Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether foundation trusts will retain the option to maintain councils of governors under the 10 Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Council of Governors at National Health Service foundation trusts have a range of statutory roles and powers including representing the views of local populations, staff, and other stakeholders to the foundation trusts’ board.
The removal of the Council of Governors forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure that hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model of drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.
The removal of the Council of Governors will require primary legislation which the Government will bring forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether foundation trusts will retain the option to have councils of governors under the 10‑Year Health Plan for England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Council of Governors at National Health Service foundation trusts have a range of statutory roles and powers including representing the views of local populations, staff, and other stakeholders to the foundation trusts’ board.
The removal of the Council of Governors forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure that hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model of drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.
The removal of the Council of Governors will require primary legislation which the Government will bring forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for the removal of the requirement for foundation trusts to have governors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Council of Governors at National Health Service foundation trusts have a range of statutory roles and powers including representing the views of local populations, staff, and other stakeholders to the foundation trusts’ board.
The removal of the Council of Governors forms part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan’s aim to ensure that hospitals put patient experiences and outcomes at the heart of their decision-making. While governors have provided helpful advice and oversight for some foundation trusts, we now need to move to a more dynamic model of drawing on patient, staff, and stakeholder insight.
The removal of the Council of Governors will require primary legislation which the Government will bring forward when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the age at which clinical guidance recommends that speech and language intervention should begin for children with Down syndrome; and whether that guidance includes supporting assistance with speech sounds in infancy.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service guidance sets out information on how to help children and young people with Down syndrome, including that they may need the support of a Speech and Language Therapist. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/downs-syndrome/how-to-help-children-and-young-people/
Through implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, we want to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.
Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome.
We considered a range of evidence from our Call for Evidence and engagement when developing the draft Down syndrome guidance, currently out for public consultation, including research on speech and language therapy (SLT).
The draft guidance highlights that people with Down syndrome are likely to have communication needs and sets out support that can be provided, including that people with Down syndrome should be able to access speech and language assessment and support in a timely manner.
The draft guidance is clear that NHS commissioners and providers may offer people with Down syndrome and their families and carers a range of SLT services and interventions to support their communication, tailored to their specific needs. This should include early intervention services starting from birth, continuing through early years to support a good start in life, and then into primary and secondary school and beyond.
The draft guidance is also clear that support should be tailored to individual needs, and it is also important that local systems have the discretion to determine how best to meet the needs of their local communities.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 ensure that speech and language therapy for children with Down syndrome is delivered on a preventative basis from infancy.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service guidance sets out information on how to help children and young people with Down syndrome, including that they may need the support of a Speech and Language Therapist. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/downs-syndrome/how-to-help-children-and-young-people/
Through implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, we want to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.
Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome.
We considered a range of evidence from our Call for Evidence and engagement when developing the draft Down syndrome guidance, currently out for public consultation, including research on speech and language therapy (SLT).
The draft guidance highlights that people with Down syndrome are likely to have communication needs and sets out support that can be provided, including that people with Down syndrome should be able to access speech and language assessment and support in a timely manner.
The draft guidance is clear that NHS commissioners and providers may offer people with Down syndrome and their families and carers a range of SLT services and interventions to support their communication, tailored to their specific needs. This should include early intervention services starting from birth, continuing through early years to support a good start in life, and then into primary and secondary school and beyond.
The draft guidance is also clear that support should be tailored to individual needs, and it is also important that local systems have the discretion to determine how best to meet the needs of their local communities.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has reviewed research indicating that speech and language intervention for children with Down syndrome should begin in the first year of life.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service guidance sets out information on how to help children and young people with Down syndrome, including that they may need the support of a Speech and Language Therapist. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/downs-syndrome/how-to-help-children-and-young-people/
Through implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, we want to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.
Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome.
We considered a range of evidence from our Call for Evidence and engagement when developing the draft Down syndrome guidance, currently out for public consultation, including research on speech and language therapy (SLT).
The draft guidance highlights that people with Down syndrome are likely to have communication needs and sets out support that can be provided, including that people with Down syndrome should be able to access speech and language assessment and support in a timely manner.
The draft guidance is clear that NHS commissioners and providers may offer people with Down syndrome and their families and carers a range of SLT services and interventions to support their communication, tailored to their specific needs. This should include early intervention services starting from birth, continuing through early years to support a good start in life, and then into primary and secondary school and beyond.
The draft guidance is also clear that support should be tailored to individual needs, and it is also important that local systems have the discretion to determine how best to meet the needs of their local communities.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 84161 on Teachers Pensions, what her updated planned timetable is for issuing cash equivalent transfer value details from Teachers’ Pensions.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of the end of December 2025, 402 cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) cases were outstanding. There will always be a number of CETV cases in progress at any given time, as new CETV applications are made.
Capita, the scheme administrator, is continuing to work through the most complex cases for members who have retired. Due to the level of complexity, 329 of these cases can only be processed clerically and the estimated average calculation times are between 20 and 30 hours per processed case.
The scheme administrator is working as quickly as possible to complete all outstanding cases. This issue remains a top priority for the department and the scheme administrator.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will update the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 to safeguard swans and other protected species from dogs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 (as amended) protects “livestock” from worrying or attacks by dogs. The definition of livestock in the Act includes cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, poultry and camelids. The Government has no plans to further change this Act.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 increase the availability of medication options for bronchiectasis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2019 on antimicrobial prescribing for managing and preventing acute exacerbations of bronchiectasis, sometimes called non-cystic fibrosis. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng117
NICE guidelines are based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and should be taken fully into account by healthcare professionals in the care and treatment of individual patients.
NICE makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether all new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of the available evidence. NICE has selected brensocatib for treating non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in people 12 years old and over as a topic for guidance development, and currently expects final guidance to be published by July 2026, subject to it being granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The progress of this appraisal can be followed on NICE’s website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta11564
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 provide consistent funding for fertility treatment across all NHS Trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Access to NHS-funded fertility services varies across England, which is unacceptable.
Revised National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) fertility guidelines are due this Spring.
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), based on their population’s clinical needs. We expect ICBs to commission fertility services consistent with these new guidelines, ensuring equal access to treatment across England.