Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve preventative and community care.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce regional variation in IVF provision following publication of the updated NICE fertility guidelines.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population.
On 31 March, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its updated fertility guideline, which recommends that women under 40 years old who meet the clinical eligibility criteria should be offered up to three full cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
There are no plans to introduce statutory duties on ICBs to deliver NICE fertility guidelines on IVF cycles. We expect ICBs to consider and reflect the updated NICE fertility guideline in their commissioning decisions, and we are working with NHS England to support greater consistency in provision.
The Government published the Women's Health Strategy on 15 April which commits to ensuring that every woman can easily access fertility services, and we are currently working to assess the current provision of National Health Service commissioned fertility services as a baseline to inform supporting material for every ICB to implement the new NICE guidelines in full.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce statutory duties on Integrated Care Boards to deliver NICE fertility guidelines on IVF cycles.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population.
On 31 March, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its updated fertility guideline, which recommends that women under 40 years old who meet the clinical eligibility criteria should be offered up to three full cycles of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
There are no plans to introduce statutory duties on ICBs to deliver NICE fertility guidelines on IVF cycles. We expect ICBs to consider and reflect the updated NICE fertility guideline in their commissioning decisions, and we are working with NHS England to support greater consistency in provision.
The Government published the Women's Health Strategy on 15 April which commits to ensuring that every woman can easily access fertility services, and we are currently working to assess the current provision of National Health Service commissioned fertility services as a baseline to inform supporting material for every ICB to implement the new NICE guidelines in full.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Renewable Obligations contracts ending on job losses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Accreditation under the Renewables Obligation (RO) was always intended to be time limited and generators have known, from the date they were accredited, how long their support would last.
The Government will continue to monitor the potential impacts of the closure of the scheme on different technologies.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the differential treatment of electric and internal combustion engine motorcycles under the proposed electric Vehicle Excise Duty framework; and whether she has considered extending any VED exemptions to all motorcycles on the basis of their road surface impact.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government will implement electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) as an additional mileage based add-on to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, which is designed to replace the fuel duty revenues which will be lost as petrol and diesel vehicles are phased out over time.
Other vehicle types, such as vans, buses, HGVs and motorcycles will not be in scope of eVED upon its introduction in April 2028. At this stage, the transition to electric for these other vehicle types is less advanced than for cars.
Under VED, different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions. There are no plans to extend VED exemptions to motorcycles based on their road surface impact.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many reported cases of fraudulent visa sponsorship offers linked to the Homes for Ukraine scheme have been recorded since its launch.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ukrainian guests arriving under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are supported by a robust programme of safeguards. All sponsors and adults living in a sponsors’ household are subject to stringent security checks before an applicant is allowed to travel to the UK. Local authorities conduct further checks as a second layer of safeguarding.
Local authorities are responsible for the detection and prevention of sponsor payment related fraud on the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
The Home Office does not hold data on refusal reasons and, as such, numbers of applications that were refused on the basis of being fraudulent cannot be provided.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many hours over the past year has gas generation been online and setting the wholesale price, used not meet power demand but to meet system inertia requirements.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Generation activated to meet the system’s inertia requirements does not set the wholesale price.
NESO meets system inertia requirements through procuring in the balancing and ancillary service markets, rather than the wholesale market. The wholesale market operates on the principle of marginal pricing, where the most expensive technology required to meet demand sets the price. However, the balancing market operates on a “pay as bid” model, where generators are paid based on the price they bid into the market, rather than the marginal price.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (i) steps his department is taking to address regional differences in funding for Mirena coil fitting and (ii) if he plans to ensure this service is available at GP surgeries.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The funding and provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), such as the Mirena coil, is primarily a matter for local determination.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning contraception for both contraceptive and gynaecological purposes, including essential services under the GP Contract and LARC as a local arrangement.
Contraception for contraceptive purposes, including LARC, is also a prescribed aspect of local authority sexual health commissioning. The Government has mandated local authorities in England to commission comprehensive open access to most sexual and reproductive health services through the Public Health Grant.
It is for individual local authorities and ICBs to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, and to commission the blend of service access that best suits their population.
The renewed Women’s Health Strategy, which was published on 15 April, sets out how we will ensure that women have straightforward access to the full range of contraception, including LARC, that meets their individual needs and preferences.
We will include contraception in the upcoming sexual and reproductive health framework to clarify current commissioning arrangements and to share opportunities and best practice for closer working and improved pathways.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what measures he plans to introduce to help residents of housing estates with central, metered LPG tanks.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has taken action and announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil, or other alternative fuels like LPG, to help tackle surging prices through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
It is at the local authority’s discretion to determine appropriate support by taking a person-centred, needs-based approach. Guidance to LAs is clear that crisis payments can be provided to support energy for any form of fuel that is used for the purpose of domestic heating, cooking or lighting, including oil or portable gas cylinders.
The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the CRF in England and more information on the fund can be found here: Crisis and Resilience Fund (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029) - GOV.UK.
In addition, the Government intends to introduce new consumer protections for LPG customers and is rapidly exploring new ways to step in and ensure households are better protected.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 99556 on Electricity: Prices, what progress he has made on the reformed national pricing delivery plan; and what his timeline is for publishing that plan.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan is a key part of our vision for the future GB electricity system. We published the delivery plan today.