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, what steps she is taking to support former smokers to maintain smoking cessation through the use of vapes following the introduction of the Vaping Products Duty.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure more smokers can access effective support to quit, the Government is providing record investment in local stop smoking services, with an additional £260 million from 2026/27 to 2028/29. This includes funding previously allocated to the national Swap to Stop programme. As part of this ringfenced funding, local authorities are able to provide a range of evidence-based interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training.
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, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) uptake of prescriptions to assist with smoking cessation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure more smokers can access effective support to quit, the Government is providing record investment in local stop smoking services, with an additional £260 million from 2026/27 to 2028/29. This includes funding previously allocated to the national Swap to Stop programme. As part of this ringfenced funding, local authorities are able to provide a range of evidence-based interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing (a) a reduced rate of VAT for in-person shopping and (b) tax relief for high street businesses to support employment.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the standard rate of 20% applying to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate are limited as tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must be balanced against affordability.
At Budget 2026, the Government announced a package to support high streets which means that all Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties in England will see their business rates either frozen in real terms, reduced, or cut to zero. The Government is also supporting employment, including the £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers recruiting eligible 18 to 24-year-olds and the Employment Allowance.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to reform the coroner's court system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to a swift inquest process with bereaved families at its heart. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill establishes important reform of the inquest system. It creates duties of candour; individual accountability; and ‘parity of arms’ for the bereaved including the widest expansion of legal aid in a generation.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of funding for the UK Youth Parliament on young people's engagement in politics; and what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to provide an alternative platform for young people to engage with political matters.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that young people have meaningful opportunities to participate in democratic processes, engage with political matters and influence decisions that affect their lives.
As part of our review of the UK Youth Parliament in 2025, we considered how best to ensure that young people continue to have meaningful opportunities to influence decisions that affect their lives. Over the summer, we engaged extensively with young people, including current and former Members of Youth Parliament, as well as organisations across the youth sector, to inform the future of youth voice and participation. This work is helping to shape delivery of our commitments in Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy, including the commitment to strengthen young people’s involvement in decision-making at local, regional and national levels.
The independent 2025 evaluation of the UKYP demonstrated clear benefits for participants while identifying opportunities to broaden participation and strengthen young people’s role in decision-making. We are using this evidence, alongside our engagement with young people and the sector, to inform our approach to youth participation and democratic engagement.
The Department is providing £453,000 to the National Youth Agency to support delivery of the UK Youth Parliament in 2026/27. No decisions have been made about funding arrangements beyond March 2027.
As part of our work to deliver Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy, we are taking action to strengthen young people’s participation in decision-making at local, regional and national levels. This includes lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections ahead of the next UK Parliamentary General Election, strengthening civic and political education, and ensuring young people have the information and support they need to participate fully in democracy.
We are also creating new opportunities for young people to shape policy and decisions that affect them. This includes establishing a new Youth Policy Network to enable a diverse range of young people to engage with government decision-making and supporting youth-led social action through the #iwill movement.
We continue to work closely with colleagues across government, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on legislation who are leading on legislation to lower the voting age to 16, and the Department for Education on strengthening citizenship education.
We will continue to work with young people and colleagues across government to ensure that future approaches to youth participation and democratic engagement are informed by young people’s experiences, views and priorities.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will introduce a right for parents to request a screen-free Reception Baseline Assessment for their children.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The reception baseline assessment (RBA) provides a consistent starting point from which to measure pupils’ progress to the end of key stage 2. It is a short, one-off assessment administered one-to-one by a teacher, during which a pupil may use the screen for approximately 12 minutes. The content is slow-paced and safe, and a pupil will never be alone with the device. It includes questions where the teacher models the first response and questions where the child provides verbal responses or uses small toy bears.
A paper-based version is available in exceptional circumstances where this is more suitable for the child. Schools determine the most appropriate arrangements for individual pupils while maintaining a consistent approach to the assessment wherever possible.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support businesses to ensure staff sick notes are verified by GPs where required.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The sick note was replaced by the fit note in 2010. Following reforms in 2022, legislation states that fit notes may only be issued by a doctor, registered nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist or physiotherapist following an assessment of a patient’s fitness for work.
For a fit note to be valid, it must include the name and profession of the issuer and the address of the medical practice. Further information for employers is available in the fit note guidance for employers and line managers.
The Government is also testing reforms to the fit note, through pilots across four Integrated Care Boards in England. These are testing a fundamentally different approach, moving away from a process of administrative sickness certification to a new service focused on supporting people to stay in work or sustainably return, including more practical advice for patients and employers.
We are taking a test-and-learn approach, and any future reform will be informed by learning from the pilots.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to small and medium businesses to ensure appropriate self-certification processes are in place for employees registering sickness absence.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Employees must notify their employer when they are absent from work due to sickness. Employers may set out expectations to their employees around notification and evidence that should be provided for sickness absence as long as this is reasonable and complies with relevant legislation.
Employees may be asked to provide evidence of their sickness for Statutory Sick Pay purposes. Employees who are off sick for seven days or less do not need to provide a fit note and can self-certify their absence.
Guidance for employers and employees on taking sick leave, including self-certification, is available on GOV.UK. Employers can ask their employees to complete HM Revenue and Customs’ SC2 form to self-certify sickness absence.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the level of complexity of the application process for the Standard Rate Mobility component of Personal Independence Payments; and if he will take steps to simplify the application process to support individuals whose disabilities impact their mobility and energy levels.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
It is important that all of our claimants are able to access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the Department and its providers. We have a variety of reasonable adjustments to make the claims process and communications easier for some of our most vulnerable customers.
A claim to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is to the benefit as a whole and not to individual components or their rates. Claimants who only have daily living or mobility needs are free to only provide those details in the relevant parts of the claimant questionnaire to simplify the application process.
The application process is kept under regular review to ensure it meets the needs of claimants and helps the Department provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s entitlement. However, since PIP was introduced in 2013, there have been shifting trends in health, the workplace and wider society and PIP has never been fully reviewed. The Timms Review of PIP will report to the to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with its final recommendations later this month.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment with Skills England of the potential merits of the creation of an apprenticeship standard in seamstressing and tailoring.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Skills England is focused on developing new, and reviewing existing, apprenticeships which will have the greatest impact on government priorities, including supporting young people into employment and supporting industrial strategy and other priority sectors.
Skills England has developed, approved and published three apprenticeship standards covering occupations within the tailoring and garment production sector, Level 2 Sewing Machinist, Level 3 Garment Maker, and Level 5 Bespoke Cutter and Tailor.
These three apprenticeship standards provide clear progression pathways within the fashion and textiles sector, supporting the development of skills across a range of tailoring, garment production and manufacturing occupations. They enable individuals to progress from entry-level technical roles through to highly skilled specialist tailoring careers, helping to meet the workforce needs of the industry.