Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of access to PSMA PET-CT imaging on regional and ethnic inequalities in prostate cancer diagnosis and outcomes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises that access to PSMA PET-CT imaging varies across England and that this may exacerbate existing disparities.

NHS England has introduced a commissioning policy for PSMA PET-CT imaging for patients with high-risk or recurrent prostate cancer, and work is underway to expand capacity and improve resilience in diagnostic services

Tackling health inequalities remains a core priority. Through the Core20PLUS5 framework, NHS England is working to reduce disparities in cancer outcomes. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will set out further actions to improve early diagnosis and equitable access to cancer services across England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the recent uptake of covid boosters.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

COVID-19 vaccination uptake figures are published regularly during the spring and winter campaigns, as part of the National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report, available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-season

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has been made of the adequacy of national production capacity for PSMA radiotracers in the context of projected clinical demand for prostate cancer diagnosis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radiotracers are commissioned for use as part of PET-CT prostate cancer imaging, as set out in the published clinical commissioning policy. Access to PET-CT, as with any healthcare service, is closely monitored.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to support the adoption of the a) Asthma Control Test and b) COPD Assessment Test as part of annual reviews for respiratory patients in primary care.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Asthma Control Test and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test are accessible online for patients to use and the results can be taken to a general practice to help inform an annual assessment or other general practice appointment associated with these conditions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to asthma diagnostics, including fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.

FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations

NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.

FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.

Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.

FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations

NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.

FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.

Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to expand fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) testing for asthma diagnosis.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to improving access to fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) testing.

FeNO testing is a recommended core test for any standard community diagnostic centre (CDC). Currently 112 CDC sites in England offer FeNO testing.

In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on "Asthma: diagnosis, monitoring and chronic asthma management". This covers diagnosing, monitoring and managing asthma in adults, young people and children. The guideline includes a recommendation to use FeNO testing and is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng245/chapter/Recommendations

NHS England has been working jointly with the Health Innovation Networks to form a national respiratory partnership to improve asthma outcomes, including through implementation of this asthma guideline.

FeNO testing is also a key diagnostic for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Health systems across England are beginning to roll out new ways of diagnosing and supporting people with COPD this winter, thanks to £2.61 million of National Health Service investment. Nine local initiatives have received funding from the NHS England Pathway Transformation Fund to increase access to diagnostic tests such as spirometry and FeNO testing.

Access to FeNO testing in England is audited annually as part of the National Physiological Science Data Collections, with the next collection taking place in January 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Department of Health on the application of learning from the NHS England Neurology Transformation Programme to improve access to specialised neurology care for people living with multiple sclerosis in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is committed to sharing learning and best practice across the United Kingdom health systems.

The Neurology Transformation Programme in England aims to improve access, coordination, and outcomes for people with neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis, through service redesign and workforce development.

Officials continue to engage through the UK Neuro Forum to ensure that insights from this work are available to colleagues in Northern Ireland and other devolved administrations.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with counterparts in Northern Ireland on access to mental health support in prisons at all times.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Neither I, nor my ministerial colleagues have had any recent discussions with counterparts in Northern Ireland on access to mental health support in prisons.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for schools to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

All schools are encouraged to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education wrote to schools in 2025 highlighting the importance of commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day. The annual marking of Holocaust Memorial Day is an important moment in the calendar where we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children killed by the Nazis and the millions more murdered under Nazi persecution.

The Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the current national curriculum for history at key stage 3. The government has made a commitment that the Holocaust will remain a compulsory topic in the reformed national curriculum, which will also be required teaching in academy schools when it is implemented.

The department actively supports schools to provide high quality teaching on the Holocaust through University College London Centre for Holocaust Education’s continuous professional development work, and through the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz’s programme. In addition, the Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme will support schools in using recorded Holocaust survivor testimony in their teaching.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has has discussions with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on pressures on accident and emergency services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As a Government department, we work collaboratively with the devolved administrations to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer.

