Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help ensure that Givinostat is made available in for people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy across all NHS trusts areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department understands the impact that Duchenne muscular dystrophy has on those living with it and their families, and the urgent need for new treatment options.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS independently based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. NICE is currently evaluating givinostat for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and its independent Appraisal Committee will meet to consider the evidence in July 2025.
Ahead of NICE’s evaluation, ITF Pharma UK, the United Kingdom’s marketing authorisation holder for givinostat, is providing access to givinostat through a type of compassionate use scheme called an Early Access Programme (EAP). The delivery of timely and equitable access to new treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy under company-sponsored EAPs is not the responsibility of NHS England. Participation in company-led schemes is decided at an individual NHS trust level and under these programmes, the cost of the drug is free to both the patients taking part in it, and to the NHS, although NHS trusts must still cover administration costs and provide clinical resources to deliver the EAP.
NHS England has published guidance for integrated care systems (ICS) on free of charge medicines schemes, providing advice on potential financial, resourcing, and clinical risks.
ICSs should use the guidance to help determine whether to implement any free of charge scheme, including assessing suitability and any risks in the short, medium, and long term. The guidance is available at the following link:
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Spending Review 2025 on the number of Metropolitan Police officers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Paragraph 5.35 of the Spending Review document, published on 11 June, sets out the overall financial allocation for policing in England in Wales.
As usual, more detail on force funding allocations will be set out in the police settlement later this year.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ban trail hunting.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As per our manifesto, this Government will ban trail hunting. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of police funding increases being delivered primarily through rises in council tax precepts on local taxpayers.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government believes in empowering local decision-makers, including by ensuring they have the flexibility to generate their own income through council tax, while protecting residents from excessive increases.
Police precept levels for 2026/27 onwards remains subject to final decisions on precept which will be set out in the annual police funding settlement in the usual way. It will then be for individual police and crime commissioners to decide whether to use their full flexibility, balancing the extra spending with the tax burden on residents.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce permanent patient registration with NHS dental practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no current plans to introduce a system of patient registration for National Health Service dental practices.
Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly, and some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. NHS dentists are required to update their NHS website profiles at least every 90 days to ensure patients have up-to-date information on where they can access care.
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments per year. Integrated care boards have been making the extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects construction of Angel Hill Free School in Rosehill to begin.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Works at Angel Hill Free School are expected to commence in September 2025 subject to the contract being awarded in August.
Departmental officials working on the programme would be happy to meet to discuss the project in detail alongside the Trust.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Action Fraud on (a) proposals for crypto asset rules and (b) support for investigations into scams.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are replacing the current Action Fraud service with a new, improved service. The new service will provide better support services and reporting tools for victims, provide greater intelligence to law enforcement to support investigations, and allow for greater prevention and disruption at scale.
A phased introduction of the new service is now underway and will continue throughout 2025. Changes have already been made to improve the analysis of reports, the quality of intelligence drawn from them, and how quickly this is sent to police forces for investigation.
The new service has been designed to recognise crypto currency as both an enabler of frauds, such as investment fraud, and an enabler to the cashing out mechanism to realise the benefits of the criminal activity. This will ensure accurate reporting and deliver a greater understanding of the threat posed by crypto currency and how to tackle it more effectively.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce aviation carbon emissions by (a) introducing frequent flier levies and (b) reducing the use of domestic short haul flights where train alternatives exist.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering greener transport, supporting its missions to make Britain a clean energy superpower and kickstart economic growth.
We have already made significant strides to decarbonise the aviation sector including through the introduction of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate, legislating for a Revenue Certainty Mechanism to encourage investment in UK SAF production, and delivering a modernised airspace to help make flights more efficient and greener.
A frequent flyer levy is a taxation issue which is a matter for the Treasury. In the last Budget, the Chancellor announced changes to Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is the principal tax on the aviation sector. This included a 13% increase in APD rates for 2026/27 and a further 50% increase for larger private and business jets. APD generates revenue that funds government priorities, including tackling climate change.
Domestic air travel in the UK is vital for supporting jobs, trade and investment, and ensures regional connectivity. Alongside being a gateway to international opportunities, domestic flights help maintain social and family ties and strengthen the bonds between the four nations.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government has enacted the socioeconomic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 in England.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
We refer the Hon member to the answer given to question 48266 on 25 April 2025.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of English language requirements on British National (Overseas) visa holders seeking to (a) extend their stay and (b) apply for indefinite leave to remain for adult dependents in Sutton.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.