Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what mechanisms are in place to help facilitate Parliamentary scrutiny of contracts awarded for the administration of public sector pension schemes; and how value for money and performance are monitored once such contracts are awarded.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Details of Government contracts over £12,000 are published online primarily to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in the expenditure of public money. Ministers and senior officials regularly appear before parliamentary committees as an integral part of the parliamentary process of holding the government to account.
The Sourcing Playbook emphasises best practice managing contracts through a proactive, partnership-based approach, ensuring they are designed for effective monitoring from the outset. This includes guidance on robust, ongoing contract management to deliver public services efficiently, requiring clear KPIs, performance monitoring, and risk mitigation, particularly for major outsourcing projects.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned timeline is for publishing a national implementation plan for the rollout of Fracture Liaison Services; and what milestones have been set for achieving nationwide coverage by 2030.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to align compensation available to people affected by roadworks with other forms of transport.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are focused on tackling the cause of delays. We have raised fines for overruns to up to £10,000 a day. We have recently approved 7 lane rental schemes to charge those who dig up the busiest roads at the busiest times.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Golden Hello scheme places were filled at the end of 2024-25; whether he has extended the recruitment period for dentists under that scheme; and when recruitment for dentists under that scheme will end.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are continuing to recruit dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. The scheme offers a £20,000 recruitment incentive payment to dentists to work in those areas that need them most for three years. The recruitment of dentists in underserved areas remains a priority.
Golden Hello data will be published this year and will consist of data showing the regional distribution of the original allocation of posts and the number of posts recruited to at both a national and regional level.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for Social Work England to clear the fitness to practise backlog; and what her Department's target is for reducing the average time from referral to hearing outcome.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England (SWE), the independent regulator, and monitors their performance on an ongoing basis. Funding is provided to SWE annually and is based on the need to deliver against its business plan. SWE report into their board on case progression and are ahead of their current trajectory to reduce the backlog of fitness to practise cases awaiting a hearing. They also continue to increase the rate for hearings. SWE’s board papers are publicly available on their website.
SWE consulted in October 2025 on the potential of introducing adjudicator consensual disposal. The proposed guidance would introduce a new process that allows adjudicators and social workers, in suitable cases, to reach an agreed outcome without the need for a disputed final hearing. This approach would enable cases to be resolved more quickly when both parties agree on the facts and appropriate sanctions. As the independent regulator of the social work profession, SWE will respond to their consultation in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of Social Work England's proposals for adjudicator consensual disposal as a means of expediting fitness to practise cases.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is the sponsor department for Social Work England (SWE), the independent regulator, and monitors their performance on an ongoing basis. Funding is provided to SWE annually and is based on the need to deliver against its business plan. SWE report into their board on case progression and are ahead of their current trajectory to reduce the backlog of fitness to practise cases awaiting a hearing. They also continue to increase the rate for hearings. SWE’s board papers are publicly available on their website.
SWE consulted in October 2025 on the potential of introducing adjudicator consensual disposal. The proposed guidance would introduce a new process that allows adjudicators and social workers, in suitable cases, to reach an agreed outcome without the need for a disputed final hearing. This approach would enable cases to be resolved more quickly when both parties agree on the facts and appropriate sanctions. As the independent regulator of the social work profession, SWE will respond to their consultation in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle misinformation online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This issue is, rightly, of huge concern. The Online Safety Act is already protecting users from illegal dis- and misinformation online, including foreign interference.
We are already taking further action, including launching a campaign to support children’s resilience to misinformation.
Where we need to take further action, especially to protect UK democratic processes, we will.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 29847 on Death Certificates, if he will publish the findings of his Department's monitoring of the impact of the death certification reforms on the time taken to register deaths.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We believe the answer of 17 February 2025 refers to the answer given to Question 29570. The Department’s monitoring of the impact of death certification reforms, including the time to register a death, includes consideration of:
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff are working in the team responsible for reviewing records relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, expressed as (a) number of staff and (b) full-time equivalent hours.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is leading the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Special Representative on Trade and Investment. A small, Director-led team is co-ordinating work to identify relevant records, assisting Ministers to meet their obligations to the House, and supporting the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in office. The team is also working to support the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Peter Mandelson. The team is drawing extensively on support from officials across the Department, particularly staff with expertise on historical records management. The team is also working closely with other Whitehall Departments, particularly teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office. We will update the House on this work as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any of the staff working in the team responsible for reviewing records relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment are also working on the Government response to the Humble address on Mandelson.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is leading the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Special Representative on Trade and Investment. A small, Director-led team is co-ordinating work to identify relevant records, assisting Ministers to meet their obligations to the House, and supporting the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in office. The team is also working to support the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Peter Mandelson. The team is drawing extensively on support from officials across the Department, particularly staff with expertise on historical records management. The team is also working closely with other Whitehall Departments, particularly teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office. We will update the House on this work as soon as is practicable.