While health is primarily devolved and each health system operates in its own context, there are strong benefits from sharing experiences and learning between the devolved administrations. While ministers have not recently discussed pressures on accident and emergency services in recent months, Department and NHS England officials periodically speak informally with counterparts on urgent and emergency care issues.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to expand skills and ethical training in AI.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is taking significant steps to expand skills and ethical training in AI.

Last year, we formed a partnership with 11 major technology companies and leading UK businesses to upskill 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030. This will ensure that UK workers benefit from the transformational impact AI will have in the workplace right across the country by ensuring they have access to high quality skills provision, free at the point of use. This will cover a range of skills, including responsible and ethical use of AI.

Last year we also launched the AI Skills Hub – an online learning platform where learners can access training courses on a range of topics ranging from foundational AI literacy to ethics and responsible AI use, to more advanced skills to develop and deploy AI.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what provisions are in place for older people with disabilities and who live in rural communities who may struggle with digital systems.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Everyone should be able to benefit from the digital world — from saving on everyday bills to finding better jobs and accessing vital services like the NHS

Last February we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, setting out the government's first steps to ensure everyone in the UK – no matter their background – can fully participate in our digital society

Since then, we have launched the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund with £764,020 in Scotland, £440,368 in Wales and £267,249 in Northern Ireland. Helping more people across the UK get the access, skills and confidence to get online.

The fund is currently supporting 85 community‑led projects across England, designed to support locally delivered, highly tailored and targeted interventions that meet the needs of digitally excluded people, including older and disabled users

We remain committed to ensuring all public services are accessible and inclusive – with published best practice to make sure websites and apps work for everyone, alongside providing alternative routes – like in-person and telephone support – for those that need them.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to improve regional transport.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Department is delivering improved regional transport through the £92 billion Spending Review settlement it received, driving the biggest boost to transport infrastructure in a generation and unlocking schemes that deliver for the taxpayer and support growth. In addition, where transport is devolved, the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have received the largest ever block grants in real terms, giving them record funding to invest in their own priorities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends of hospital admissions of those with stroke symptoms in the last 5 years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the trend in stroke admissions for the last five years:

Source: Fingertips, avaiable at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/stroke%20admissions#page/4/gid/1/pat/159/par/K02000001/ati/15/are/E92000001/iid/90986/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in the UK have been diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold data on cancer incidence for the United Kingdom. The latest data on bladder cancer incidence available, in England, can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-registration-statistics/england-2023

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to ensure hospitals are routinely up to date with fire safety guidance.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has published guidance through Health Technical Memorandum 05:03 – Firecode, which provides guidance on operational provisions for fire safety for health sector buildings and premises. This guidance is avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/fire-safety-in-the-nhs-health-technical-memorandum-05-03/

This HTM is updated when necessary. For example, the ‘Training’ section of the guidance was last updated in 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many admissions to hospital there were for flu in December 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In December 2025, an average of 2,888 hospital beds were occupied by patients with flu across all acute settings, including both General and Acute and Critical Care beds.

These figures are published in the NHS England Winter Situation Reports, which are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/uec-sitrep/urgent-and-emergency-care-daily-situation-reports-2025-26/

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve early detection of human trafficking.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government is committed to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms and to giving survivors the support they need to recover. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting potential victims of modern slavery.

In July 2025, the Home Office launched a public Call for Evidence on how the Government can improve the process of identifying victims of modern slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. The Home Office is now analysing the responses received and will be engaging with survivors to explore the emerging themes further.

The Home Office has also made a number of improvements to the NRM referral form following consultation with a range of experts. These changes aim to improve the quality of referrals, support more informed decision-making, and ensure the form better reflects the experiences of potential victims in a trauma-informed way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the provision of agricultural education in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education meets with Cabinet colleagues, including my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on the actions she is taking to secure high quality education for all pupils, but has not met to discuss agricultural education as a discrete issue.

The national curriculum is a framework designed to give teachers the flexibility to cover particular topics in greater depth if they wish. For example, giving them the freedom to teach about agriculture within the geography and science curricula.

.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with major airports on tackling noise pollution.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ministers and officials engage regularly with airports on a range of issues including noise pollution.

