Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will take steps to help support private gym and health facilities facing rising operating costs.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government recognises pressures from rising operating costs on small businesses, including private gyms and health facilities. From April 2026, we are introducing permanently lower business‑rate multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises.

We remain committed to supporting businesses across the economy by reducing the administrative burden of regulation by £5.6 billion this Parliament and providing a £4.3 billion package to protect ratepayers from increases in business rates bills.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of (a) the prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) the number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Eastleigh constituency compared with national averages.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the number of FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Eastleigh and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:

Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England

Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s Fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Eastleigh can be found at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/6/ati/501/are/E07000086/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1

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 access to (a) treatment and (b) support services for people with musculoskeletal conditions.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the importance of access to treatment and support services for people with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

To improve access to treatment for those with MSK conditions, we are working to deliver the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. GIRFT teams are working with health system leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting lists, which are the highest of all community waiting lists in England, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.

The 10-Year Health Plan will also support people including those with MSK conditions to better manage their condition and access services and support through the three health shifts.

For example, as part of a major transformation of the National Health Service under the 10-Year Health Plan, patients with MSK conditions will also soon be able to bypass their general practices (GPs) and directly access community services, including physiotherapy, pain management, and orthopaedics, in the NHS App. The landmark change will deliver faster treatment for the flare up of existing conditions including arthritis, backpain, and joint pain, while enabling GPs to focus on more complex cases, reducing pressure on hospitals, and freeing up GPs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support children and young people with arthritis.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to supporting children and young people with arthritis to ensure they get timely, quality care.

Services for children with suspected arthritis are commissioned in line with the national service specification for paediatric rheumatology services.

The national service specification helps to reduce waiting times for diagnosis by mandating clear referral pathways and rapid access to specialist paediatric rheumatology teams. It sets national standards requiring timely triage of suspected cases, prioritisation of urgent referrals, and availability of multidisciplinary expertise for early assessment. The specification ensures consistency across regions, minimises delays caused by local variation, and supports faster initiation of diagnostic tests and treatment planning.

NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Paediatric Rheumatology programme is aimed at improving care for children and young people with inflammatory, autoimmune, and rheumatic conditions. Led by specialists, it uses data-driven, "deep-dive" peer reviews of all National Health Service trusts to reduce unwarranted variations, improve transition services, and standardise best practice.

Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitments to expand community diagnostic centres for quicker access to tests, introduce digital tools to support early symptom monitoring and triage, and improve the integration between primary care and specialist services will further streamline referral pathways and ensure children receive timely assessment and treatment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of teachers made redundant while on maternity leave in the last five years; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that school funding arrangements enable schools to retain experienced teachers and support flexible working for staff with caring responsibilities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Pregnant women and new mothers have enhanced protections against redundancy dismissals, which cover the pregnancy period, the time spent on maternity leave, and a return-to-work period. The protections give those employees priority for being offered suitable and alternative roles if any are available and place them ahead of other employees who are also at risk of redundancy.

The government will put in place legislation that makes it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave and for at least six months after they return to work, except in specific circumstances. This starts with the Employment Rights Act, with regulations to follow. We intend for the measure to come into force in 2027.

As announced in the Schools White Paper, we will fund schools to improve maternity pay, doubling the period of full pay from the current offer of four weeks to eight weeks for school teachers and leaders.

Additionally, building on the success of the current Flexible Working Ambassador Programme, as announced in the Schools White Paper, the government is investing in a new teacher retention programme from Autumn 2026. The programme will support schools to promote flexible working which will help schools to better support staff with caring responsibilities.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Department for Transport on their priorities for the 2026 UK-EU summit.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office Ministers and officials have regular and ongoing discussions with counterparts across the Department for Transport regarding a wide range of policy issues, including preparations for the upcoming 2026 UK-EU summit. These discussions are facilitated through established Cabinet Committee structures.

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 potential impact of parking fines on care workers providing in-home services; and if he will issue further (a) guidance and (b) introduce measures to support care workers who are required to park in close proximity to patients’ homes while carrying out their duties.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the impact of parking fines on care workers providing in‑home services.

Parking policy is devolved to local authorities, which already have the discretion to offer exemptions or dedicated permit schemes for health and social care workers where appropriate. At present, local authorities remain best placed to determine appropriate support and parking arrangements, taking account of local conditions and existing pressures.

