To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Cannabis: Prescriptions
Tuesday 22nd September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she considers the volume of prescriptions issued for cannabis-based products for medicinal use to be consistent with patient safety.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 3220.


Written Question
Cannabis: Social Media
Tuesday 22nd September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department and the MHRA are taking to enforce restrictions on the advertising of cannabis-based products for medicinal use on social media.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 3220.


Written Question
Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients
Friday 18th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983 are held in (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high secure hospitals as of the latest date for which figures are available.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes annual Mental Health Act Statistics, including the total number of people detained under the Mental Health Act on 31 March each year. The latest data is available at the link below, and new data for the year ending 31 March 2026 will be published on 15 October:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-act-statistics-annual-figures/2024-25-annual-figures

Table 8a in the Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures, 2024-25, available at the following link, provides information on discharges from hospital under court and prison disposal provisions, excluding Community Treatment Orders, broken down by section:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-act-statistics-annual-figures/2024-25-annual-figures

Figures are provided for both the number of discharges, and the length of detention. Data on patients detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983 is not broken down by hospital security level.


Written Question
Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients
Friday 18th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983 were discharged from hospital in the most recent 12 months for which data is available, broken down by section.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes annual Mental Health Act Statistics, including the total number of people detained under the Mental Health Act on 31 March each year. The latest data is available at the link below, and new data for the year ending 31 March 2026 will be published on 15 October:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-act-statistics-annual-figures/2024-25-annual-figures

Table 8a in the Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures, 2024-25, available at the following link, provides information on discharges from hospital under court and prison disposal provisions, excluding Community Treatment Orders, broken down by section:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-act-statistics-annual-figures/2024-25-annual-figures

Figures are provided for both the number of discharges, and the length of detention. Data on patients detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983 is not broken down by hospital security level.


Written Question
Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients
Friday 18th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients are currently detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983, broken down by section.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England publishes annual Mental Health Act Statistics, including the total number of people detained under the Mental Health Act on 31 March each year. The latest data is available at the link below, and new data for the year ending 31 March 2026 will be published on 15 October:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-act-statistics-annual-figures/2024-25-annual-figures

Table 8a in the Mental Health Act Statistics, Annual Figures, 2024-25, available at the following link, provides information on discharges from hospital under court and prison disposal provisions, excluding Community Treatment Orders, broken down by section:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-act-statistics-annual-figures/2024-25-annual-figures

Figures are provided for both the number of discharges, and the length of detention. Data on patients detained under Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983 is not broken down by hospital security level.


Written Question
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Communication
Monday 14th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much her Department spent on external communications in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Department’s expenditure on external communications is published in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's Annual Report and Accounts. Information for each of the last three financial years can be found in the relevant Annual Reports and Accounts, which are available on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Sexual Offences: Medical Treatments
Monday 14th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in the custody of HM Prison and Probation Service are currently receiving medication to manage problematic sexual arousal (MMPSA).

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information is not held in the format requested.


Written Question
Public Expenditure
Monday 14th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Note 8. Purchase of Goods, Services and Other Expenditure on page 177 of the Whole of Government Accounts 2022-3, if she will provide a breakdown of expenditure in the financial years in (a) 2022/3 and (b) 2021/2 for (i) the category entitled Other in the Central government section by government department and (ii) the category entitled Other in the Public Corporations section by relevant body.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The information requested is not publicly available.


Written Question
Childcare: Finance
Monday 14th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were ineligible for government-funded childcare in 2023/4, 2024/5 and 2025/6 as a result of the £100,000 earnings limit; and what her Department's estimate is of the value of funded childcare unavailable to those families.

Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The £100,000 adjusted net income per year threshold applies to the working-parent entitlement and Tax-Free Childcare, rather than to all forms of government childcare support. Children aged three-and-four years old who were ineligible for the working parent entitlement due to the £100,000 threshold would have still been able to access 15 hours of childcare support through the 15-hour universal childcare entitlement.

We are able to release estimates of the number of children ineligible for working parent funded childcare entitlements, because of a parent exceeding the £100,000

threshold.

Year (July to following June)

2019/ 2020

2020/ 2021

2021/ 2022

2022/ 2023

2023/ 2024

2024/ 2025

2025/ 2026

Total children (range, rounded to the nearest 100)

11,800 - 23,400

12,300 - 24,300

13,800 - 27,100

15,500 - 28,900

15,600 - 30,800

46,400 - 91,300

50,500 - 99,000

Total value of hours (range, rounded to the nearest million)

£44m - £88m

£46m - £91m

£52m - £101m

£55m - £108m

£58m - £115m

£239-469m

£446m - £874m

The following caveats should be noted for this analysis:

  • Ranges are presented to account for uncertainty around whether or not both parents are working, making the child ineligible for reasons other than just the £100,000 threshold.
  • The value of hours are calculated assuming 100% take-up of the eligible population (a phenomenon we do not observe with the working parent entitlement currently), and maximum use of hours available i.e. all 30 hours of the 30 hours offer (a phenomenon we also do not observe currently).
  • The Working Parent Entitlement was expanded in September 2024 to cover children aged 9 months to 2 years, hence the sudden increase in ineligible children over that period.

Written Question
Driving Licences
Friday 11th September 2026

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for first provisional driving licences were received by DVLA in each of the last five complete calendar years by applicant’s country of birth.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The information requested is not readily available. Officials from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will write to the honourable member when the information requested has been extracted, assured and reviewed.