Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with UK Biobank on the suspension of researcher access to its Research Analysis Platform since 23 April 2026; what assessment she has made of the impact on the DecodeME project and other NIHR-funded research on developments in the field; and what steps her Department is taking to help restore access.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Further to the answer provided on 8 June in response to HL270, officials have met with UK Biobank and continue to work closely with them to restore access to the Research Analysis Platform. The impacts of the Research Analysis Platform closure include delays for researchers with time-sensitive studies, and slower innovation in the life sciences sector, so it is a key priority for our work in these areas to see that access restored.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a) whether there will be funding available through a Farm Equipment Technology Fund (FETF) in 2027 and b) whether goat dairy producers will be eligible for the FETF.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
FETF 2026 is the final FETF grant round in its current form. From 2027, we intend to bring together the strongest elements of our grant schemes, simplifying applications and making it easier for farmers to access funding. The Government keeps the scope and eligibility of grant offers under review.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department verifies the accuracy of the destination data reported by local authorities to WasteDataFlow for aluminium packaging.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information included in the full dataset is raw data as provided by Local Authorities, published to provide additional detail for users.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the value of commercial goat dairy production a) in the UK b) in England.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
While recognising the place of the UK’s longstanding goat milk sector within UK agricultural, no assessment of the value of commercial goat dairy production has been made.
A range of support has been made available in England that businesses including those in the goat milking sector might access including support on farm productivity and slurry and through the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support commercial goat dairy producers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
While recognising the place of the UK’s longstanding goat milk sector within UK agricultural, no assessment of the value of commercial goat dairy production has been made.
A range of support has been made available in England that businesses including those in the goat milking sector might access including support on farm productivity and slurry and through the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s monthly market overview of aluminium prices for local authorities referred to in the debate of 1 September 2026, where that overview is published and on what date publication began.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Defra funded WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and MRW (Materials Recycling World) have published a Material Recycling Weekly price report for over fifteen years. This is a weekly publication that users can access free of charge.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when her Department plans to publish an updated implementation timetable for the outstanding commitments in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan, following the progress update issued on 9 October 2026.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to work with NHS England and other partners to deliver the remaining commitments in the myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) final delivery plan. Progress on research-related actions will be reported on annually, to the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan Stakeholder Engagement Group. The Department will provide updates on other actions as appropriate.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Answer of 9 July 2026 to Question 15640 (a) whether her Department’s call for evidence on the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility fees has been launched.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
PackUK is planning to launch a Call for Evidence to inform future approaches to fee modulation. Further details will be communicated to stakeholders in due course.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (a) what proportion of aluminium packaging collected by local authorities in England was reported to WasteDataFlow as having been sent to destinations outside the UK in the year from 2024 - 2025 and (b) if she will publish that figure for each local authority.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
WasteDataFlow does not include a total aluminium packaging category, although does collect information on aluminium cans and foil.
Information provided by each Local Authority is published in the full dataset here (Q100 Waste collection data England 2024-25). This includes end destinations of waste when provided (columns L-P), including Outside UK.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the written statement made on 30 June 2026, HCWS166), on the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, whether funding available to NHS Trusts to upgrade facilities will be ringfenced to (a) maternity departments, (b) gynaecology departments, (c) early pregnancy units and (d) neonatal departments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing £271 million in schemes relating to improvements in the safety of maternity and neonatal wards. This is on top of £9 million already invested in bereavement suites, so that grieving families have a private, respectful environment for dealing with the loss of a baby. The £271 million is not ringfenced as it is part of the Estates Safety Fund.
We are bringing together recommendations from Baroness Amos’ investigation, the Thirlwall Inquiry and Donna Ockenden’s Nottingham review into a national action plan to drive sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee its development ahead of publication by the end of the year, holding every service to the highest standards.