Major airports are required to produce noise action plans every five years. Current plans cover the period 2024-2028 and have been published on airports’ websites.

The government also sets noise controls at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. At other airports, appropriate noise controls should be set locally through the planning system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK children are currently missing with active investigations to locate their whereabouts.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold this data centrally.

Information about current missing persons incidents is held by individual police forces. The National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Persons Unit holds the national database for all missing incidents that are unresolved after 72hours, allowing the police to have access to missing persons information across force boundaries.

In addition, annual missing persons statistics, broken down to police force level,are published by the National Crime Agency’s Missing Person’s Unit in its annual data report which can be found here: Downloads - National Crime Agency

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November 2025, and to the most recent Urgent Question debate on 15 December 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to encourage more smaller businesses to take on apprentices.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Apprenticeships are a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

To encourage smaller businesses to take on apprentices, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the next academic year. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.

We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.

Additionally, the department engages with small employers regularly to promote apprenticeships. During National Apprenticeship Week 2025, we held a round table with small and medium employers and other key partners to better understand the challenges they are facing in recruiting apprentices. This insight allows us to better target engagement activities with small businesses.

The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.

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 quality of life for people being diagnosed, treated for or living with cancer under the National Cancer Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan for England will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care in England to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.

The plan will aim to improve how, in England, the physical and psychosocial needs of people with cancer can be met, with a focus on personalised care to improve quality of life. It will address how the experience of care can be improved for those diagnosed, treated, and living with and beyond cancer in England.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support persecuted minorities in Bangladesh.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 November 2025 in response to Question 86282, and I would add that Baroness Chapman raised the issue of violence towards religious minority groups during her trip to Bangladesh later that month.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been wrongfully convicted of a crime in the last ten years.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We have interpreted this question as relating to successful appeals against verdicts, heard at the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal.

The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on successful appeals against magistrates’ courts verdicts heard at the Crown Court in the Criminal Courts Statistics release. Data started being published from 2016. As a result, the dataset covers the past nine years. This can be found in column E of Table_C11 in the statistical tables: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.

Figures for the number of successful appeals against convictions in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) are published annually in the Royal Courts of Justice tables within Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly. This can be found in column B of table 2.2: Royal_Courts_of_Justice_Annual_Tables_2024.ods.

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 allergy care.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Expert Advisory Group on Allergy (EAGA), co-chaired by the Department and the National Allergy Strategy Group, meets regularly to bring together stakeholders across the Government, the National Health Service, voluntary organisations, professional bodies, and patient representative groups, to consider how allergy care and support could be improved. The purpose of the EAGA is to inform policymaking, and to identify priorities in relation to the holistic care of people with allergies. The EAGA last met on 3 December2025.

In July 2025, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency licensed a new adrenaline nasal spray, EURneffy, for use in the emergency treatment of anaphylaxis. The Government welcomes the approval of needle free delivery methods of adrenaline, recognising the potential to benefit to those who suffer from allergies.

More widely, there are a number of policies outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan which should have a positive impact on care for patients with allergy. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of technology will all support people to manage allergies closer to home.

Neighbourhood Health Services will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings with multi-disciplinary teams who can provide wrap-around support services to people with allergies or other long-term conditions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will include specific actions to deliver neighbourhood cancer care close to home, particularly for those in rural or underserved areas.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Bringing cancer care into the Neighbourhood Health Service is an important part of our forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, enabling cancer patients to be treated and cared for closer to home.

The National Cancer Plan, which will be published early this year, will seek to make cancer care easier, more local, and more responsive. Rather than requiring endless trips to hospitals, cancer care will happen as locally as it can. This means digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, and in a hospital if necessary. As a larger proportion of England’s population survives cancer, this new model offers the potential for a higher quality of life, so that people in England to live longer, better lives after cancer diagnosis.

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 meet cancer waiting time targets and ensure people living with and affected by cancer receive the timely care they need.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Improving cancer waiting times for patients is a high priority for the Government.

