Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the HL1033, 6 July 2026, how many times the audit trail for access to data on the National Data Integration Tenant has been reviewed or audited since its implementation, and what the outcomes of those audits were.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The current access management process for the National Data Integration Tenant (NDIT) was implemented in November 2025. All access and user activity is strictly monitored and audited by a dedicated NHS England team as part of a regular assurance process, as detailed in NHS England's response to the National Data Guardian, available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/nhs-federated-data-platform/security-privacy/response-to-the-national-data-guardians-request/

Audit logs are reviewed to confirm the actions undertaken by users. In addition, comprehensive access audits have been carried out in December 2025, for all NDIT users; and in March and May 2026, for a subset of users.

These additional audits have confirmed that users have the appropriate permissions in line with approved access, that access corresponds to the projects established on the NDIT, that the level of access remains appropriate and necessary, and that Security Check clearance has been correctly evidenced and remains in date.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England's guidance entitled Preventing unlawful access to patient records, published on the 8th July applies to a) data held in General Practice, b) data accessed from pharmacies participating in Pharmacy First, c) data held in the Federated Data Platform, d) NHS England national staff using the Federated Data Platform, and e) Palantir staff using the Federated Data Platform.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Stopping unlawful access to records guidance for health and care professionals applies to any patient data, and to anyone working in the National Health Service, or under contract to the NHS, with the potential to access patient records. This would include data held in general practice, data accessed from pharmacies participating in Pharmacy First, data held in the Federated Data Platform, NHS England national staff using the Federated Data Platform, and Palantir staff using the Federated Data Platform. The guidance can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/information-governance/guidance/stopping-unlawful-access-to-records/guidance-for-health-and-care-professionals

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for a list of models available of use on the NHS AI Platform, and the name of any intermediary entities between the NHS user and the model providers.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There currently is no National Health Service artificial intelligence platform. The Department therefore does not hold a list of models available for use on such a platform, nor a list of intermediary entities between NHS users and model providers for that purpose.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on (a) the use of artificial intelligence tools within the Federated Data Platform and (b) any capabilities for (i) summarisation, (b) research, (c) inference, and (d) timeline generation from patient data.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) includes artificial intelligence (AI) capability through the Artificial Intelligence Platform, and this supports AI-enabled workflows within the NHS FDP, subject to governance, access controls, information governance, and clinical safety requirements. These tools may be used to improve workflows, reduce administration time, support data pipeline development, and summarise information.

Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/nhs-federated-data-platform/security-privacy/nhs-fdp-information-governance-framework/local-fdp-products/artificial-intelligence-assisted-discharge-summary-ai-assisted-dsum-fdp-product-privacy-notice/

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether the Competition and Markets Authority has met with representatives of (a) Apple and (b) Google on the implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (2024) since October 2025.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Since October 2025, the CMA has met with representatives of Apple and Google on the implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The digital markets competition regime was designed to be highly participative, with engagement across a diverse range of stakeholders. In addition to meetings with firms designated with Strategic Market Status (SMS) in relevant areas of digital activity, CMA engagement has included publishers, specialist search providers, app developers, fintechs, cloud customers and other businesses and organisations affected by the regime.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including ear wax removal on the NHS for patients with a) severe build up of wax and b) those that wear hearing aids and struggle to remove the wax themselves.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to the Hon Member for Stockton West on 5 February 2026 to Question 109250.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of local government reorganisation in Devon on the governance and independence of Dartmoor National Park Authority; and what steps she will take to ensure that the Authority remains independent.

Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) programme for local government reorganisation will introduce changes to the local authorities responsible for providing board members for multiple National Parks in England, as laid out in legislation.

Defra is engaging closely with MHCLG to assess the impact of these changes and exploring options where changes may alter the local authority composition of the National Park Boards. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) programme for local government reorganisation will introduce changes to the local authorities responsible for providing board members for multiple National Parks in England, as laid out in legislation.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has for the governance of the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority during the transition to new unitary authorities; and how and when the Authority's interim constitutional arrangements and voting membership will be determined.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

As set out in the Summary of the local government reorganisation process, published on GOV.UK on 25 July 2025, secondary legislation will be prepared for the 14 areas involved, including Devon and Torbay. In parallel, the Government will undertake work to update the Strategic Authority’s existing legislation, ensuring that the Authority is able to operate effectively with the new local authority structures.

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (No. 2)

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescue operations

UK arms sales to Israel

50th anniversary of Torbay Civic Society

Torbay RNLI 160th anniversary

Devon maternity services

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Foster care system

NARPO Love or Money Campaign