Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency have received compensation through the Post Office Horizon redress schemes.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of 31 March 2025, the total amount of redress paid has increased by more than three and a half times since the beginning of July 2024, with £892 million having now been paid to over 6,200 claimants.
We do not provide information about redress recipients at this geographic level due to confidentiality. Releasing this type of information risks the identification of vulnerable individuals if combined with other information that may become available via other means outside of our control.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring guidance on the sale of (a) paracetamol and (c) ibuprofen into law.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Paracetamol and ibuprofen are well-known medicines for pain, which, when taken in line with the recommended posology, have well-established safety profiles. The vast majority of patients use paracetamol responsibly, as an effective pain-reliever. However, if taken in excess, it can cause serious physical harm.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) monitors the safety of medicines, including the sale of paracetamol and ibuprofen without a prescription. Paracetamol and ibuprofen may be obtained without a prescription, under the supervision of a pharmacist, or through general sales outlets. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012, Schedule 15, states that the maximum pack size for both paracetamol and ibuprofen that may be sold through general sales is 16 tablets. Larger packs, up to a maximum of 100 tablets, may be sold under the supervision of a pharmacist, where it becomes a prescription item.
The MHRA has recently updated the voluntary best practice guidance on the general sale of medicines for pain, to further highlight the risks of overdose, to address public concerns, and to recognise current sales techniques. Further risk mitigation measures are also being considered.
The update to the best practice guidance forms part of the suicide prevention strategy that is currently being developed, Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023 to 2028, which includes a reference to paracetamol, and which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-strategy-for-england-2023-to-2028
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on restarting civil-military cooperation with UNRWA.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has repeatedly set out our grave concern about the Government of Israel's legislation on the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and our support for UNRWA's vital work to provide essential services and humanitarian assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On 31 January, together with France and Germany, we shared our grave concern regarding the Government of Israel's implementation of UNRWA legislation and called on Israel to abide by its international obligations and responsibility to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic services to the civilian population. The Foreign Secretary continues to raise these issues with Israeli counterparts and discussed this with the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, on 14 March.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people are eligible for the Warm Home Discount Scheme in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The latest published Warm Home Discount statistics are for 2023/4 and use the constituency boundaries operating prior to the 2024 General Election. Most (84%) of the residential premises in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency come from Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency under the previous boundaries, in which 1,666 households received the Warm Home Discount rebate in 2023-24. The statistics only cover receipt of the Warm Home Discount and not eligibility.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on the arrest and detention of (a) Mahmoud Muna and (b) Ahmad Muna.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned by reports of the detention of Mahmoud and Ahmad Muna by the Israeli authorities. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv, and the British Consulate General in Jerusalem, tweeted to express concern at the police raid, and to reiterate our support for freedom of expression as a fundamental right. We continue to call on Israeli authorities to exercise restraint and adhere to international law.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce average waiting times to access independent tribunals to hear appeals from parents against Child Maintenance Service decisions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Appeals against Child Maintenance Service decisions are heard by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is part of the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.
Reducing the outstanding caseload is the key measure to bring down the waiting times for tribunal hearings. We are currently focused on reducing the outstanding caseload in the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology as appropriate. If an expedited hearing is requested, a Judge or Legal Officer will make a decision on that issue, taking all the circumstances into account.
Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money has been released through the Dormant Assets scheme in each year since it began.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Dormant Assets Scheme has unlocked over £1 billion of dormant assets for good causes. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes all funding between the four nations in the UK. This is done in accordance with the Distribution of Dormant Account Money Order 2011: England receives 83.9%; Scotland 8.4%; Wales 4.9%; and Northern Ireland 2.8%. DCMS is responsible for the English portion and the relevant Devolved Governments are responsible for their own portion.
As of 2023-2024, a total of £984.5 million has been allocated to the Dormant Assets Scheme in the UK:
2011/12: £47.5 million
2012/13: £49.5 million
2013/14: £83.3 million
2014/15: £49.1 million
2015/16: £36.6 million
2016/17: £94.3 million
2017/18: £152.6 million
2018/19: £71.3 million
2019/20: £68.7 million
2020/21: £90.1 million
2021/22: £53.4 million
2022/23: £92.9 million
2023/24: £95.2 million
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much money released by the Dormant Assets scheme has been allocated to Scotland in each year since the scheme began.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
To date, the Dormant Assets Scheme has unlocked over £1 billion for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes all funding between the four nations in the UK. This is done in accordance with the Distribution of Dormant Account Money Order 2011: England receives 83.9%; Scotland 8.4%; Wales 4.9%; and Northern Ireland 2.8%.
To date, £82.7 million has been allocated to Scotland:
2011/12: £4.0 million
2012/13: £4.1 million
2013/14: £7.0 million
2014/15: £4.1 million
2015/16: £3.1 million
2016/17: £7.9 million
2017/18: £12.8 million
2018/19: £6.0 million
2019/20: £5.8 million
2020/21: £7.6 million
2021/22: £4.5 million
2022/23: £7.8 million
2023/24: £8.0 million
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress his Department has made on strengthening national resilience.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As my Rt. Hon friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, set out in his statement to the House last week, we continue to make improvements to strengthen our national resilience.
In April the UK Resilience Academy will be launched and will train over 4000 people a year and;
Later this year we will undertake a full national pandemic response exercise.
The review of national resilience also continues. I will be inviting Members from across this House to attend drop-in sessions to discuss the review.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will hold discussions with the Manchester Breast Centre on the potential merits of providing additional support for their research into lobular breast cancer.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Cancer research is a critical priority for the Government. The Government does not ringfence funding for specific cancer types but is committed to supporting cancer research such as that conducted at Manchester Breast Centre. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, and The Department of Health and Social Care spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The Department of Health and Social Care is currently engaging with the sector to develop a new National Cancer Plan which will outline the Government’s strategy to improve outcomes for cancer patients, including lobular breast cancer.