Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the resilience of the UK's supply chain for nuclear boron required for the rollout of SMRs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK has long-established expertise developing, qualifying and fabricating a range of fuels and other materials essential to the operation of reactors.
Great British Energy – Nuclear is working with Rolls-Royce SMR to develop the supply chain plan for the Gwyndod small modular reactor project.
The department will also continue to monitor the boron requirements of reactor technologies progressing through the Advanced Nuclear Framework pipeline, to better understand potential future supply chain demand.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory right to time off for necessary medical appointments for (a) disabled employees and (b) employees with long-term health conditions.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government is committed to helping working people balance their jobs with their personal lives, including those managing disabilities and long-term health conditions. The Keep Britain Working Vanguard is focused on testing voluntary employer action, so a statutory right is not currently in scope. We will engage with unions, Disabled People’s Organisations and people with lived experience as solutions develop, to ensure the system is fair and works for everyone. Where a disability is covered by the Equality Act 2010, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments, which may include flexibility to attend medical appointments.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support the hospitality sector in the context of rising operating and employment costs; and what assessment he has made of the case for targeted employer National Insurance relief for under-25s in qualifying entry-level roles in that sector.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government recognises the pressures facing hospitality businesses from rising operating and employment costs. Hospitality businesses play a vital role in communities, high streets and local economies across the UK, and we are taking action to support them. From April 2026, eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties benefit from permanently lower business rates multipliers. We have also increased the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, reducing employer National Insurance costs for many eligible businesses.
Businesses can also claim employer National Insurance reliefs, including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. This means employers pay no employer National Insurance contributions for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270. These reliefs were estimated to be worth around £2.5 billion in 2025/26.
The Government keeps all taxes under review and carefully considers the impact, cost and complexity of any proposed new tax reliefs as part of the policy-making process.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of NHS funding for palliative and end-of-life care in England; and whether he plans to take steps to reduce the reliance of hospice and palliative care providers on charitable funding.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Prime Minister and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have made clear their commitment to improve the quality and availability of palliative and end-of-life care through a new modern service framework (MSF), as set out in the answer of 14 September to Question 27682.
The MSF will support a shift towards strategic, population-based commissioning that is centred on clear and transparent contractual arrangements for commissioned palliative care and end-of-life care activity across all providers, including hospices. It will enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to plan and deliver services based on a clear understanding of local need, including underserved and disadvantaged groups.
In June 2026, ahead of the MSF’s publication, NHS England set out that it expects all ICBs to complete an integrated needs assessment, to gain a detailed understanding of their current and future population, including people of all ages with palliative care and end-of-life care needs. We are asking ICBs to move to sustainable contracting of hospice services, based on this integrated needs assessment, and with a clear focus on improving equity of access through commissioning.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review project licences authorising the use of dogs in scientific procedures in the context of the strategy on replacing animals in science.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government’s first responsibility is to protect public health. Dogs continue to play an important role in research and safety testing where no scientifically satisfactory alternative exists, helping to ensure medicines and other products are safe. We are equally determined to replace their use wherever scientifically possible.
The £75 million Replacing Animals in Science Strategy is accelerating alternative methods. By 2030, the Government aims for validated alternatives to reduce the use of dogs and non-human primates by at least 35% in dedicated pharmacokinetic studies and 50% in dedicated cardiovascular safety studies. The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) Virtual Dog project supports this ambition by developing computational models for drug safety testing.
Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, dogs may be used only where no suitable alternative exists, and this test applies throughout a project licence. The Home Office therefore has no plans for a separate review of licences involving dogs, but is considering the NC3Rs recommendations on strengthening licence assessment and application of the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement).