Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with which countries their Department plans to pursue new free trade agreements with.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Trade Strategy, published in June 2025, outlines the Government's priorities for the future of the Free Trade Agreement programme. Most recently, the Government has announced the negotiation of a Digital Trade Agreement with Malaysia. The Government has also launched a public consultation to inform the next phase of deepening the United Kingdom’s trade relationship with four global partners, including through their potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: Indonesia, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. Where decisions are formally taken to seek further Free Trade Agreements, they will be communicated to the House in the usual way.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of not knowing the medical history of patients who have been adopted on those people.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the importance of ensuring that clinicians can take account of the impact of adoption where relevant.
Alongside the government’s apology on 2 July 2026 for historic forced adoption practices in England, the government committed to work with NHS England to explore how patients who wish to do so can have their experience of adoption appropriately recorded in their health record. This, alongside practical tools and guidance to support improved understanding of adoption-related needs, will support clinicians to take this into account in relation to care, family history, and wider support needs. This includes improving how clinicians respond where family medical history is unknown, including through clearer guidance on screening referrals and the use of genetic services where appropriate.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her department is taking to improve communication and cooperation with regional support groups for displaced overseas healthcare workers, such as the South East ASC IR partnership.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Home Office officials already regularly engage with stakeholders supporting displaced sponsored care workers. This includes the Regional Partnerships, funded by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), in England and extends to officials in Devolved Governments. UKVI use this network to provide an enhanced service offer to displaced workers matched to pre-assessed ethical care providers who wish to sponsor them. We are engaging with DHSC with on their plans to support those workers who have been subject to revocation action following the cessation of funding at the end of the financial year. For any questions on the Regional Partnerships themselves, I would encourage you to write to DHSC.