Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department has issued to Integrated Care Boards on commissioning services for patients with very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS).
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 16 July 2026 to the Hon Member for Skipton and Ripon to Question 16893.
Further to this response, the Department, together with NHS England, has developed a template service specification for mild, moderate, and severe myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The template, once published, will be circulated to integrated care boards to support the commissioning of services for severe ME/CFS.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department has issued to Integrated Care Boards on commissioning services for patients with very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 16 July 2026 to the Hon Member for Skipton and Ripon to Question 16893.
Further to this response, the Department, together with NHS England, has developed a template service specification for mild, moderate, and severe myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The template, once published, will be circulated to integrated care boards to support the commissioning of services for severe ME/CFS.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to (a) improve outcomes for women in Hampstead and Highgate constituency with postpartum haemorrhage and (b) ensure access to appropriate and innovative treatments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While data is not available specifically for the Hampstead and Highgate constituency, data on postpartum haemorrhage is available for the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Whittington Health NHS Trust, which provide maternity services for patients in the constituency and the wider area.
Between February and April 2026, the proportion of women who had a postpartum haemorrhage of at least 1,5000 millilitres was 32 per 1,000 deliveries at both the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Whittington Health NHS Trust. The proportion for England in this period was 31 per 1,000.
Monthly data back to April 2019, including more detailed information on data quality, is available at the following link:
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.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve outcomes for women in Hampstead and Highgate with postpartum haemorrhage and ensure they have access to appropriate and innovative treatments.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While data is not available specifically for the Hampstead and Highgate constituency, data on postpartum haemorrhage is available for the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Whittington Health NHS Trust, which provide maternity services for patients in the constituency and the wider area.
Between February and April 2026, the proportion of women who had a postpartum haemorrhage of at least 1,5000 millilitres was 32 per 1,000 deliveries at both the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Whittington Health NHS Trust. The proportion for England in this period was 31 per 1,000.
Monthly data back to April 2019, including more detailed information on data quality, is available at the following link:
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.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the need for additional guidance to ensure that post-war low-rise council blocks, not covered by the Building Safety Act, are proactively inspected and maintained.
Answered by Samantha Dixon
Building owners are responsible for managing building safety and performance issues in their buildings in a proportionate, risk-based and evidence-based manner, and for taking action where necessary.
Existing legislation and guidance already require building owners and responsible persons to identify, assess and manage safety risks in residential buildings, including low-rise council blocks. This includes requirements under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
The Government keeps building safety requirements under review. Updated HHSRS regulations and guidance came into force in June 2026.
Current HHSRS guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/housing-health-and-safety-rating-system-hhsrs-guidance.
Current FSO guidance can be found here: ‘A guide to making your small block of flats safe from fire’ and ‘Fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats’.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress she has made to introduce a Special Envoy for Complex and Arbitrary Detentions.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I know that the Hon Member has taken a long and passionate interest in this issue, both during and following the six years that she spent working for the release of her constituent, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, from detention in Iran.
I am very pleased to tell her and other Parliamentary colleagues that the Foreign Secretary has today (14 July) appointed the Rt Hon Alistair Burt, former Minister of State for the Middle East, to serve as the UK's special envoy for complex consular cases.
The new role has been created to provide additional support in particularly complex cases, including those involving concerns about the welfare of UK detainees, their entitlement to due process and the protection of their human rights. Mr Burt will help ensure that the most complex detention cases continue to receive focused senior attention, supporting the UK's efforts to secure progress and resolution.
Mr Burt will advocate on behalf of detainees and will work closely with families to ensure that their views are heard and reflected in the UK's approach. He will also support coordination across Government and advocate for resolutions in the most challenging cases, ensuring that every possible avenue is being pursued.
He brings extensive experience to this position from his previous ministerial role at the Foreign, Development & Commonwealth Office, where he established a strong track record in handling complex consular cases, including engagement with detainees' families and senior international counterparts, and navigation of sensitive issues in high-pressure environments
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve the standards and tackle delays in the Housing Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Housing Ombudsman Service is an independent and impartial body responsible for investigating complaints about social landlords.
The Ombudsman is taking steps to improve timeliness and performance, including increasing capacity, strengthening its processes, and introducing more proportionate approaches to investigations.
Through its Business Plan 2026/27, which can be found here, the Ombudsman has set out a programme of work to reduce the number of older cases and improve the speed of case resolution. This includes increasing its workforce and introducing a multi‑year caseload reduction strategy focused on delivering faster outcomes for residents.
The Ombudsman has also increased its membership fees, paid by landlords, to support these improvements and ensure it has the resources needed to respond to rising demand.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to lower the unit cost of the drug Enhertu.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
Ministers met with the manufacturers of Enhertu, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, in November 2024 to encourage them to engage constructively with NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to reach a commercial agreement that would enable patient access for patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer.
Enhertu for HER-2 low metastatic breast cancer remains the only breast cancer treatment that NICE has been unable to recommend for patients in the last eight years. This was because, at the price offered by the company in 2024, the treatment was too expensive for the benefits it provided and NICE concluded it was not cost effective. Despite NICE and NHS England offering unprecedented flexibilities, the companies were unable to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price.
As part of the US-UK trade arrangement, announced in December 2025, NICE is now using a new higher cost-effectiveness threshold. Given these new circumstances, discussions involving NICE, the manufacturers and NHS England have resumed to try to seek agreement on a commercial offer that would make Enhertu cost effective. NICE stands ready to consider reviewing the guidance if new evidence, including a new commercial offer, were to be put forward by the company.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to help those migrating from legacy benefits to universal credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
All customers have access to support throughout the process, including the Move to Universal Credit Helpline and independent Help to Claim support provided by Citizens Advice, which offers tailored assistance to help people make and manage their claim.
We also provide eligible customers with Transitional Protection where their Universal Credit entitlement would otherwise be lower than their previous legacy benefit award, ensuring their entitlement is protected at the point of migration.
We recognise that some groups, including Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) customers may be more vulnerable. For these customers, enhanced support is in place from the point they receive their Migration Notice. This includes the Enhanced Support Journey, which offers tailored contact and visiting officer support where appropriate for those who have not yet engaged.
In addition, we have identified that some customers require a personal or corporate appointee but may not have arrangements in place ahead of the ESA closure date. In such cases, we will exempt these customers from the closure date to ensure they are not disadvantaged. This does not mean ESA will remain in payment indefinitely and a final closure date for these customers will be determined in due course.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Highgate)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help ensure that regulators hold banks to account for financial misconduct.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This country is a world leader in financial services because we adhere to high standards. Both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority have powers to enforce regulation, the ability to apply a range of sanctions to firms and individuals who breach their rules, and to prosecute offences in the criminal courts.