Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 22 November (HL3405), what plans they have, if any, to give an indication of (1) a timetable for the commencement of the independent review into the causes of disputes between those with parental responsibility and those responsible for the care or medical treatment of critically ill children, (2) details of the membership of the review, and (3) terms of reference for the review, which is due to report by 1 October 2023.

We expect the commissioning process to be completed in the coming weeks. While the review will not have a fixed membership, it will engage with a range of interested or affected people and organisations. This will include health professionals and the families of critically ill children, to ensure it develops a balanced evidence base for identifying solutions. The organisation undertaking the review will be asked to publish its terms of reference shortly after it has been commissioned.