Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of illegally traded medicines intercepted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Criminal Enforcement Unit.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) works hard to identify those involved in the illegal trade in medicines and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. The Agency also works closely with overseas health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners.
Since 1 January 2025, the MHRA and its partners have seized over 8.5 million doses of unauthorised or falsified medicines at the United Kingdom border, together with another 3.9 million doses seized as a result of direct operational activity conducted by the CEU.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND support for children without education, health and care plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that every child or young person receives the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work.
As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore parents’ trust by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate.
We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.
Our new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will work with mainstream schools to help them become more inclusive places as one of four priority areas for improvement.
The newly published RISE Inclusive Mainstream webpage provides schools with programmes and resources to help mainstream schools improve inclusivity and support for those with SEND, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rise-support-for-inclusive-mainstream-education/rise-support-for-inclusive-mainstream-education.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of how many and what proportion of university graduates are in full-time employment within six months of graduation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Administrative Longitudinal Educational Outcome data of 292,945 UK domiciled first-degree students who graduated with a first degree from UK Higher Education Institutions only in 2022/23 academic year shows that an estimated 82.8% were in sustained employment (with or without study) one year after graduation. The full dataset was published in June 2025 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/leo-graduate-and-postgraduate-outcomes/2022-23#dataBlock-d7be0f33-0ec5-4b78-98ed-ba6f25dfb414-charts.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to ensure that SEND reforms improve consistency of outcomes across local authorities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
To improve the consistency of outcomes, the department is funding regional improvement and innovation alliances which promote collaboration and mutual learning between local authorities, driving consistent improvements in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision across regions.
Launched in January 2023, the Ofsted/Care Quality Commission area SEND inspection framework will also inspect all local areas by 2027 to drive better outcomes and consistency. All inspection reports include recommendations for improvement, with departmental intervention to prioritise children’s needs where necessary.
The department is working with 32 local authorities as part of the SEND and alternative provision Change Programme to test reform proposals to improve inclusive mainstream practice, create a sustainable system and deliver national consistency through local delivery.
Regarding financial support, in the 2025/26 financial year, the department is allocating high needs revenue funding of over £12 billion and capital funding of £740 million for places and provision for children and young people with complex SEND in England.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support local authorities with SEND provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
To improve the consistency of outcomes, the department is funding regional improvement and innovation alliances which promote collaboration and mutual learning between local authorities, driving consistent improvements in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision across regions.
Launched in January 2023, the Ofsted/Care Quality Commission area SEND inspection framework will also inspect all local areas by 2027 to drive better outcomes and consistency. All inspection reports include recommendations for improvement, with departmental intervention to prioritise children’s needs where necessary.
The department is working with 32 local authorities as part of the SEND and alternative provision Change Programme to test reform proposals to improve inclusive mainstream practice, create a sustainable system and deliver national consistency through local delivery.
Regarding financial support, in the 2025/26 financial year, the department is allocating high needs revenue funding of over £12 billion and capital funding of £740 million for places and provision for children and young people with complex SEND in England.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to support early access to clinical trials for patients with rare cancers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, life-saving treatments, including those with rare cancers.
We are also working to fast track clinical trials to drive global investment into life sciences, to improve health outcomes and to accelerate the development of medicines and therapies of the future, including for rare cancers.
The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million across 2023/24, reflecting their high priority.
The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients across the country, including patients with rare cancers. It will ensure that more patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and to clinical trials.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Bill and its ambitions to incentivise clinical trials and access to innovative treatments for rare cancers.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide certainty on funding to voluntary organisations delivering drug and alcohol treatment services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities, both upper tier and unitary, are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and recovery support. This funding can be used by local authorities to support voluntary organisations to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services.
To better support upper tier and unitary local authorities’ vital public health work, from 2026/27 we will bring together over £4 billion of public health funding for local government, by consolidating service specific grants into the Public Health Grant. It is our intention to publish indicative Public Health Grant funding alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year, with final multi-year Local Authority Public Health Grant allocations published early in the new year. This will give local authorities more advanced notice of their total funding allocations, further empowering them to plan more effectively and better manage their services.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered introducing targeted funding or grants to help increase the facilities of charities that are experiencing significant demand for their services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the vital role that charities play up and down the country, by providing crucial targeted support to different groups and communities.
DCMS is promoting the availability of funding for smaller charities in several ways. This includes delivery of a number of grant schemes, such as the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund and the £25.5 million Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Energy Efficiency Scheme, which is supporting frontline organisations across England to improve their energy efficiency and sustainability.
The Youth Investment Fund is also funding over £300 million to over 250 projects in targeted areas to build, renovate and expand youth facilities in less advantaged areas of England. Alongside this, the £30.5 million Better Youth Spaces fund recently launched for smaller capital projects in youth facilities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 improve (a) infrastructure, (b) better understanding of complex patients and (b) staff (i) morale and (ii) experience in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan detailed our ambition to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future through three big shifts: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.
Regarding infrastructure, the plan set out our aim to establish neighbourhood health centres in every community over the course of the next 10 years, transforming healthcare access and delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it most. We are also increasing health capital budgets to over £14.6 billion by the end of the Spending Review period, namely 2029/30, to invest in the NHS and wider health infrastructure, a £2.3 billion real terms increase from 2023/24 to 2029/30.
To better our understanding of patients with complex health needs, we will set a new standard that, by 2027, 95% of people with complex needs will have an agreed care plan. As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will expect all care plans to be co-created with patients and cover their holistic needs, not just their treatment. They will align with national standards for high quality care but, within that, give patients significant choice and freedom.
As set out in the plan, the Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, by supporting and retaining our hardworking and dedicated healthcare professionals. We will roll out staff treatment hubs that will ensure staff have access to high quality support for occupational health, including support for mental health and back conditions. We will also work with the Social Partnership Forum to introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment, covering issues such as access to healthy meals, support to work healthily and flexibly, and tackling violence, racism and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of electric shock collars on the welfare of livestock.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All livestock are protected by comprehensive and robust animal health and welfare legislation: the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence either to cause any captive animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of the animal; and The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 set down detailed requirements on how farmed livestock should be kept. Defra also has a series of statutory species-specific welfare codes, which farmers are required by law to have access to and be familiar with, which encourage high standards of husbandry.
We have considered the Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on the welfare implications of using virtual fencing systems on livestock, where livestock are fitted with electronic collars as part of a system for containing, monitoring and moving livestock. We are taking account of the Committee’s advice and plan to revise the Code of Practice for the welfare of cattle accordingly.