Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that victims are informed when offenders are released early from custody.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is vital that information about an offender’s release is available to victims who need it most. Victims who are eligible for, and who have opted into, the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme or Victim Notification Scheme will be informed about any changes to an offender’s release date where it is appropriate to do so. Responsibility for informing victims about release through each of these schemes sits with HMPPS Victim Liaison Officers.
We have committed to improve the support and information for victims, which is why, through the Victim and Courts Bill, we are establishing a new route for all other victims to request information about an offender’s release, which will be delivered through a new, dedicated Helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.
With regards to how many victims have been notified of the early release of their offender in each of the last five years, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims have been notified of the early release of their offender in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is vital that information about an offender’s release is available to victims who need it most. Victims who are eligible for, and who have opted into, the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme or Victim Notification Scheme will be informed about any changes to an offender’s release date where it is appropriate to do so. Responsibility for informing victims about release through each of these schemes sits with HMPPS Victim Liaison Officers.
We have committed to improve the support and information for victims, which is why, through the Victim and Courts Bill, we are establishing a new route for all other victims to request information about an offender’s release, which will be delivered through a new, dedicated Helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.
With regards to how many victims have been notified of the early release of their offender in each of the last five years, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance has been issued to police forces on informing victims about the early release of offenders.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is vital that information about an offender’s release is available to victims who need it most. Victims who are eligible for, and who have opted into, the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme or Victim Notification Scheme will be informed about any changes to an offender’s release date where it is appropriate to do so. Responsibility for informing victims about release through each of these schemes sits with HMPPS Victim Liaison Officers.
We have committed to improve the support and information for victims, which is why, through the Victim and Courts Bill, we are establishing a new route for all other victims to request information about an offender’s release, which will be delivered through a new, dedicated Helpline. This will give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release.
With regards to how many victims have been notified of the early release of their offender in each of the last five years, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the pharmaceutical sector on promoting research and development investment in the UK.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Officials and Ministers from the department meet regularly with representatives from the pharmaceutical sector, including on investment in research & development.
This includes engagement on the Life Sciences Sector Plan, which sets out the Government’s 10-year strategy to grow the UK’s Life Sciences sector and drive inward investment. The plan includes clear actions that will support R&D – from our commitment to reduce the set-up time for commercial clinical trials to fewer than 150 days, through to establishing a national Health Data Research Service together with the Wellcome Trust, backed by £600 million. Going further, in September, the Government launched the Life Sciences Transformational R&D Investment Fund, backed by £50m, which aims to support major R&D investments in the UK.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to introduce (a) league tables and (b) audits to show which NHS Trusts have the lowest collection rates for charges for overseas visitors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department sets policy, guidance, and legislation through the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 and works with NHS England to support the consistent application of these rules through oversight, guidance, and engagement with providers. The Department and NHS England actively engage with the National Health Service to support the improvement of cost recovery through routine engagement with trusts around cost recovery, monitoring of data and activity, sharing of best practice and guidance, targeted follow-ups with trusts where issues are identified, and close working with the Home Office to improve data quality and reporting consistency.
The Department has no plans at present to introduce league tables and audits to show the NHS trusts that have the lowest collection rates for charges to overseas visitors.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to encourage NHS Trusts to increase (a) the number of bills issued and (b) collections made for treatment charges for overseas visitors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department sets policy, guidance, and legislation through the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 and works with NHS England to support the consistent application of these rules through oversight, guidance, and engagement with providers. The Department and NHS England actively engage with the National Health Service to support the improvement of cost recovery through routine engagement with trusts around cost recovery, monitoring of data and activity, sharing of best practice and guidance, targeted follow-ups with trusts where issues are identified, and close working with the Home Office to improve data quality and reporting consistency.
The Department has no plans at present to introduce league tables and audits to show the NHS trusts that have the lowest collection rates for charges to overseas visitors.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 ensure that the UK remains competitive for (a) pharmaceutical and (b) life sciences inward investment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the Government’s 10-year plan to grow the UK’s life sciences sector, including pharmaceuticals, and drive inward investment. It includes 33 actions with clear milestones and metrics to support delivery — from setting up the Health Data Research Service alongside Wellcome; to committing to reduce clinical trial set-up times to under 150 days; to streamlining regulation and market access.
Delivery is already underway: recruitment is advancing for the Chair and CEO of the new Health Data Research Service; we have launched Europe’s first Biofoundry for mRNA manufacturing; and announced the £85 million Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme with Eli Lilly.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made on the potential impact of reduced pharmaceutical investment on the economy.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government monitors a wide range of indicators to assess the UK’s economic performance. Official economic forecasts and assessments of policy impacts are set out in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook documents, the most recent of which was published in March 2025. The next publication will be in November 2025, providing further assessment of the UK’s economic performance.
The Government recognises the pharmaceutical industry’s vital contribution to the UK economy through creating high-value jobs, driving innovation, and improving public health through access to effective treatments.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to FOI-1626381, what methods of engagement were used by the Department to engage with individuals from (a) the travelling community and (b) the sex worker community as part of the development of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To develop the 10-Year Health Plan, we had the biggest ever conversation on the future of the National Health Service with over a quarter of a million contributions from the public, staff, and partners including charities and patient groups.
A detailed 10-Year Health Plan engagement report will be published in due course, which will set out the methodology and results of this engagement exercise.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) members of the travelling community, (b) sex workers, (c) asylum seekers, (d) victims of modern slavery, (e) people from ethnic minority backgrounds, (f) people experiencing homelessness, (g) people affected by drug or alcohol addiction and (h) people in contact with the justice system participated in engagement activities in relation to the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To develop the 10-Year Health Plan, we had the biggest ever conversation on the future of the National Health Service with over a quarter of a million contributions from the public, staff, and partners including charities and patient groups.
A detailed 10-Year Health Plan engagement report will be published in due course, which will set out the methodology and results of this engagement exercise.