Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of people requiring osseointegration transfemoral surgery in England.

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

Using the available data, we are unable to identify the number of people currently waiting for osseointegration transfemoral surgery in England.

Regardless of why patients are waiting for treatment, the Government has committed to reducing waiting times and ensuring that we return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029. We have already made progress, delivering on our commitment to provide an additional two million appointments and publishing our Elective Reform Plan, which details how we will go further to reduce waiting times, increase productivity, and improve patient experience.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to make the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund a permanent initiative.

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

An announcement on funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund will be made shortly. All future decisions will be considered as part of the next spending review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent streaming platforms from monopolising digital sports content.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is keen to ensure that key sporting events remain available to watch for free in years to come.

The Media Act 2024 includes several important reforms to the listed events regime. In particular, it closes the potential ‘streamer loophole’ that would have allowed non-PSB services to bypass the regime and which could have seen live coverage intended for UK audiences disappearing behind a paywall.

The Government is working closely with Ofcom to progress implementation of the Media Act. Further information can be found on Ofcom’s website: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/Media-Act-Implementation/.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that common land can enter (a) Sustainable Farming Incentive and (b) Countryside Stewardship schemes.

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

We fully recognise the importance of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT) for common land – and we strongly want the schemes to be available to commons as we move forward.

We will be reforming the SFI offer to direct funding towards SFI actions which are most appropriate for the least productive land and have the strongest case for enduring public investment.

We expect to publish more information about the reformed SFI offer in summer 2025. Our intention is that it will be possible to apply for SFI on common land when the reformed SFI offer reopens.

We have published preview guidance for CSHT setting out what funding will be available for farmers and land managers. This includes guidance on entering common land into a CSHT agreement. We will open the rolling application window for CSHT in summer 2025, and we have started inviting farmers and land managers to begin the pre-application process.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to re-open judicial processes for British military veterans in new legacy legislation.

Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government is committed to repeal and replace the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 and to implement mechanisms that are human rights compliant and can command confidence across communities in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. We have taken important action in fulfilling that commitment by laying a draft remedial order in Parliament that will, amongst other things, remove all provisions from the Act that would have provided immunity from prosecution - including for terrorist crimes.

The approach taken by the last Government was found in many respects to be unlawful and was opposed by many - including families who lost relatives whilst serving the State in Northern Ireland. The veterans I have met, however, have also expressed legitimate concerns that the way we collectively deal with the past must be fair, balanced and proportionate while recognising the circumstances of the time.

This Government’s approach will ensure that legacy cases are dealt with sensitively, efficiently and lawfully, and that veterans who engage with legacy mechanisms are provided with the appropriate support. We remain committed to engaging widely with all interested parties, including veterans, to help determine an appropriate way forward, including what provisions should be included in primary legislation that I have committed to introduce when parliamentary time allows.

International Day of the Midwife

Protecting children from data exploitation

Abduction of Ukrainian children

Humanitarian response to the Myanmar earthquake

Ensuring stability for Ukrainian refugees in the UK

Snares

Banking hubs

SEND in schools

Bank closures

Submit Evidence (by 5 May 2025)

Although China is the UK’s fifth largest trading partner, the UK Government has, in recent years, described China as an “epoch-defining and systemic challenge”. Last November, the Foreign Secretary told the Committee that we need a consistent approach to China.