Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans her Department to integrate the work of the Industrial Strategy Council with (a) Life Sciences Council and (b) other governance structures.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Sector Plans are being designed in partnership with business, devolved governments, regions and other stakeholders, through bespoke arrangements tailored to each sector. This will vary by sector, but some may include Sector Councils, such as the well-established Life Sciences Council.

There will not be formal reporting structures between Sector Councils and the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council. However, we expect there to be close collaboration including through information sharing and joint-working as part of their role advising government on the delivery of the Industrial Strategy. The Council will continue a programme to engage widely across government.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that a full blood count is (a) categorised as a core diagnostic service and (b) available at all community diagnostic centres.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Blood tests, particularly full blood count (FBC) tests, are among the most commonly requested diagnostic investigations across primary and secondary care, and are readily available across all 27 National Health Service pathology networks. FBC tests play a vital role in detecting and monitoring a wide range of conditions, and as such, FBCs are essential to timely diagnosis and treatment planning across multiple clinical pathways.

Phlebotomy, the procedure to collect blood samples, is widely available across general practice, community health services, and secondary care phlebotomy clinics, supporting equitable access to essential blood testing.

Phlebotomy is also a core service provided by all standard and large community diagnostic centres (CDCs). CDCs are designed to deliver a range of high-volume, low-complexity diagnostic tests, including common blood tests such as FBCs, closer to patients’ homes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he considered a derogation for vintage firearms that cannot safely use alternatives to lead shot in the proposed lead shot ban.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have now published a final opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by feedback from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice. As part of their Opinion, HSE have considered the socio-economic impacts of their proposed restriction in GB. Further information will follow in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received (a) evidence and (b) data from the life sciences industry on increasing the NHS medicines budget.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We regularly engage with the life sciences sector to understand what the latest data and evidence shows about the impact of Government policies on patient outcomes, innovation, and growth, including through the ongoing Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access, and Growth mid scheme review. We take all evidence we receive seriously and, alongside our own analysis and patient engagement, use this to refine our policy thinking. Decisions on the size of the medicines budget are, therefore, taken in the round considering the overall needs of the health system as well as the impact on the sector.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of removing Apprenticeship Levy funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on the number of people using the apprenticeship route to obtain higher-level qualifications; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this change on young people.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

I refer the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43275.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will seek information from the EHRC on which (a) people and (b) organisations were consulted before the issue of the EHRC interim guidance on the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is independent of the government. It is for the EHRC to ensure that any consultation process is appropriate and meaningfully engages with varied stakeholders.

The EHRC’s interim update provides a perspective on how the judgment and Equality Act are practically applied in some areas. It is a snapshot reflection, rather than full guidance. The EHRC has already committed to supporting service providers with its updated statutory Code of Practice; we will engage them as necessary as they progress this work.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will ask the EHRC to publish their full plans for consulting (a) the transgender community and (b) people who are intersex before publishing their full guidance in response to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is independent of government. It is for the EHRC to ensure that the consultation process is appropriate and meaningfully engages with varied stakeholders.

The Government expects them to do this widely and broadly, listening to diverse voices.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has considered changing the withdrawal percentage for Lifetime ISAs.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Lifetime ISA (LISA) is designed to support people to achieve the aspiration of homeownership, or to build up savings for their later life. LISA funds, including any Government bonus, can be withdrawn for the purchase of a first home under £450,000, in the case of terminal illness or from the age of 60.

Any unauthorised withdrawals are subject to a 25% withdrawal charge. This recoups the Government bonus, any interest or growth arising from it, and a proportion of the individual’s initial savings. Reducing the withdrawal charge would encourage the use of LISAs in ways for which they were not intended.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling local authorities access to up-to-date Universal Credit claimant data for all claimants in their area.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recognises the benefits of further Universal Credit data sharing with Local Authorities to support vulnerable citizens.

DWP is working on a project to do exactly this, and aims to have delivered a test version to a small group of LAs by Spring 2026. Subject to this test being successful, we will roll this out to all LAs during the rest of 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of prescription medication that is wasted.

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

NHS England has made data, tools, and resources available to integrated care boards (ICBs), primary care networks, and general practices following the 2021 overprescribing review. These include a National Medicines Optimisation Opportunity dashboard for ICBs, a Polypharmacy Comparators dashboard, an Oversupply Dashboard for general practice and primary care networks, and an Opioid Prescribing Comparators dashboard.

The overprescribing review set out a series of practical and cultural changes to ensure patients are receiving the most appropriate treatment for their needs, while ensuring clinicians’ time is well spent and taxpayer money is spent wisely. The recommendations aim to support National Health Service systems to highlight variation, identify opportunities for medicines optimisation improvement, and support ongoing monitoring.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she conducted an impact assessment on restrictions to support through the adoption and special guardianship support fund.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The new criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access the available funding. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This includes reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which will be made available in the House Libraries in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to adapt farming subsidy schemes to encourage farmers to (a) house farmed animals in woodlands and (b) plant woodlands in permanent pasture.

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

Our in-field agroforestry offers under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes include support for establishing and maintaining silvopastoral systems, where trees are planted in pasture to realise their multiple benefits such as enhanced animal welfare and supporting biodiversity. Under Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), land managers can plant and maintain in-field agroforestry systems up to an average of 400 trees her hectare, as well create, manage and restore Wood Pasture and Parkland systems. Land managers can be supported to design agroforestry in a way that meets their objectives through the Agroforestry Plan capital item.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to provide funding for agroforestry support to include (a) multi-species planting and (b) increased tree planting densities to enable woodland systems suitable for (i) pigs and (ii) poultry.

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

Our in-field agroforestry offers under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes allow flexibility for land managers to decide on tree species and densities that suit their objectives, to realise the multiple benefits that trees provide in the farming landscape. Land managers are able to establish and maintain a wide range of eligible woodland and fruit tree species, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eligible-tree-species-elm-agroforestry-action. Land managers can also be paid a species diversity bonus for planting 5 or more species of tree, to help improve the resilience of agroforestry systems.

Our ELM in-field agroforestry offers allow for a range of planting densities. Under the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, land managers can establish and maintain in-field agroforestry systems with an average of 30-130 trees per hectare on low sensitivity land. Our Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier offers will pay land managers to maintain in-field agroforestry systems up to an average of 400 trees her hectare.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making legislative changes allowing birth certificates issued with an error to be re-issued with the original detail amended, rather than retaining the original form with a correction note.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government has a definition of biological sex for (a) people with Turner Syndrome, (b) people with Klinefelter syndrome, (c) people with Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, (d) people with Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, (e) people with Swyer syndrome and (f) people with tetragametic chimerism.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Government understands people with those conditions to have Variations in Sex Characteristics, but we do not hold central definitions of the biological sex of people who have these conditions, nor do we keep any records.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of the (a) Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025 and (b) interim EHRC guidance on that ruling on people who are intersex.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)

The Government has set out our expectation that organisations follow the clarity the ruling provides. The EHRC’s interim update provides a perspective on how the judgment and Equality Act are practically applied in some areas. The EHRC has already committed to supporting service providers with its updated statutory Code of Practice following consultation; we will engage them as necessary as they progress this work.

Community Energy Pathways and the King’s Award for Sustainable Enterprise

World Bee Day (No. 2)

Gaza occupation proposals

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

Political parties at Pride

The EU and the arms trade, human rights, and the Israel-Gaza conflict

Israeli Knesset decision to ban UNRWA

Ray Dolby Centre

Universities and international students

Right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly

Securing habitat for endangered swifts and other cavity nesting birds

Import and sale of real fur

Puppy smuggling bill

Prevent strategy

Libraries in state primary schools

Found: ; Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner; Sarah Gibson; Alison Griffiths; Pippa Heylings

Found: ; Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner; Sarah Gibson; Alison Griffiths; Pippa Heylings

Found: Liberal Democrat; Chippenham) Alison Griffiths (Conservative; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton) Pippa Heylings

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Found: Whittingdale Pete Wishart Dame Caroline Dinenage Clive Jones Ms Stella Creasy Tom Gordon Pippa Heylings