Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to ban the use of electronic shock collars on (a) cats and (b) dogs.

Answered by Mark Spencer

The Government remains committed to banning electronic training collars controlled by hand-held devices that administer electric shocks to cats or dogs.

We will pursue new regulations to deliver this commitment on a revised timeline. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to improve awareness of sickle cell disease among healthcare professionals.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases such as sickle cell disease, and published the UK Rare Diseases Framework in January 2021, providing the high-level approach for rare diseases. The framework outlines future priorities including increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals. In England we publish action plans annually to address these priorities. As part of this plan we committed to developing an innovative digital educational resource, ‘GeNotes’, providing healthcare professionals with relevant and concise information to support patient management, linking to the NHS Genomic Test Directories, and signposting to extended learning opportunities. This resource includes information on sickle cell disease and is updated regularly.

There have been recent improvements to the haematology medical curriculum, with understanding sickle cell disease now described in the curriculum as a core competency. The National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme has launched several products to support NHS England in raising awareness of sickle cell disease among healthcare professionals including NHS England’s Can you tell it's Sickle Cell campaign and e-learning module and a communications campaign to raise awareness of existing NHS England arrangements to support people with sickle cell disease to save money on the costs of regular prescriptions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of regulations on motorcycles towing trailers; and whether she plans to (a) review and (b) amend those regulations.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

There has not been a recent assessment of the adequacy of regulations on towing of trailers by motorcycles, and there are no plans to review or amend the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations in relation to these matters. Nothing has been identified to the Department to indicate that there is a need to amend Regulations at this time.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that NHS medical staff are made aware of a patient's personalised care plan.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.