Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to permit Automatic Number Plate Recognition to be used in council car parks.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The department has no current plans to alter how local authorities can use Automatic Number Plate Recognition for enforcement purposes in England and Wales but will keep this position under review.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to require telecommunications providers to bear financial responsibility for losses arising from scam and spoofed telephone calls to improve accountability under Ofcom’s regulatory framework.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has no plans to require telecommunications providers to bear financial responsibility for losses arising from scam and spoofed telephone calls.
Tackling fraud and pursuing the criminals behind it is a priority for the Government. We are working closely with industry, law enforcement and consumer groups to identify and prosecute criminal activity of this nature.
The Government works closely with Ofcom, the independent regulator, which has a duty to protect consumers and to ensure that UK numbers are not misused. Ofcom has powers to set and enforce rules requiring providers to take steps to prevent fraud and protect consumers, including measures to block scam calls.
In addition, the Government and industry are taking forward collective action through initiatives such as the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter and the Fraud Strategy, which set out measures to strengthen the security, traceability and reliability of calls and tackle spoofing.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of Ofcom's enforcement of caller line identification requirements in reducing the number of scam and spoofed telephone calls received by consumers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Tackling fraud is a priority for the Government. We are working closely with industry, law enforcement and consumer groups to identify and prosecute criminal activity of this nature.
As the independent regulator, Ofcom has strengthened its Calling Line Identification guidance following consultation, with rules coming into force in January 2025 requiring providers to block calls from abroad which falsely display UK landline numbers. Ofcom also consulted in 2025 on further measures to address calls that imitate UK mobile numbers and is continuing work on next steps.
The Government has not made a specific assessment of the effectiveness of Ofcom’s enforcement of caller line identification requirements in reducing the number of scam and spoofed telephone calls received by consumers.
The Government continues to support Ofcom’s work, including through the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter and the Fraud Strategy, to protect consumers and reduce scam calls.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data her Department holds the percentage of landline telephone connections that have been migrated from the Public Switched Telephone Network to digital voice services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately-owned telecoms network and the decision to upgrade it to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was taken by the telecoms industry in 2017.
Over 92% of PSTN landlines have already been migrated to VoIP. As of 31 March 2026, fewer than 2.8 million PSTN lines remain operational, down from 35.2 million PSTN lines at the network’s peak.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the migration from Public Switched Telephone Network to digital landline services on the number of (a) scam and (b) caller ID spoofing telephone calls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK. Ofcom have confirmed that VoIP technology is more resilient, more secure, enables better quality phone calls, and can be used to block scam and spoofed calls. For example, BT Digital Voice blocks over 17,000 scam calls every day.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of digital voice services, compared to the legacy Public Switched Telephone Network, on protection against scam and spoofed calls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK. Ofcom have confirmed that VoIP technology is more resilient, more secure, enables better quality phone calls, and can be used to block scam and spoofed calls. For example, BT Digital Voice blocks over 17,000 scam calls every day.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to develop a formal care pathway for Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s updated adult specialised neurology service specification sets clear, standardised expectations for integrated neurology pathways, helping integrated care boards (ICBs) design services that provide timely, comprehensive, and coordinated care for patients with neurological conditions, including those with Parkinson’s. The service specification describes how general outpatient neurology services must have explicit pathways in place to ensure patients can consistently access more specialised care at specialised neurology centres if not available locally.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults, reference code NG71, offers evidence‑based recommendations on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of Parkinson’s. The NICE guidance recommends people with Parkinson’s should receive regular specialist review every six to 12 months, with a care plan developed through a multidisciplinary approach.
The Getting It Right First Time Programme (GIRFT) for Neurology is also driving service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s. GIRFT provides evidence‑based recommendations to streamline referral and outpatient pathways, improve data quality, and share best practice between National Health Service trusts. In addition, NHS England’s RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit provides practical, data‑driven tools to help systems reduce variation and improve multidisciplinary working. Together, these resources give ICBs a robust framework to develop accessible, well‑coordinated Parkinson’s services that better meet patient needs.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will take steps to provide free NHS prescriptions to younger onset Parkinson's patients.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans to provide free National Health Service prescriptions to younger onset Parkinson's patients.
People with younger-onset Parkinson’s may be eligible for exemption from NHS prescription charges for another reason. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, and whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on low incomes may also qualify for help through the NHS Low Income Scheme, and those who pay prescription charges regularly may be able to reduce costs by buying a prescription prepayment certificate.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
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 increase funding for research into Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Government responsibility for delivering Parkinson’s disease research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation.
The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into Parkinson’s disease to support prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care.
This includes, for example, the world’s largest clinical trial of treatments to slow or stop the progression of Parkinson’s disease, which opened for recruitment in October 2025. This trial aims to recruit 1,600 participants in its first phase from more than 40 hospitals across the United Kingdom. The £26 million EJS ACT-PD trial is co-funded by the NIHR, the Medical Research Council, and multiple Parkinson’s charities.
The NIHR is also investing £20 million over four years into the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI). The UK DRI, primarily funded by the Government, is partnering with Parkinson’s UK to establish a new £10 million research centre dedicated to better understanding the causes of Parkinson’s and finding new treatments.
As well as funding research itself, the Department of Health and Social Care invests significantly in research expertise and capacity, specialist facilities, support services, and collaborations to support and deliver research in England, known as NIHR infrastructure. NIHR infrastructure underpins research, enabling the country’s leading experts to develop and deliver high-quality translational, clinical and applied research, including research into Parkinson’s disease.
It is not the usual process of the NIHR to allocate funds for research into specific conditions. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including Parkinson’s disease. Our approach to funding research is through open and fair competition and peer review to ensure that the highest-quality proposals, most likely to deliver real impact for patients, are funded without imposing financial targets or limits.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Investor-State Dispute Settlements on the UK's capacity to transition away from fossil fuels.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is aware of the interest in ISDS, and is engaging with energy and climate stakeholders on its impact on UK priorities. In line with HMG’s Trade Strategy, the UK will continue to work with partners through multilateral forums, including the OECD and the UN system, to identify opportunities to improve ISDS practice.