We will do this through the increased use of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) which will increase the available capacity and bring healthcare closer to the community. CDCs are now delivering additional tests and checks on 170 sites across the country with 103 of these being are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, offering at least one test in expanded hours, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around their busy working lives.

The National Cancer Plan, which is due to be published early this year, will set out how we will increase performance, speed up diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately provide better outcomes for cancer patients. It will ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and improve patient experience and outcomes.

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 help improve outcomes for cardiovascular disease.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress towards this ambition, we will publish a cardiovascular disease (CVD) Modern Service Framework later this year. The framework will support consistent, high quality and equitable care whist fostering innovation across the CVD pathway.

Alongside this, work is underway to improve the impact of the NHS Health Check, which is a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks and strokes a year.

To improve access and to give patients more flexibility and choice, we are developing an NHS Health Check Online service that people can use at home at a time and place convenient to them, to understand and act on their CVD risk. Community pharmacies continue to strengthen prevention efforts, and since 2021 they have delivered nearly 4.2 million blood pressure checks, supporting earlier detection and management of key CVD risk factors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take with the Northern Ireland Executive to help improve the supply of ADHD drugs to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has overall responsibility for the continuity of medicine supply in the United Kingdom and crown dependences, including shortages management. However, responsibility for managing the impact of shortages is devolved for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

We regularly share information about higher impact and critical medicine shortages with the devolved administrations to support management of medicine supply issues across the UK.

The Department has made significant progress in improving the availability of medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), working closely with industry and key stakeholders to overcome previous supply challenges. Through intensive collaboration with industry, NHS England, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, supply issues have now been fully resolved. All ADHD medicines, across all formulations and strengths, are readily available for prescribing.

We continue to work closely with ADHD medicine suppliers to address any challenges promptly and to strengthen the resilience of the supply chain. This includes securing additional stock, expediting deliveries, and broadening the UK supplier base to meet future demand. To ensure a robust and sustainable supply, we are partnering with NHS England’s ADHD taskforce to develop growth forecasts and share them with industry, enabling effective planning and continuity of supply.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many calls were made to police to report incidents of domestic abuse over the Christmas period in December 2024 and 2025.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office collects information from the police on the number of domestic abuse-related incidents from police forces in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, these data cannot be further broken down by specific time periods, such as weeks or months.

The latest published data, for the year ending March 2025, are available here: Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of attacks on healthcare workers in the last 12 months.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. Trends in violence towards NHS staff have generally stayed at the same levels in recent years.

Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including security, training, and emotional support, for staff affected by violence. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been clear that there is zero tolerance of violence and harassment against NHS staff, and in April 2025 accepted all the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal. These measures will be strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan. These are likely to focus on areas such as improving staff health and wellbeing and dealing with violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the NHS workplace.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to improve safety in night clubs especially around spiking.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Spiking is an appalling crime that undermines the public’s right to feel safe when out and about.

We are implementing a robust set of actions to improve safety in the night time economy:

• The Home Office continues to provide free training for staff in the hospitality sector to understand and tackle spiking, provide better support for victims, and assist police with evidence collection.
• The Security Industry Authority is also providing spiking training for their 368,000+ door supervisor and 11,000+ close protection licence holders. This has already been delivered to more than 228,000 licence holders since Spring 2024 as part of their mandatory licence linked qualification.

In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government has introduced new legislation on spiking, as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, to strengthen the response to these incidents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve the time taken for red flag referrals for breast cancer to be seen.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England.

The Department is responsible for healthcare in England and therefore has not made a formal assessment on the timescales for red flag referrals for breast cancer across the whole of the United Kingdom.

As the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and treatment in England, NHS England has delivered an extra 100,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week since the start of this administration. This is supported by an increase in capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The Department recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis, and remains committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including breast cancer. To tackle late diagnoses, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type.

