theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_155
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_155

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Annex 1, Clause 3, of the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia [CS Mauritius No.1/2025], which representatives from (a) the UK and (b) Mauritius will decide on authorisations permitting the presence of (i) non-United Kingdom, (ii) non-United States or (iii) non-Mauritian security forces on the Base. \p Luke Pollard: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 June 2025, to Question 57307.

Annex 1, Clause 3 does not apply to the base on Diego Garcia.

Diego Garcia: Military Bases (docx, 16.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Annex 1, Clause 3, of the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia [CS Mauritius No.1/2025], what assessment he has made of the potential impact of advising Mauritius on the location of UK equipment on the Base on operational security. \p Luke Pollard: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 June 2025, to Question 57307.

There is no requirement to advise Mauritius on the location of equipment on Diego Garcia.

Diego Garcia: Military Bases (docx, 16.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has provided military assistance to Israel since March 2025. \p Luke Pollard: The Ministry of Defence has provided military assistance to Israel since March 2025 for the sole purpose of rescuing hostages in Gaza.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Article 10, Clause 1 of the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia [CS Mauritius No.1/2025], what are the requirements for Mauritian companies to be selected to contract services on the Base. \p Luke Pollard: Future contracts falling under Article 10 of the treaty shall be subject to normal scrutiny and award processes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia [CS Mauritius No.1/2025], if he will outline how the Agreement will ensure the long-term (a) secure and (b) effective operation of the military base on Diego Garcia. \p Luke Pollard: The Treaty means that the UK will retain full operational control over Diego Garcia, and there are robust security provisions in place for the base and the rest of the Chagos Archipelago. Mauritius is committed to uphold the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base, and there is a binding obligation on them not to undermine, prejudice or otherwise interfere with the base.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help support (a) UK and (b) allied operations aimed at disrupting cocaine trafficking networks operating (i) through Venezuela and (ii) in the wider Caribbean region. \p Luke Pollard: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 February 2025 to Question 26446. A Royal Navy ship maintains a persistent presence in the Caribbean Sea where it contributes to regional security through the conduct of counter-illicit trafficking operations.

Defence maintains close relationships with independent states throughout the region and works in partnership with Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United States to align and conduct joint activity.

Caribbean: Drugs (docx, 16.0KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason his Department has advised senior military officers not to speak on the record at events where a Minister is present; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that guidance on (a) levels of transparency and (b) public awareness of the vision of the armed forces for the future, in the context of the Spending Review 2025. \p Luke Pollard: This is not true. Recently, the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker spoke on the record, and live on Sky Television at the RUSI Land Warfare Conference on the same day as the Secretary of State for Defence.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 57297 on Chagos Islands: Sovereignty, what the total cost to his Department’s budget in the latest spending review arising from the Chagos Treaty is; and if he will provide a breakdown of that cost in each year of the Spending Review. \p Luke Pollard: The Government has acted to secure our national interest, strengthen our national security, and to protect the British people.

As set out by the Secretary of State in his statement, this is at a cost of less than 0.2% of the annual defence budget.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 52287 on Unmanned Air Systems: Procurement, what the emerging technologies are. \p Maria Eagle: The Royal Navy continues to work collaboratively with the Royal Air Force to investigate the potential for fixed wing Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP) to enhance the strike capabilities of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

ACPs provide the opportunity to generate additional combat mass, improve operational persistence, and offer more choice to the operational commander by reducing risk to life. The physical ability for ACPs to operate from the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers is an essential attribute to enable their deployment by the Royal Navy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of UK participation in EU defence industrial programmes on (a) the AUKUS agreement and (b) other existing defence procurement partnerships. \p Maria Eagle: As the Strategic Defence Review recognised, international partnerships are crucial for the UK’s security and prosperity. The UK remains firmly committed to the AUKUS partnership and is working closely with the US and Australia at all levels to maximise the benefits and opportunities which AUKUS presents for our three nations. The new Security and Defence Partnership with the EU is complementary to our existing work and the full range of our defence partnerships.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the maximum reimbursement limit for victims of authorised push payment fraud. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government is committed to tackling fraud and protecting victims from this appalling crime. The Government has committed to introduce a new and expanded fraud strategy to create a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and industry to better protect the public and businesses from fraud.

In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system. This requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. The details of the reimbursement regime are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place after 12 months.

The Government has also introduced legislation to allow payment service providers more time to investigate payments where there are reasonable grounds to suspect APP fraud. This gives firms more time to engage potential victims and break the spell of fraudsters.

The Government also recognises the importance of working with the technology and telecommunications sectors to prevent fraudsters abusing their platforms and networks. In November 2024, the Chancellor wrote to leading companies in these sectors to challenge them to go further and faster to reduce the scale of incidents and losses from fraud taking place on their platforms and networks. The Government will continue to work with these sectors as part of its upcoming fraud strategy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mike Martin:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money the UK Government collected in 2024 from tariffs imposed on goods imported from illegal settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories. \p James Murray: HMRC only publish receipts at a national level, and they cannot be broken down further with sufficient accuracy, due to the way the information is captured.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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John Glen:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to require merchants that might offer unregulated Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) once BNPL regulation is in force to provide clear information to consumers to make it clear that certain consumer protections will not apply to their credit agreements. \p Emma Reynolds: Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products.

At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices.

Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers.

The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54690 on Tobacco: Excise Duties, whether her Department has undertaken analysis on the reasons for the 10% fall in tobacco duty receipts. \p James Murray: HMRC publishes commentary on tobacco duty receipts with the Tobacco Bulletin - Tobacco statistics commentary April 2025 - GOV.UK. The 10% decrease in tobacco duty receipts between 2023/24 and 2024/25 was primarily driven by falling cigarette and hand rolling tobacco receipts.

The Office for Budget Responsibility also discuss drivers of tobacco duty receipts in relation to the tobacco duty forecast on their webpage - Tobacco duties - Office for Budget Responsibility. Receipts are driven by inflation (CPI and RPI), real household consumption and underlying trends in tobacco consumption. The downward trend in tobacco consumption has accelerated in recent years, partly reflecting changing attitudes and the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to require e-commerce platforms and payment-service providers operating in the UK to comply with UK VAT law. \p James Murray: All e-commerce platforms and payment-service providers operating in the UK have a legal obligation to comply with UK VAT law.

HMRC uses a risk based approach and range of measures to tackle non-compliance and continues to work with businesses as part of its ongoing compliance strategy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered reforming Schedule 8 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to help increase levels of support for small businesses selling disability and assistive technology products online. \p James Murray: The Government recognises the vital role that disability and assistive technology products play in improving people’s lives and supporting independent living. Under the UK’s VAT regime, the zero-rate of VAT applies to certain goods supplied to disabled people for their domestic or personal use. The application of the zero-rate balances support for businesses and consumers with the need to protect the public finances.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Government Major Projects Portfolio. \p Darren Jones: The government recently created the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) which will have an impactful role in supporting and monitoring major projects on the GMPP.

NISTA conducts regular deliverability assessments of major projects in the Government Major Project Portfolio. Data on major projects, including this deliverability assessment, is published each year in the Annual Report on Major Projects. The 2024/25 Annual Report will be published in due course.

NISTA has already supported the development of the “UK Infrastructure: A 10-Year Strategy” which sets out government's long-term plan for driving more effective delivery of economic, housing and social infrastructure across the country, alongside the vital reforms to planning.
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the independence of the Independent Review of the Loan Charge Scandal. \p James Murray: The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.

The independent review is being led by Ray McCann, a highly respected figure in the tax world whose name was suggested by one of the Loan Charge campaigners. Mr McCann is being supported by a team of officials who have not previously worked on this policy area and are based outside of the Treasury and HMRC. The reviewer will have the final say on what is included in his report and is responsible for deciding how to conduct the review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of removing VAT exemptions for private (a) first-class and (b) business-class flights on Aviation Industry’s Carbon Footprint. \p James Murray: The principal tax on the aviation sector is Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is expected to raise £4.7 billion in 2025-26. APD aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances.

The Government has put in place a wide range of measures to support the decarbonisation of the aviation sector, including the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), support for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and development of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) through the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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David Simmonds:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HM Treasury's document entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 12 June 2025, what is the estimated increase in (a) council tax revenue raised in cash terms for and (b) the increase in the average Band D rate of the police precept over the Spending Review period. \p James Murray: As set out in the Spending Review 2025 document, published 11 June 2025, police core spending power includes projected spending from additional income, including estimated funding from the police council tax precept. The final police precept level and core government funding will be set out in the annual police funding settlement in the usual way.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Andrew Griffith:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) higher rate and (b) additional rate taxpayers that have left the United Kingdom in the period from 4 July 2024 to 31 May 2025. \p James Murray: Taxpayers are not always required to inform HM Revenue and Customs when they leave the UK. Some taxpayers outside of Self Assessment might file a P85 form after leaving the UK, but only where they are seeking to claim a repayment of income tax.

