Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to help families living in the UK after the death of a family member living abroad.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

It is a top priority of the UK Government to ensure that we have the right people in the right places to support those who require consular services overseas. We regularly review the services we offer, including the support we provide to families in the UK when a British national dies abroad. We provide country-specific bereavement packs, which set out local laws and practices of the relevant country as well as support and information families can access in the UK. Our Consular staff are contactable 24/7, 365 days a year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will provide multi-year funding settlements for children's hospices in (a) Kent and (b) England after this financial year.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.

We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant. Two children’s hospices based in Kent, Demelza Hospice and Ellenor Hospice, are receiving £1,750,000 and £189,000 respectively.

I am currently having discussions with NHS England and Department officials about the funding arrangements for children and young people’s hospices throughout England beyond 2025/26. We hope to be able to provide further communication on this later this autumn.

The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for disabled parking bays for people who are of state pension age with mobility issues but are not in receipt of the higher rate of DLA or PIP.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Part IV of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 provides local authorities with powers to mark out bays for specific purposes, issue local parking permits, and use Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to reserve spaces for specific purposes.

This can be a voluntary local scheme, and the cost and nature of the concession would be for the local authority to decide.

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 ensure more GP practices join the veteran friendly GP accreditation programme.

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

NHS England, in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners, is continuing to encourage general practices (GPs) to participate in the Armed Forces Veteran Friendly GP accreditation scheme. This voluntary initiative is available to GPs across England and is free to access. To date, over 99% of primary care networks have at least one accredited GP in their area.

100% of National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts in England are now officially accredited as Veteran Aware. This achievement, led by the Veterans Covenant Healthcare Alliance, reflects a national commitment to provide compassionate, personalised care to serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and their families.

In addition, the Department announced the National Training and Education Programme which will see NHS staff across England receiving dedicated training to help them identify and support patients with military backgrounds.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for (a) small boats, (b) dinghies and (c) other vessels that are seized for trying to transport migrants into the UK.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All vessels that have been subject to seizure, are held by Border Force until the completion of criminal investigations and any resulting legal proceedings. The majority of boats, dinghies and other vessels are not fit to ever go to sea again, as they arrive in very poor condition and may be damaged during the recovery process. The boats, dinghies and vessels are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled.