Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many fines were issued to parents for school absence in the last 12 months; and what the value was of those fines.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The most recent data held by the department covers the 2023/24 academic year and is available in the statistical release on parental responsibility measures, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures/2023-24.
The information requested covering the last 12 months is not held by the department. Data for 2024/25 will be published in early 2026.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) develop and (b) adopt a standardised fire testing methodology for rooftop solar PV systems, in the context of the fire safety of residential buildings.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For microgeneration technologies under DESNZ schemes, including rooftop solar, a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified (or equivalent) installer is mandatory. The installer must use an MCS-approved product and carry out the installation to the relevant MCS installation standard. The MCS Solar PV Standard (2025) includes provisions for waterproofing, fire safety, and roof warranties and is available online.
The Government is currently reviewing the broader consumer protection landscape and will bring forward wider system reforms to ensure consumers can have confidence in the quality of installations and protections when upgrading their homes.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to introduce auditable competency standards for the installation of rooftop solar PV systems to help ensure the (a) structural and (b) waterproofing integrity of roofing is maintained.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For microgeneration technologies under DESNZ schemes, including rooftop solar, a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified (or equivalent) installer is mandatory. The installer must use an MCS-approved product and carry out the installation to the relevant MCS installation standard. The MCS Solar PV Standard (2025) includes provisions for waterproofing, fire safety, and roof warranties and is available online.
The Government is currently reviewing the broader consumer protection landscape and will bring forward wider system reforms to ensure consumers can have confidence in the quality of installations and protections when upgrading their homes.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice records Sikh or Sikhism, as a religion or belief and not as an ethnicity.
Please refer to Civil Service Statistics 2024 Table A3 where statistics on religion or belief by department as at 31 March 2024 are published: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2024. This includes statistics on those recorded as ‘Sikh’.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 increases in employer National Insurance contributions on the viability of SEND transport provision in Hertfordshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NICE on feedback from stakeholders on how the impacts on carers are considered in appraisals for rare and ultra-rare conditions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In making its recommendations on new medicines, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, including health benefits to carers. It does not, however, take into account wider societal or economic considerations. Taking a wider perspective could have unintended consequences such as reducing access to treatments for patients who are disproportionately older, economically inactive, or have greater care needs. NICE’s methods are set out in its published health technology evaluations manual, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/process/pmg36
When presenting health effects for carers, evidence should show when the condition is associated with a substantial effect on a carer’s health-related quality of life, and how the technology affects carers. This applies for all therapies, including therapies for rare diseases. NICE appraisals specifically consider health-related quality of life, for both patients and carers, rather than quality of life as a whole.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Orphan Drug Regulations in stimulating innovation in treatments for pancreatic cancer.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Medicines Regulations include specific incentives to support orphan medicines, designed to encourage the development of medicines for rare diseases. The regulations enable the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to grant orphan designation to a medicine intended for the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a rare condition. This orphan designation provides the product with a period of market exclusivity for the specified condition, preventing similar competitor medicines from entering the market during this time. Pancreatic cancer can be considered as falling under the definition of the rare diseases.
The MHRA further supports developers of orphan medicines by offering a full or partial refund of the marketing authorisation fee following a positive orphan designation. There is evidence that the regulations for orphan medicines do support development, with around 150 medicines successfully developed and authorised for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of rare diseases and given a United Kingdom orphan designation.
The MHRA will continue to review its approach to orphan medicines and, where necessary, propose updates to the criteria to further encourage research into rare diseases and improve patient outcomes.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to build more community diagnostic centres.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out that we will deliver additional community diagnostic centre (CDC) capacity in 2025/26 by expanding several existing CDCs and building up to five new ones, as well as increasing the number of CDCs offering services 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
NHS England is working with local National Health Service systems to identify the most appropriate locations for additional investment, including new CDCs. New CDCs should be positioned in a location that addresses local need and health inequalities. Details of future sites will be set out in due course.
£1.65 billion of capital funding has been made available in 2025/26 for secondary and emergency care, which includes £0.6 billion for investment in diagnostics. This will enable the NHS to expand existing CDCs and build new CDCs as part of our Elective Reform Plan. It will also enable the completion of 2024/25 schemes.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective and urgent care capacity, including the £1.65 billion investment already announced. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of NHS Trusts with recruitment freezes for (a) physiotherapists and (b) physiotherapy support workers on 17 June 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no estimate of the number of National Health Service trusts with recruitment freezes for physiotherapists or physiotherapy support workers. How NHS systems and trusts plan resources within their budgets is a matter for local discretion.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase access to sport for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
I regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts on a range of issues, including young people’s engagement in sport and the barriers around this for those from lower socio-economic groups.
In the 2024/25 Financial Year, Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend constituency received £102,947 from Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body responsible for physical activity and sport participation in England, to increase sport and physical activity opportunities for local communities. Sport England also recently announced Gateshead and South Tyneside as two of their new 53 Place Partnerships, which will receive support to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions, including for children and young people.
More widely, the Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment ensuring a more inclusive and sustainable offer for local communities, including children and young people.