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, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US Pharmaceuticals Deal concluded in December 2025 on (a) NHS procurement costs and (b) consumer access to affordable medicines before any provisions of that Deal take effect.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to publish an impact assessment or modelling on the United Kingdom and United States’ pharmaceutical trade deal. Further detail on the deal will be shared in due course.
Tens of thousands of National Health Service patients will benefit from this deal, which will secure and expand access to vital drugs, and thereby safeguard our medicines supply chain.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.
This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and world leading life sciences sector, without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in English language requirements to B2 level on Hong Kong families using the British National (Overseas) visa route where household members have varying levels of educational attainment.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy and published in due course.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing to small and medium-sized exporters to maintain tariff relief secured under the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It was this government that got the first trade deal with the US, protecting British jobs and saving people money. We remain the only country to have secured a 10% tariff on cars within quota, agreed a 0% tariff on pharmaceutical exports to the US, and avoided the 50% global steel and aluminium tariff.
The Department for Business and Trade has integrated its support for SMEs in a single, accessible place – the Business Growth Service – designed to help businesses across the UK start, scale, and succeed globally. UK businesses can access guidance on exporting, including to the US, via business.gov.uk.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has to provide Parliament with the opportunity to scrutinise the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal before its provisions take effect.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Any final agreement will be scrutinised by Parliament in line with established procedures.
Any primary or secondary legislation required to implement an agreement will also be subject to standard legislative procedures.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trade negotiations with the United States under the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal on UK food safety standards of agriculture provision.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 8 May 2025, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the US that included new reciprocal market access on beef – giving UK farmers a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports.
All food imports into the UK, including those agreed with the US, must comply with all of the UK’s import requirements, including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. Decisions on food safety standards are always made in the interest of protecting human, animal or plant life or health in the UK.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to strengthen the Ofsted inspection process for early years settings to improve child safety outcomes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Best Start in Life strategy, we are investing in raising the quality, frequency and consistency of early years inspections to improve child safety outcomes. We continually monitor and review requirements to make sure children are kept as safe as possible.
Ofsted began inspecting under the revised Education Inspection Framework on 10 November and settings now receive an Ofsted report card following an inspection which will provide a much clearer and broader picture of their performance. From April, Ofsted will receive further investment to improve inspection quality and consistency through stronger quality assurance and targeted inspector training. We are also funding Ofsted to inspect all new providers within 18 months of opening and move towards inspecting all providers at least once every four years, compared to the current six-year window. We will also work to introduce reporting on nursery chains to address issues spanning across groups of providers.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current guidance on safer sleep practices in nursery settings; and whether she has plans to introduce statutory requirements on safer sleep in early years settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, which early years providers are required to follow, includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance, which is available here: https://www.nhs.uk/baby/caring-for-a-newborn/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/.
In September 2024, the department collaborated with The Lullaby Trust to produce guidance available on the Foundation Years platform. This covers unsuitable sleeping products, suitable sleeping surfaces and the safe use of blankets.
Ofsted inspects early years providers against the requirements of the EYFS, including safeguarding and children’s welfare. Early years inspectors are experienced professionals with relevant knowledge of safer sleep practice and can assess compliance with statutory requirements.
To make the existing requirements clearer for all, we plan to add further detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safer sleep experts, including The Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to introduce these changes as soon as possible.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish the TA 501 safety assessment and Scheme Appraisal Report for the removal of motorway lighting on the M4 between junctions 8 and 12; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the TA 501 methodology is applied transparently where safety infrastructure is removed.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways has a thorough, consistent and documented approach to the management of construction schemes. National Highways assessed the removal of lighting on the M4 between junctions 8 and 12 using TA49/07, which was the assessment tool before TA 501 was published in March 2020. National Highways has published the M4 J3-J8/9 and J10-J12 Road Safety Lighting Review, which included a summary of the personal injury collision data for the 5 years prior to the removal of lighting. Road casualty statistics and the underlying data are published annually by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of motorway lighting removal on the M4 between junctions 8 and 12 on road safety; and if she will publish Personal Injury Collision data for that area (a) since lighting was removed and (b) for the five years prior to removal.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways has a thorough, consistent and documented approach to the management of construction schemes. National Highways assessed the removal of lighting on the M4 between junctions 8 and 12 using TA49/07, which was the assessment tool before TA 501 was published in March 2020. National Highways has published the M4 J3-J8/9 and J10-J12 Road Safety Lighting Review, which included a summary of the personal injury collision data for the 5 years prior to the removal of lighting. Road casualty statistics and the underlying data are published annually by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that community gyms and fitness facilities are not excluded from business rates relief schemes designed to support retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000.
On 16 October 2025, the Government published legislation and accompanying guidance detailing the eligibility criteria for the new multipliers. To ensure the new tax rates are appropriately targeted, only properties that are wholly or mainly used for providing RHL activity (as defined in legislation) to visiting members of the public are eligible for the new multipliers.
This includes community gyms and fitness facilities with rateable values below £500,000 that are open to members of the public. Further details on what is meant by “visiting members of the public” can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.