Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on the installation of Automatic Fire Detection across prison accommodation.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Under this Government, H M Prison & Probation Service has adopted a strategic approach to fire safety improvement across the prison estate, prioritising the installation of in-cell automatic fire detection (AFD) to minimise the risk of harm from fires as quickly as possible. This approach, which has resulted in approximately 4000 prison places being made fire safety compliant since July 2024, reflects the assessment that AFD provides the most significant immediate reduction in life safety risk by enabling the earliest possible identification of fire.

The current number of prison places with in-cell AFD is 70,975 out of a total of 89,795 operational places across the prison estate (79 per cent).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of prison accommodation has Automatic Fire Detection installed in England.

Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Under this Government, H M Prison & Probation Service has adopted a strategic approach to fire safety improvement across the prison estate, prioritising the installation of in-cell automatic fire detection (AFD) to minimise the risk of harm from fires as quickly as possible. This approach, which has resulted in approximately 4000 prison places being made fire safety compliant since July 2024, reflects the assessment that AFD provides the most significant immediate reduction in life safety risk by enabling the earliest possible identification of fire.

The current number of prison places with in-cell AFD is 70,975 out of a total of 89,795 operational places across the prison estate (79 per cent).

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to (a) serving military personnel and (b) veterans with Acquired Brain Injury as a result of service.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

The health and wellbeing of our Armed Forces personnel is one of this Government’s top priorities. Specialist treatment for Service personnel with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), including traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is facilitated by Defence Medical Command (DMedC) at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC). Veterans can access physical health support through Op RESTORE and mental health services through Op COURAGE, with significant recent investment.

Further, with the introduction of Op VALOUR; a new £50 million UK Government-backed initiative, Veterans across the UK will have easier access to essential care, improved coordination and visibility of services.

The UK is a world leader in ABI, and Defence will continue its dedicated work and collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on ABI with a specific focus on TBI and mild Traumatic Brian Injury (mBTI) to ensure the best outcomes for our military community and society as a whole.

The UK is investing heavily in research to advance the diagnosis, management and rehabilitation of patients with ABI, which will help both military and civilian patients. Defence has invested £3.65m in the world’s first mobile quantum-enabled magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scanner, built in the UK, to tell us what happens in the minutes and hours after blast exposure.

This government will publish the first ABI Action Plan this year. The plan will lay out the action that is needed to improve the lives of people who have experienced ABI.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps have been taken to ensure the safety of (a) NHS staff and (b) patients within NHS services in Slough constituency.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including security, training, and emotional support, for staff affected by violence.

In April 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced that the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal, had been accepted in full. This includes measures to improve data and reporting, strengthen risk assessment, and improve training and support for victims. These have been bolstered by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, including one that focuses specifically on tackling violence, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government is prioritising patient safety and a learning culture in the NHS. The changes we are making as part of the 10-Year Health Plan and Dr Penny Dash’s report on the patient safety landscape will improve quality and safety by clarifying where responsibility and accountability sit at all levels of the system. We also plan to develop a new, updated NHS Patient Safety Strategy later in 2026 to continue our focus on improving patient safety.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department has plans to publish guidance on the issuing of naloxone to those leaving prison with a history of opioid use.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Department has published clinical guidance on drug misuse and dependence which includes a section on the criminal justice system and stresses that take-home naloxone for previously heroin-dependent prisoners is important as they leave prison and enter a very high-risk period. The guidance advises that commissioners should agree with prison health and community providers on how best to facilitate support for naloxone provision on release.

On release from prison, NHS Substance Misuse teams in custody settings provide patients at risk of an opioid overdose who have given their consent with take home naloxone kits and training on how to use them.

The Government has amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone by enabling more services and professionals to supply naloxone without needing a prescription. The Department published guidance on the GOV.UK website in 2025 setting out essential practical information such as who can supply naloxone, the products available, how to use naloxone, and other basic lifesaving tools, and the training required.

In addition to the changes made in 2024, we published a United Kingdom wide public consultation which closed on 9 March, to seek views on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone. We are analysing the responses to this consultation, and we will be setting out the next steps soon.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the flexible workspace sector on (a) changes to the Valuation Office classification of serviced offices and (b) the potential impact of these changes on small businesses.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

Both HM Treasury Ministers and officials continue to engage closely with the flexible workspace sector.

