Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned timescale is for the abolition of Healthwatch England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The closure of Healthwatch England and the transfer of its functions will require primary legislation. The Dash review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, published in July 2025, recommends that the strategic functions of Healthwatch England are transferred into the new patient experience directorate of the Department. The timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament, and will happen when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including capital purchase costs for the acquisition of (a) run‑down or (b) former cultural venues within the eligibility criteria of the Creative Foundations Fund.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Creative Foundations Fund (CFF) will support arts and cultural organisations across England to resolve urgent issues with their estates. An important part of this government’s growth mission, this fund aims to strengthen the long-term economic viability of the creative and cultural industries.
This is part of this government’s ongoing commitment to ensure arts and culture are fit for the future and to ensure everyone has access to high quality institutions in the places they call home. The fund will support organisations to continue delivering creative or cultural activity, support growth and increase opportunities to develop creative skills and engage in high-quality creative work.
We have worked with the sector to understand the variety of capital needs it is facing. Through this assessment we know there is a significant urgent need for organisations at risk of closure if urgent capital works are not completed. This fund will offer vital support to prevent the closure of operating cultural spaces and the potential irrevocable loss this would have to local communities and economies. However, property purchases have been excluded from the CFF. Full eligibility details in the guidance can be found on ACE’s website.
Looking ahead, we know that the cultural sector continues to have significant capital needs. This is why the recent Spending Review committed to significant capital spend that will support cultural institutions in towns and cities across the country. Individual programme decisions will be determined in due course and made public in the usual way.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
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 maintain the collective patient voice function supported by Healthwatch England in the reformed NHS structures.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dr Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. It recommended that the strategic functions of Healthwatch England are transferred into the new patient experience directorate of the Department. This new directorate will be responsible for overseeing the collection of more informed feedback from both patients and carers and significantly improving the complaints function across the National Health Service. It ensures that the NHS properly manages and learns from complaints.
The abolition of Healthwatch England, the transfer of its functions, and the changes to local Healthwatch will require primary legislation. The timing of this is subject to the will of Parliament and will happen when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on the potential merits of providing full spectrum medical cannabis to veterans with specific PTSD symptoms under the medical exemption certificate.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Government is committed to ensuring all veterans have access to the support they need, including health support. I have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about medical cannabis.
If veterans are in need of support with their mental health, I encourage them to reach out to their GP or, for those in England, Op COURAGE: the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, which provides a broad range of specialist mental health and wellbeing care and support for service leavers, reservists, veterans and their families.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own specialist support pathways, through Veterans First Point Scotland, Veterans NHS Wales, and Veterans Welfare Services Northern Ireland, and each nations’ government is responsible for commissioning of treatment options.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of treating post traumatic stress disorder in veterans with (a) medical cannabis and (b) MDMA assisted therapy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that the use of cannabis-based medicines and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies, such as MDMA to treat mental illness, is gaining attention both within the medical and scientific communities as well as within the public more broadly. The licensing regime for controlled drugs allows legitimate medical research to take place with an appropriate licence and safeguards. A number of clinical studies are already being conducted, although no such substance has yet been licensed as safe and effective in the treatment of mental health conditions.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research supports the safe and scientifically sound conduct of clinical trials in this area and provides regulatory and scientific advice to companies at all stages of developing medicines. Any application for a marketing authorisation, otherwise known as a product licence, will be determined by the MHRA.
In line with the development of all medicines, as the evidence base grows and medicinal products are licensed, we will make sure that they are made available to patients, including through the National Health Service, if they are recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve young people's understanding of climate change through the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The national curriculum provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own curricula. Topics related to climate change and the environment are included within the existing programmes of study for geography, science and citizenship, and Oak National Academy provides free, adaptable resources to support teachers in teaching this content well.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is considering all subjects, including whether any changes are needed to geography, science and citizenship. Its findings and recommendations will be included in the final report that will be published in autumn.
In addition, we are developing a new GCSE in natural history. The GCSE will equip young people to understand and respect the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally. An environmental science A level is also available.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fixed penalty notices have the police issued to people smoking in private vehicles in which children are present (a) in total and (b) in each year since this became an offence.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis, as part of the ‘Police powers and procedures: Roads policing’ statistical bulletin. The most recent data, up to 2023, is available here:
However, data is not available on the specific offence of ‘Smoking in a vehicle in which a child was present’.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people accessed the Music and Dance Scheme in each of the last five academic years; and how many students will be supported by the scheme in the academic year 2025-26.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Music and Dance Scheme operates on an academic year basis.
Information is available for the final number of students with a Music and Dance Scheme bursary after the end of the academic year, in order to account for in-year starters.
The information for the 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years is in the table below. Please note the information for the 2024/25 academic year 2024/25 is provisional.
Academic year | Number of students with a Music and Dance Scheme bursary |
2020/21 | 2,139 |
2021/22 | 1,153 |
2022/23 | 2,056 |
2023/24 | 2,044 |
2024/25 | 2,074 |
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been raised for grassroot music venues to date via the voluntary ticket levy; and what steps her Department plans to take monitor progress of the grassroots ticket levy.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Sector reporting shows 15% of 2025 tickets on sale since April now include the levy, totaling 1.8 million tickets since January. Summer ticket sales and the establishment of the LIVE Trust should mean greater uptake by Autumn. If not, the government will reconvene the live music sector to consider legislative options.
We are urging major promoters - whose participation is crucial to the levy’s success - to act without delay, and I recently met Live Nation to encourage them to back the scheme in earnest. I would also urge every major artist to encourage their team to sign up to the levy as a matter of urgency so that at least a majority of qualifying tickets carry the levity by the end of the year.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Approved Mileage Allowance Payments rates in meeting the costs incurred by employees using their own vehicles for work-related travel.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses).
The Government keeps the AMAP rates under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The AMAP rates are intended to reflect both running costs, such as fuel, and a proportion of standing costs, such as insurance, MOT, and depreciation. In estimating typical motoring costs per business mile, the Government must therefore consider the weighting given to each component and how to apportion certain costs.