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 support her Department is providing to NHS staff in Clinical Support Units (CSU) to allow them to transfer to other jobs within the NHS following the planned closure of CSUs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Activity is under way to ensure all services provided by commissioning support units (CSUs), along with all CSU staff, are mapped and destinations clarified, where a function will continue. Governance arrangements are in place across NHS England and the CSUs to oversee the transition of functions and the safe closure of CSUs.
Staff are being supported through this transition. The CSU Leadership Team hold regular all staff briefings where information on the transition and closure of the CSUs is cascaded. The CSUs are actively involving the trade unions. A job hub has been established to support existing CSU staff to find suitable alternative employment opportunities. A voluntary redundancy scheme has been completed within the CSUs that mirrors that within NHS England, and exits are being planned.
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 steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate availability of oestrogen and testosterone implants for women who are unable to use any other form of hormone replacement therapy.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are continuing to work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to ensure safe access to these products. We have reached out to specialist importers who can source unlicensed medicines in order to find alternative sources of both oestrogen and testosterone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) implants, which are not licenced in the United Kingdom. We are aware of a specialist importer who is able to source unlicensed testosterone implants. The decision to prescribe an unlicensed imported medicine sits with the prescriber.
We are also engaging with companies globally to source supplies of HRT implants for UK patients. The MHRA is working closely with current importers of the product and encouraging applications to supply products through the licenced medicines route.
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, for her assessment of the adequacy of the availability of oestrogen and testosterone implants.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are continuing to work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to ensure safe access to these products. We have reached out to specialist importers who can source unlicensed medicines in order to find alternative sources of both oestrogen and testosterone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) implants, which are not licenced in the United Kingdom. We are aware of a specialist importer who is able to source unlicensed testosterone implants. The decision to prescribe an unlicensed imported medicine sits with the prescriber.
We are also engaging with companies globally to source supplies of HRT implants for UK patients. The MHRA is working closely with current importers of the product and encouraging applications to supply products through the licenced medicines route.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory licensing for builders.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
This Government is working to ensure we have a high-quality and professional construction industry, with consumer protection at the heart of this. TrustMark, sponsored by the Department and licenced by the Government, is the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme that covers work a consumer chooses to have carried out in or around their home. TrustMark already offers its consumers and businesses access to the Trusted Payment App announced by BIST as part of its protections against rogue builders.
Any action that the Government takes on licensing to protect customers and standards needs to be robust, proportionate and evidence based.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what considerations his Department has made regarding a response to the Law Commission's Burial and Cremation: Final Report, published 18 March 2026.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Law Commission’s report made 62 recommendations in relation to a future legislative framework for burial and cremation.
The Government is considering these recommendations carefully and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of adapting RAF A400M Atlas aircraft to assist with tackling large scale wildfires.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Responsibility for responding to wildfires in the UK rests with the relevant civil authorities and emergency services, with military support potentially available where requested through established Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) arrangements on a case-by-case basis. This includes consideration of a clear need for military assistance, whether the requirement is beyond the capability or capacity of the civil authority, and whether support can be provided without unacceptably prejudicing Defence's primary tasks, operational commitments, and readiness.
The Ministry of Defence does not currently hold a requirement to provide a dedicated domestic aerial firefighting capability (including a fixed-wing aerial firefighting capability). However, Defence retains limited aerial firefighting capabilities to support standing tasks overseas. As part of this, Defence maintains a helicopter-based aerial firefighting capability in Cyprus for the specific purpose of meeting our obligations to the Sovereign Base Areas and wider communities during periods of heightened wildfire risk.
The Ministry of Defence has not conducted a specific impact assessment on the absence of a dedicated military aerial firefighting capability, nor a specific assessment of the economic impact arising from that absence.
The Department is aware of the Airbus A400M aerial firefighting system currently under development and testing by the manufacturer. Consequently, the Department has no plans to adapt the RAF A400M Atlas fleet for aerial firefighting purposes, or to procure dedicated water-bombing helicopters or water-bombing equipment for the military helicopter fleet.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy, Security and Net Zero on the potential merits of reducing VAT for public electric vehicle chargers.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Public EV charging is subject to the standard rate of VAT (20 per cent). This matches the VAT treatment of petrol and diesel, as well as all non-domestic electricity.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
The Government is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of public charging costs, looking at the impact of energy prices, wider cost contributors, and options for lowering these costs for consumers.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what relationship the National Security Assessment on biodiversity will have with the work of the recently announced Climate Security Taskforce.
Answered by Katie White - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The National Security Assessment on biodiversity and the Taskforce on the National Security and Resilience Risks of a Changing Climate and Nature Loss are mutually reinforcing. The Assessment provides the evidence base, and the Taskforce, co-chaired with the Minister for Security, will provide advice to help translate that analysis into practical action across Government.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the ongoing First Time Buyer ISA consultation, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of improving the Lifetime ISA product rather than creating a new product.
Answered by Rachel Blake
On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the First-Time Buyer ISA (FTB ISA), further details of which can be found at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-time-buyer-isa-consultation. The consultation sets out why we are looking to replace the Lifetime ISA (LISA), citing evidence from HMRC’s own publicly available figures and research as well as from the Treasury Select Committee’s report on the LISA.
The consultation also confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a LISA, and that existing LISA holders will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules.
Individuals will be able to hold both the new FTB ISA and an existing LISA, but will only be able to save into one in the same tax year. To ensure that current holders of the LISA do not lose out, LISA holders will be able to use any funds in their existing LISA and those in the new FTB ISA for the same purchase.
The property price cap, bonus level and subscription limit of the new First Time Buyer ISA will be set at a future fiscal event. Regardless of where the property price cap is set, the FTB ISA, LISA and Help to Buy ISA cap will be aligned so that no account holders will lose out.
Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except London, where the average price paid is affected by some boroughs with very high property values. This does not exclude prospective purchasers, who are still able to use the LISA on homes within the price cap. The Treasury Select Committee has said that the property price cap of £450,000 on the LISA ensures that the support goes to people who need it most.
Asked by: Jonathan Davies (Labour - Mid Derbyshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Audit Office report into shared ownership (25 March 2026), what steps the Government is taking to improve affordability of shared ownership properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that some shared ownership leaseholders face difficulties selling their homes, especially where building safety issues are present.
We have taken steps to support shared owners who find themselves in such a position, including making clear that where building safety issues exist, subletting should always be permitted by the landlord.
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme places new expectations on shared ownership providers to improve customer experience. These include giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability and increasing transparency and fairness on costs.