions. It is for the CMA to ensure compliance with binding commitments given to it and to assess their effectiveness. The Government has ensured the CMA has the tools and resources necessary to do so.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the online driving license renewal process and other GOV.UK websites provide accessible digital services for members of the public to complete administrative processes effectively and within an appropriate timeframe.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services currently adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and work is underway to bring all services to WCAG 2.2 level AA status to attain full compliance with the most recent accessibility requirements. These are an internationally recognised set of recommendations to ensure services are accessible to everyone, including users with impairments to their vision, hearing, mobility and/or thinking/understanding.
As part of service development, the DVLA tests services with users who have a wide range of accessibility needs and uses a digital inclusion scale to ensure testing covers varying skill and confidence levels. A service assessment is also conducted by independent panel members ahead of any new service being launched.
The DVLA has a range of digital contact channels available, including a webchat facility that includes an upfront automated chatbot to provide out of hours support for customers. A webform service is also available to customers 24/7, where a system generated auto-response email will be provided for simple enquiries, or an advisor will reply via email as soon as possible for more complex queries. The DVLA also recently launched a WhatsApp service which provides customers with a further choice of preferred contact channel.
The DVLA offers a variety of reasonable adjustments to customers which can range from simple adjustments like providing correspondence on coloured paper or in large print, to providing a video relay service for British Sign Language users who want to contact the DVLA via telephone.
While digital services are increasingly available, the DVLA recognises that not all customers can or want to access services online. Customers can contact the DVLA by telephone or in writing in these circumstances and paper application facilities are also available.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what targeted guidance is available to medically vulnerable people who cannot safely reduce their heating use.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s fuel poverty strategy seeks to ensure households are supported to achieve warm homes at an affordable cost. The UK Health Security Agency has produced guidance for the public on how to keep warm and well at home, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keep-warm-keep-well-leaflet-gives-advice-on-staying-healthy-in-cold-weather
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance to reduce the health risks associated with cold homes, which is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng6
The audiences for this include people who may have health problems related to living in a cold home, as well as their families and carers.
Financial support schemes are also available to help some vulnerable groups with their energy bills, including the Warm Home Discount and the Cold Weather Payment. People may also be able to access support to pay energy bills from their local council through the Crisis and Resilience Fund.
Vulnerable individuals can also join their energy supplier’s Priority Services Register, through which they can receive extra advice and support.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that GOV.UK websites provide accessible digital services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
GOV.UK is run by the Government Digital Service (GDS) which is part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
The Department for Transport follows the GDS GOV.UK design system accessibility guidelines when drafting and building its GOV.UK content and digital services.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s processes for drivers with medical conditions; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an online system for submitting medical information or tracking applications.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the interests of road safety, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) must be satisfied that the required medical standards for driving are met before a licence is issued. The DVLA’s processes are designed to ensure that licensing decisions are informed by appropriate medical evidence, while enabling individuals to continue driving where it is safe to do so.
The DVLA aims to process all applications as quickly as possible. However, some medical cases take longer because the DVLA often needs information from third parties, including doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a licensing decision can be made.
The DVLA has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of medical licence applications, increasing waiting times for some customers. To improve its services, the DVLA has introduced a new casework system and launched a new medical services portal, so the majority of customers can now apply online through the DVLA’s driver and vehicles account. In time, this will also allow customers to track their applications in a way they have not been able to previously. Details on how to sign up for an account can be found at www.gov.uk/driver-vehicles-account.
These enhancements alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with these applications and answer telephone calls, will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of levels in the availability of (a) anti-aircraft artillery, (b) electronic warfare, (c) low-cost interceptors and (d) other off-the-shelf mobile air defence systems.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The availability of air and missile defence capabilities is kept under continual review as part of Defence’s assessment of threats and the readiness of the Armed Forces. Readiness is directed through the Armed Forces Plan, in which the Chief of the Defence Staff directs Military Command Chiefs to hold a range of force elements at varying levels of readiness, aligned with the NATO Force Model, sovereign defence requirements, and our ability to respond to crisis. This readiness is assessed against the sum of Availability, Capability, and Sustainment.
The Strategic Defence Review announced up to £1 billion of investment during this Parliament in Integrated Air and Missile Defence, with an early focus on improving command and control and sensor capabilities to ensure more effective integration and use of available effectors. The Defence Investment Plan will further shape the sequencing and prioritisation of future investment, informed by the evolving threat picture.
As is longstanding policy, the Department does not comment in detail on the availability or readiness levels of specific capabilities where doing so could prejudice operational security.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department last reviewed the income thresholds for the Healthy Start scheme, and whether it will conduct an updated review given concerns that thresholds have not been revised for nearly a decade and may no longer reflect current economic conditions faced by low income working families.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has taken action to strengthen support through Healthy Start. From April 2026, an increase to the weekly payments has been implemented, which means pregnant women and children aged under four years old and over one years old each receive £4.65 every week, and children under one years old each receive £9.30.
The income-related eligibility criteria for the Healthy Start scheme are not set as standalone cash thresholds. Eligibility is linked to receipt of certain income-related benefits, including Universal Credit, which act as passporting mechanisms to ensure support is targeted at families on the lowest incomes. Eligibility criteria for the scheme are kept under continuous review.