Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the next review of the School Admissions Code will take place; and whether the scope of that review will include admissions arrangements for schools with a religious character, including the use of faith-based oversubscription criteria.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department values the contribution schools with a religious character make to a diverse school system, and it is important faith schools can set admissions criteria that work for their local circumstances.
The government set out in the ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper its intention to consult later this year on changes to the statutory School Admissions Code to reduce barriers and promote fairness for families.
Any changes to the School Admissions Code will be subject to a full public consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Department plans to publish updated guidance on collective worship in state-funded schools in England; and whether there will be a public consultation as part of that review.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects to make a decision on whether to include Religious Education within the National Curriculum as part of the current curriculum and assessment review; and whether that decision will be subject to public consultation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the Cancer Plan commitment to define and count recurrent cancers, starting with metastatic breast cancer in 2026.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England collects, curates, quality assures, and analyses data about people with cancer across the whole of England.
The NDRS data improvement team is working with National Health Service trusts to provide support and guidance to improve their reporting of non-primary cancers, focused on the specific recurrence and progression data fields included in the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset. This includes updates on trust submitted recurrence data in our routine ‘diagnoses by provider’ dashboard, available on our NHS facing, secure CancerStats2 site.
The Government has set out in the National Cancer Plan for England an ambition to define and count recurrent cancers, starting with metastatic breast cancer from 2026. Existing data improvement activity within NDRS provides a foundation to support progress towards this ambition.
Asked by: Jeff Smith (Labour - Manchester Withington)
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 make the drug Enhertu is available for people with secondary breast cancer in England.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield on 13 January 2026 to Question 103810.