Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of patients waiting to start treatment with Maidstone and Tunbridge NHS Foundation Trust in (a) July 2024 and (b) December 2025.

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

At the start of July 2024, the number of pathways on the referral-to-treatment waiting list at the Maidstone and Tunbridge NHS Foundation Trust was 44,761.

As of the latest published data for the end of November 2025, the number of pathways was 49,595. Published data is available at the following link:

https://data.england.nhs.uk/dashboard/rtt

Data for December 2025 will be published on 12 February 2026.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Department is aware of (a) any loss and (b) compromise of personal data held by the Pension Protection Fund affecting pension scheme members; and whether communications requesting updates to beneficiary information are part of routine administration rather than a response to any such incident.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Pension Protection Fund’s recent communications to members about nominating beneficiaries relates to the introduction of its new online beneficiary nomination service, which allows members to nominate or update their beneficiary details directly via the member website. It is a service that’s designed to make the bereavement process faster and more efficient and is not in response to any loss or compromise of members’ personal data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reclassifying Ketamine from a Class B to Class A drug.

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

Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to its dangers.

In January 2025 the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, advice on reducing those harms and whether ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August 2025, and we expect to receive its report soon. We will then carefully consider its recommendations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of patients waiting to start treatment with Medway NHS Foundation Trust in (a) July 2024 and (b) December 2025.

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

The latest publication was on 15 January 2026 for November 2025 data. Data for December will be published on 12 February 2026.

At the start of July 2024, the number of pathways on the referral-to-treatment waiting list for the same trust was 43,820.

As of the latest published data for the end of November 2025, the number of pathways on the waiting list at the same trust was 37,104. The waiting list at Medway has therefore reduced by 6,716, or by 15.3%.

Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to putting patients first by ensuring that they are seen on time and that they have the best possible experience of care. Since the Government came into office, the waiting list for routine appointments, operations and procedures in England has now been cut by 312,369. This is despite 30.1 million referrals onto the waiting list.

Data on elective performance is published monthly, with further information avaiable at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/

Literacy and the criminal justice system

Support for early years and the National Literacy Trust

Libraries in state primary schools

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne

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Found: Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah Green; Lloyd Hatton; Rupert Lowe; Catherine McKinnell; Sarah Olney; Tristan Osborne

Found: Betts; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Green; Lloyd Hatton; Chris Kane; Rupert Lowe; Catherine McKinnell; Tristan Osborne

Found: Catherine McKinnell (Labour; Newcastle upon Tyne North) Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat; Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne