Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent car insurance premiums from being increased for drivers involved in no-fault accidents.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department has not assessed the potential merits of legislation to prevent premiums rising for drivers involved in no fault accidents.

The setting and the adjustment of premiums following a claim are commercial decisions for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience and the Government does not generally intervene or seek to control the market.

Drivers need to declare incidents that they are involved in, regardless of who or what was at fault. As a result, their premiums may increase, as insurance works on the basis of whether a claim is paid out under the policy, regardless of fault. Where an insurer is able to recover its outlay from the other party, the increase might be readjusted in the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policies his Department plans to include in the National Cancer Plan on increasing access to clinical trials for (a) teenagers and (b) young adults with cancer.

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

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more people survive, and we will improve the experience of cancer patients across the system, including teenagers and young adults.

Since the launch of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce on 4 February 2025, the taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas. These include data, early detection and diagnosis, patient experience, genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation, which includes access to clinical trials. The Government is aware of the unique challenges that teenagers and young adults with cancer face, often falling in between paediatric and adult care, and the work of the taskforce has included a specific focus on this issue.

As part of its work, the taskforce will ensure that the needs of teenagers and young adults are carefully considered as part of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, for all patient groups. This will include teenagers and young adults with cancer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what policies his Department plans to include in the National Cancer Plan on the earlier diagnosis of (a) teenagers and (b) young adults with cancer.

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

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more people survive, and we will improve the experience of cancer patients across the system, including teenagers and young adults.

Since the launch of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce on 4 February 2025, the taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas. These include data, early detection and diagnosis, patient experience, genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation, which includes access to clinical trials. The Government is aware of the unique challenges that teenagers and young adults with cancer face, often falling in between paediatric and adult care, and the work of the taskforce has included a specific focus on this issue.

As part of its work, the taskforce will ensure that the needs of teenagers and young adults are carefully considered as part of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, for all patient groups. This will include teenagers and young adults with cancer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help improve data collection on (a) teenagers and (b) young adults with cancer in relation to (i) staging at diagnosis, (ii) routes to diagnosis, (iii) emergency presentation, (iv) waiting times and (v) access to clinical trials.

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

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more people survive, and we will improve the experience of cancer patients across the system, including teenagers and young adults.

Since the launch of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce on 4 February 2025, the taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas. These include data, early detection and diagnosis, patient experience, genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation, which includes access to clinical trials. The Government is aware of the unique challenges that teenagers and young adults with cancer face, often falling in between paediatric and adult care, and the work of the taskforce has included a specific focus on this issue.

As part of its work, the taskforce will ensure that the needs of teenagers and young adults are carefully considered as part of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, for all patient groups. This will include teenagers and young adults with cancer.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the National Cancer Plan for England provides age-appropriate information on the symptoms of cancer for young people.

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

The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, so that more people survive, and we will improve the experience of cancer patients across the system, including teenagers and young adults.

Since the launch of the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce on 4 February 2025, the taskforce has been exploring opportunities for clinical and non-clinical improvement across a range of areas. These include data, early detection and diagnosis, patient experience, genomic testing and treatment, and research and innovation, which includes access to clinical trials. The Government is aware of the unique challenges that teenagers and young adults with cancer face, often falling in between paediatric and adult care, and the work of the taskforce has included a specific focus on this issue.

As part of its work, the taskforce will ensure that the needs of teenagers and young adults are carefully considered as part of the forthcoming National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer. Our goal is to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer over the next ten years, for all patient groups. This will include teenagers and young adults with cancer.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement mechanisms are in place to ensure manufacturers comply with the prohibition on pause functions in Audible Vehicle Alert Systems for new (i) electric and (ii) hybrid vehicles registered from 1 September 2023.

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

All new vehicles are subject to type approval. Vehicle approval requirements were introduced on 1 July 2021 mandating Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) on new types of quiet electric and hybrid vehicles. The use of pause switched to temporarily disable the AVAS have been prohibited for new vehicles being placed on the market from September 2023. Vehicles sold prior to these dates are only required to meet the approval requirements mandated at the time they were placed on the market.

The department does not have any figures for the number of vehicles with AVAS, or that have a pause switch.

As part of compliance and enforcement, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) inspects and tests vehicles and components on the market to ensure they comply with environmental and safety standards. The MSU conducts an annual programme of surveillance, including physical tests and inspections, as well as responding to intelligence provided by industry or the general public.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) electric and (b) hybrid vehicles that (i) do not have an Audible Vehicle Alert System installed and (ii) have an Audible Vehicle Alert System installed with a pause function.

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

All new vehicles are subject to type approval. Vehicle approval requirements were introduced on 1 July 2021 mandating Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) on new types of quiet electric and hybrid vehicles. The use of pause switched to temporarily disable the AVAS have been prohibited for new vehicles being placed on the market from September 2023. Vehicles sold prior to these dates are only required to meet the approval requirements mandated at the time they were placed on the market.

The department does not have any figures for the number of vehicles with AVAS, or that have a pause switch.

As part of compliance and enforcement, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) inspects and tests vehicles and components on the market to ensure they comply with environmental and safety standards. The MSU conducts an annual programme of surveillance, including physical tests and inspections, as well as responding to intelligence provided by industry or the general public.