Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered allowing dental therapists to expand their scope of practice and hold their own NHS contracts; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of this on the ability of practices offer more services and reduce delays and waiting times.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan for England and our recent Quality and Payment Reforms consultation outline the Government’s commitment to utilising the skills of the wider dental team to improve access to dental care. Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 took effect in June 2024, to enable suitably trained and supported dental therapists to supply and administer specified medicines without requiring a Patient Group Direction or a Patient Specific Direction from a dentist.
We have no current plans to change the eligibility rules for holding National Health Service dental contracts. We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team, including dental therapists, to work to the top of their capability.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department has considered replacing the routine six-monthly dental check-up with a system based on individual clinical need.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients should be recalled based on their clinical need. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on recall intervals states that a healthy adult with good oral health should see a dentist once every two years, and a child once every year.
On 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on improvements to the National Health Service dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments, and will reduce clinically unnecessary check-ups.
Through the consultation, we sought feedback on alternative approaches or strategies that could best support practices to adhere to evidence-based recommendations on the time between routine examinations. The Government will consider further how best to implement the preferred options to support clinically appropriate check-ups that are also aligned to NICE guidance, noting that public education and the introduction of a risk assessment tool were the most popular options respondents to the consultation selected. The Government also intends to introduce ‘clinically appropriate patient recalls’ as the first topic of the quality improvement initiative, which was also proposed through the recent consultation. Further information is available from the following link:
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled Study reveals how conversational AI can exert influence over political beliefs, published by the University of Oxford on 11 December, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of AI chatbots on political campaigns in the UK, particularly regarding regulation.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The trajectory of AI development is uncertain and evolving quickly. New AI technologies, including ‘chatbot’ style applications built on frontier AI models, offer both opportunities and risks. It is imperative that we to understand these impacts from a scientific perspective, especially where they have potential to impact the mental health of people in the UK.
The AI Security Institute is conducting a range of research projects to advance the evidence base around the impacts of AI, to ensure the government is prepared to realise opportunities and mitigate risks. It informs government’s ability to respond appropriately to the issue.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department has on the potential impact of banning smartphone use in schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Mobile phones have no place in school and school leaders already have the power to ban them. The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.
The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.
Research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK's membership of the European Convention on Human Rights on the Good Friday Agreement.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK is a proud signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights which underpins many international agreements on trade, security and migration, as well as the Good Friday Agreement.
That Agreement also required domestic incorporation of the ECHR into Northern Ireland law which was enacted through the Human Rights Act 1998.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help improve media literacy.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government aims to improve media literacy through cross-government collaboration, educational initiatives and collaboration with Ofcom, civil society, and online platforms. This approach supports Ofcom's regulatory media literacy duties and promotes media literacy through broader policy initiatives and cross-sector collaboration.
As the lead department for media literacy, DSIT is committed to improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government work. DCMS contributes to this cross-government effort by supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
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 raise awareness among men and boys about the mental health support available to them.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for men and boys. The Government is committed to working beyond the health system to create an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents people from developing mental health problems, and improves the lives of people living with a mental health problem.
We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England, and which will be informed by a call for evidence. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The call for evidence closed on 17 July 2025. The responses are informing the development of the strategy.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the relationship between the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Through our diplomatic presence, we regularly engage with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government. We continue to encourage constructive dialogue and cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their outstanding issues, including around the federal budget, security cooperation, and the oil and gas sector. Priorities for the UK in Iraq include Parliamentary ratification of the UK-Iraq Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which establishes a framework for deepening the UK-Iraq partnership across areas of common interest such as security, people smuggling, environmental protection, and trade.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Iraqi counterpart on the suspension of budget transfers to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Although the Foreign Secretary has not made any direct representations to his Iraqi counterpart on the suspension of budget transfers to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the UK Government continues to encourage through our regular diplomatic engagement cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve outstanding issues, including budget payments. It is important that both sides negotiate to find a sustainable solution that secures regular and consistent salary payments for public servants in the KRI.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to review the Gambling Commission’s remit to include UK licensees operating in prohibited markets abroad.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Operators providing gambling facilities to customers in Great Britain must be licensed by the Gambling Commission and comply with the conditions of their operating licences. The Commission expects them to obey the laws of all other jurisdictions in which they operate, and requires them to report any regulatory investigation or finding into their activities in any other jurisdiction. Operators must inform the Commission if they have a substantial customer base outside of Great Britain and state why they consider they are legally able to offer facilities to those customers.