Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of animal import standards on (a) animal welfare and (b) British farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the trade strategy, we recognise concerns about methods of production, such as sow stalls and battery cages, which are not permitted in the UK. While methods vary in line with different climates, diseases and other contextual reasons, we will always consider whether overseas produce has an unfair advantage and any impact that may have. Where necessary, we will be prepared to use the full range of powers at our disposal to protect our most sensitive sectors including permanent quotas, exclusions and safeguards.
We will always maintain UK levels of statutory protection in relation to human, animal or plant life or health, animal welfare, and the environment.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department attaches provisions on (a) mentoring and (b) role modelling in its funding of UK sports bodies.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department does not attach provisions on mentoring and role modelling in its funding of UK sports bodies. All DCMS funds to sports bodies go through UK Sport and Sport England.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding she has allocated to paternity leave for each professional tier of each sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government does not allocate funding to the staffing of professional sport.
UK Sport does fund the performance programmes of Olympic and Paralympic sport, but does not allocate specific funding for paternity or maternity leave. Funding is delegated to National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to manage in line with the needs of their programmes.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
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 engage with the pharmaceutical industry on price negotiations relating to Enhertu; and if he will take steps to help ensure that Enhertu becomes an (a) affordable and (b) accessible treatment option for patients with HER-2 low (i) metastatic and (ii) unresectable breast cancer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS in England are made on the basis of recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) following an evaluation of a treatment’s costs and benefits. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is important that they are made independently and on the basis of the available evidence.
NICE has been able to recommend Enhertu in advanced breast cancer for treating HER2-positive unresectable or metastatic breast cancer after one or more anti-HER2 treatments, and for treating HER2-positive unresectable or metastatic breast cancer after two or more anti-HER2 therapies.
On 29 July 2024, NICE published final guidance on Enhertu for use in the treatment of HER2-low metastatic breast cancer, and it was unable to recommend this life-extending treatment. The only obstacle to access for NHS patients to Enhertu is price, and the Secretary of State met the manufacturers of Enhertu, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, to encourage them to re-enter discussions with NHS England with a view to reaching a price at which NICE would be able to recommend Enhertu. However, despite NICE and NHS England offering unprecedented flexibility, the companies were unable to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price. NICE’s guidance will therefore remain unchanged, however, the door remains open for the companies to enter into a new NICE appraisal if they are willing to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
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 support the use of evidence-based off-label medicines where there is no commercial incentive for a pharmaceutical company to seek a marketing authorisation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care and regulates medicine, medical devices and blood components for transfusion in the UK. The MHRA is responsible for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.
In the UK, off-label prescribing refers to the use of a licensed medicine outside the terms of its marketing authorisation, such as for a different condition, dose, or age group. The MHRA regulates the licensing, safety and quality of medicines and monitors adverse effects but does not control medical practice. Responsibility for off-label prescribing lies with the prescriber, who must ensure it is in the patient’s best interests, supported by evidence, and discussed with the patient.
The General Medical Council (GMC) provides professional standards, while NHS trusts and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) may set local or national policies to guide safe and appropriate use.
Where there is no commercial incentive for a pharmaceutical company to seek a marketing authorisation, the use of independent, evidence-based guidelines (such as those developed by NICE, professional bodies, or specialist societies) can support clinical decision-making and standardise safe practice. Published research, systematic reviews, and expert consensus also provide a foundation for justifying off-label use in areas such as paediatrics, oncology, and rare diseases.
Thus, the MHRA oversees the medicine itself, while prescribers, the GMC, and the NHS govern how off-label prescribing is carried out in practice, supported by independent clinical evidence and guidelines when licensing is not pursued.
The MHRA encourages Marketing Authorisation Holders to vary their licences when there is sufficient evidence to change the indication approved. The MHRA will reach out to ask companies to assess when appropriate. This does not indicate that the MHRA will approve the licence, but are prepared to assess the evidence provided.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the cut-off date of 22 September 2025 for people reaching the state pension age of 66 for Winter Fuel Payment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
It is longstanding policy that Winter Fuel Payments are paid only to people who have reached State Pension age on or before the end of the qualifying week (the week beginning the third Monday of September each year) and meet certain other entitlement conditions.
For winter 2025/26, the qualifying week for Winter Fuel Payments will be 15 to 21 September 2025, and the person needs to have reached State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week to be eligible (that is, they need to have been born before 22 September 1959).
There are no plans to change or review this policy.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to keep industry stakeholders informed of the progress of the working groups on (a) transparency, (b) licensing and (c) other technical standards.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government has established expert stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.
The Government convened the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. Information relating to this group will be published on GOV.UK, which will include further details and a list of working group members.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is planning to take to keep Parliament informed of the progress of the expert working groups on (a) transparency, (b) licensing and (c) other technical standards.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government has committed to establishing expert stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.
The Secretaries of State for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport convened the first meeting of these stakeholder working groups on 16th July. Information relating to this group will be published on GOV.UK, which will include further details and a list of working group members.
The Government has also committed to set up a Parliamentary working group for members to engage with and feed views into this process.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for updating her Department's website with information on the (a) 12-month State Pension arrears payment and (b) State Pension Claims Form.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Work to publish new guidance is well underway and we aim to have it published as soon as we can, subject to competing priorities.
With regards to the paper claim form changes, we are working to understand the value of updating given how few paper claims we now receive for State Pension.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for distributing interim payments for people affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.