Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of self collected vaginal swabs in NHS cervical screening, and what steps he is taking to ensure that patients who are not able to undertake self sampling continue to have access to clinician led screening.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Statement HCWS732 made on 24 June 2025, which is available at the following link, and makes clear that the provision of this additional service does not affect the right to continue accessing clinician led screening:

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-06-24/hcws732

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of independent training providers to meeting skills needs in the industrial, energy and net zero sectors; and what steps she is taking to ensure independent training providers have access to adequate and sustainable funding.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department assesses the contribution of training providers to meeting skills needs through analysis of delivery, provider capacity and employer demand, alongside Skills England’s assessment of national and local skills needs.

This includes provision supporting industrial, clean energy and net zero sectors.

Independent training providers are an important part of the skills system and can access government funding through programmes and contracts for which they are eligible, including apprenticeships. The department reviews provider capacity, delivery, and employer demand to assess how skills provision funded by the government is meeting the needs of priority sectors.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered establishing a formal review mechanism for Freeport tax sites that have not delivered the (a) investment and (b) employment outcomes anticipated.

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

All 12 Freeports across the UK are now operational, with tax sites designated through secondary legislation. Freeports are attracting private investment, creating jobs and supporting local growth.

The Government continues to review the programme through ongoing monitoring and assurance arrangements and plans to evaluate and assess the impact to inform any future changes or enhancements.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department can amend the boundaries of an existing Freeport tax site through secondary legislation.

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

All 12 Freeports across the UK are now operational, with tax sites designated through secondary legislation. Freeports are attracting private investment, creating jobs and supporting local growth.

The Government continues to review the programme through ongoing monitoring and assurance arrangements and plans to evaluate and assess the impact to inform any future changes or enhancements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential use of geographically targeted Emergency Alerts to assist police in cases involving missing children and vulnerable adults who are considered to be at immediate or significant risk.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This government remains firmly committed to working to ensure that anyone who is reported missing to the police receives an equal, thorough and swift response, including a robust multiagency response. We are also working to improve support for all missing persons and their families during a missing incident and investigations.

We are very fortunate in the UK in that the public and the media respond with huge interest and support for missing or abducted child cases, including to try and help police and safeguarding partners with investigations to locate a missing child as quickly as possible. Police Forces also have well established media departments which can effectively get messages out to the public quickly and effectively without the need for national co-ordination and with appropriate safeguarding regard for children across the country.

The Cabinet Office has responsibility for the Emergency Alert System. Each new Emergency Alert is carefully coordinated with responding public bodies and agencies and each request is evaluated by the Cabinet Office on a rigorous, case-by-case basis to ensure it is necessary for public safety. At this time there are no plans to add missing persons alerts to this alert system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of NHS prescribing guidance on access to lidocaine plasters on patients with chronic neuropathic pain who have previously experienced clinical benefit from that treatment.

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

There has been no assessment of the potential impact on patients with chronic neuropathic pain following publication of NHS England guidance on items which should not routinely be prescribed in primary care. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/items-which-should-not-routinely-be-prescribed-in-primary-care-policy-guidance/

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing opportunities for pupils to learn British Sign Language as part of the school curriculum.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department recognises the benefits that learning British Sign Language (BSL) can bring to both students and the wider deaf community. Learning BSL can help develop communication skills, increase understanding of deaf culture and experiences, and promote inclusion and accessibility within schools and wider society.

The national curriculum does not prescribe specific languages that schools must teach and schools have discretion over which languages they offer. Schools may choose to teach BSL in primary and secondary schools to support the needs and interests of their pupils.

The department, working with the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual), has developed the content and assessment arrangements for a BSL GCSE.

Following the publication of Ofqual's final qualification rules for the BSL GCSE, awarding organisations are now able to develop detailed specifications that will form the basis of the content taught in schools and colleges.

Decisions on whether to develop qualification specifications are for exam boards. Any specifications developed by exam boards will need to be accredited by Ofqual before they are available to schools.

I have written to the exam boards to encourage them to seize the opportunity to offer this important qualification.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of National Minimum Wage rules on access to the Cycle to Work Scheme for low paid workers; and whether he is considering alternative mechanisms to enable workers who cannot participate through salary sacrifice to receive equivalent financial support.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Cycle to Work scheme supports employees who choose to travel to work by bicycle by providing Income Tax and National Insurance contributions relief to employers and employees where the scheme is operated through salary sacrifice arrangements.

