Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider a nationally defined prescribing pathway for ADHD within Right to Choose services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Building on the work of the independent ADHD Taskforce, on 4 December 2025 my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism, which will inform our approach to ensuring appropriate support is in place.
The independent review published an interim report on the 31 March 2026 which sets out key findings from the data and evidence reviewed so far, learning to date from discussions with people, including people with lived experience, and organisations as well as setting out plans for the next phase of the review and the key questions to address in more detail.
The Department has made no specific assessment of the effectiveness of shared care agreements with independent sector providers for patients prescribed ADHD medication or held discussions with General Medical Council on their guidance.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to outline what interim arrangements will be put in place to ensure care and support for people with very severe ME, following the decision to pause development of a national specialist service for this group.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered moving from a term‑time funding model to a year‑round model for early years entitlements.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Children become eligible for the working parent entitlement from 1 September, 1 January or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and meet relevant eligibility criteria.
Depending on when a child is born and when the eligibility criteria are met, there will be differing periods to wait until the relevant termly date.
Termly deadlines enable local authorities and childcare providers to better plan and ensure sufficient early years places are available for parents each term, as there are clear periods for when children are likely to enter into a place.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment, (b) retention, (c) career progression and (d) workload in the early years workforce.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. This is why the department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce and make early years careers as accessible as possible.
The department is attracting new people into the early years sector through initiatives like our national recruitment campaign and financial incentives programmes. We are also ensuring there is a career path for everyone who wants to become an early years teacher, through increasing places on our existing teacher training programmes and introducing a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship route.
The department is confident that through our Best Start in Life Strategy, we can lay the foundations for long-term change. We will give early years educators the status they deserve, creating more opportunities to enter the profession, gain higher qualifications, and build fulfilling careers.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing VAT on the repair, maintenance and retrofit of existing buildings on (a) the viability of bringing older high-street and town-centre buildings back into use, (b) the reduction of embodied carbon in the construction sector and (c) the preservation of heritage of long-standing community assets.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, this includes most construction work. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
The Government keeps all taxes under review and makes decisions at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.
Answered by Matthew Patrick - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)
This month has shown just how volatile the world is and the importance of the investment this Government is making in our defences.
My assessment is that the Defence Growth Deal’s potential is transformative for businesses small and large across Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to financially support retail and hospitality businesses on the high street.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is taking significant steps to support retail and hospitality businesses on high streets. From April 2026, we are introducing permanently lower business‑rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the government has introduced £4.3 billion transitional support package, to protect ratepayers from large overnight increases.
We have also announced further targeted support for pubs, and from April eligible pubs will receive a 15% cut to their new business‑rates bills, followed by a two‑year real‑terms freeze. We are also more than doubling the Hospitality Support Fund, with £10 million funding over three years. Later this year, we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what action the Department is taking to [a] raise awareness, [b] improve support, and [c] tackle women's heart health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we fix the National Health Service and tackling women’s heart health will be key aspect of our mission.
To accelerate progress on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) later this year. The Department and NHS England are engaging widely with stakeholders to co-produce the CVD MSF, ensuring that experts, people and communities are at the heart of its development.
The renewed Women’s Health Strategy will update on the delivery of the 2022 Strategy and set out how the Government is taking further steps to improve women’s health, including action regarding CVD, as we deliver the 10-Year Health Plan.
Alongside this, since January, the Government has run the Healthy Choices Quiz campaign which supports women to prioritise health improvements and take proactive action on a range of behaviours, many of which support heart health.
Furthermore, work to improve access to the NHS Health Check programme, a core component of England’s CVD prevention programme, is ongoing. The programme prevents around 500 heart attacks or strokes annually and every year, around 770,000 women complete an NHS Health Check. The Department is currently piloting the NHS Health Check Online service in local authorities across England, which will allow women to undertake their health check at home, at a time and place convenient to them.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including cardiovascular disease in the Government's Women's Health Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our mission. We know that women deserve better, which is why we are delivering our commitment that women’s health will never be neglected again. Strong progress has already been made in turning the commitments in the 2022 Women's Health Strategy into tangible action.
The renewed strategy will update on the delivery of the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy and set out how the Government is taking further steps to improve women’s health as we deliver the 10-Year Health Plan. It will also address gaps from the 2022 strategy and drive further change on enduring challenges such as creating a system that listens to women, and that tackles health inequalities. We are currently considering evidence from experts to inform the contents of the renewed strategy.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking the tackle the number of vacant properties on high streets.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is taking action to revitalise our high streets, including tackling vacancy through High Street Rental Auctions, which empower local authorities to bring long-term vacant commercial properties back into use. This is complemented by place-based regeneration funding, including up to £5.8 billion through the Pride in Place programme, supporting 284 places, including Leigh.
The government will also bring forward a High Streets Strategy, backed by at least £150 million, to revive some of the most struggling high streets.