Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of commissioning arrangements for (a) Molecular Radiotherapy, (b) Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy and (c) Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapies.

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

The National Health Service delivers a range of treatments for cancer, with expert clinicians working with patients to determine the most appropriate option. The Government is working with NHS England to ensure that the most effective treatments are available to patients across the country when they need them.

Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is routinely available to treat several types of cancer, including some types of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer. Every NHS trust that is commissioned to provide radiotherapy services in England can offer SABR. However, not all cancer types can be treated with SABR in every radiotherapy service, because some trusts may not host the relevant specialist multi-disciplinary team.

No assessment has been made of the potential for systemic anti-cancer therapies to be delivered via primary care in the community or at home. However, in line with the Government’s Health Mission shift from hospital to community, the 10-Year Health Plan committed to deliver more urgent care in the community, in people’s homes, or through neighbourhood health centres by 2035.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential for systemic anti-cancer therapies to be delivered via primary care in the community or at home.

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

The National Health Service delivers a range of treatments for cancer, with expert clinicians working with patients to determine the most appropriate option. The Government is working with NHS England to ensure that the most effective treatments are available to patients across the country when they need them.

Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is routinely available to treat several types of cancer, including some types of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer. Every NHS trust that is commissioned to provide radiotherapy services in England can offer SABR. However, not all cancer types can be treated with SABR in every radiotherapy service, because some trusts may not host the relevant specialist multi-disciplinary team.

No assessment has been made of the potential for systemic anti-cancer therapies to be delivered via primary care in the community or at home. However, in line with the Government’s Health Mission shift from hospital to community, the 10-Year Health Plan committed to deliver more urgent care in the community, in people’s homes, or through neighbourhood health centres by 2035.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in which NHS trusts Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy is available in England .

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

The National Health Service delivers a range of treatments for cancer, with expert clinicians working with patients to determine the most appropriate option. The Government is working with NHS England to ensure that the most effective treatments are available to patients across the country when they need them.

Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is routinely available to treat several types of cancer, including some types of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer. Every NHS trust that is commissioned to provide radiotherapy services in England can offer SABR. However, not all cancer types can be treated with SABR in every radiotherapy service, because some trusts may not host the relevant specialist multi-disciplinary team.

No assessment has been made of the potential for systemic anti-cancer therapies to be delivered via primary care in the community or at home. However, in line with the Government’s Health Mission shift from hospital to community, the 10-Year Health Plan committed to deliver more urgent care in the community, in people’s homes, or through neighbourhood health centres by 2035.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding her Department has allocated for the rollout of neighbourhood health centres (a) in England and (b) for each eligible integrated care board.

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

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.

That is why over the course of our 10-Year Health Plan, we aim to establish a neighbourhood health centre in every community, transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health through services like debt advice, employment support, and obesity management programmes.

Nationwide coverage will take time, and we will start by using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings, targeting places where healthy life expectancy is lowest and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.

Capital funding for neighbourhood health centres will become available from 2026/27, with detailed planning guidance for local systems to be communicated before the end of the year.

As outlined in the Government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, a decision on whether to proceed with the use of Public Private Partnerships for neighbourhood health centres will be made by HM Treasury and relevant ministers by the 2025 Autumn Budget.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is providing to the bereaved families of the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash in 1994.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Our deepest sympathies remain with the bereaved families of this tragic accident. The Ministry of Defence has supported families, and upheld our commitment to transparency and accountability, by fully cooperating with previous inquiries and investigations. We remain committed to engaging fully and constructively with the ongoing judicial review proceedings.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help reduce landfill use by 2028.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We are developing policy options for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill, following publication of a call for evidence and a summary of responses published earlier this year.

The Collection and Packaging Reforms – Simpler Recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) and a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) – will help stimulate investment in recycling services across the UK and support our ambition to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035. The Circular Economy Strategy for England, which we plan to publish in the coming months, will contain further proposals to reduce our reliance on landfill.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the press report by the British Retail Consortium entitled 400 of Britain's largest shops at risk, published on12 September 2025, on the potential impact of business rates on large-format stores.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

From April 2026, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government is introducing a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026/27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. The Government recognises that, ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, RHL businesses need support in 2025-26. So, the Government has prevented RHL relief from ending by extending it for one year at 40 per centup to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the revaluation outcomes and broader economic and fiscal context can be factored into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of properties have been connected to full fibre under the North Shropshire Project Gigabit contract.

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

As of 25 June 2025, Freedom Fibre delivered 2,500 out of an original contract of 12,000 premises, for a proportion of 21% of the original contract. Building Digital UK will publish more up-to-date data about contract delivery in the next few weeks.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if her Department take steps to deliver full fibre to 12,000 premises in North Shropshire following the integration of Building Digital UK into her Department.

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

In North Shropshire, Building Digital UK (BDUK) is seeking to agree the extent to which Openreach may be able to extend its network to reach premises that require support from Project Gigabit.

This work will not be impacted by BDUK’s integration into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).

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 adequacy of the (a) training and (b) support provided to volunteers who help maintain public use defibrillators.

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

Charities which provide automated external defibrillators (AED) have clear guidance in place on the use and ongoing maintenance of the devices they provide.

The Circuit, the national defibrillator registry independently operated by the British Heart Foundation, notifies the guardian of the defibrillator when it has been used and action to replace the pads is required.

In addition, the Department for Education has published guidance on AEDs for schools, including on maintenance and registration with The Circuit. A copy of this guidance is attached.

NHS England provides training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of AEDs both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart initiative. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation.

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 a recent assessment of the adequacy of (a) guidance and (b) other protocols provided to properties with public use defibrillators.

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

Charities which provide automated external defibrillators (AED) have clear guidance in place on the use and ongoing maintenance of the devices they provide.

The Circuit, the national defibrillator registry independently operated by the British Heart Foundation, notifies the guardian of the defibrillator when it has been used and action to replace the pads is required.

In addition, the Department for Education has published guidance on AEDs for schools, including on maintenance and registration with The Circuit. A copy of this guidance is attached.

NHS England provides training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of AEDs both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart initiative. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation.

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 merits of requiring organisations with public use defibrillators to be provided with a log of use.

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

Charities which provide automated external defibrillators (AED) have clear guidance in place on the use and ongoing maintenance of the devices they provide.

The Circuit, the national defibrillator registry independently operated by the British Heart Foundation, notifies the guardian of the defibrillator when it has been used and action to replace the pads is required.

In addition, the Department for Education has published guidance on AEDs for schools, including on maintenance and registration with The Circuit. A copy of this guidance is attached.

NHS England provides training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of AEDs both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart initiative. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation.

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 a recent assessment of the adequacy of the maintenance process of public use defibrillators.

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

Charities which provide automated external defibrillators (AED) have clear guidance in place on the use and ongoing maintenance of the devices they provide.

The Circuit, the national defibrillator registry independently operated by the British Heart Foundation, notifies the guardian of the defibrillator when it has been used and action to replace the pads is required.

In addition, the Department for Education has published guidance on AEDs for schools, including on maintenance and registration with The Circuit. A copy of this guidance is attached.

NHS England provides training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of AEDs both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart initiative. NHS England has trained over 35,800 adults and children in CPR and defibrillation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration he has given to introducing an innovation incentive payment to facilitate the adoption of innovative treatments by NHS trusts.

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

No consideration has been given to introducing an innovation incentive payment to National Health Service trusts to facilitate the adoption of innovative treatments. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the NHS on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. The NHS in England is legally required to fund NICE-recommended medicines, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. The 2025/26 NHS Standard Contract, which applies to all contracts between NHS commissioners and providers, stipulates that, where any service involves or may involve the prescribing of medicines, the provider must ensure that its formulary reflects all relevant positive NICE technology appraisals.

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 encourage NHS trusts to take part in clinical trials for innovative treatments.

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

The Department is committed to turbocharging clinical research and encouraging National Health Service trusts to take part through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and a four-nation UK Clinical Research Delivery Programme (UKCRD).

The Department-funded NIHR funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients, the public, and NHS settings to participate in high-quality research, including clinical trials for innovative treatments. NIHR infrastructure provides world-class research expertise, specialist facilities, a research delivery workforce, and support services. Through the NIHR’s Research Delivery Network (RDN), the NIHR supports all NHS trusts in England to deliver research, operating across 12 regions throughout the country.

In April 2025, the Department began publishing monthly key performance indicators on commercial clinical trial set up performance for NHS trusts in England, as part of the UKCRD programme, Study Set Up Plan. This report provides a monthly snapshot of site-level commercial study set-up performance, with the expectation that this will encourage NHS trusts to improve study set-up performance and therefore increase their participation in clinical trials for innovative treatments.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to assess the potential merits of reviewing the classification of documents on the Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash in 1994 within this parliamentary term.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident, and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died.

As part of Ministry of Defence’s business as usual activity to renew the Retention Instrument associated with these closed records held at The National Archives, an assessment of the potential merit of removing the 100-year closure status is due to take place in 2029.

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 protect household contacts of the immunosuppressed from covid-19 infection.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (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 for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help young people in supported accommodation in North Shropshire constituency increase their (a) working income and (b) financial security.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 vaccinations were available for use in England in winter (a) 2025-6, (b) 2024-5 and (c) 2023-4.

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

We are unable to provide the information requested, as it is commercially sensitive, however adequate doses were available to deliver the programmes.

Water bills

Impact of extreme weather on farming

National Cancer Plan

Decarbonising refrigerated transport

Ukrainian Permission Extension Scheme

Protections for animals and people

Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Bill

Local government and social care

Transparency and accountability in social media account closures

Government proposals for mandatory digital ID

Menopause Awareness Month

Contribution of legal immigrants

Warm Homes Plan

Political donations

Global Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day 2025

35 years of Macmillan Cancer Support’s Coffee Morning

Elon Musk at the Unite the Kingdom rally

Farmgate milk price reduction

40th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Future of BBC Radio 4 Longwave

Fly camping in the Lake District

Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme

Refusal of Citizenship to refugees who have made irregular crossings

Found: Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan welcomed much of the plan for the NHS but said it