Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, without further legislation or guidance, what percentage of the 80,000 families affected by the Locked Child Trust Fund issue does the government expect to be able to access their funds within the next three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his department has made of the key legal or administrative obstacles to solving the Locked Child Trust fund issue.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will include a target in a future Rare Disease Action Plan on proportionate access to multi-indication medicines for (a) rare and (b) ultra-rare disease patients.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs is a priority under the UK Rare Diseases Framework. The 2025 England Rare Diseases Action Plan was published in February 2025 and reports on progress against existing actions under this priority. This included reviewing the effectiveness of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, and the Innovative Medicines Fund, which are key access initiatives aimed at facilitating earlier availability of innovative treatments. Our review specifically assessed how effective these pathways are in supporting timely access to therapies for individuals living with rare diseases.
As set out in the Life Sciences Sector plan, we will be introducing a new and proportionate approach to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraisals and NHS indication-specific based pricing agreements for medicines with large numbers of indications, strong long-term outcome data, and low affordability risk. This will support treatments for rare diseases. There are currently no plans to introduce an access target, as it is essential to review the available evidence on a case-by-case basis. However, the Government remains committed to improving access to medicines for rare and ultra-rare diseases.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans maintain the five pence per litre fuel duty cut.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned increase in line with inflation for 2025/26. The temporary 5p cut is currently scheduled to expire in March 2026. The Government considers the impact of fuel duty on households and businesses, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department have made of potential savings of the implementation of Fixed Recoverable Costs for clinical negligence claims valued up to (a) £25,000, (b) £100,000 and (c) £250,000.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experience of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point. The Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of repealing S2(4) of the Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948 on NHS costs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experience of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point. The Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) organisations and (b) individuals has David Lock KC had discussions with as part of his review into the legal costs of clinical negligence.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experience of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point. The Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether David Lock KC’s review of the legal costs of clinical negligence will be published.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
As announced in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC will be providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs and how we can improve patients’ experience of clinical negligence claims, ahead of a review by the Department in the autumn. The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policy making in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point. The Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure hunting laws are applied.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police. This is in line with their duties to keep the peace, protect communities and prevent the commission of offences, working within the provisions of the legal framework set by Parliament.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Channel 4 Fact Check report entitled Value of UK arms imported by Israel, published on 29 September 2025.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Channel 4 report focuses on imports of ammunition and munitions by Israel. The UK does not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank. As Members will be aware, last year we suspended licences for exports of items to the IDF that might be used in military operations in Gaza.
The report is based on Israeli customs data which does not differentiate between live munitions and training equipment or sporting ammunition for civilian use. Furthermore it does not differentiate between items staying in Israel and those scheduled for re-export to other countries.
We take our arms control system very seriously and have taken every possible measure to ensure licences are not approved for exports that could be used by the IDF in Gaza.