Taxpayers in Self Assessment can indicate that they have become non-resident after leaving the UK, but tax returns for the 2024 to 2025 and the 2025 to 2026 tax years are not due to be received by HMRC until 31 January of 2026 and 2027 respectively.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her definition of NATO-qualifying defence expenditure is. \p Darren Jones: NATO has a common definition of defence expenditure which is agreed by all NATO Allies.

A full definition can be found here:

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49198.htm
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Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the delay to HS2 on devolved capital budgets. \p Darren Jones: The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so. There is therefore no direct link between HS2 and the Welsh Government’s capital budgets.

Conversely, heavy rail infrastructure is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive receive Barnett consequentials for HS2 funding. Delays in delivery have no direct impact on the capital budgets of devolved governments as the Barnett formula applies only when department budgets formally change, not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review the progress made in the roll-out of the 10 year infrastructure strategy before the end of this Parliament. \p Darren Jones: Departments will be responsible for implementing the Strategy, with NISTA overseeing the implementation, and leading on subsequent refreshes of the Strategy every two years and the monitoring of progress against commitments. The Strategy is just the starting point, and government will continue to work with businesses, investors, workers, trade unions and regional and local leaders to drive up ambition and improve delivery.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of exempting tips paid by card from National Insurance contributions. \p James Murray: The method of payment of a tip does not determine whether National Insurance is due. National Insurance is not due on tips paid directly to the worker, or where the employer has no influence in the allocation of the tips. If an employer is involved in deciding how tips are shared out, then the payment may be liable for National Insurance. If it is not a voluntary payment, then National Insurance is due.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to amend reforms to (a) agricultural property relief and (b) business property relief announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. \p James Murray: The Government believes that the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

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Matt Western:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) reducing VAT rates on hospitality businesses during the covid-19 pandemic on that sector and (b) reducing VAT to 12.5% on the hospitality sector on the economy. \p James Murray: VAT is the UK’s third largest tax. It is forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26, which funds public services. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

The exceptional VAT relief for tourism and hospitality during the Covid-19 pandemic cost over £8 billion. The Covid Inquiry is investigating the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Government is cooperating fully with the Inquiry in its extensive and detailed work.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to maintain the differential between the levels of the (a) new state pension and (b) lower personal tax allowance. \p James Murray: This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.

Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners benefitted from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.

The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people were employed under the Government Social Research Profession in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland as of 1 January 2025. \p Emma Reynolds: The following estimates were made following a data collection exercise in February 2025.

(a) England, 2020

(b) Scotland, 220

(c) Wales, 340

(d) Northern Ireland, between 1 and 9

There are an additional 65 members of the Government Social Research where a full record is not available.
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Josh Fenton-Glynn:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many referrals were made to mental health services, by primary reason for referral in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24. \p Stephen Kinnock: The tables attached show the number of referrals to Mental Health services by primary reason for referral in 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24, as well as the number of referrals to Talking Therapies services by presenting complaint in 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24.

PQ60400 Document  (xlsx, 21.2KB)
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS mental health referrals for under-18s were seen within four weeks in Wiltshire in the last 12 months. \p Stephen Kinnock: The following table shows the number of new referrals in 2024/25 for those aged zero to 17 years old, and their associated waiting times, in Wiltshire:

Count of referrals

Percentage of referrals

New referrals

6,755

100%

Referrals seen within 28 days

2,900

43%

Referrals ending within 28 days without contact

1,290

19%

Referrals not seen within 28 days

2,565

38%

Source: Mental Health Services Dataset.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP patient-to-practice ratios in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire. \p Stephen Kinnock: As of 30 April 2025, there were 4.3 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and 5.1 FTE doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in Lincolnshire.

For comparison, the median number of FTE doctors in general practice per 10,000 registered patients in England was 5.5 in April 2025.

Each general practice is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients. There is no NHS England recommendation for how many patients a general practitioner should have assigned, or the ratio of general practitioners or other practice staff to patients.

The demands each patient places on their general practice are different and can be affected by many different factors, including rurality and patient demographics. It is necessary to consider the workforce for each practice as a whole, not only general practitioners but also the range of health professionals available who are able to respond to the needs of their patients.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse is for free prescriptions for people over the age of 60. \p Karin Smyth: There were 781 million items with a combined total net ingredient cost (NIC) of £5.9 billion dispensed to patients aged 60 years old and over in 2024/2025.