We are introducing the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for adult social care. The Fair Pay Agreement will bring together employers, worker representatives, and other to negotiate play and terms and conditions for the sector. This is intended to improve pay, support recruitment, and retention.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with Integrated Care Boards in South East England on the suspension of funding for septoplasty, turbinate surgery and functional septorhinoplasty.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning National Health Services for their local populations and for deciding which treatments are routinely offered, based on clinical evidence, local need, and available resources. Decisions about individual services are taken locally, and the Department does not routinely intervene in these commissioning decisions.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of legal oversight and procedural safeguards in the enforcement processes used by the Child Maintenance Service; and if he will review (a) the process by which liability orders and summonses are issued, (b) the accuracy and treatment of historic arrears inherited from the Child Support Agency, and (c) the availability of data on outcomes for paying parents, including mortality rates.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) exists to ensure that children receive the financial support they are entitled to. When parents fail to financially support their children CMS have a range of enforcement powers that are provided for in the 1991 Child Support Act and the Collection and Enforcement regulations 1992. These include applying to the magistrates’ court for a Liability Order which gives formal recognition of debt a paying parent legally owes.

Decisions surrounding which enforcement method to proceed with are carefully considered by caseworkers based on the case circumstances and the welfare of any qualifying children involved. Parents have a right to challenge the decisions taken by the CMS through established dispute and appeal routes.

In 2018 an exercise to close all CSA cases with live liabilities was completed. As part of that, both parents were given the opportunity to challenge case information, including arrears balances, or decide whether the arrears should move to the CMS to be pursued.

The annual Separated Families statistics, in particular section 6, report the estimated financial impact of child maintenance on non-resident parent households, including both Child Maintenance Service (statutory) arrangements and private (non-statutory) arrangements. The quarterly Child Maintenance Service statistics, particularly sections 6 to 9, contain information on the compliance and enforcement of arrangements made via the service. The Department has no plans to publish mortality data or other additional data relating to Paying Parents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support research into Mast Cell Activation Syndrome; and what steps he is taking to improve training for NHS healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of that condition.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public, and the NIHR also funds global health research.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including mast cell activation syndrome. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/get-involved/suggest-a-research-topic

NHS England Specialised Commissioning has published a Service Specification for Specialist Allergy Services, which covers the responsibilities of specialised commissioned providers with regard to patients with mastocytosis and related disorders. This includes the expectation for specialist allergy services to be provided by multidisciplinary teams, led by physicians with evidence of training and/or experience in the practice of allergy or immunology. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/specialist-allergy-services-adults-service-specification-v2.9.pdf

The management of service users with mastocytosis is provided by specialised allergy/immunology, dermatology, and haematology services. The lead clinician will vary at different centres, but specialist allergy input should be readily available.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will review the findings of the Spanish Data Protection Agency regarding the handling of biometric and personal data by Yoti; what safeguards are in place to help ensure that the use of Yoti complies with UK data protection law and protects users’ privacy and online safety; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications of these issues for the development and public trust in any future Government-led digital identity scheme.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Yoti provides a range of digital identity and facial age estimation services, and its Digital ID app service is certified against the UK digital verification services trust framework. Services certified against the framework are entitled to be on a statutory register, providing the public and businesses with confidence that a service is safe, accurate and trustworthy.

Continued presence of Yoti’s service on that register should assure users of its compliance with the trust framework’s robust rules.

The department is aware of the findings of the Spanish Data Protection Agency regarding this app and has reported them to the independent conformity assessment body that certified Yoti’s service against the trust framework. If that body finds that the service isn’t following the framework, they will report the non-conformity to Yoti, which Yoti must either fix or lose their certification and registration.

If the department isn’t satisfied with the conformity assessment body’s assessment and determines that the trust framework isn’t being followed, we can remove services from the register independent of the certification process.

The Government’s digital ID scheme is currently under consultation, and any findings regarding Yoti’s service have no implications for its development.

Protection of historic green spaces

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

Recognition of armed forces personnel wounded in terrorist attacks outside of operational deployment

Congratulations to Hollie Davidson

Delay Repay scheme

Airport drop-off charges

Creative industries and the use of AI

Understanding of Tourette Syndrome

Leasehold reform (No. 3)

State visits to the US

Student finance system reform

Funding for rural Britain

Conflict in Lebanon

LGBTQ+ veterans

Sign Language Week

NHS funding for mental health services

Cyprus and UK Sovereign Base Areas

Buying community energy locally

NHS access to medical cannabis for children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands

Submit Evidence (by 18 May 2026)

The inquiry, which will cover both domestic and international tourism, will explore how the UK promotes itself overseas, the role of culture and heritage in attracting visitors and how the UK competes with other destinations.