Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will formally include air ambulance charities within national fuel resilience and prioritisation planning.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK benefits from a diverse and resilient fuel supply chain and remains well supplied across all fuel types. The Government regularly reviews which organisations provide essential services within the context of the National Emergency Plan for Fuel. This includes consideration of air ambulance charities, recognising the vital role they play in emergency response and patient care.
A summary of the National Emergency Plan for Fuel is published on gov.uk and sets out measures to respond to fuel supply and distribution disruption. In the unlikely event of a sustained disruption, these arrangements enable fuel to be prioritised for essential services and critical supply chains.
The Government does not assess that the current situation warrants, or is approaching, the threshold for the use of emergency powers.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to make a decision on whether the Federated Data Platform and Associated Services contract with Palantir Technologies will be extended; and what contingency plans his Department has in place to ensure ongoing provision of the programme if that contract is ended.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
We continually assess performance against the contract, and performance of the programme as a whole, and publish data on uptake and benefits each quarter. The National Health Service Federated Data Platform (FDP) programme is significantly exceeding its benefits forecast and has exceeded every target since it’s ‘go live’ in March 2024. It is also assessed regularly by the Government's National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, on behalf of HM Treasury. The NHS FDP is one of only 14% of Government major programmes to receive a ‘Green’ rating in July 2025, indicating that the FDP is on track.
In line with Government commercial function standards and contract management best practice, we shall be reviewing the FDP and Associated Services (FDP-AS) contract with a decision anticipated to be made this year on extension.
As part of ongoing and regular contract reviews of the FDP-AS, due consideration is given as to how benefits and outcomes are protected, and whether there is an extension or not. In the event of the contract ending, there are clear Exit Management provisions which would take effect. As with any change programme, there are many aspects that require planning and resource, including delivery of associated procurement activity, mobilising the replacement solutions, managing business change, in particularly supporting users, and managing the exit from existing contracts, the latter inclusive of service continuity during change activity.
The contract has a number of measures built in to facilitate exit and transition, including clear intellectual property rights in NHS build products or components.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to her Department's document entitled FCDO archive inventory, updated on 12 March 2025, what steps her Department is taking to review and make available records relating to policy in Palestine, including UID 1454 and 1790.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last year, the UK made the historic decision to recognise the state of Palestine, noting that our commitment to supporting long-term peace stems not only from the current crisis but also from our historic responsibility to the region's security. Available materials about the UK's role during the Mandate for Palestine can be readily accessed from the National Archives.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies on the Israel-Palestine conflict of the UK's role during the Mandate for Palestine.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last year, the UK made the historic decision to recognise the state of Palestine, noting that our commitment to supporting long-term peace stems not only from the current crisis but also from our historic responsibility to the region's security. Available materials about the UK's role during the Mandate for Palestine can be readily accessed from the National Archives.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 help (a) ensure that the BREAKWATER treatment protocol for patients with BRAF‑mutated bowel cancer is evaluated and funded as a matter of urgency, and (b) secure equal access to this protocol for patients across the UK.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines and licence extensions for existing medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims wherever possible to issue guidance for the NHS on new medicines close to the time of licensing, and cancer drugs are eligible for funding from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation.
The BREAKWATER study is investigating encorafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in combination with cetuximab and fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for the potential treatment of colorectal cancer. This regimen does not currently have a United Kingdom marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of previously untreated BRAF V600E mutation positive metastatic colorectal cancer. NICE has prioritised an appraisal of encorafenib for this indication in anticipation of it being granted a UK marketing authorisation and will schedule the appraisal so that guidance can be published as close as possible to the expected licensing date. Further information on the appraisal’s status is publicly available on NICE’s website at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/awaiting-development/gid-ta11961
The clinical trial was assessed and approved in the UK and is currently active, with further information available at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04607421?term=BREAKWATER&viewType=Card&rank=1
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, asking what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the General Practice Contract 2026–27 for England on a) patient safety and b) the long-term sustainability of general practice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England assessed the potential impacts of the proposed changes to the GP Contract on patient safety and the long-term sustainability of general practices (GPs) for 2026/27 throughout the policy-development process.
