Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to trial new accessible voting devices to help blind and partially sighted people vote independently.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 10319 on 29 October 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what short-term steps his Department is taking to help support hospices to maintain levels of service; and whether his Department is taking long-term steps to reform funding for hospices.

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

Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding from the National Health Service. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.

We do understand that, financially, times are difficult for many voluntary and charitable organisations, including hospices, due to a range of concurrent cost pressures. I recently met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.

Additionally, we have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver an NHS fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff and our stakeholders as we develop the plan. More information about how to input into the 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of proposals to be considered by the Iraqi Parliament to amend the Personal Status Law to reduce the age of consent for girls in that country to 9 years old.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is analysing the proposed amendments to Iraq's Personal Status Law and its implications for women and children's rights, which we note have not yet been passed through the House of Representatives. As we continue to privately engage with a range of Iraqi interlocutors to discuss this, we are emphasising the importance of any amendments' compatibility with Iraq's international obligations.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to provide financial support for grassroots music venues, in the context of the removal of business rate relief for retail, leisure and hospitality venues.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government response to the Culture, Media and Sport select committee report on grassroots music venues, sets out the steps the government is taking, working closely with industry, to support a sustainable grassroots music sector. In particular, we are calling on the music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets to support grassroots music venues, artists and promoters.

The government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27, such as grassroots music venues. This reform, on which a Discussion Paper was published at Autumn Budget 2024, will provide certainty for businesses regarding their bills. It is incorrect to state that business rate relief has been removed. In fact, to provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26.

In addition, at the 2024 Autumn Budget, this government has extended support for the Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music investment programme for 2025-26, ensuring sustained support for musicians, venues, and industry professionals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason his Department's Notification of Child Death Form asks about the gender with which the child identified at the time of their death in cases where the child was over 10; and whether his Department consulted on that change.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Notification of Child Death Form, part of the National Child Mortality Database, continues to capture the sex of the child for anyone under the age of 18 years old, in line with sex being a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Although questions relating to gender identity already existed within one part of the National Child Mortality Database collection, specifically for suicide and self-harm, the change in October expanded these questions to all deaths. This was to capture the language used by young people and their families to improve system learning and to support the prevention of future deaths. It was not subject to public consultation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will publish guidance on (a) how many dogs may be walked by one professional dog walker at one time and (b) other issues relating to professional dog walking.

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

Professional dog walkers must comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and other relevant legislation. The Canine and Feline Sector Group has published best practice guidance to assist dog walkers which can be found here: https://www.cfsg.org.uk/. Some local authorities have introduced licensing schemes for professional dog walkers and often apply CFSG’s guidance or produce their own.

The guidance published to support the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) 2018 Regulations places limitations on dog walking undertaken as part of the dog breeding or dog boarding activities. The guidance limits the number of dogs walked in these circumstances to six. The guidance also requires licensees secure the owner’s consent to their dog being walked in a group, and to ensure that dogs are familiarised with each other beforehand. The Government has no current plans to issue additional guidance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendation in the report by The Law Commission entitled Hate Crime Laws: Final Report, published on 6 December 2021, HC 942, that hate crime law be reformed to offer greater protections for disabled persons.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

As set out in our manifesto, we have committed to changing hate crime legislation to bring parity of protection for disabled people under the aggravated offences. This mirrors one of the recommendations made by the Law Commission in 2021.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce regulations to ensure that a pharmacist is always present in an open pharmacy to facilitate the sale of pharmacy medicines,

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

Pharmacy regulations already require that a registered pharmacy business can only operate and be open to the public, to sell or supply prescription only medicines or pharmacy medicines, when a responsible pharmacist, the pharmacist legally responsible for the safe and effective running of an individual pharmacy, is signed in. The regulations stipulate that the responsible pharmacist may be absent from the pharmacy for a maximum of two hours during the pharmacy business hours, for example to have a meeting with a general practice, attend training, or to have a lunch or a rest break. The sale of general sales list medicines, such as some aspirin and paracetamol products, may continue in the absence of the responsible pharmacist.

Case law and professional guidance dictates that the final sale or supply of prescription only medicines and pharmacy medicines requires a pharmacist to be on the registered premise, and either directly aware of the transactions or interruptible, so as to be able to intervene in a sale or supply.

Housing

Found: Caliskan; Mr Luke Charters; Anna Dixon; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Hall; Lloyd Hatton; Chris Kane; Rebecca Paul

Found: Q16 Rebecca Paul: What will their focus be, though?

Found: Anna Dixon; Peter Fortune; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Hall; Lloyd Hatton; Chris Kane, Sarah Olney, Rebecca Paul

Found: Q63 Rebecca Paul: I have just one final point, because it is really important.

Found: Peter Fortune; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Green; Sarah Hall; Lloyd Hatton; Chris Kane; Sarah Olney; Rebecca Paul

On 14 October 2024 the House of Commons agreed a motion to establish a committee, to be known as the Speaker’s Conference. That motion ordered that the Conference consider: