Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the availability and accessibility of NHS services for the diagnosis and treatment of tongue-tie in newborn babies; what the average waiting time is for treatment following referral in each NHS region; and whether she will consider issuing guidance to NHS trusts on assessing babies for tongue-tie where breastfeeding difficulties are identified before discharge from maternity services.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is for local National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards to determine how their tongue division services are funded and commissioned, as well as the referral criteria. NHS England does not have national guidance, nor monitor waiting times for tongue-tie services.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence sets out guidance on tongue-tie, including advising that an assessment for tongue-tie should be considered if there are feeding concerns.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of piloting council-funded, low-arousal community hubs for children receiving Education Otherwise Than at School, including the provision of sensory facilities and access to specialist education and therapeutic professionals; and whether her Department has considered using existing Family Hubs as a basis for such a pilot.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is consulting on proposals to improve support for children and young people who receive education outside a school or further education setting, known as Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS). The consultation, which closes on 18 September 2026, seeks views from children, young people, parents, carers and professionals.
The consultation includes proposals to strengthen decision making, oversight and accountability arrangements for EOTAS, helping to ensure that children and young people receive suitable education and support that meets their needs. The department recognises the importance of ensuring that children receiving EOTAS can access appropriate educational and therapeutic support.
As part of the consultation, we welcome a wide range of views on how support for children and young people receiving EOTAS can best be delivered, including access to educational and therapeutic services. We will carefully consider all responses, including any responses about how low-arousal community hubs and Family Hubs can support children receiving EOTAS, before deciding on the next steps.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her statement of 8 September 2026, what categories of technology her Department considers it appropriate for the Government to shape; and what criteria will be used to determine the limits of Government intervention.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State’s statement to Parliament on 8 September made clear that the government would look at both device-level and app-level measures to protect children from nude imagery. The government will continue to look across the whole technology ecosystem to ensure protections for children are as strong as possible, while also balancing the privacy, security and technical feasibility of measures.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what forms of conduct that the Government intends to criminalise through the draft Conversion Practices Bill are not already capable of being prosecuted under existing law; and how many cases have been identified since 2018 in which action could not be taken solely because no existing offence applied.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are gaps in the current law which allow abusive conversion practices to happen lawfully and that is unacceptable. At the moment these abusive practices can go under the radar because people do not recognise abusive non-physical conversion practices for what they are.
Without specific legislation and a legal definition, these incidents are difficult to formally record, nor is there a consistent framework for victims or safeguarding professionals to identify them as abusive. Our Draft Bill provides a necessary legal definition, which will ensure that this abuse can be accurately recognised, formally tracked, and prosecuted.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the volume of mains water used by professional window cleaning businesses and (b) the reduction in water demand that would result from restricting professional window cleaning under a non-essential use drought order.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A NEUB is a drought restriction that may be applied for by water companies to temporarily limit certain non-essential uses of water by businesses and organisations during periods of exceptional water shortage. Water companies that wish to apply to limit non-essential uses of water are responsible for assessing the volumes of water savings in their NEUB application and cost benefit analysis.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Health and Safety Executive on the potential impact of non-essential use drought orders on the use of water-fed pole systems by professional window cleaners.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Restrictions and exemptions are set out in the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Drought Direction 2011.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential health and safety implications of restricting the use of water-fed pole systems by professional window cleaners under non-essential use drought orders.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Restrictions and exemptions are set out in the Water Resources Act 1991 and the Drought Direction 2011.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what oversight mechanisms are in place to ensure the quality and consistency of ADHD assessments for children commissioned under the NHS Right to Choose pathway.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to the Hon Member for Maidenhead on 16 July 2026 to Question 17231.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to schools, early years providers and other settings attended by children on the use of camera-enabled smart glasses and other discreet wearable recording devices on their premises.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools and other education providers are responsible for considering their obligations under data protection law where camera enabled smart glasses or other wearable recording devices are used. Such devices may raise issues around transparency, privacy and the recording of personal data, particularly where children are involved.
The department already provides data protection guidance on the taking, using and storing of images such as photographs, video and CCTV in schools and, while not specific to wearable technologies, the underlying principles are technology neutral and remain relevant.
The existing data protection guidance can apply to these technologies, and provides future proofing advice that settings may wish to refer to when considering whether emerging recording capabilities give rise to any additional risks as part of their wider data protection and safeguarding arrangements. This guidance provides advice for settings on producing a policy not just for setting staff, but also for dealing with parents, carers and visitors within the school boundaries.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will provide a breakdown of the information that her Department holds on the number of people experiencing conversion practices annually by (a) sex, (b) age, (c) sexual orientation, (d) transgender status, (e) ethnicity, (f) religion or belief, (g) disability and (h) region.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government published its draft Conversion Practices Bill on 25 June for pre-legislative scrutiny. Our impact assessment which summarises the data that is available on conversion practices. This can be found here: Draft Conversion Practices Bill Impact Assessment.