In early 2026, we concluded the 2026/27 GP Contract consultation. This year we expanded the consultation to engage with wider stakeholders across GPs and patient voice organisations. These were the General Practitioners Committee England, the Royal College of General Practitioners, National Voices, the Institute of General Practice Management, Healthwatch England, NHS Confederation, now NHS Alliance following its merge with NHS Providers, and the National Association of Primary Care. The feedback we received from stakeholders across the system has been constructive and comprehensive, enabling us to refine proposals and address concerns while developing the final contract package.
Overall, the changes are designed to help increase capacity in GPs, support patient access, shift from treatment to prevention through changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and vaccinations, enable practices to prioritise clinically urgent needs, and ensure GPs remain sustainable for the future. The changes make progress on commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan as well as key commitments to bring back the family doctor and end the 8:00am scramble.
The Department and NHS England will continue to monitor the impact of the GP Contract through workforce data, patient access metrics, and patient experience data.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to a) support High Level Need funding and b) support local authorities to meet statutory SEND duties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
High needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is continuing at an increased level of over £12 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, following an increase of 11% in 2025/26. Of that total, Nottingham City Council is being allocated over £70 million.
The Schools white paper set out additional funding for both schools and local authorities to drive forward reform of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, with £4 billion over the next three years, including an inclusive mainstream fund of £1.6 million and £1.8 million for Experts at Hand to provide specialist support to mainstream settings. This will reverse the trend of late intervention and escalation in needs.
It remains important that every local authority meets its statutory SEND duties while ensuring robust controls as they, other local partners and the department work together to reform the SEND system. We will support authorities in this work through their Local SEND Reform Plans.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) charity on the potential impact of recent and proposed changes in the level of Official Development Assistance funding on the effectiveness of VSO.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Our partnership with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) has been extended until March 2027. The Active Citizenship through Inclusive Volunteering and Empowerment (ACTIVE) programme currently operates in 14 countries and works with local civil society groups to strengthen their organisational capacity, leadership, autonomy and sustainability. This reflects our modernised approach to development, delivering value for money for UK taxpayers and transforming our country development partnerships to reflect the changing needs of our partners. We are looking forward to seeing how VSO's work progresses.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of distributing venison produced as a result of deer culling to food banks and other initiatives which support people in food poverty.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government published the Deer Impacts Policy Statement on 20 February 2026. The statement sets out actions to reduce the negative impacts deer have on the environment. This includes developing the venison supply chain. Defra is working with relevant sectors to improve the quality and consistency of wild venison supply into the human and other relevant food chains, including exploring where more wild venison can be offered as a sustainable meat option through our public procurement networks. Defra is also providing further funding towards wild venison collection and storage through the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund.
This has been informed by learning gained through projects such as the Natural England Sussex Woods Protected Site Strategy pilot, which worked with food security charities to distribute venison mince procured as a byproduct of deer that were being managed to preserve the biodiversity in and around the protected sites in the area. Other organisations, such as the Country Food Trust, are already using venison to supply food banks and community kitchens.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking in response to the Joint Intelligence Committee’s Nature Security Assessment to address the national security risks arising from accelerating biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, including risks to the UK’s food and water security, public health and supply chain resilience.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Nature Security Assessment is a cross-government strategic analysis that brings together scientific evidence, policy analysis and national security expertise to inform long-term resilience and security planning. In response to the risks it identifies, the UK is already taking action to strengthen food, water, public health and supply chain resilience, including through major investment in nature at home and abroad. The UK is meeting the International Climate Finance (ICF) 3 spending target of at least £11.6 billion over 2021 to 2026, supporting nature protection and sustainable agriculture globally. Domestically, the UK has a resilient food system and is investing £11.8 billion this Parliament to support sustainable farming, alongside action to strengthen critical supply chains through the Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy. These measures sit alongside wider domestic action to restore and protect nature, including record levels of tree planting, peatland restoration, improved water quality and stronger protection for the marine environment.