Reducing variation in cancer care in England, including the movement of patients through breast cancer care pathways, is a priority for the Government. To address this, NHS England funded audits into primary and metastatic breast cancer. Using routine data collected on patients diagnosed with breast cancer in an NHS setting, the audits bring together information to look at what is being done well, where it is being done well, and what needs to be done better. On 11 September 2025, the second State of the Nation report for primary and metastatic breast cancer was published by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre, and officials in the Department and NHS England are acting on the findings where appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made on the timescales for red flag referrals for breast cancer across the UK.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including breast cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England.

The Department is responsible for healthcare in England and therefore has not made a formal assessment on the timescales for red flag referrals for breast cancer across the whole of the United Kingdom.

As the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and treatment in England, NHS England has delivered an extra 100,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week since the start of this administration. This is supported by an increase in capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.

The Department recognises that there is more to be done to ensure that patients have timely access to diagnosis, and remains committed to diagnosing all cancer types earlier, including breast cancer. To tackle late diagnoses, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type.

Reducing variation in cancer care in England, including the movement of patients through breast cancer care pathways, is a priority for the Government. To address this, NHS England funded audits into primary and metastatic breast cancer. Using routine data collected on patients diagnosed with breast cancer in an NHS setting, the audits bring together information to look at what is being done well, where it is being done well, and what needs to be done better. On 11 September 2025, the second State of the Nation report for primary and metastatic breast cancer was published by the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre, and officials in the Department and NHS England are acting on the findings where appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for sexual health clinics in each of the next three financial years.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department provides funding for sexual health services through the Public Health Grant, which is allocated to local authorities in England. Sexual health is one of a number of public health services funded through the Public Health Grant. The Department does not specify how much is spent on sexual health specifically; local authorities are responsible for commissioning sexual health services to meet the needs of their populations.

We will continue to invest in local authorities' vital public health work, providing over £13.4 billion over the next three years through a consolidated ringfenced Public Health Grant. This will support a number of vital local health services, including sexual health services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to decrease underage alcohol consumption rates.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In general, alcohol consumption among under 18 year olds has been declining over the last 20 years. The Chief Medical Officer for England’s guidance for healthcare professionals on alcohol consumption in children and young people is clear that an alcohol-free childhood is the healthiest option. The Department promotes this guidance through the alcohol and drug information and advice service ‘Talk to FRANK’ which can be accessed at the following link:

www.talktofrank.com

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reform Access to Work.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Pathways to Work Green Paper launched a consultation on the future of Access to Work which has now concluded. We are considering responses to the consultation and will set out our plans in due course.

We also have recently concluded the Access to Work Collaboration Committees, in which we engaged with a range of stakeholders, including disabled people’s organisation representatives and those with lived experience, to provide discussion, experience, and challenge to the design of the future Access to Work Scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many pothole damage claims there were in 2025.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of pothole damage claims in 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many under 21s have been arrested for possession of drugs in the last 12 months.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold the specific information requested.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on arrests for notifiable offences on an annual basis in the Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK statistical series.However, data is collected at the high-level offence group only, so arrests for “possession of drugs” fall within the wider “drug offences” category, and cannot be separately identified.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested for drink driving in the last 12 months.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold the specific information requested.

While the Home Office routinely collects and publishes information on arrests for notifiable offences by age group and HOCR offence group in the Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK. statistics, detailed age breakdowns and offence types are not available.

Drink driving offences are not notifiable offences and therefore this information is not available in the arrests statistics.

Therefore, figures for the number of people who have arrested for drink driving in the last 12 months is not available.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have been disqualified or suspended from driving due to not holding a valid insurance policy over the last 12 months.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The courts are responsible for convicting and sentencing individuals for road traffic offences and notify the DVLA of any driving endorsement ordered following a conviction and sentence.

The offence of using a motor vehicle while uninsured is represented by DVLA offence code IN10.  Should an individual be convicted of offence IN10 they could face a fine, 6 to 8 penalty points or a period of disqualification.  There were 2,564 drivers between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025 where a disqualification was recorded against offence code IN10 on the driver record.

