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 potential merits of introducing routine finger-prick blood glucose testing or urine testing for children who display one or more recognised symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A national task and finish group has been established by NHS England which brings together key experts from across the health system, including academia/research and leading national clinicians, to jointly assess the opportunities and challenges that are associated with a national screening programme for diabetes and to inform future national policy.

Through our National Institute for Health and Care Research, we have supported the establishment of the Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes, or “ELSA” study. This study is exploring the feasibility and benefits of screening for type 1 diabetes.

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 ensure that Integrated Care Boards can continue to provide consistent care and support to service users while restructuring processes are ongoing.

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

As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, integrated care boards (ICBs) will become strategic commissioners with responsibility for using multi-year budgets to enhance local population health while achieving efficiencies. This will help to support the delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future.

ICBs must continue to deliver their statutory responsibilities and will work with NHS England to ensure this is done effectively within the running costs allowance with savings reinvested in frontline services to deliver better care for patients.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of delays to the renewal of vocational licenses by the DVLA on the finances of professional drivers.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Straightforward applications for vocational driving licences are being processed within normal turnaround times of ten working days. Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued.

The DVLA is currently rolling out a new casework system which is expected to deliver significant improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions. When fully implemented, this will provide improved turnaround times, increased capacity and automation, higher levels of digital functionality and digital communication. The DVLA is also planning to launch a new medical services platform which will enable more customers to transact online and will increase the use of email communication.

The DVLA is also developing an online service for the renewal of vocational licences and this will enable more customers to transact online.

Applicants renewing an existing l licence may be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/inf1886-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of early years SEND support capacity in North East Lincolnshire; and what support her Department is providing to ensure early identification and intervention for children aged under five.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We aim to set up every child, in every local authority, to have the best start in life and this includes delivering access to high quality early education and childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

On 7 July, we published our commitment to Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support. We also will increase the funding available to early years providers to support children with SEND.

On 4 December, we announced access to early SEND support across the country through Best Start Family Hubs. In every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting a dedicated SEND practitioner for every Hub to provide direct, family-facing support. The new offer will help parents understand their child’s development, identify emerging needs sooner, and support vital join-up between early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.

We have also invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's funding for grassroots football clubs in (a) England, (b) areas of high deprivation and (c) Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport, including football, and ensuring everyone has access to quality sport. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review.

This is on top of an additional £100 million we’re providing through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme through to April 2026. Of the funding, 50% will go to the 30% most deprived local authority areas.

Since 2022, grassroots clubs in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes received a total of £1,950,933 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which funds projects such as goalposts and changing pavilions.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Football Association which will receive up to £37.9 million for seven years from 2022 to 2029 to support grassroots football clubs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration her Department has made of possible exemptions for health care workers on indefinite leave to remain rules to ensure sufficient staffing levels remain within the NHS.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation. The final model will also be subject to an economic impact assessment, which we have committed to publish in due course.

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 savings to the NHS from reducing the number of failed or repeated prescriptions for the same item.

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

No specific assessment has been made.

As part of providing National Health Service pharmaceutical services, pharmacy contractors are required to dispense all prescriptions reasonably promptly. If there is an issue with a prescription, such as an error on the prescription or duplicate prescriptions, pharmacy teams are expected to raise the issue with the patient and use their professional judgement on how to proceed. This may include referring back to the general practitioner (GP) if the prescription needs to be changed, for example if the product prescribed is not available and the GP needs to consider what alternative would be suitable. If a prescription is not dispensed to the patient, the pharmacy will not be paid for that prescription.

Prescribers are responsible for ensuring that suitable arrangements are in place for monitoring, follow-up, and review of any prescription-only medicines. Prescribers, pharmacies, and patients share responsibility to ensure patients are only receiving the medication they require.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with packaging manufacturers and distributors on the financial sustainability of Extended Producer Responsibility, and what steps she is taking to reflect the concerns of business in her policy.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has engaged extensively with packaging manufacturers, distributors and representative bodies as part of the development of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme. This engagement has included public consultations, technical working groups, bilateral meetings, and ongoing discussions through industry forums.

The Government has carefully considered the concerns raised by business. We are aware of industry concerns around producers being charged pEPR disposal fees for the management of packaging that is disposed of in commercial streams. At a roundtable with industry chaired by me on 10 June it was agreed to establish an industry led group to develop approaches to remove dual use packaging that is unlikely to end up in household waste stream from obligation. This work is now well advanced, and my department is carefully reviewing proposed approaches and will seek to balance sectoral ambitions against the operational integrity of the scheme.  We will continue to engage with industry during this process as we seek to establish a final approach.

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 impact of alterations to indefinite leave to remain rules on NHS staffing levels.

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

There have been no recent alterations to indefinite leave to remain rules. However, the Government has launched a consultation on proposals to reform the current settlement rules in favour of an “earned settlement” model, that considers factors such as contribution, integration, and conduct. The consultation, which runs until February 2026, seeks views on how these reforms should apply to different groups, including health and care workers. The consultation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement

Found: following Members made oral representations: • Wera Hobbhouse: Cost of Energy • Gideon Amos and Melanie Onn