Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria will be used to ensure that the independent co-chair of the National Cancer Plan implementation board is independent of government.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan, published on the 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. The role of the reformed National Cancer Board will be to support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and provide regular updates to ministers.

The board will be co-chaired by the Director General for Planned Care in the Department and an independent representative.

It is important to choose the most suitable appointment process for selecting an independent representative to co-chair the board. To ensure that the co-chair of the board is independent of the Government, officials from NHS England and the Department are carefully following the required appointments procedures. An appointment will be made following all required ministerial approvals.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to appoint the independent co-chair of the National Cancer Plan implementation board.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Cancer Plan, published on the 4 February 2026, sets out several commitments and ambitions, to be delivered within the next 10 years. The role of the reformed National Cancer Board will be to support and monitor the delivery of the commitments and ambitions and provide regular updates to ministers.

The board will be co-chaired by the Director General for Planned Care in the Department and an independent representative.

It is important to choose the most suitable appointment process for selecting an independent representative to co-chair the board. To ensure that the co-chair of the board is independent of the Government, officials from NHS England and the Department are carefully following the required appointments procedures. An appointment will be made following all required ministerial approvals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her written statement of 2 March 2026 on Asylum changes, what estimate her Department has made of the scale of a Named Community Sponsorship scheme.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

In the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government committed to transforming its approach to safe and legal routes. This included the creation of a named sponsorship scheme to enable community groups to sponsor refugees and displaced persons.

Work is underway to deliver the named community sponsorship route.

Further details, including the number of beneficiaries, will be set out in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department plans to publish its response to the Net Zero Ports consultation.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We received 65 responses to the Net Zero Ports call for evidence, and plan to set out the findings later this year. These valuable stakeholder insights will shape our policy approach to the role of ports in maritime decarbonisation.

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 improve the timeliness of NHS appointment notifications; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of different communication methods, including letters, text messages and email.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to supporting access to care and reducing missed appointments. The NHS App provides a core national channel for patients to view, receive, and manage appointment information across a range of care settings whilst ‘NHS Notify’ enables National Health Service organisations to send letters, text messages, and emails from a single platform.

Communication assessment work done by NHS England’s Behavioural Science Unit showed that such tailored messaging significantly increased patient response rates.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a statutory national register of heritage trees.

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

Ancient and veteran trees are our most important trees and considered irreplaceable habitats. They are protected through planning policy, and local authorities can grant additional protections to individual high-value trees through Tree Preservation Orders. Defra is continuing to focus on improving how these protections are implemented, to ensure these trees are safeguarded in practice as well as in policy, while also considering what further measures could be included in a new Trees Action Plan.

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 her EU counterparts on regulatory convergence regarding EV battery traceability, performance and carbon footprint reporting requirements.

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

I have not had discussions with my EU counterparts on regulatory convergence regarding EV battery traceability, performance and carbon footprint reporting requirements.

Working alongside the Devolved Governments, we are reviewing the UK's producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, we are considering aligning with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation which includes provisions on traceability, performance and carbon footprint. My officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore this further.

The EU Batteries Regulation already applies directly in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

Westerhaven Impact Report 2025

Celebrating a decade of Mandarin education in schools in Edinburgh

8th anniversary of Steps to Hope SCIO

Sarah Boyack MSP

Congratulations to Primary 5 at Dalry Primary School on climate action

Falkland Islands

100th anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Anne Munro retires after 47 years from Pilmeny Development Project

Memorial for Amrit and Saroj Lal