Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will amend the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 to enable the Public Health and Service Ombudsman to stop requiring an hon. Member's signature before members of the public can refer a complaint to them.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government believes the filtering process MPs facilitate continues to provide an effective way to empower backbenchers to hold the executive to account and emphasises the Ombudsman’s position as a servant of Parliament.
We have no plans to amend the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 at this time.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of NICE condition severity ratings on the accessibility of drugs for those with secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
he latest data for technology appraisals published up until the end of September 2025 shows that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended a greater proportion of medicines for advanced cancer since the severity modifier was introduced compared with NICE’s previous methods. The proportion of positive decisions for advanced cancer treatments since the severity modifier was introduced is 85% compared with 69% using NICE’s previous methods. Since the severity modifier was introduced, NICE has recommended all but one treatment for advanced breast cancer where the company has participated fully in the appraisal. The only treatment for advanced breast cancer that NICE has not been able to recommend in final guidance since the severity modifier was introduced is Enhertu.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 improve the prognosis of those with secondary breast cancer.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Cancer Plan, published 4 February 2026, has set out actions aimed at improving prognosis for people with secondary breast cancer. The plan highlights the Government’s ambition to ensure that every person with secondary breast cancer has faster diagnosis and treatment, access to the latest treatments and technology, and high-quality support throughout their journey, while driving up cancer survival rates.
NHS England is piloting the use of self-referral breast cancer pathways to streamline diagnostic pathways and free up primary care capacity using the NHS App and NHS 111 online service. This is in addition to the Government’s commitment for NHS England to deliver 9.5 million additional tests by 2029 through a £2.3 billion investment in diagnostics and by ensuring that as many community diagnostic centres as possible are fully operational and open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
To improve diagnosis of breast cancer, the National Health Service will harness 'circulating tumour DNA' tests for breast cancer which can pick up relapse months earlier, accelerating clinical decisions and allowing patients to start the most effective treatment faster. The National Cancer Plan has identified four priority areas to accelerate access to new technologies, which include artificial intelligence-assisted interpretation of pathology images for suspected prostate and breast cancer diagnosis.
To improve outcomes for breast cancer patients, NHS England funds the National Audit of Breast Cancer Treatment, covering both primary and metastatic disease. By analysing routine clinical data from NHS settings, these audits identify regional variations in care quality and establish best practices. This will benefit all breast cancer patients, including secondary breast cancer patients.
At the same time, the NHS is focusing on improving the experience of those with a cancer diagnosis. Every patient diagnosed with cancer will be supported through a full neighbourhood-level personalised care package, covering mental and physical health as well as any practical or financial concerns. For people with secondary breast cancer, this will be a step forward in building care around them, their needs, their lives, and their families.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent front-line customer support staff worked on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded wait time was on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many graduates who graduated in the last five years are registered as claimants at jobcentres.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There has been no assessment made of the number of graduates who have graduated in the last five years and are claiming benefits.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
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 potential impact of Pharmacy First on (a) patient satisfaction, (b) GP access and (c) pharmacy outcomes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pharmacies deliver a wide range of National Health Services, including Pharmacy First, that relieve pressure on general practices (GPs) and other parts of the NHS and help patients access healthcare advice, treatment, and preventative interventions more easily.
A National Institute for Health and Care Research funded evaluation of Pharmacy First will assess how the service has been implemented across England, including impacts on prescribing in the GP setting, use of hospitals, and how the service has impacted access to care and the cost for different patient groups.
According to the latest available data, 29 January 2026, from the Health Insights Survey, 89.2% of respondents reported they were satisfied with the most recent NHS service they received at a pharmacy.
To date, over 4.5 million Pharmacy First clinical pathway consultations have been delivered. NHS England will continue to keep the Pharmacy First service under review.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to reward high-performing GP practices.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Practices that participate in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) are financially rewarded for achieving performance indicators. Indicators and thresholds are designed to be stretching, but attainable.
QOF has been refined for 2026/27 to support more clinically effective patient care and to better align with updated National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
As well as traditional achievement thresholds, for 2026/27, practices are further incentivised to perform by having opportunity to earn QOF points through improving against their own baseline achievement for childhood immunisation indicators. This change is intended to recognise and reward practices, particularly those in more deprived areas that may not meet the existing achievement thresholds but demonstrate meaningful and sustained improvement in vaccination uptake.
We are committed to ensuring that all practices receive appropriate support and resources. We are investing an additional £485 million in general practice in 2026/27, bringing the total spend on the GP contract to over £13.8 billion. This builds on last year’s £1.1 billion of investment.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency has undertaken modelling of wastewater discharges from the Meadfoot sewage outfall in Torquay to assess the interaction of those discharges with tidal movements within the last five years.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The beach is monitored by the EA during the bathing season which runs from mid-May to September. The EA monitors the bathing water for bacteria. The results from Meadfoot Beach put it in the highest class for clean water quality: it is rated as excellent.
The EA’s local Bathing Water data teams look at all data as they become available through the bathing season. Should they see any results that fall short of what is expected for that beach they will investigate the reasons and act on any findings.
Polluting our waterways is unacceptable. We have published the Water White Paper, a new once-in-a-generation plan to overhaul the water system. It sets out clear powers for the new regulator, delivering tougher oversight and stronger accountability for water companies.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will ask Ofcom to investigate the consent or pay model for websites.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Consent or pay models are used by some websites to gather consent for the use “storage and access technologies”, the most common of which is cookies. The rules around consent for such technology are governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). The relevant regulator overseeing PECR is the Information Commissioner's Office, who last year published guidance on how websites can deploy consent or pay legally: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/online-tracking/consent-or-pay/