Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what stage of preparation the national rollout of the online parenting interventions project contained within the Best Start in Life strategy has reached.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government set out its commitment to a national digital parenting offer in the Best Start in Life Strategy, published on 7 July 2025. This sits alongside wider investment of over £500 million in the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs.
Work to engage potential suppliers has taken place. The government is now considering delivery options for the digital parenting programme, with further details to be announced in due course.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the national digital parenting programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government set out its commitment to a national digital parenting offer in the Best Start in Life Strategy, published on 7 July 2025. This sits alongside wider investment of over £500 million in the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs.
Work to engage potential suppliers has taken place. The government is now considering delivery options for the digital parenting programme, with further details to be announced in due course.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure co-ordination between the National Data Centre Strategy, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to champion and support data centre growth that reflects energy system capacity, decarbonisation objectives, and wider infrastructure constraints. This approach ensures that AI development, digital infrastructure investment, and clean energy delivery are pursued in a complementary and mutually reinforcing way. Specifically, through the AI Energy Council, DSIT and DESNZ are also exploring how to meet the future energy demands of AI and data centres in a way that is resilient, sustainable, and scalable.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential of behind-the-meter self-generation, on-site storage, and private wire arrangements at data centre and AI campuses to alleviate projected grid power shortfalls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ofgem, and the National Energy System Operator to ensure that any policy interventions support both the timely connection of strategically important projects and the development of low-carbon power supply.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate her Department has made of the cumulative power and water demand arising from announced and pipeline AI Growth Zones and hyperscale data centre developments through to 2035.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The expansion of AI infrastructure is critical to the UK's long-term economic growth, resilience, and global competitiveness. We are working closely with industry, the National Energy System Operator, DESNZ, Ofgem, DEFRA, and the Environment Agency to improve our understanding of the impacts of future demand.
AI Growth Zone applicants are required to detail their water plans and provide confirmation of feasibility from the relevant water supplier. Data Centre Developers progressing through the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) regime must assess impacts on water resources as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment and supporting documentation, and national planning policy embeds consideration of sustainable water use and resource efficiency in decision making.
Through the AI Energy Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for DSIT and DESNZ, we are also exploring how to meet the future energy demands of AI and data centres in a way that is resilient, sustainable, and scalable.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment includes participation from people with (a) current experience of claiming disability benefits and (b) high support or communication needs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review is being co-produced by disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts. The steering group is committed to ensuring that the Review is informed by a broad range of voices and experiences and to making engagement as accessible as possible.
The steering group has agreed to use a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data, workshops, and deliberative events across the UK to gather evidence. The steering group will share more details on these as the review progresses.
The Review has so far launched a Call for Evidence to gather input from individuals and organisations, with a full suite of accessible versions, including British Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, and Welsh versions.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration his Department gave to the design of payment arrangements for participants in the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment to support participation by people in receipt of benefits.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review is being co-produced by disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts. The steering group is committed to ensuring that the Review is informed by a broad range of voices and experiences and to making engagement as accessible as possible.
The steering group has agreed to use a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data, workshops, and deliberative events across the UK to gather evidence. The steering group will share more details on these as the review progresses.
The Review has so far launched a Call for Evidence to gather input from individuals and organisations, with a full suite of accessible versions, including British Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, and Welsh versions.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what reasonable adjustments his Department has put in place to support participants in the Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment to share their views and experiences.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Timms Review is being co-produced by disabled people, the organisations that represent them and other experts. The steering group is committed to ensuring that the Review is informed by a broad range of voices and experiences and to making engagement as accessible as possible.
The steering group has agreed to use a mix of approaches combining lived experience, expert insight, existing research, new quantitative data, workshops, and deliberative events across the UK to gather evidence. The steering group will share more details on these as the review progresses.
The Review has so far launched a Call for Evidence to gather input from individuals and organisations, with a full suite of accessible versions, including British Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, Audio, and Welsh versions.
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in (a) identifying non-compliance and (b) taking enforcement action to tackle non-compliance.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 March 2026 to question number UIN: 114271
Asked by: Liam Conlon (Labour - Beckenham and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average national unit cost to the NHS is for an MRI scan used in prostate cancer detection using (a) multiparametric and (b) biparametric MRI.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The average cost to the National Health Service for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans using biparametric and multiparametric MRIs is set out in the 2025/26 National Payment Scheme, which can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2025-26-nhs-payment-scheme/.
Biparametric MRI scans are categorised under ‘non contrast’, whilst multiparametric MRI scans are categorised ‘with contrast’. The following table shows the price of different MRI scans:
Test type | Test name and description | Price |
MRI | MRI non contrast 1 area (Adult) | £129 |
MRI non contrast 1 area (Paediatric age 6 to18) | £217 | |
MRI non contrast 2 area | £155 | |
MRI non contrast more than 3 area | £222 | |
MRI with contrast 1 area (Adult) | £188 | |
MRI with contrast 1 area (Paediatric age 6 to 18) | £329 |