Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential safety benefits of providing warning lights for vehicles used by Community First Responders.

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

Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers trained by ambulance services to attend certain types of emergency calls in the communities where they live or work. Decisions on operational arrangements, including safety measures and equipment for CFRs, are determined locally by ambulance trusts.

As a complementary resource, CFRs are dispatched only to those calls that appropriately fall within the clinical scope of practice for a volunteer CFR role and assessment of this takes both the safety of the volunteer and patient into account.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, may, by regulations, make provisions for courses of training for driving vehicles at high speed. It is generally taken that those responding to incidents using blue lights and sirens are trained to an appropriate standard that is recognised by the despatching National Health Service ambulance service. The decision to authorise interested CFR and/or co-responder schemes to use blue lights and sirens and claim exemptions is for local determination by NHS ambulance services.

The CFR scheme is designed so volunteers are typically located close to incidents requiring a response, meaning driving under emergency conditions would typically confer relatively little benefit compared with travelling at normal road speed. Any potential benefits must also be weighed against the increased risks to the public associated with using exemptions to road traffic regulations.

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 help ensure the safety of Community First Responders.

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

Community First Responders (CFRs) are volunteers trained by ambulance services to attend certain types of emergency calls in the communities where they live or work. Decisions on operational arrangements, including safety measures and equipment for CFRs, are determined locally by ambulance trusts.

As a complementary resource, CFRs are dispatched only to those calls that appropriately fall within the clinical scope of practice for a volunteer CFR role and assessment of this takes both the safety of the volunteer and patient into account.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, may, by regulations, make provisions for courses of training for driving vehicles at high speed. It is generally taken that those responding to incidents using blue lights and sirens are trained to an appropriate standard that is recognised by the despatching National Health Service ambulance service. The decision to authorise interested CFR and/or co-responder schemes to use blue lights and sirens and claim exemptions is for local determination by NHS ambulance services.

The CFR scheme is designed so volunteers are typically located close to incidents requiring a response, meaning driving under emergency conditions would typically confer relatively little benefit compared with travelling at normal road speed. Any potential benefits must also be weighed against the increased risks to the public associated with using exemptions to road traffic regulations.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to support consumers paying increased costs for (a) heating oil (b) petrol and (c) diesel, in the context of conflict in the Middle East.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is closely monitoring heating oil, petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East. International kerosene prices are >75% higher than they were before the conflict and this is putting pressure on heating oil prices.

The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Ministers have also spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority, who have announced they are reviewing evidence of potential unfair practices and anti-competitive behaviour.

We are keeping under review whether any further support or action is needed to protect consumers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS England employees there (a) are and (b) were on 13 March 2025; and what estimate he has made of the number of NHS England employees there will be following the first round of the voluntary redundancy scheme.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS England employees have opted to take the voluntary redundancy scheme commencing in April 2026.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on external consultants for the ongoing reorganisation of the NHS since 2024.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support small haulage companies with fuel costs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is taking action to ensure that fuel at the pump remains affordable. At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027. The 5p cut was introduced at following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when prices reached a peak of over £1.90 per litre.

The Government's action on fuel duty will save the average heavy goods vehicle more than £800 in 2026/27 compared to the plans inherited from the previous government. This follows an extended period where freezes to fuel duty have resulted in substantial savings for the haulage industry.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her department holds on the profit margins for producers, processors and retailers at each stage in the milk supply chain.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK dairy industry is a resilient and dynamic sector operating in an open market where profit margins are established by the interaction of those in supply chains including farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers.

Defra does not collect or hold information on profit margins for individual businesses at any stage of the milk supply chain. Defra does, however, work closely with dairy sector supply chains to monitor the dairy market via engagement with industry stakeholders and through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group.

Defra publishes information for England on the cost of production of milk in the Defra Farm Business Survey, and gross margins for dairy enterprises in England in Table 14.2 of Farm Business Survey Farm Accounts for England.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what conversations she has had with the British wool industry about the impact of the Home Office's withdrawal of the visa concession for temporary employment as sheep shearers on the existing challenges of workforce availability faced by the industry.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 3 March 2026 to the hon. Member for Folkestone and Hythe on to PQ UIN 114322.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support British nationals in Indonesia that are unable to travel home due to the conflict in the Middle East.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 16 March in response to Question 118590.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department will confirm the funding allocations of the Road Investment Strategy 3.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) is due to be published later in March. It will confirm the funding and objectives for National Highways’ investment in the strategic road network over the five-year period from 2026/27 to 2030/31.

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 complex ophthalmology care is provided in a timely fashion.

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

We have committed to ensuring that 92% of all patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment (RTT) by March 2029. Since the Government came into office, the waiting list for routine appointments, operations, and procedures in England has now been cut by 374,083, and RTT performance has improved by 2.6%. This is despite 33.3 million referrals onto the waiting list.

In ophthalmology, the national waiting list stands at 602,163 pathways, with 69.8% of those having waited 18 weeks or less. This marks a 3.7% improvement in RTT performance since the Government came into office.

We are committed to expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide dedicated and protected elective capacity to drive improvement in six specialities, including ophthalmology. We are reducing missed appointments through enhanced two-way communication between hospitals and patients, supported by artificial intelligence prediction tools. We are also expanding the use of remote monitoring and patient-initiated follow up, where appropriate, to offer patients more flexibility over their care.

Improved IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services and the development of single points of access has also shown its ability to improve the referral and triage of patients and support more care being delivered in the community.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many assaults on staff in NHS A&E departments have been recorded each year since 2019.

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

The 2025 NHS staff survey showed that 14.47% of staff experienced at least one incidence of violence in the last 12 months from patients and/or service users, their relatives, or other members of the public, compared to 14.38% in 2024, 13.88% in 2023, 14.82% in 2022, 14.57% in 2021, 14.90% in 2020, and 15.08% in 2019. Data taken from the NHS Staff Survey cannot, however, be used to identity whether an incident has occurred in a particular department.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the National Highways' investigations into proposals to improve road safety at the Llynclys crossroads on the A483.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

National Highways has assessed the safety performance of the 6-mile section of the A483 between Oswestry and the Welsh Border, which includes the Llynclys Crossroads. Improvements to the route are being considered for delivery as part of the Safety National Programme within RIS3, which is due to be published later in March.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of UK Research and Innovation research grant cuts on early career researchers in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is investing a record £86 billion in R&D between 2026/27 and 2029/30, with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivering £38.6 billion across the UK. UKRI’s “applicant-led” budgets will increase from £737 million this year to £815 million in 2026/27 and £866 million in 2029/30.

The Government recognises the central role that physics plays in driving economic growth, underpinning emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum and semiconductors, nuclear fusion and many others as well as sustaining the UK’s long-term scientific and industrial capability.

DSIT has asked UKRI to ensure that its final allocations are informed by consultation with the research community, as well as robust assessment of potential impacts on the UK’s scientific capability. Physics is well funded and there have been big increases for quantum and nuclear. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which is part of UKRI, is currently working with the sector to model different spending scenarios for its specific portfolio in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN). No final spending decisions relating to STFC’s PPAN portfolio have been made, and the impacts of different modelled scenarios will be considered alongside feedback from the sector before taking any final decisions.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to maintain and support astrophysics research projects at centres such as the research institute at Jodrell Bank Observatory.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is investing a record £86 billion in R&D between 2026/27 and 2029/30, with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivering £38.6 billion across the UK. UKRI’s “applicant-led” budgets will increase from £737 million this year to £815 million in 2026/27 and £866 million in 2029/30.

The Government recognises the central role that physics plays in driving economic growth, underpinning emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum and semiconductors, nuclear fusion and many others as well as sustaining the UK’s long-term scientific and industrial capability.

DSIT has asked UKRI to ensure that its final allocations are informed by consultation with the research community, as well as robust assessment of potential impacts on the UK’s scientific capability. Physics is well funded and there have been big increases for quantum and nuclear. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which is part of UKRI, is currently working with the sector to model different spending scenarios for its specific portfolio in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN). No final spending decisions relating to STFC’s PPAN portfolio have been made, and the impacts of different modelled scenarios will be considered alongside feedback from the sector before taking any final decisions.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of UK Research and Innovation provision on the future of UK research in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear physics.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is investing a record £86 billion in R&D between 2026/27 and 2029/30, with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) delivering £38.6 billion across the UK. UKRI’s “applicant-led” budgets will increase from £737 million this year to £815 million in 2026/27 and £866 million in 2029/30.

The Government recognises the central role that physics plays in driving economic growth, underpinning emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum and semiconductors, nuclear fusion and many others as well as sustaining the UK’s long-term scientific and industrial capability.

DSIT has asked UKRI to ensure that its final allocations are informed by consultation with the research community, as well as robust assessment of potential impacts on the UK’s scientific capability. Physics is well funded and there have been big increases for quantum and nuclear. The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which is part of UKRI, is currently working with the sector to model different spending scenarios for its specific portfolio in particle physics, astronomy and nuclear (PPAN). No final spending decisions relating to STFC’s PPAN portfolio have been made, and the impacts of different modelled scenarios will be considered alongside feedback from the sector before taking any final decisions.

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 NICE Guidance to prevent irreversible sight loss is being met for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued technology appraisal guidance recommending several medicines for use in the treatment of wet age-related macular generation. The National Health Service in England is legally required to fund medicines in line with NICE’s recommendations, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.

NICE has also published a clinical guideline that provides comprehensive guidance on best practice in the management of patients with this condition, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng82

NICE clinical guidelines are not mandatory, but NHS commissioners are expected to take them fully into account in ensuring that local services meet the needs of their populations.

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 potential impact of the NHS England voluntary redundancy scheme on its ability to deliver its functions.

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

The NHS England voluntary redundancy scheme was launched in December 2025, with staff able to submit applications. Following closure of the window for applications, there has been a considered and risk-based approvals process to determine whether applications can be approved or not, and if approved, at what point it is appropriate for the individual to exit the organisation and the post to become redundant.

Considerations included the impact on business-critical activities and functions, the impact on staff remaining in the organisation, and the likelihood that similar skills would be needed in the future. Local panels were held at the directorate and regional level to consider applications, and there was a national moderation and approval process for the entirety of the scheme. In many cases, exit dates were agreed into 2026/27 to ensure that redesign and mitigations could be put in place ahead of departure.

As part of planning for 2026/27, NHS England is undertaking a planning process to ensure that the resources at its disposal are focussed on our key priorities and statutory duties, taking into account staff exits ahead of the financial year, and at quarterly intervals during the year. This process is taking place at an organisational level, as well as within each directorate and region.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS England employees have resigned, transferred or otherwise terminated their employment at NHS England since the announcement of its abolition.

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

Since the announcement of NHS England’s abolition, 827 employees have left NHS England’s employment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any of NHS England's responsibilities or functions have been fully transferred to the Department of Health and Social Care since the announcement of NHS England abolition in March 2025.

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

The Government intends to abolish NHS England by April 2027. NHS England responsibilities and functions will not be transferred into the restructured Department until the passage of the legislation is complete, subject to the will of Parliament. Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, to plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.

Funding for rural Britain

Conflict in Lebanon

NHS funding for mental health services

Student finance system reform

State visits to the US

Leasehold reform (No. 3)

Endometriosis Awareness Month 2026

Funding for rural fire and rescue services

Right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly