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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34165 on Food and Livestock: Transport, how many times the Border Control Post has contacted people responsible for a load in relation to (a) concerns and (b) concerns about non-attendance in each of the last twelve months.

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

Due to the intelligence led and dynamic nature of our biosecurity controls, and to ensure operations are not impacted, we are unable to share this data.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of including rapid diagnostics as part of the five-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance.

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

The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle antimicrobial resistance. Supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them is a core commitment in the NAP. Outcome six of the UK’s AMR NAP specifically relates to supporting the development of diagnostic tests for infection.

NHS England is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the commitments of the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP. This includes reducing barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests, identifying innovations, and increasing the evidence for putting those innovations into practice.

Sepsis has no specific diagnostic test, and presentation can vary, making it difficult to diagnose. In hospitals, clinicians are supported in recognising sepsis by using the National Early Warning Score, now used in 99% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England. To support clinical staff in primary and secondary care settings, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence published updated national guidance in March 2024 on sepsis recognition, diagnosis, and early management.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help develop a dedicated diagnostic pathway for sepsis.

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

The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle antimicrobial resistance. Supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them is a core commitment in the NAP. Outcome six of the UK’s AMR NAP specifically relates to supporting the development of diagnostic tests for infection.

NHS England is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the commitments of the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP. This includes reducing barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests, identifying innovations, and increasing the evidence for putting those innovations into practice.

Sepsis has no specific diagnostic test, and presentation can vary, making it difficult to diagnose. In hospitals, clinicians are supported in recognising sepsis by using the National Early Warning Score, now used in 99% of acute trusts and 100% of ambulance trusts in England. To support clinical staff in primary and secondary care settings, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence published updated national guidance in March 2024 on sepsis recognition, diagnosis, and early management.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to help develop a national Sepsis Registry using (a) interoperable and (b) patient-level data.

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

The Government understands the clear need for reliable data on sepsis. Currently, the Office for National Statistics publishes data on the number of death registrations where sepsis was the underlying cause of death, and where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, in England and Wales between 2001 and 2023. However, there is a lack of accurate estimates of incidence and prevalence of sepsis cases due to inconsistency in the definitions used to describe sepsis, and differences in coding between professionals and organisations in the United Kingdom.

A sepsis registry would use retrospective data collection. The Government is, instead, focusing on improving our understanding of the current prevalence of infections and suspected sepsis, including the up-to-date burden to the National Health Service. The Department is working with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to monitor trends in infection incidence and the infection burden in secondary care, which are complex, multifactorial issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents with recent trends in the cost of daycare facilities.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

It is the department’s ambition that parents have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare.

Next year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.

From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months. So far, over 320,000 additional parents are now accessing a place. Going further, from September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns nine months until they start school. The department has also taken action to protect parents from reported instances of very high additional charges on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible and affordable for parents. We have updated our statutory guidance, confirming that whilst providers can charge for some extras, these charges must not be mandatory.

Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare.

The department also wants to ensure that parents are aware of and accessing all government funded childcare support they are eligible for. We are raising awareness of the government-funded childcare support available via the Childcare Choices website to stimulate increased take-up by eligible families, because this could make a significant financial difference to families.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34165 on Food and Livestock: Transport, how many vehicles containing (a) live animals and (b) food products attended Sevington for further inspection in each of the last 12 months.

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

Due to the intelligence led and dynamic nature of our biosecurity controls, and to ensure operations are not impacted, we are unable to share data on inspection volumes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is a dedicated communications budget within his Department for sepsis awareness.

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

The Department does not currently have a dedicated communications budget for sepsis awareness.

NHS England has several training programmes aimed at improving the diagnosis and early management of sepsis among healthcare professionals. These programmes are regularly reviewed and revised with support from subject matter experts as updated national sepsis guidance is implemented. Furthermore, individual National Health Service trusts may choose to implement public awareness campaigns and initiatives on sepsis locally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to people who survive sepsis to be signposted to commissioned services in sepsis (a) after-care, (b) support and (c) rehabilitation.

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

It is important that there is sufficient and comprehensive post-sepsis support in the National Health Service.

Most people make a full recovery from sepsis. However, the Government and the NHS recognise the physical and emotional complications that can last for months, or years after sepsis. The care needs for individual patients will vary hugely on a case-by-case basis. People who survive sepsis have access to follow-up pathways with personalised healthcare tailored to their individual needs. Integrated care boards can provide signposting to after-care, support, and rehabilitation services available locally.

Furthermore, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department is funding research to improve outcomes for sepsis survivors.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mechanisms to support the (a) adoption and (b) clinical systems integration of (i) novel and (ii) rapid diagnostics into clinical pathways.

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

The Elective Reform Plan (ERP), published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the 18-week standard, including reforms to diagnostic care to reduce waiting times for tests and scans.

The plan announced that integrated care boards (ICBs) will make optimal use of the new diagnostic capacity by increasing direct referrals and rolling out at least 10 straight-to-test pathways by March 2026. NHS England is working with clinicians to best determine priority pathways and implementation based on population need and where there is a clear opportunity for improving timescales and journeys to diagnosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issues authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice that often includes recommendations to support diagnosis. NICE also develops guidance on new, innovative diagnostic technologies that helps people in the NHS make efficient, cost-effective and consistent decisions about adopting new products.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Northern Ireland Public Sector Transformation Board has (a) permanent o (b) interim status.

Answered by Fleur Anderson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

The Board structure used to provide recommendations for the first tranche of projects held interim status. The Northern Ireland Minister of Finance has proposed expanding the membership of the Public Sector Transformation Board and moving toward a permanent Board ahead of the allocation of remaining funding.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of the 14 March 2025 to Question 37022 on Business: Northern Ireland, whether his Permanent Secretary briefed him prior to the announcement.

Answered by Fleur Anderson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Northern Ireland Office)

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to my previous answer (UIN 37022).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the French Government's Third National Climate Adaptation Plan.

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

The UK approach to managing climate risks is set out by the Climate Change Act 2008 and involves a Climate Change Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Programme. Similar to the French approach our National Adaptation Programme is developed on a 5 yearly cycle, outlining national-level measures that aim to address the impacts of climate change, and is based on planning adaptation against a longer-term climate change scenario.

The most recent National Adaptation Programme was published in 2023 and covered five sectors, infrastructure, natural environment, health, communities and built environment, business and industry and international dimensions, and 61 climate risks all owned and managed by specific government departments. We are managing the National Adaptation Programme as an ongoing programme of delivery against climate risks and are considering a range of options to achieve this and will set out our refreshed approach in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there will be Barnett consequentials from the £3.25bn Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Transformation Fund will be allocated to UK Government departments through the Spending Review process. The Barnett formula will apply in the normal way, as per the Statement of Funding Policy.

International Day of the Midwife

100th anniversary of East Belfast District Scouts

Found: _NC3 Jim Allister Gavin Robinson Sammy Wilson Jim Shannon Alex Easton Robin Swann Mr Gregory Campbell

Found: Wednesday 26 March 2025 _NC3 Jim Allister Gavin Robinson Sammy Wilson Jim Shannon Alex Easton Robin Swann

Found: Tuesday 25 March 2025 _NC3 Jim Allister Gavin Robinson Sammy Wilson Jim Shannon Alex Easton Robin Swann

Found: Negatived on division_NC30 Sir Ashley Fox Mr Peter Bedford Jim Allister Ellie Chowns Robin Swann