The Valuation Office (VO) is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. They are required to maintain accurate rating lists in England and to carry out valuations impartially and in line with relevant legislation and caselaw.

At this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway. The VO is addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention.

Where the VO is required to determine the unit of assessment, it does so on a case-by-case basis, with all facts being considered. Reviewing a small number of cases will help clarify the application of legislation on serviced offices and the VO will continue to monitor legal developments and update its approach as needed.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with participating European countries regarding compliance with obligations under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government takes International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA) extremely seriously. For example, the Foreign Secretary raised IPCA with her Polish counterpart on 25 June 2026, and our Embassy in Bucharest convened a working group focused on improving implementation of return orders under the 1980 Hague Convention in April. While compliance with Convention obligations ultimately rests with the authorities in the country where the child is located, we will continue to work with our European counterparts to improve the enforcement of return orders, as we set out in the Westminster Hall debate on 28 April 2026 (28 April 2026, International Parental Child Abduction, Westminster Hall, column 315WH).

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps have been taken to ensure that schoolchildren can participate in a wide range of sports in (a) school and (b) extra-curricular settings.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is investing over £1 billion in PE and school sport over three years, including £530 million for the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network.

The new approach focuses on improving the quality of PE and school sport, reducing inactivity and addressing inequalities in participation. Support will include coaching, swimming provision, and support to open facilities. It will also strengthen links to extra-curricular activities, local sports clubs and community providers, alongside more accessible programmes from National Governing Bodies, helping more children access a wider range of sports and physical activities.

In addition, the department’s Enrichment Framework sets an expectation that all schools and colleges should offer a broad and well-rounded enrichment offer. Sport and physical activities are specifically identified as one of the areas that offers should cover. The £132.5 million Every Child Can programme will fund activity across the five categories of enrichment, within school and in communities at weekends and in the holidays.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of financial assistance available for homeowners to retrofit properties to prevent them from overheating in extreme heat.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As set out in the Warm Homes Plan, our buildings are not currently built to deal with record summer temperatures and some are at significant risk of overheating.

That’s why the government is introducing the most appropriate, cost-effective passive cooling measures into our capital schemes, which will deliver £4.4 billion in direct grants by 2030 to support low-income households. These include internal blinds, external shutters, reflective window films, and cooler building materials.

We also recognise that in some cases active cooling is needed to protect those most vulnerable to overheating. We have therefore expanded the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants of up to £7,500 for low‑carbon heating and is worth £2.7 billion up to 2030, to provide grants for air‑to‑air heat pumps which also provide cooling.

Additionally, the WHP committed to a new low-interest consumer loans scheme – backed by £2bn public funding – which will provide further support with upfront costs for various home upgrades. We will provide more details on this soon.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department holds data on the number of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries attended by Fire and Rescue Services in Slough each year.

Answered by Samantha Dixon

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) does not currently hold data on the number of fires caused by lithium-ion battery failures attended by Fire and Rescue Services in Slough, or elsewhere in England.

MHCLG collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of the ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by lithium-ion failures.

The Fire and Rescue Analysis Platform (FaRDaP) is now used for the collection of fire and rescue incident data, and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect, with data covering lithium-ion batteries’ role in fire incidents potentially able to be included in the future.

In addition, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) conduct research into product safety risks associated with lithium-ion batteries and are working closely with MHCLG and other Government Departments to develop this knowledge base. A report from January 2025 by the OPSS that covers the root causes of fire incidents often associated with lithium-ion battery failures is available here.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps he has taken to make heat pump installation more (a) accessible and (b) affordable for home owners.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is taking significant steps to make heat pumps more accessible and affordable for homeowners, demonstrated by the record installation levels set in both 2024 and 2025.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants of up to £7,500 for all eligible households in England and Wales, and we recently announced a £1,500 uplift for properties heated by oil and LPG. We recently expanded scheme eligibility to include air-to-air heat pumps, which are generally cheaper to install.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund also provide fully-funded heat pumps to low-income households,

The Warm Homes Plan committed to a new low-interest consumer loans scheme – backed by £2bn public funding – which will provide further support with upfront costs. We will provide more details soon.

The Government has reformed planning rules to make it easier to install heat pumps under permitted rights, and we’re working with industry to reduce costs, which have fallen by around 11% in real terms since BUS launched in 2022.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions his Department has had with the European Union regarding the 90-days/180-days short-stay rule within the Schengen Area for UK nationals.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

Ministers and officials from across the Government, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.

The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps have been taken alongside international partners to ensure the safety of Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 23 June in response to Question HL995. On the issue of humanitarian aid for Ethiopia, I refer him to the country-level allocations of Official Development Assistance set out in the Department's annual report and accounts for 2025/26, published on 16 July.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of its processes for (a) identifying, (b) monitoring and (c) reporting potential breaches of international humanitarian law globally.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to upholding and promoting full compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office draws on a range of sources and analysis to inform our IHL assessments, including the work of our own expert teams.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps have been taken to provide humanitarian aid to Ethiopia.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 23 June in response to Question HL995. On the issue of humanitarian aid for Ethiopia, I refer him to the country-level allocations of Official Development Assistance set out in the Department's annual report and accounts for 2025/26, published on 16 July.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken to prevent the sale of electrical products online that do not meet British safety standards.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

Under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, businesses are responsible for ensuring that electrical products are safe before being placed on the UK market. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and local authorities take action, including enforcement, to prevent the supply of non-compliant products and remove them from sale, including online.

My Department has recently consulted on reforming the Product Safety Framework so that it works for modern products, risks and supply chains. This included proposals for clear duties on online marketplaces to identify, prevent and remove unsafe products from their sites.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has`made of the adequacy of guidance available to NHS staff on the use of restrictive practice within inpatient mental health services.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 requires every mental health unit to publish a policy on how it is minimizing the use of force, including restrictive practices. This includes preventative action the unit is taking to minimise use of force, staff training on how and when use of force is appropriate, and how use of force is recorded and reported.

There is ongoing work to reduce restrictive interventions within mental health inpatient units using quality improvement approaches including through the Culture of Care Standards Programme. Resources such as the NHS England’s Identifying restrictive practice guidance and the Use of Force Act statutory guidance have been produced to reduce the use of force and ensure accountability and transparency about the use of force in mental health units.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help improve (a) recognition (b) early intervention and (c) access to treatment for patients who experience Postpartum haemorrhage.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

While data is not available for Slough alone, in 2025, there were 280 reported cases of postpartum haemorrhage of 1,500 millilitres or more at the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which serves patients in Slough and the wider area.

Annual trust data on reported postpartum haemorrhages of 1,500 millilitres or more between 2022 and 2025 is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/maternity-and-neonatal-equalities-dashboard

The reported data may not represent all postpartum haemorrhages of 1,500 millilitres or more due to variations in data quality between trusts and over time. Monthly data back to April 2019, including more detailed information on data quality, is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/maternity-services-monthly-statistics

To tackle leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, we have launched a Maternal Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services, focused on the main causes of maternal death and harm. It will codify best practice already in use and support more consistent care, and we expect it to help reduce deaths and serious harm, especially among higher-risk groups, as well as reduce inequalities in maternal mortality.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many instances of postpartum haemorrhage occurred in Slough constituency in each of the last five years.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

While data is not available for Slough alone, in 2025, there were 280 reported cases of postpartum haemorrhage of 1,500 millilitres or more at the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which serves patients in Slough and the wider area.

Annual trust data on reported postpartum haemorrhages of 1,500 millilitres or more between 2022 and 2025 is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/maternity-and-neonatal-equalities-dashboard

The reported data may not represent all postpartum haemorrhages of 1,500 millilitres or more due to variations in data quality between trusts and over time. Monthly data back to April 2019, including more detailed information on data quality, is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/maternity-services-monthly-statistics

To tackle leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, we have launched a Maternal Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services, focused on the main causes of maternal death and harm. It will codify best practice already in use and support more consistent care, and we expect it to help reduce deaths and serious harm, especially among higher-risk groups, as well as reduce inequalities in maternal mortality.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of the Care Quality Commission's enforcement powers to ensure patient safety.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, with a range of enforcement powers. The Department holds the CQC to account regularly for its overall performance and delivery of its regulatory functions.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the CQC has civil and criminal enforcement powers enabling it to protect the public and hold registered providers and managers to account where fundamental standards are not met, or regulated activities are provided without CQC registration. Civil powers focus on reducing risks to people using services, while criminal powers enable the CQC to take action in response to serious failures. In some cases, the CQC may use both types of enforcement action.

