Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of Inclusion Body Myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Government remains committed to improving outcomes for people living with rare diseases, including inclusion body myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders, through the UK Rare Diseases Framework and successive England Rare Diseases Action Plans. Increasing awareness among healthcare professionals is one of the framework’s four priorities.

As set out in the 2026 England Rare Diseases Action Plan, NHS England continues to expand rare disease education through the National Genomics Education Programme, including GeNotes, a clinical resource that now covers more than 150 rare diseases and has been integrated into primary care decision-support tools used by general practitioners. NHS England is also developing resources to support healthcare professionals in having sensitive conversations with patients receiving a rare disease diagnosis, while the Genomics Training Academy provides education and training to the specialist genomics workforce.

These initiatives support earlier recognition, diagnosis, and appropriate management of rare conditions.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential risks of age verification methods involving facial or biometric data to enforce a social media ban for under-16s.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

I have asked Ofcom to rapidly assess what constitutes highly effective age assurance for establishing whether someone is over 16, prioritising data privacy and security, and considering how it can work for all users.

The ICO’s age-appropriate design code already requires online services to meet additional standards when processing children’s data, including on security, minimisation and sharing.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to launch a consultation on proposed regulations relating to costs orders under Section 17 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Victims and Court Act 2026 introduces an enabling power for the Lord Chancellor to set the rates at which private prosecutors can recover costs from central funds under section 17 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. The Government will consult in due course on the appropriate level of those rates.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to incentivise research into Inclusion Body Myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds clinical, public health, and social care research and works in partnership with the National Health Service, universities, local government, other research funders, patients, and the public, and also funds global health research. NIHR funding is not typically ringfenced for specific conditions. Instead, research proposals are assessed through an open, competitive peer review, with funding decisions made on the basis of scientific quality, the importance of the research question to patients and health and care services, and value for money. This approach ensures that the strongest proposals with the greatest potential impact are supported.

In this disease area over the last five financial years, from 2020/21 to 2024/25, the Department committed £40.4 million on new research projects alongside supporting infrastructure into inclusion body myositis and other rare progressive muscle disorders. This has included clinical trials and novel therapies at NIHR clinical research facilities and NIHR biomedical research centres looking at gene silencing, micro-dystrophin, and disease-modifying therapies for neuromuscular condition.

The NIHR’s Be Part of Research allows people to find and take part in health and care research, and shows that there are currently eight studies where researchers are actively looking for participants in several aspects of muscle disorders. Further information on Be Part of Research is available at the following link:

https://bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the barriers to genomic testing for pancreatic cancer patients and how he plans to increase uptake nationally.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (NHS GMS) and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing.

Genomic testing is available for all eligible patients across the whole of England. The NGTD sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used. Genomic testing for pancreatic cancer is available under the M219 clinical indication code and delivered by all seven NHS GLHs.

NHS England captures Patient Level Contract Monitoring data across the NHS GMS to facilitate a national approach to reporting and validating activity data and turnaround times for the genomics element of the pathway. This national approach enables NHS England to understand activity volumes, detect any backlogs, and work with the NHS GLHs to implement improvement activities.

NHS England has been undertaking a procurement of NHS GMS lead providers to embed a new operating model for delivery of the NHS GMS from 2026. This includes a cancer genomics clinical function, which will bring together multi profession leadership to work with partners to embed and develop cancer genomics pathways.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will undertake a horizon-scanning review to identify emerging actionable gene mutations for timely inclusion in the National Genomic Test Directory, prioritising pancreatic cancer and other less survivable cancers.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and delivered by a national genomic testing network of seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs (GLHs). The NHS GLHs deliver testing as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-genomic-test-directories/

This includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing.

NHS England regularly updates the NGTD in line with scientific and technological advances, while delivering value for money for the NHS. NHS England undertakes horizon scanning with system partners, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and a fast-track process ensures amendments that may be identified as requiring more urgent implementation are considered. Anyone can submit an application to the NGTD if the appropriate clinical and scientific evidence is in place. There is a robust and evidence-based Test Evaluation process and policy, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Updating-the-National-Genomic-Test-Directory-v1-Dec-2020.pdf

The policy ensures that genomic testing continues to be available for all patients for whom it would be of clinical benefit.

NHS England is working with partners to expand the NGTD to include more comprehensive reporting of clinical trial targets, helping embed these targets in the standard of care and reporting rapid trial enrolment.

Scotland’s Tartan Army

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The Transport Committee is examining how transport issues can act as a barrier to young people finding, taking up and remaining in employment or training.

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The Transport Committee is looking at how effectively the Government is keeping women and girls safe as they travel, and what more could be done to ensure that they can make their journeys without fear of violence, intimidation or harassment.