Employees earning at or near the National Minimum Wage (NMW) cannot enter into a salary sacrifice arrangement if doing so would reduce their contractual pay below the applicable NMW rate. This restriction helps maintain the integrity of the NMW framework and ensures that workers continue to benefit from its protections regardless of how their remuneration package is structured.

Employees who cannot access the tax advantages of the scheme through salary sacrifice may still be able to access cycles provided by their employer, for example through net-pay hire arrangements or workplace cycle pools where these are offered.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department provides to NHS commissioners and home oxygen suppliers on determining appropriate oxygen cylinder provision for patients with cluster headaches; and what steps he is taking to ensure that reductions in prescribed oxygen supply are based on individual clinical need.

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

Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management (CG150), published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and last updated in June 2025, sets out recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of cluster headaches.

CG150 recommends referral for specialist assessment where appropriate, and that appropriate access to home and portable oxygen therapy may be provided for patients with cluster headaches, according to individual clinical assessment and need.

Building on NICE guidance, regional National Health Service home oxygen service specifications provide a framework for commissioners and suppliers to ensure the provision of oxygen therapy for people with cluster headaches is clinically appropriate and responsive to individual need.

Commissioners and providers are expected to take this guidance into account when planning and delivering services. Patients whose clinical needs cannot be met locally may be referred to specialist centres, including those outside their local area, where appropriate.

Through its neurology workstream, the Getting It Right First Time Programme is also supporting more consistent and effective neurological services, helping to improve access to specialist expertise for patients with conditions such as cluster headaches.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of NHS specialist pathways for patients with cluster headaches; and what steps he is taking to improve access to clinicians with appropriate expertise, including where patients require specialist treatment outside their local area.

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

Headaches in over 12s: diagnosis and management (CG150), published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and last updated in June 2025, sets out recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of cluster headaches.

CG150 recommends referral for specialist assessment where appropriate, and that appropriate access to home and portable oxygen therapy may be provided for patients with cluster headaches, according to individual clinical assessment and need.

Building on NICE guidance, regional National Health Service home oxygen service specifications provide a framework for commissioners and suppliers to ensure the provision of oxygen therapy for people with cluster headaches is clinically appropriate and responsive to individual need.

Commissioners and providers are expected to take this guidance into account when planning and delivering services. Patients whose clinical needs cannot be met locally may be referred to specialist centres, including those outside their local area, where appropriate.

Through its neurology workstream, the Getting It Right First Time Programme is also supporting more consistent and effective neurological services, helping to improve access to specialist expertise for patients with conditions such as cluster headaches.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve communication and information sharing between Gender Identity Services and GPs on patients under their care to help ensure that GPs have the information needed to provide appropriate ongoing care.

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

The Government is committed to people being able to move to another local authority or health and social care trust area in the United Kingdom without worrying that their care and support could be interrupted, including transgender patients. We encourage anybody that changes their general practice (GP) or moves out of their area to retain information such as their NHS number, which can make it easier for a new GP to find medical records.

If appropriate, specialised NHS Gender Services and GPs may enter into a shared care agreement to ensure ongoing, continuity of care for a patient, and all relevant medical information should be shared between NHS Gender Services and the GP.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure continuity of care for transgender patients receiving treatment from Gender Identity Services when they change GP or move out of area.

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

The Government is committed to people being able to move to another local authority or health and social care trust area in the United Kingdom without worrying that their care and support could be interrupted, including transgender patients. We encourage anybody that changes their general practice (GP) or moves out of their area to retain information such as their NHS number, which can make it easier for a new GP to find medical records.

If appropriate, specialised NHS Gender Services and GPs may enter into a shared care agreement to ensure ongoing, continuity of care for a patient, and all relevant medical information should be shared between NHS Gender Services and the GP.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase funding for research into childhood brain tumours, and to improve diagnosis, treatment, care and support for children with brain tumours and their families.

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

Further to the answer provided on 25 June in response to Question 9944, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has announced the co-funding of a new partnership alongside the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission and the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity to support the development of the next generation of specialists caring for children with brain tumours. Further details can be found at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/nihr-and-partners-launch-paediatric-brain-tumour-fellowship

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