There is a possibility that there could be some records where someone has been disqualified for multiple offences where an IN10 was one of those offences, but the disqualification may not be recorded against IN10 in the statistics.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing charities lotteries to operate UK-wide.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Large-scale society lotteries in Great Britain are legislated through the Gambling Act 2005, which does not extend to Northern Ireland.

Gambling is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland, and therefore the operation of large-scale society lotteries is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her international counterparts on respect for freedom of religion or belief among political leaders.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK champions Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) around the world. On 8 July 2025, the UK's Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith MP, set out the Government's new strategy on FoRB, providing a framework for engagement with other countries, and describing the links between the protection of FoRB and other goals including the prevention of conflict. As part of this strategy, the UK continues to support FoRB on the international stage, through our position in the United Nations, G7 and Article 18 Alliance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to encourage more young people into work.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee.

We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee, launching Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, announcing funding to almost double our Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and we recently launched an Independent Report into Young People and Work, to identify potential areas for reform to better support young people with health conditions and disabilities.

We are now expanding the Youth Guarantee, backed by a £820 million investment over the next three years to reach almost 900,000 young people. This includes Youth Hubs in every area in Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit to get them into employment or training. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.

Employment support policies are devolved in Northern Ireland and the responsibility of the Department for Communities.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he had had with the PSNI on the time taken to process FAC renewals and applications.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

While I meet regularly with the Chief Constable and his senior team regarding national security, and a range of issues, I have a limited role in relation to certain appeals against the decision of the Chief Constable not to issue firearms licences. The issuing of firearms licences is a devolved matter.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the decision on the New Medium Helicopter programme will be made and announced.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government will make a final decision on the award of the New Medium Helicopter contract through the wider Defence Investment Plan (DIP). The Department is working flat out to deliver the DIP, which will be published as soon as possible. It is backed by the Government’s largest sustained increase in defence investment since the end of the Cold War, spending £270 billion on defence in this Parliament alone.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people under the age of 25 are currently seeking treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Adult Substance Misuse Treatment Statistics 2024 to 2025 report and the Children’s Substance Misuse Treatment Statistics 2024 to 2025 report, both published in December 2025, show that in England between April 2024 and March 2025 there were 37,117 people under the age of 25 years old receiving drug and alcohol treatment in the community.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to anticipate and pre-emptively mitigate humanitarian crises around the world.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses given on 20 January to the identical set of questions received from the Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 January (UINs 105089 to 105096).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle humanitarian crises caused or exacerbated by climate change.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses given on 20 January to the identical set of questions received from the Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 January (UINs 105089 to 105096).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is making to support international peacekeeping efforts globally.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses given on 20 January to the identical set of questions received from the Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 January (UINs 105089 to 105096).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support the rights of women and girls.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses given on 20 January to the identical set of questions received from the Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 January (UINs 105089 to 105096).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle global malnutrition.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses given on 20 January to the identical set of questions received from the Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 January (UINs 105089 to 105096).

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Official Development Assistance reaches those most in need.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses given on 20 January to the identical set of questions received from the Member for South Cambridgeshire on 12 January (UINs 105089 to 105096).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of food poverty over the last 12 months.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are committed to tackling poverty and ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

We published the Good Food Cycle in July which identified ten priority outcomes needed to build a thriving food sector while tackling a range of food related challenges. Improving food price affordability and access, in particular targeting costs that lead to food price inflation and supporting those who most need access to healthy affordable nutrition, is a key priority.

From 1 April 2026, we are introducing a new Crisis and Resilience Fund in England. This fund aims to enable local authorities to provide preventative support to communities as well as assisting people when faced with a financial crisis, to support our ambition to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels. The Crisis and Resilience Fund Guidance for local authorities was published on 13 January 2026, enabling local authorities to prepare for delivery in line with the new fund.

The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty across the United Kingdom, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures set out in our Strategy, such as the expansion of free school meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.

The most recent official statistics show for the United Kingdom, in 2023/24, 7.5m individuals lived in food insecure households. The rate is unchanged on 2022/23 but the total number of individuals living in food insecure households has increased by 300,000.

