Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 improve GP (a) training in and (b) awareness of (i) endometriosis and (ii) women’s health issues in general.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring that their own clinical knowledge, including on endometriosis and women’s health issues in general, remains up-to-date, and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.
All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners, and must meet the standards set by the GMC.
The GMC has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. The content map for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health including menstrual problems, endometriosis, menopause and urinary incontinence. This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. Endometriosis is also included in the core curriculum for trainee GPs, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated their guideline on endometriosis which makes firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 adequacy of the capacity in the whole genome sequencing programme for the treatment of less survivable cancers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. The NGTD sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used.
WGS is available on the NGTD for all paediatric and central nervous system tumours where there is a clear, clinical question and where results have expected utility/impact. WGS for all other adult solid tumours, including less survivable cancers, can be performed where there is a clinical need and where results are likely to change clinical management.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
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 improve access to (a) mental health and (b) pain management support for people with endometriosis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Long wait times are a feature of a system in desperate need of change. On mental health, we are already responding by delivering new, innovative models of care in the community, including piloting six neighbourhood adult mental health centres, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis and inpatient care.
We are also recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to ensure people can access treatment and support earlier with 6,700 of these having been recruited since July 2024. We are prioritising expansions of Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, supporting those with mild to moderate mental illness through earlier intervention.
Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the research delivery arm of the Department, funds a range of research to support women’s health conditions, including endometriosis. Funding has been awarded to studies seeking to improve outcomes for women with endometriosis by better understanding the condition, enabling earlier diagnosis, and evaluating current and emerging treatment options. This includes research on mental health and pain management support for people with endometriosis.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable powered two wheelers to use bus lanes in each region in England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government remains committed to supporting efforts to improve the safety of road users but has no plans to bring forward legislation to allow motorcycles and other powered two wheelers to access bus lanes by default. Decisions on this matter are for local highway authorities to make on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish a strategy to help tackle motorcycle theft.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime. We do not currently plan to publish a specific strategy on motorcycle theft.
The Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group is represented on the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to ensure police, motorcycle groups and Government can work together to reduce these thefts. The National Vehicle Crime Working Group includes a network of vehicle crime specialists, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the vulnerabilities of powered two wheelers are considered in road (a) design and (b) maintenance practices.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local authorities are responsible for setting design standards for their roads and for considering the needs of different road users, including vulnerable road users, when making changes to their roads. To support local authorities, my Department has published good practice in various documents including the Manual for Streets, Local Transport Notes and Traffic Advisory Leaflets, and has endorsed the Institute of Highway Engineers’ guidelines on designing for motorcycling. It also recognises vulnerable road users in the 2025 Highway Code. In addition to these publications, just last month, my Department also launched its review of another publication, the Well-Managed Highways Infrastructure Code of Practice, which provides highways management advice and best practice. That review will consider a range of road design and maintenance needs, including for powered two wheelers. We aim to have the entire Code of Practice updated by November 2026 and to release updated sections before then as they become available.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Financial Inclusion Strategy will introduce auto-enrolment for savings.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Inclusion Strategy will be published later this year and will seek to tackle a range of barriers which prevent individuals from accessing the financial services and products they need.
The Government has convened a Financial Inclusion Committee to inform the development of the strategy. The Committee has met three times, and a summary of those meetings is available on GOV.UK.
Savings has been one of the areas of focus for the Committee. As part of this work the FCA have recently published a statement on payroll savings, which gives employers and savings providers the clarity and reassurance that workplace savings schemes can be successfully set up and implemented to comply with current rules and legislation.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 269 of his Department’s report entitled FCDO annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the spend of the Health Institutions and Health Security Department on the contribution to global health multilaterals.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The reduction in spend by the Health Institutions and Health Security Department between 2024/25 and 2025/26 is calculated by comparing Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in 2025/26 with ODA programme outturn in 2024/25. Some of the payments made in 2024/25, including key contributions to Gavi and WHO, had originally been planned for 2025/26 and were brought forward to 2024/25 to ease future budget pressures. The reduction in spend largely reflects this re-profiling. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will meet all multilateral commitments in 2025/26 and continues to prioritise high impact global health institutions through strategic, multi-year funding.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to page 269 of his Department’s report entitled FCDO annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July 2025, how the reduction in the spend of the Health Institutions and Health Security Department was calculated.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The reduction in spend by the Health Institutions and Health Security Department between 2024/25 and 2025/26 is calculated by comparing Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme allocations in 2025/26 with ODA programme outturn in 2024/25. Some of the payments made in 2024/25, including key contributions to Gavi and WHO, had originally been planned for 2025/26 and were brought forward to 2024/25 to ease future budget pressures. The reduction in spend largely reflects this re-profiling. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will meet all multilateral commitments in 2025/26 and continues to prioritise high impact global health institutions through strategic, multi-year funding.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with independent retailers on the development of the New Business Growth Service.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade launched the Business Growth Service (BGS) in July alongside our Plan for Small Business. We will continue iterating the business.gov.uk online offer through continued engagement with SMEs from across all sectors and regions in the UK making BGS the front door to all government business support.
The Department engages routinely with retailers of all types, including independent retailers, through key trade associations. The service will regularly review user feedback to ensure it delivers what businesses need to support their growth and productivity. We continue to engage widely with stakeholders, especially entrepreneurs and small business owners, on the design and implementation of the service with a series of roundtables and consultation events across the country.