Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set out the contractual requirements that apply to independent sector providers delivering NHS-funded cataract surgery, including whether they are required to accept an appropriate case mix rather than lower-complexity patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Independent sector providers are commissioned and managed by integrated care boards (ICBs) under the terms of the NHS Standard Contract which applies the same standards of oversight and regulation as are applied to National Health Service providers.
In the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we set out we would not tolerate ‘gaming’ the national payment tariff to cherry pick the simplest, most profitable cases. ICBs are expected to monitor this, and act decisively where they identify problems as part of a wider duty to safeguard and ensure value for taxpayer money.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department has taken to help stop UK users accessing a suicide forum responsible for over 135 deaths in this country following her meeting action with a group of the bereaved families on 19 January 2026.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums.
Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures.
One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the sufficiency of Ofcom's sufficient powers and resources to tackle a specific website linked to over 135 UK deaths and to prevent future sites with the same nature.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums.
Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures.
One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of its powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 to tackle a suicide forum linked to over 135 UK deaths.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums.
Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures.
One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of the pace of its ongoing investigation of a suicide forum that grooms users to die by suicide.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums.
Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures.
One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safet Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of average waiting times for fact-finding hearings in the family courts; and what steps he is taking to reduce those waiting times.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. While we do not have specific figures for the timeliness of fact-finding hearings, the latest published data shows a reduction in the national average case duration for both public and private law cases.
The Government recently announced the national rollout of the Child Focused Model for private law over the next three years. It currently operates in 10 of 43 Family Court areas and seeks to enhance the experience of children and families. The model has additionally demonstrated a significant impact on timeliness and reductions in the number of average hearings per case. Cases are concluding between 11-30 weeks quicker and outstanding caseloads have been reduced by up to 50%.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support community pharmacies to improve accessibility for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or living with dual sensory loss; and whether he is taking steps to support the provision of reasonable adjustments, including hearing loops, to ensure patients can safely access advice and treatment.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of ensuring community pharmacy services are safe and accessible to all patients, including those with sensory impairments.
In addition to legal requirements under the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998, pharmacy businesses have a duty to comply with the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) standards for registered pharmacy premises. This requires pharmacies to provide an environment that is safe and accessible for all, taking reasonable steps to remove barriers for patients with disabilities. These standards emphasise the need for pharmacies to make adjustments to facilities and services, such as providing accessible entrances, hearing loops, and assistance for individuals with mobility or sensory challenges.
To support community pharmacies in meeting their legal duties, the GPhC has issued equality guidance for pharmacies, which outlines best practices for supporting patients with a range of needs. NHS England is also rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a disabled patient and the reasonable adjustments to care and treatment that they need, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately and equitably. This is being rolled out nationally across all healthcare settings and will help community pharmacies spot when a patient may need extra support.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 Ofcom’s ability to implement interim business disruption measures; and whether it is her assessment that that this system is proving effective at preventing illegal content online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom’s online safety budget and expert team ensure its duties can be performed effectively. Ofcom has spent approximately £281.3 million on online safety since 2020, including a projected spend of £92 million for 2025/26.
The Online Safety Act provides Ofcom with a range of enforcement powers, including business disruption measures, which can include fast tracked interim service restriction orders or access restriction orders, where necessary. These measures are sanctions of last resort, available where serious non‑compliance persists.
The Secretary of State has written to Ofcom to underline the Government’s full support for the regulator using all the powers Parliament has provided it.
Ofcom is independent, and early enforcement activity is already helping to prevent and address illegal content online.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what processes are in place to assess the performance of external providers commissioned to deliver Government-funded AI training courses.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to building a digitally skilled workforce to support long-term economic growth, drive innovation and expand individual opportunity. As part of this ambition, DSIT has launched the AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030, and our industry partners deliver these courses at no cost to government. Since June 2025, this initiative has delivered more than 1 million free AI training courses to workers across the UK, and the Government continues to track delivery.
The government runs monitoring & evaluation for all government-funded AI training courses to track participation and assess the delivery and impact of funded programmes. This includes the AI and Data Science Conversion Courses, the Flexible AI Upskilling Fund pilot, and several digital apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps that offer AI-related training courses. Given the nascency of the sector, monitoring and evaluation of most of these programmes is currently ongoing. Data on participation and completion rates for these apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps can be found on the Explore Education Statistics GOV.UK Service.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what data her Department holds on participation and completion rates for Government-funded AI training courses.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to building a digitally skilled workforce to support long-term economic growth, drive innovation and expand individual opportunity. As part of this ambition, DSIT has launched the AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers in AI skills by 2030, and our industry partners deliver these courses at no cost to government. Since June 2025, this initiative has delivered more than 1 million free AI training courses to workers across the UK, and the Government continues to track delivery.
The government runs monitoring & evaluation for all government-funded AI training courses to track participation and assess the delivery and impact of funded programmes. This includes the AI and Data Science Conversion Courses, the Flexible AI Upskilling Fund pilot, and several digital apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps that offer AI-related training courses. Given the nascency of the sector, monitoring and evaluation of most of these programmes is currently ongoing. Data on participation and completion rates for these apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps can be found on the Explore Education Statistics GOV.UK Service.