Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 67482 on IVF: Greater Manchester, If his Department will have discussions with NHS Greater Manchester following the publication of the Standardising IVF Cycles Consultation Summary Report on implementing an increase in the number of funded cycles.

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

Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards, and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. There are no current plans to discuss implementing an increase in the number of funded in-vitro fertilisation cycles with NHS Greater Manchester.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will issue guidelines to airlines on the treatment of passengers with neurological disabilities, including standardised procedures for fitness-to-fly assessments.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Aviation must be accessible to all, and everyone has the right to travel with dignity and ease. UK law prohibits refusal of carriage by air based on any disability, impairment, or condition, except where restrictions are required due to safety reasons.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published guidance on airline accessibility including on assisting people with hidden disabilities. In addition, it issued its Airline Accessibility Guidance in 2024, which will be used to assess airline performance against accessibility requirements. This states that decisions on requiring medical clearance must be made on a case-by-case basis, and only where there is a valid reason for doing so.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Royal Mail’s efforts to meet its Quality of Service targets in SK Stockport postcode areas.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and ensuring that Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations. Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified.

In October, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its quality-of-service targets and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025, to question 93987 on Phenylketonuria: Health Foods, (a) If he will confirm the latest number of individuals with Phenylketonuria receiving low-protein foods on prescription and (b) if his Department will make an assessment of the potential positive business implications on manufacturers and suppliers of low-protein foods in the event of a shift from prescriptions to financial support.

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

Regarding the number of individuals with Phenylketonuria receiving low-protein foods on prescription, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) does not hold this information centrally.

NHBSA prescription data does not contain information about the indication, medical condition, or reason that a prescription was issued.

We are not considering shifting to a different model to support those with Phenylketonuria thus do not intend to assess the potential impact on manufacturers and suppliers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (a) what discussions her Department has had with Avanti West Coast on the use of Withdrawal of Implied Permission (WIP) notices to address anti-social behaviour on the rail network and (b) whether the Department plans to introduce a consistent, network-wide approach to WIPs.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No such discussions have taken place. Usage of Withdrawal of Implied Permission (WIP) notices is an operational matter for operators, Network Rail and the British Transport Police. The Department keeps security under constant review, however no change of policy for Withdrawal of Implied Permission (WIP) is planned at this stage.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with Northern on ticket office staffing levels at Brinnington station.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Rail North Partnership, through which the Department and Transport for the North jointly manage Northern’s contract, has regular conversations about Northern services, including ticket office staffing and opening hours. Operators must comply with their obligations under the ticketing and settlement agreement between the Secretary of State and the operator.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she will publish a monitoring and evaluation framework on disability equality training in order to establish a baseline level of training to meet requirements under Section 36 of the Bus Services Act 2025.

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

We are clear that high‑quality staff training is essential to providing bus services that are accessible for all passengers. That is why the Bus Services Act 2025 will mandate that both bus drivers and passenger-assisting staff undertake disability awareness and assistance training.

Section 36 of the Bus Services Act 2025 provides powers for the Secretary of State for Transport to require carriers and terminal managing bodies to record and publish training statistics in order to ensure that compliance can be monitored. Once commenced, we will expect all relevant operators and terminal managing bodies to comply with their reporting duties. We will engage with relevant stakeholders when developing such requirements, and will provide the industry with more information in due course.

The approach to evaluating the impact of the requirements under Section 36 will be considered as part of a wider monitoring and evaluation plan for the Bus Services Act 2025. In particular, and as stated in our Impact Assessment on the new measures on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), we intend to undertake process evaluation, for example evaluating the mechanisms for developing, delivering and reporting on the new disability training requirements, as part of the process evaluation for the Act’s wider training requirements on VAWG and anti-social behaviour.

Fairtrade tea campaign

Thanking postal workers

Found: meeting Members present: Nick Smith (Chair); Bambos Charalambous; Mary Glindon; Carolyn Harris; Navendu Mishra