Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the forthcoming Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty will (a) improve the quality and consistency of dementia data and (b) improve data capture on dementia at the local level.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

We are considering all options to help reduce waiting times and improve dementia diagnosis and care, including reviewing targets, metrics, and data.

We are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with frailty and dementia, and as part of this exercise, we will develop a list of best evidenced interventions following analysis of the evidence gathering exercise submissions and wider research.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the context of The Children’s Society’s latest report which highlighted the importance of low-cost activity options for parents during the school holidays, what steps her Department is taking to widen the availability of low-cost holiday activities for children through museums, libraries and leisure centres, which are not covered by the temporary VAT relief on family activities.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

This government recognises the importance of our treasured museums, libraries and leisure centres in providing free and low-cost activities for families during the school holidays.

This government is providing billions over this Spending Review period to support our celebrated cultural institutions, such as National Museums or to Libraries via the Libraries Improvement Fund, to ensure cultural activity is accessible to all.

This builds on the existing VAT refund scheme (VAT 33a) available to museums and galleries that offer free admission, and a VAT cultural exemption scheme for eligible bodies that removes the VAT from ticket sales.

DCMS has also committed £400 million to transform sports and leisure facilities over the next four years to promote health, wellbeing and community cohesion for all.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the availability of guidance to parents following the planned social media ban for under 16s; what steps her Department will take to involve parents in the protection of their children online; whether her Department has assessed the risks of AI chatbot functions which are not covered by the planned regulation on sexualised AI chatbots including, harmful advice, over-reliance and emotional dependency and what steps her Department is taking to address the high-risk features of messaging platforms which are not addressed by the up-coming ban including disappearing content, which can perpetuate practises such as intimate-image abuse.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The government will provide a package of support for parents and carers to support children in navigating the online world safely. This includes an expanded media literacy campaign and Kids Online Safety Hub, providing advice, practical tools and support to help parents and carers support their children in navigating the online world safely and confidently.

The government will also restrict risky features, including contact with strangers, across a wider range of services - banning them for under-16s and making them off by default for 16 and 17-year-olds. The government also announced that we will make it impossible for children to take, share or view naked pictures on their devices.

Finally, we have announced mandatory breaks for under-18s using chatbots, alongside committing to stronger action to address dangerous, misleading or unverified mental health advice.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of childcare support for parents seeking to enter or return to employment; whether she has assessed the extent to which the number of funded childcare hours available aligns with the working patterns of parents undertaking part-time employment; and whether she plans to review (a) eligibility criteria for childcare support, (b) the availability of funded childcare outside term time and (c) the accessibility of childcare provision in locations close to where families live and work.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We are investing over £1 billion more in the early years entitlements this year compared to 2025/26 and an above inflation increase to entitlements funding rates. In 2026/27, we expect to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements. Coram–PACEY’s 2026 Childcare Survey found that the expansion of 30 hours of funded childcare significantly reduced costs for eligible working parents in England, in some cases making part time childcare effectively free during term time. In addition to funding increases, we are committing to consult on changes to how early years funding is allocated and distributed as part of the ongoing review of childcare provision and regulation.

By allowing funded hours to be stretched across the year, deducting closures from calculations, and enabling mixed‑provider models, the system is designed to work alongside all‑year childcare businesses, managing funding and fees transparently and within national limits, broadening parental choice.

We continue to monitor the sufficiency of childcare places; the key measure being the supply of available places is sufficient to meet requirements.

Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006 states local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient in their area.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve mental health and wellbeing in young people through the expansion of Mental Health Support Teams in schools.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early mental health support.

As of March 2026, 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England are covered by an MHST, including 79% of pupils in state-funded secondary schools. We estimate that MHST coverage will reach 66% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England by the end of the 2026/27 financial year.

We plan to accelerate the rollout of MHSTs in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029.

More information on MHSTs can be found at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/ and data for 2025/2026 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-support-teams-coverage-and-school-and-college-experience.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the context of the (a) Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s decision to cease paying volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers for their time and (b) financial costs associated with providing this voluntary service, what steps her Department is taking to help mitigate the financial impacts on volunteers of providing this service.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Plans to move the Coastguard Rescue Service to an expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead, and current arrangements will remain in place. We will now take time to gather the robust information required to understand the full operational implications of future decisions, as well as the impact on individual Coastguard Rescue Officers and the choices they will make. This will involve engaging with CROs directly and ensuring that their views inform the decisions that we will take on the shape of the Coastguard Rescue Service.

Serving CROs are entitled to compensation for up to the previous six years of service, in line with the Court of Appeal judgment regarding worker status. The MCA will calculate each person’s entitlement and contact individuals.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) what the average waiting time is between a Personal Independence Payment appeal being lodged and his Department submitting its response to HM Courts and Tribunals Service, (b) what the average waiting time is between a Personal Independence Payment appeal being lodged and a tribunal hearing date being set, and (c) what steps he is taking, in collaboration with HMCTS, to reduce these delays for people in Eastleigh constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

The mean and median waiting time between a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeal being lodged and the Department submitting its response to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), for initial clearances and award review clearances in the calendar year 2025, was 5 weeks.

The Department does not hold data on when a tribunal hearing date is set. This information is in the domain of HMCTS.

We are increasing resources available for writing appeal responses by redeploying staff and making overtime available.

We are also looking to make appeal writing more efficient by improving the programme that decision makers use. The improved tool will integrate better with other DWP computer systems, which will make it faster and easier to use than the current process.

We will continue working to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey so people get the support they are entitled to without needing to appeal.

Merchant Navy Day

Retirement of Godfrey Asare and Margaret Labulo from the Members' Tea Room

Richard Pengelly

Hampshire Day 2026

30 years of the Spice Girls

Duty to assess mental capacity

Carbon monoxide alarms

Found: also present (Standing Order No. 137A): Dame Caroline Dinenage Mr James Frith Natasha Irons Liz Jarvis

Found: Hampshire) Dr Rupa Huq (Labour; Ealing Central and Acton) Natasha Irons (Labour; Croydon East) Liz Jarvis

Found: Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Natasha Irons; Liz Jarvis

Found: Hampshire) Dr Rupa Huq (Labour; Ealing Central and Acton) Natasha Irons (Labour; Croydon East) Liz Jarvis