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 impact of supply chain issues surrounding the importing of Creon into the United Kingdom on patients with pancreatic diseases; and what steps he is taking to increase the amount of Creon being imported into the United Kingdom.

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

The Department has been working with suppliers to address the current supply issues with Creon, which is a brand of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative PERT medications.

The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term by asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers of unlicensed medicine to understand whether they can source unlicensed imports of Creon to help mitigate this supply issue. Where such imports have been sourced, the Department has worked with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to expedite regulatory processes.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing indexation of pension rights accrued before April 1997.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is for sponsoring employers to decide what pension benefits they offer, provided these meet minimum standards. These benefits are set out in the scheme rules. It would not be appropriate for the Government to interfere in decisions made by individual schemes, beyond setting clear, affordable minimum standards that apply to all.

Pensions legislation does not usually apply new provisions retrospectively to rights that have already been accrued. It is generally seen to be unreasonable to add liabilities to pension schemes that could not have been taken into account in the funding assumptions that determined the contributions to be paid at the time. In some cases, the additional, unplanned liabilities could result in significant additional contributions from the sponsoring employer, and could ultimately threaten the future viability of some schemes.

It is important to achieve a balance between providing members with some measure of protection against inflation and not increasing schemes’ costs beyond a level that schemes and employers can generally afford.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 101 of the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she plans to postpone local authority elections in Kent in 2025.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I will consider any requests I receive to postpone the May 2025 local authority elections in Kent and Warwickshire only where this will help the areas to deliver both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeframe – either through the Devolution Priority Programme or where reorganisation is necessary to unlock devolution or open up new devolution options. As I set out in my letter of 16 December to those councils, I will need a clear commitment to these aims, including a request from the council(s) whose election is to be postponed, on or before Friday 10 January.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a Medicines Shortages Task Force.

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

While there are no plans to establish a Medicines Shortages Task Force, there is a team within the Department that deals specifically with medicine supply problems. They work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when shortages do arise.

The resilience of United Kingdom’s supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues, and avoid shortages for patients. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen our resilience. However, medicine shortages are a complex and global issue and everyone in the supply chain has a role to play in addressing them, as any action will require a collaborative approach.

There are approximately 14,000 medicines licensed for supply in the UK, and while most are in good supply, there can sometimes be supply issues with a limited number of medicines. Supply disruption is an issue which affects the UK, as well as the other countries around the world. High-profile medicine supply issues have been global in their nature.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding (a) water meadows and (b) other natural water management strategies.

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

Nature and catchment-based solutions in the water sector have an important role to play. Natural flood management (NFM) is a key part of our approach to mitigating flood risk, and can involve floodplain meadows when designed and located appropriately

Natural England support the role of nature-based solutions (NBS), like water meadows in resolving multiple pressures on the water environment. NBS are a core pillar of Natural England’s five-year aims.

The Environment Agency is increasingly looking to nature to enhance ecosystem services, reduce risks, and build resilience in rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters. Using NBS involves protecting existing natural functions, restoring ecosystems, and recreating landscapes. NBS benefit wildlife, food security, and resilience to floods and droughts. Restoring floodplains and water meadows reduces pollution from intensive agriculture while improving aquifer recharge, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity (CIEEM, 2022). Projects like Mires for Moors show how peatland restoration and upland reforestation reduce runoff, prevent sewer overflows, and mitigate flooding, as seen in the Ullswater Catchment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 16106 on Overseas Students: Ukraine, whether students who have extended visas under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme and whose graduation date falls after the expiration of that visa will (a) be allowed to remain to complete their studies and (b) retain home fee status for the duration of their course.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Those granted permission under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme will receive the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as provided under the existing Ukraine Schemes.

Individuals with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes will have access to standard immigration routes to remain in the UK, in order to complete higher education courses they commence during their initial period of permission.

Where a person's Ukraine scheme permission expires during their course of study and they are granted further permission to remain under one of the standard immigration routes, they will continue to be eligible to access student support and home fee status while they complete their studies.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a water meadow on the flow from South Tunbridge Wells Waste Treatment Works into the River Grom.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) continues to regulate Southern Water (SW) in the Tunbridge Wells area, including through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). The EA also monitor SW’s permit compliance to drive required improvements. More widely, The Environment Agency are working with the wider community through the Medway Catchment Partnership to improve the quality of waterways in Kent.

As Southern Water’s proposals for the next five-year Asset Management Period (AMP8) have not yet been agreed with Ofwat, the Environment Agency are unable to comment on future plans in the area. The Environment Agency will however make assessments of future schemes as appropriate.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Independent Water Commission will have powers to approve natural water management approaches.

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

On 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

The scope of the commission is detailed in its terms of reference, available on GOV.UK. It includes specific mention of enabling the greater use of nature-based solutions where these represent good value for money.

The commission will provide a report to the Government by Q2 2025 with recommendations to the Secretary of State and Welsh ministers. Once the commission has made recommendations, both Governments will respond and consult on proposals, including potential legislation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to raise the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's ruling that the United Arab Emirates has unlawfully detained Ryan Cornelius with the government of that country.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The FCDO takes the opinions of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention seriously. We continue to provide consular assistance to Mr Cornelius and his case has been raised at senior levels, highlighting the Government's support for his appeal for clemency.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a British supplier of Creon.

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

The Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with Creon, which is a brand of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative PERT medications.

The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term by asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers of unlicensed medicine to understand whether they can source unlicensed imports of Creon to help mitigate this supply issue. Where such imports have been sourced, the Department has worked with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to expedite regulatory processes.

There are no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a British supplier of Creon. However, we have established incentives to encourage United Kingdom life sciences manufacture, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.

Protecting children from sexual abuse

Cuts to the International Development Budget

Government response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on communication of changes to women’s State Pension age