Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of curent levels of access to omaveloxolone for patients with Friedreich's ataxia on NHS costs.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was unable to complete its appraisal of omaveloxolone after the company withdrew its evidence submission and it is not therefore routinely funded for National Health Service patients. NICE will reopen the appraisal if the company makes a new evidence submission.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to people who have been advised to avoid folic acid, including people with coronary stents, on how to identify and avoid foods containing folic-acid-fortified flour when eating food prepared by restaurants, cafés, bakeries and other food businesses.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For food sold in restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and other out-of-home settings, consumers who have specific dietary requirements or medical concerns can ask the food business for information about ingredients used in the preparation of food.
On the wider issues raised, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 18201.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 hospital trusts are able to maintain minimum safe staffing levels in maternity services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a record number of midwives working in the National Health Service this year, with over 600 more than a year ago. We are also investing £10.6 million in an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The Government has invested over £16 million in additional funding for obstetricians in England since 2023/24. As of June 2026, there were 100 more obstetrics and gynaecology consultants than a year earlier. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the NHS will have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We will publish a single national action plan by the end of the year to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. Ensuring that services have the right workforce to deliver safe care for all women and babies is central to this work.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 standardise guidance on safe staffing levels in maternity care between NHS hospital trusts.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a record number of midwives working in the National Health Service this year, with over 600 more than a year ago. We are also investing £10.6 million in an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The Government has invested over £16 million in additional funding for obstetricians in England since 2023/24. As of June 2026, there were 100 more obstetrics and gynaecology consultants than a year earlier. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the NHS will have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We will publish a single national action plan by the end of the year to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. Ensuring that services have the right workforce to deliver safe care for all women and babies is central to this work.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
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 help tackle the shortage of gynaecologists and obstetricians in the NHS.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have a record number of midwives working in the National Health Service this year, with over 600 more than a year ago. We are also investing £10.6 million in an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The Government has invested over £16 million in additional funding for obstetricians in England since 2023/24. As of June 2026, there were 100 more obstetrics and gynaecology consultants than a year earlier. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out how the NHS will have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.
We will publish a single national action plan by the end of the year to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. Ensuring that services have the right workforce to deliver safe care for all women and babies is central to this work.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in registration fees charged by the General Pharmaceutical Council on the pharmacy workforce; and if she will hold discussions with the Council on the potential merits of introducing more flexible monthly payment options for registrants.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is independent of Government and is funded by fees charged to its registrants. The council is responsible for setting its own fees and determining flexible payment methods.
The GPhC currently offers the option for registrants to pay their fees in quarterly instalments and provides information regarding how pharmacists may be able to claim tax relief.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent profiteering on the sale of road fuel and off-grid fuel prices.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will not tolerate profiteering or unfair practices in fuel markets.
For road fuel, we are supporting greater competition and transparency through Fuel Finder, which requires retailers to share live prices. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also continues to monitor retailer behaviour, including passive pricing strategies that may contribute to sustained high margins.
For heating oil, the CMA has proposed stronger consumer protections, including supplier registration and minimum standards, improved price transparency, independent dispute resolution and better support for vulnerable households. It has also secured compensation for customers affected by cancelled orders. The Government welcomes this work, is carefully considering the CMA’s recommendations and intends to respond formally in due course.
Vulnerable households facing immediate financial difficulties because of rising heating oil prices are encouraged to contact their local authority to find out what support may be available to them through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) which has over £50million to help low-income families tackle surging prices.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the treatment of Palestinian healthcare workers in detention.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government regularly engages with Israeli counterparts to express concern about the detention of Palestinian doctors and other detainees. We have been consistently clear that all detainees, including doctors, must be treated with dignity and in full accordance with international law, and that any allegations of torture or mistreatment must be thoroughly investigated. The UK continues to urge the Government of Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) immediate and unfettered access to all detention facilities and detainees.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what his Department is doing to ensure manufacturing businesses have access to high strength alloys in the context of a change to steel import tariffs.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of high strength alloys and other specialist steel products to UK manufacturing. The steel trade measure is designed to protect the long-term viability of UK steelmaking and supply chain resilience, while ensuring continued access to essential imports.
The measure applies only to steel categories that can be made in the UK. In some instances, technical constraints mean that some product codes cover both UK-produced and non-UK-produced grades and sizes. In these cases, quotas have been sized accordingly. We continue to engage closely with businesses and will review the measure after 12 months.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of steel goods manufacture being offshored on the cost of goods manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that a strong domestic steel sector and a competitive manufacturing base depend on one another and our approach seeks to support both.
We are closely monitoring impacts across the supply chain, including on downstream manufacturers and trade flows, and we will continue to hear from businesses on the impact of the measure. We will review it after 12 months to ensure it remains effective and the balance is right for both producers and downstream users. Additionally, Explanatory Memoranda to the legislation that implemented the measure were published setting out the expected impacts on different sectors and businesses across the supply chain.