Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that bereaved parents who require specialist psychological support following (a) pregnancy and (b) baby loss are able to access such support through the NHS.

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

The Government recognises that the experience of losing a baby or pregnancy loss can be a very difficult time for parents and families. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support through the National Health Service.

Maternal Mental Health Services (MMHS) provide expert assessment and treatment for women experiencing moderate to severe or complex mental health difficulties due to loss, trauma, or severe fear of childbirth, known as tokophobia, related to their maternity or neonatal experiences. Referrals are typically made through a general practitioner, midwife, or health visitor, although some MMHS accept self-referrals.

The NHS also provides mental health support for bereaved parents through Talking Therapies services and specialist hospital-based bereavements teams. All NHS England trusts have signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, which acts as a set of standard and guidance aimed at ensuring all families, including fathers and partners, receive consistent, individualised, and sensitive care.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teacher training and continuing professional development programmes include awareness of the specific needs of the children of armed forces personnel, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

As part of our consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group, to hear first-hand from armed forces families about the challenges they face.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper set out proposals for a package of professional development on SEND, backed by over £200 million of funding.

This includes a new requirement in the SEND Code of Practice that will ensure all mainstream staff receive high‑quality SEND and inclusion training.

We have reformed the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework to include more content on adaptive teaching. From 2027, teaching staff can sign up to new courses that enhance their knowledge of adaptive teaching styles to meet the special educational needs of a wide range of pupils, which could include those from armed forces’ families.

We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) freezing fuel duty and (b) the introduction of a 12-month Vehicle Excise Duty for heavy good vehicles on the road haulage sector; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing (a) an essential user rebate and (b) further targeted support for the sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

On 20 May the Government announced a package worth around £600m, which combines broad support with targeted support for sectors most exposed to and affected by higher fuel prices.

Concerning the broad support, the temporary 5p per litre fuel duty cut will be extended until the end of the year, providing certainty to motorists and other road users. Taken together, fuel duty freezes since 2025 will save the average HGV over £2,000, or 11p per litre. Further information on the impacts of the amended fuel duty rates is available on GOV.UK.

The 12-month holiday from Vehicle Excise Duty for the majority of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will save a typical HGV £600 on top of savings from the fuel duty freeze. This targeted support recognises the key role the sector plays in transporting goods across the UK and their exposure to pump prices.

The Government keeps all taxes under review and will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary decisions to help protect the haulage sector from price increases stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to introduce an essential user rebate on fuel costs for haulage, van and coach operators, in addition to the recent extension of the fuel duty freeze and the 12‑month Vehicle Excise Duty holiday.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government keeps all taxes under review and will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary decisions to help protect households and businesses from price increases from the conflict in the Middle East. The Government’s priorities will continue to be helping families with the cost of living, including through protecting the public finances to support the Bank of England with its role in keeping inflation as low as possible

In addition to the recent extension of the fuel duty freeze and the 12-month Vehicle Excise Duty holiday for HGV's, the Government also announced the first uprating of mileage rates for employees using their own vehicle for work and the self-employed who use the simplified expenses rates, back-dated to April, recognising pressures facing these drivers. Mileage rates for cars and vans will increase for2026/27 from 45p to 55p for the first 10,000 miles, and 25p thereafter, with effect from 6 April 2026. Looking ahead and beyond 2026/27, the Government has already committed to a review of these rates and will set this out at the Budget.

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 establish national accountability for improving brain cancer outcomes, including the development of a time sensitive clinical trials pipeline; and whether he plans to introduce ring fenced funding to support delivery in that area.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan, published on the 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. The role of the reformed National Cancer Board will be to support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and provide regular updates to ministers.

To hold us accountable across these commitments, and to drive forward progress for rare cancer patients, we will appoint a National Clinical Lead for Rare Cancers, who will bring accountability, to oversee performance against the rare cancers commitments in the plan, including for brain cancer. They will sit on the reformed National Cancer Board and will play an important advisory role in supporting and monitoring delivery of the commitments set out in the National Cancer Plan. This role is separate to the National Specialty Lead for Rare Cancers appointed under the Rare Cancers Act 2026, which will be based in the National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) Research Delivery Network and will support research delivery for rare cancers.

The Department invests over £1.8 billion each year on research through the NIHR. Cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.

We are committed to furthering our investment in brain cancer research and have already taken steps to stimulate scientific progress and build scientific capacity to do research on brain cancer. For example, in December 2025 an initial NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium award of £13.7 million was confirmed. In January 2026, the NIHR announced further investment of a minimum of £11.7 million in the Consortium through the funding of work packages. This brings the Consortium funding to over £25 million over its lifespan.

It is not the usual process of the NIHR to ringfence funds for research into specific conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including brain cancer. Our approach to funding research is through open and fair competition and peer review to ensure that the highest-quality proposals, most likely to deliver real impact for patients, are funded without imposing financial targets or limits.

The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with brain cancer, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials, and innovative, lifesaving treatments through the NIHR.

As set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan and reinforced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Department is committed to cutting the current time it takes to get a clinical trial set up, to under 150 days, with the aim of increasing access to patients and making the United Kingdom a world leader in clinical trials. The Life Sciences Sector Plan and the 10-Year Health Plan for England are available at the following two links respectively:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/life-sciences-sector-plan

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future

Data published in April 2026 shows that the median average set-up time for commercial interventional trials in the first six months of 2025/26 was 122 days, down from 169 days in the same period last year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on how care leavers aged up to 25 should evidence their entitlement to free NHS prescriptions, dental treatment and eye care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health is progressing work to operationalise the extension of free National Health Service prescriptions, dental treatment and eye care services for care leavers up to 25 years old. We will ensure that clear information is provided on the arrangements, including the process for validating care leaver status.

Found: Calvin Bailey; Alex Baker; Lincoln Jopp; Emma Lewell; Mike Martin; Jesse Norman; Ian Roome; Michelle Scrogham