Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support local journalism.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is committed to supporting local journalism and our Local Media Action Plan will help ensure a healthy and plural local media for the benefit of communities across the UK. Our actions will help local newsrooms across the country innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high-quality, trustworthy news.
Through the Local Media Action Plan, we are:
Investing up to ÂŁ12m in a new Local News Fund to help local media outlets adapt to commercial and technological changes and revive a local news presence in areas where it has retreated.
More than doubling our community radio funding to ÂŁ1m a year, helping to support nearly 400 stations at the heart of our regions and encouraging the sectorâs development in underserved areas.
Launching a new campaign to encourage more young people into journalism careers, initially in the North West.
Promoting take-up of the âNewspapers for Schoolsâ platform, to encourage the reading of more trustworthy local and national news in schools.
Creating a new Regional Media Forum in the West of England as a test-case in improving reporting on local decision-making and public services.
Making the best use of local media in government advertising campaigns, where this helps us reach our target audience and is a good fit for each campaign, and working with our media buying agency to pilot the use of hyperlocal news titles in campaigns.
Conducting a review of all types of statutory notice, to ensure better transparency of local decision-making.
Bidding for the first year of the Local News Fund launched on 7 July, and closed on 7 August. Any extension of the Fund beyond 2027/28 will be subject to affordability and the impact of the Fund in its first two years. We will conduct a robust evaluation to help inform our decisions.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the evidential basis is for the greater efficiency of unitary authorities compared to two-tier areas.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Strong, capable local authorities are the foundation for devolution. If we are to devolve more powers from Westminster to local leaders, local government needs must be simpler, stronger and more sustainable.
In addition to all the wider benefits of reorganisation, experience from previous local government reorganisations shows that, while there are upfront implementation costs, unitary councils can be more efficient, reduce duplication and deliver savings over time. For example, North Yorkshire Council has reported around ÂŁ90 million of savings since its establishment in April 2023.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion globally.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Last year, we launched the UK's Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) Strategy, focusing our efforts where we can work with partners to drive positive change.
Since then, our Special Envoy has engaged governments, faith leaders and civil society across FoRB focus countries, including visits to Nigeria and Ukraine, and working with other partners such as the Holy See to strengthen international cooperation.
We continue to raise concerns directly with countries where violations occur and work through the UN and international partners to defend this fundamental human right.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department will make an assessment on the potential to utilise the Government's Tell Us Once service to avoid the unnecessary issuing of jury notices to the recently deceased.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The jury summoning process has for decades relied on electoral registration data, provided to us by local authorities. This information is received on an annual basis, which means there can be (and are) instances where a death has occurred but has not yet been reflected in the data relied on for jury summoning. We recognise the distress this can cause to bereaved families and are exploring how this issue can be further addressed.
While there are currently no immediate or specific plans to use the Tell Us Once service for jury summoning purposes, we are considering a range of opportunities to improve the quality and timeliness of data used in the jury summoning process, including to reduce the likelihood of summonses being issued to deceased individuals.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans exist for replacing outdated scanning machines as part of the programme for doubling capacity.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government is committed to investing in replacing outdated scanners. The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over ÂŁ6 billionâŻof additionalâŻcapital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This funding will deliver new community diagnostic centres to increase system capacity in diagnostic services, new scanners in acute hospital settings, as well as replacement of the oldest computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
Aged scanner replacement is one of the areas the Government is investing in over the next four years. Many National Health Service trusts have submitted schemes to NHS England for consideration to replace CT, MRI, and non-obstetric ultrasound scanners as well as other types of diagnostic equipment. NHS Englandâs criteria for approval considers the age of the current scanners, the impact on diagnostics, Referral to Treatment, and cancer performance, benefits of replacement, including productivity gain, and value for money.
The Government is also supporting investment in artificial intelligence acceleration software for MRI machines which speeds up scanner acquisition time without degradation of image quality.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
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 prevent fraud by GP Consortia.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes fraud against the National Health Service very seriously and uses a range of measures to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud.
We have a comprehensive Counter Fraud Strategy in place, supported by a coordinated, system-wide approach across primary care, including in general practice, to identify and mitigate fraud risks. This includes the use of Fraud Risk Assessments and Initial Fraud Impact Assessments to understand and manage risks across contracted services.
A network of Local Counter Fraud Specialists operates across England, providing a comprehensive counter-fraud service to NHS organisations.
In addition, the NHS Counter Fraud Authority is a dedicated special health authority tasked with leading the fight against fraud, bribery, and corruption in the NHS in England. Where allegations of fraud are received, appropriate action is taken, including criminal investigation where appropriate.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that students from lower-income backgrounds are able to afford to attend university.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To improve affordability for disadvantaged students, we will future proof our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. Maintenance loans will increase by 2.71% in the 2026/27 academic year, in line with forecast inflation, following a 3.1% increase in 2025/26. Additionally, care leavers, some the most vulnerable in our society, will also be automatically eligible for the maximum maintenance loan.
We are reintroducing maintenance grants from the 2028/29 academic year. These grants will support students from low-income households studying full-time courses aligned with the governmentâs missions and Industrial Strategy, funded by a levy on providers for international students.
The government remains committed to providing additional grant support for students with adult and child dependants and those with disabilities. Full-time students with adult or child dependants can apply for fully means-tested dependantsâ grants and students with disabilities can apply for non-means tested disabled studentsâ allowance.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote trade with nations in the European Union.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
We have reset our relations with the EU and will continue engagement at EU level and bilaterally to build relationships that benefit Britain. While we have agreed with the EU the second Summit will not go ahead on 22 July as originally planned, we remain fully committed to this process, to deepening our economic ties with the EU, and to holding the next summit at the earliest opportunity.
We continue to work closely with partners across Europe to reduce barriers to trade and secure major export wins, like Swedenâs recent decision to select Rolls-Royce as its partner to deliver small modular reactors.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if plans exist for the continuation or replacement of the Restart Scheme ahead of its planned end in June 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government committed at Spending Review to continued employment support for the Long Term Unemployed. DWP have already announced a future employment service for out of work Universal Credit claimants in four eligible groups â long-term unemployed people, young people, lone parents and lead carers, and disadvantaged groups. The estimated go-live date will be in February 2028. Further detail can be found in the pipeline notice, published 2nd April 2026: Future Employment Support - Find a Tender and market engagement notice, published 28th April 2026: Future Employment Support - Find a Tender.
Details of any extension to the Restart Scheme contracts will be published on Contracts Finder Restart Scheme - Contracts Finder in the normal way.
Asked by: Peter Lamb (Labour - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help reduce barriers for adults on lower incomes attempting to access NHS care.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
National Health Services are free at the point of use for those ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, except for certain charges, such as NHS prescriptions in England and dental charges across the UK.
Many schemes are available to help reduce barriers for adults on lower incomes attempting to access NHS care. This includes charges exemptions for specific groups, support through the NHS Low Income Scheme, and prescription prepayment certificates to cap costs. Patients on a low income may also be able to get help with other necessary health-related costs, for example through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, subject to eligibility.