The most recent official statistics show for the United Kingdom, in 2023/24, 2.8m people, were living in households where a food bank has been used in the 12 months prior to the interview, up by 500,000 since 2022/23.

140th anniversary of Clydesdale Harriers Athletics Club

Financial Support for the Music and Dance Scheme

100th anniversary of the Royal British Legion in Dromore

Artificial Intelligence chatbots

Stamp Duty liability for periodic tenancies

Peter Quinney

Seafarer pay and conditions at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Flooding as a result of Storm Chandra

Museum ecommerce sales to Northern Ireland

World Cancer Day

Signing of the Hamburg Declaration

Graduate driving licences

Connect Alloa anniversary

Playing fields

Bird gathering licences

90th anniversary of the Spitfire

In Memory of Councillor Waseem Zaffar MBE

Public toilet provision

Hospices and end of life care

TMT First in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Recognition of NHS maternity services at West Suffolk Hospital

Elections in Myanmar

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

90th birthday of former hon. Member William Ross

Seafarers’ welfare

Gardens Trust statutory consultee status

Civil service pension scheme

Human Remains (Prohibition of Sale, Purchase and Advertising) Bill

150th anniversary of Partick Thistle Football Club

Congratulating the Gaudie Newspaper on their podcast award nomination

Closure of Sickle Cell Day Unit at the Royal London Hospital

Dunloy Accordion Band

88th anniversary of Castlecary rail disaster

The Kinneuchar Inn named in Top 50 Gastropubs

Lessons in storm resilience

Prior's Court Children Home Ofsted Outstanding rating

Career of Ann Lambert

Empty chairs

AI and live facial recognition in policing

Centenary of John Logie Baird’s invention of the television

Future of Ospreys rugby club

Horse and rider road safety

Social media for under 16s

75th anniversary of the Lyric Theatre Belfast

Investment and Growth in Antrim and Newtownabbey

Wincanton Cares wins Connecting People Award

Role of British and NATO forces in Afghanistan

54th anniversary of IRA murders of two police officers in Londonderry

St David’s Day (Dydd Gwyl Dewi)

Right To Food UK Commission

Orchard Gymnastics

British forces on the front line in Afghanistan

Falkirk OWNNIT Gym fundraising for Maggie’s Forth Valley

Octagon Memory Choir

Health and Care Worker visas

Treatment of fathers in family court

Falkirk Throughcare and Aftercare

Honour and gratitude for British armed forces

Short-term holiday let licensing with caps

Ex-Howe of Fife players selected for Scotland 2026 Six Nations

Linda Snelling and the Somerset Bus Partnership

Gambling harms

Joe Preece

Sir Norman Stronge and Major James Stronge

Local news journalism and STV regional broadcasting

Situation of Kurdish people in Syria

Halie Selassie and Bath

N-Fest

Edinburgh Zoo’s veterinary achievements and Poly the northern rockhopper penguin

Geoffrey Hayes contribution to engineering

Water White Paper

Harm caused by exposure to sodium valproate

Commemorating National Care Leaver’s Month November 2025

Ballyclare Branch of the Royal British Legion

V11 footballers

Killing of Dipu Chandra Das

Import of illegal meat

Public health campaign on tackling stigma towards suicide

Essentials Guarantee

Banning under 16s from social media

Audley Festive 5k Run

200 years of St Mark’s Parish Church, Portadown

Centenary of Portadown Male Voice Choir

Dolly Parton's birthday

Kresanna Aigner MBE

Erskine Veterans Activity Centre North Fundraising

Shelagh Toonen, President of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland

Dunfermline Athletic FC

Darlington nurses tribunal decision

The Hive, Chard

Dexter Holton

Sustainable and Integrated Transport for Ullswater

Sarah Massey MBE for services to women’s rugby

Richard Clothier MBE for services to sustainable agriculture and food production

Veterans' Orthopaedic Service

Brain cancer

Eilish McColgan European 10km record

Peter Hill, visiting every pub in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2020

Famagusta and the military occupation of Northern Cyprus

Newcastle-under-Lyme Community Orchestra Christmas Concert 2025