Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of inflation on (a) businesses, (b) farmers and (c) consumers in Epping Forest constituency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for National Statistics does not publish inflation statistics at the level of individual constituencies such as Epping Forest. However, the Government understands that inflation remains a challenge for businesses, including farmers, and consumers. This is why the Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her economic policies on inflation for food and drink.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 March 2025. The OBR does not publish estimates of the impact of policy decisions on levels of food and drink inflation. The Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent trends in the level of inflation for food and drink on food security.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

UK consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates. Changes in food prices are dependent on changes in one or more of these factors.

The latest available data (up to 2023) show that food prices in the UK remained lower than in most advanced economies and the lowest among G7 countries (OECD).

After the USA, UK households spend the lowest share of their expenditure on food and non-alcoholic drinks in the G7 (OECD).

In FYE 2024, households spent 11.3% of their spend on food, rising to 14.3% for the lowest 20% by income. Over the last 10 years these figures have been relatively stable, barring the impact of coronavirus in 2020-22.

We have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we know there’s more to do to ease the cost of living – which working people face the brunt of.

That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.

The Government has also extended Free School Meals to over half a million more children. That policy alone will lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

And our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year – worth £1,900 over the Parliament.

Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reducing inflation of food and drink.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Over the past year, Defra Ministers have regularly engaged with HM Treasury Ministers on cost-of-living pressures, including the inflationary impacts on food and drink.

The Child Poverty Taskforce provides a helpful cross-Whitehall forum for ministers across departments, including HM Treasury, to discuss and align measures to reduce household costs and improve access to affordable essentials. In parallel, Defra’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food.

As a Government, we have taken the decisions needed to stabilise the public finances, but we recognise there is more to do to ease cost-of-living, which continues to place pressure on working households.

That’s why we’ve raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and are rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.

Our commitment to the Triple Lock means that 12 million pensioners will receive an increase of up to £470 a year, worth £1,900 over the Parliament.

Through our Plan for Change we’re going further and faster to put more money in people's pockets.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of its proposals for digital ID on (a) older people and (b) vulnerable groups in Epping Forest constituency.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government will deliver a comprehensive inclusion programme to help ensure everyone eligible is able to access the new digital ID. This will include targeted support for those who may struggle to access or engage with digital services or devices. The inclusion programme could also have wider benefits for people who are currently digitally excluded, such as enabling them to access wider benefits of being online such as getting support with the cost of living and the public services they are entitled to.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year, setting out the proposed approach in more detail and seeking views on this. This will include the proposed approach to inclusion.

The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders to make the programme as effective and inclusive as possible.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposals for digital ID on people without smartphones.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government will deliver a comprehensive inclusion programme to help ensure everyone eligible is able to access the new digital ID. This will include targeted support for those who may struggle to access or engage with digital services or devices. The inclusion programme could also have wider benefits for people who are currently digitally excluded, such as enabling them to access wider benefits of being online such as getting support with the cost of living and the public services they are entitled to.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year, setting out the proposed approach in more detail and seeking views on this. This will include the proposed approach to inclusion.

The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders to make the programme as effective and inclusive as possible.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of its proposals for digital ID on older people.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government will deliver a comprehensive inclusion programme to help ensure everyone eligible is able to access the new digital ID. This will include targeted support for those who may struggle to access or engage with digital services or devices. The inclusion programme could also have wider benefits for people who are currently digitally excluded, such as enabling them to access wider benefits of being online such as getting support with the cost of living and the public services they are entitled to.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year, setting out the proposed approach in more detail and seeking views on this. This will include the proposed approach to inclusion.

The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders to make the programme as effective and inclusive as possible.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much illegally imported meat coming has been seized in 2025.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Due to the way in which meat seizures are recorded, the data requested is not available in an accessible format.

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 ensure that hospices receive the funding required to raise staff pay in line with nationally agreed NHS pay rises.

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

We are immensely grateful for the critical role healthcare workers, including hospice staff, play in our health service and the high quality, compassionate care they deliver.

The impact that National Health Service pay uplifts will have on the hospice sector will depend on the structure of the charity, which includes the number of employees and the salary levels. Independent organisations, such as charities and social enterprises, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales.

It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face if they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local integrated care boards and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

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 help ensure adequate levels of accountability for the equitable provision of palliative care across England.

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

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is investing £3 million in a new Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit launched in January 2024 and is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.

On ICB accountability, NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that charitable hospices play as well, which is why we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered fully funding the (a) specialist palliative care, (b) advice and (c) assessments that are provided by hospices.

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

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life, as well as their loved ones.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

The amount of funding charitable hospices receive varies by ICB area, and will, in part, be dependent on the breadth of palliative care, including specialist palliative care, and end of life care provision within each ICB catchment area. It is important to note that hospices, like the NHS, provide both specialist and generalist palliative care and end of life care. Not all patients will require specialist palliative care.

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

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 help ensure that hospice contracts adequately reflect the (a) cost of the services they provide and (b) needs of their local populations.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.

Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

Additionally, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

Attendance of the Attorney General at the Bar of the House on the Chinese espionage case