Decisions on enforcement action are a matter for the CQC, exercised in line with its statutory remit and published enforcement policy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps have been taken to reduce waiting times for ADHD assessments in the constituency of Slough.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

We recognise that, nationally, demand for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays in accessing such services.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment services. The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.

The Thames Valley ICB and the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have undertaken work to improve ADHD services in Slough and East Berkshire. This includes redesigning referral and triage pathways, increasing assessment capacity through additional commissioned providers, introducing digital support and self-management tools, and improving the information and support available to families. A wider transformation programme is also underway across Thames Valley to improve the consistency and quality of assessment pathways, provide support before, during, and after assessment, and strengthen collaboration between health, education, local authorities, and voluntary organisations. The programme aims to reduce waiting times, improve patient experience, and ensure people can access support based on need, rather than diagnosis alone.

The Government announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. The final report, due in the summer, will inform our new approach, so people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place. The review’s interim report, published at the end of March, sets out the evidence reviewed so far on prevalence, describes the impact of rising demand for diagnosis and support, identifies where the evidence is uncertain, and outlines the key questions for the next phase.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to support the police in promptly investigating arson offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The investigation of individual offences is an operational matter for police forces and they work alongside fire and rescue services and other partners to deter, investigate and tackle arson. The Government will establish new Local Policing Guarantees that set out the minimum levels of service the public should expect to receive from their police force wherever in England and Wales they live. These will include how the police will rapidly and effectively respond when the public need them.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate has been made of the number of Nursing and Midwifery Council cases in the High Court that resulted in the original decision being overturned in the past (a) 12 and (b) 24 months.

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

The information requested is not held centrally as the case management system does not record whether a Nursing and Midwifery Council case resulted in the original decision being overturned.

Determining the number of such cases over the last 12 or 24 months would require a manual review of individual case files and court orders across a substantial number of cases. This information could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered the potential merits of requiring (a) letting agents and (b) landlords to provide a reason to rental housing applicants for applications being unsuccessful to ensure compliance with the (i) Equality Act 2010 and (ii) Renters Rights Act 2025.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 extends existing protections against discrimination in the lettings process under the Equality Act 2010 to those in receipt of benefits or with children

The Act also provides local authorities with strong investigatory and enforcement powers to bear down on rental discrimination practices in the private rented sector. It addresses both overt discriminatory practices, such as ‘No DSS’ adverts, and situations where landlords or letting agents use other indirect practices in order to prevent someone entering into a tenancy.

My Department also encourages good practice across property agents. The Property Ombudsman already has a code of practice for letting agents which is mandatory for its members; and we will publish, later this year, a non-statutory code of practice setting out minimum best practice standards, and consider legislation to ensure compliance.

Our new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, once established, will be able to publish guidance and codes of practice for landlords, which will further help to drive up standards across this sector.

Found: Current membership Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour; Slough) (Chair) Mr Calvin Bailey (Labour; Leyton

Found: Defence Committee member present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair).

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Chair); Alex Baker; Lincoln Jopp; Emma

Found: (Labour; Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) Sarah Champion (Labour; Rotherham) Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Found: Western (The Chair); Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom; Lord Boateng; Liam Byrne; Sarah Champion; Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Found: Western (The Chair); Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom; Lord Boateng; Liam Byrne; Sarah Champion; Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Submit Evidence (by 7 Oct 2026)

This inquiry will examine the UK’s resilience and preparedness for conflict, asking whether the UK government is meeting its obligations under NATO’s Article 3. The inquiry will also look at what powers the proposed Defence Readiness Bill might need to include to enable civil assistance to military authority in the event of a conflict.

Submit Evidence (by 6 Sep 2026)

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