Peter Swallow

This Government will legislate to end the scourge of late payments, which costs the UK economy £11bn per year and closes down 38 UK businesses every day. On 23 October we concluded a 12-week public consultation on our legislative proposals.

We are now analysing and carefully considering the responses to our consultation. These responses are representative of a range of business sizes, including freelancers, and we are grateful for their contributions. We will publish a Government response to the consultation in the new year and intend to take forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

The Government is carrying out a review of Ofgem to re-establish it as a strong consumer champion, driving up standards for household and business consumers. The outcome of the review will be published shortly.

The Government has also consulted on strengthening the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that, where complaints have been escalated to the Ombudsman, suppliers comply with its final decisions or pay compensation to their customers. The Government is also working with Ofgem to look at increasing the value of automatic compensation paid to customers when errors are made and expanding automatic compensation to cover more key issues faced by consumers, including when suppliers fail to adjust their Direct Debits.

The government is committed to ensuring that all pupils receive the support they need to achieve and thrive, including those with dyslexia. The Curriculum and Assessment Review emphasised inclusion and high standards for all, recommending evidence-led resources to help teachers adapt curricula for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We know that effective early identification and intervention is critical to improving the outcomes for children and young people with SEND. We are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. This includes recently published evidence reviews from University College London which highlight the most effective tools, strategies and approaches to identify and support different types of needs

The department also recently announced new government-backed research into SEND identification, which will aim to develop and test effective approaches to help the early identification of children needing tailored educational support.

The NHS App is at the forefront of a major digital transformation and will revolutionise access to healthcare by putting patients at the centre of a modern, personalised, and data-driven service. One of the key aims is to empower individuals with greater choice, transparency, and control over their care.

The NHS App is co-designed with patients from a wide range of background and needs, with 14,000 users involved in user research in 2025 alongside 42,000 survey completions. Our research teams also have a rule of always doing rounds of research with often excluded or disadvantaged groups. This is often facilitated by partners like the Royal National Institute of Blind People and Mencap who help us to involve the appropriate people.

The NHS App is already helping people manage their health more easily, whether that’s viewing records, booking appointments, ordering prescriptions, or accessing test results. In the past year alone, the app has sent over 181 million messages, supported over 32 million vaccination invites, and offered more than 16 million vaccination appointments, many in local pharmacies. These numbers show how the app is not just supporting care but actively shifting it closer to home.

By 2030, patients will be able to manage their care remotely, contribute to their health records, and navigate the system with confidence, driving better outcomes and a more integrated, responsive National Health Service.

There is a revolution taking place in medical science, and we want the next generation of treatments to be discovered, developed and distributed here in Britain. As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, we will fast-track clinical trials set up times to 150 days by March 2026.

The Department is supporting National Health Service patients in Bracknell Forest to access clinical trials through the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

The Department has been working hard with industry to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of this intensive work, some issues have been resolved. Many strengths of lisdexamfetamine and all strengths of atomoxetine capsules and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available. We are working to resolve medicine supply issues, where they remain, for some strengths of lisdexamfetamine and methylphenidate. These are anticipated to resolve by August and October 2024, respectively.

We are asking suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term.

The Department has worked with specialist clinicians to develop management advice for National Health Service clinicians, to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance to offer rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.

To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/

The Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT), including Creon, used by patients with conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints. The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term. This includes asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production.

We have issued comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues, which provide advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply. This guidance is being kept under review, and updates will be made as necessary. Serious Shortage Protocols are in place for Creon 10,000 and 25,000 capsules to limit prescriptions to one months’ supply, to allow demand management.

We understand how distressing medicine supply issues can be. While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise, and help mitigate risks to patients.

We welcome the news that US-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander will be released. We thank Qatar and Egypt for their support in bringing Edan out. We call on all parties to use this opportunity to re-engage with negotiations to ensure a lasting ceasefire is implemented, with the release of all hostages, and for Israel to allow the resumption of aid delivery for Palestinians in Gaza immediately. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement with his French and German opposite numbers last month urging all parties to return to a ceasefire and lift the block on aid.

The Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and they are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.

Following its post-implementation review of its travel insurance signposting rules, the FCA set out a number of actions it would be taking to continue to improve access to travel insurance for customers with pre-exiting medical conditions.

The FCA, as the independent regulator for financial services, will provide updates on its next steps in due course.

I know that the loan charge is a very important matter for many members and their constituents. Within my first two weeks in office, I had my first meeting with campaigners to discuss the loan charge. The Chancellor and I have been considering this matter since taking office and will provide an update in due course.

I’m thrilled that our Wales Women’s football team has qualified for the Euros for the first time, and I wish them all the very best for their games, especially the one against the Lionesses on 13 July.

We are working closely with the Welsh Government to take full advantage of this unique opportunity to promote Wales as a first-class destination for international investment and tourism.