National Health Service patients pay a fixed charge for each prescription item dispensed in primary care, unless they are exempt from prescription charges. All patients aged 60 years old and over are exempt so no prescription charges are collected from these patients.   The flat-rate NHS prescription charge is not related either to the cost of the item prescribed or to the cost to the NHS of dispensing it. As well as the NIC of drugs and appliances, the cost of medicines prescribed in the NHS include the dispensing fees and allowances paid to pharmacists and appliance contractors for the service they provide to the NHS.

To note, the NIC is the basic price of a drug excluding value-added tax. It does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charges income. The data is taken from supplementary data alongside official Prescription Cost Analysis statistics, for 2024/2025.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 58291 on Tomography: Waiting Lists, whether his Department has set a target date by which all patients referred for diagnostic scans in North Shropshire will be seen within six weeks. \p Karin Smyth: The 2025/26 operational planning guidance set out, in line with our Elective Reform Plan, the ambitions for National Health Service providers to deliver 65% RTT performance with a minimum improvement of 5% from 2024/25. We are clear that improvements in diagnostic performance will be critical in enabling systems to meet this ambition.

While there is no formal target date set out for when all patients will be seen within six weeks of a referral, the Government is clear through expectations in operational planning guidance on 18-week performance and on time to first outpatient appointment that providers must prioritise diagnosing, seeing, and treating patients sooner. A rigorous performance management process has been put in place to support and monitor this.

Providers are being supported to improve their diagnostic performance through capital investment in new capacity and productivity generating digital approaches. Scaling best practice and peer support is also being utilised to improve performance and optimise demand.

The Plan for Change commitment is backed by £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years for diagnostic, elective and urgent and emergency care. This will support making progress on the return to the 18-week standard by the end of the Parliament and protecting capacity in emergency departments.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the number of patients waiting longer than the Kent Integrated Dermatology Service's four week deadline for issuing biopsy results, in each of the last six months. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not hold information on the number of patients waiting longer than four weeks for their biopsy results.

The Government is spending £600 million of capital this year on diagnostics, including funding for the automation of histopathology laboratories, for the first time ever, to improve productivity. We are also funding all pathology networks to increase digital capabilities by March 2026, which will reduce unnecessary waits and repeat tests, to ensure that patients receive their results sooner, including those in Kent.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_190

Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much research funding his Department has allocated to cystic fibrosis research with clinical links to (a) hospitals and (b) research institutions in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) the South West in the last three years. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Institute for Health and Care Research awarded £2,037,265 to six studies on cystic fibrosis in 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 to hospitals and research institutions in the South West region of England, including those in Wiltshire.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_191

Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS plans to take to improve (a) awareness and (b) training for (i) GPs and (ii) frontline healthcare professionals to help (A) recognise and (B) refer suspected cases of cancer in teenagers and young adults. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department is committed to getting the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster to improve survival rates, including for children and young people. To achieve this, the NHS has delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.

All registered doctors in the United Kingdom are also expected to meet the professional standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC). In 2012, the GMC introduced revalidation, which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice.

The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. The RCGP provides several resources on cancer prevention, diagnosis, and care for GPs, relevant for the primary care setting.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with cancer. The taskforce is exploring opportunities for improvement across genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, patient experience, and early detection and diagnosis.

The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on improving outcomes for cancer patients, including for children and young people with cancer, and will highlight how the Department will support the NHS to improve diagnosis rates for people in all parts of England.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_192

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure equal access to healthcare treatments in each English region. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department sets national priorities for the National Health Service in England through the 2025 mandate to NHS England, reflecting patients’ priorities to be met across all 42 integrated care boards (ICBs).

ICBs are responsible for commissioning most health and care services in England and the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended by the Health Care Act 2022, places duties on ICBs to arrange healthcare services to meet the needs of their local population within available resources and reduce inequalities in access to, and outcomes from, healthcare services.

ICBs and NHS providers are accountable to NHS England on the delivery of the mandate and provision healthcare treatments across their populations, with the Department holding NHS England to account on this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_193

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's long-term strategy is to help tackle the risk of lobular breast cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including lobular breast cancer, is a priority for the Government. The Department will improve cancer survival rates and hit all National Health Service cancer waiting time targets, so that no patient waits longer than they should.

We are working with cancer partners, including charities and patient representative bodies, to develop a National Cancer Plan. The plan will include more details about how to improve outcomes for all tumour types, including lobular breast cancer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_194

Marsha De Cordova:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the autologous serum eyedrop service will continue following the abolition of NHS England. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority, and is responsible for blood donation in England and organ transplantation services in the United Kingdom. It is also responsible for stem cell transplants, tissue, and eye services.

Autologous serum eyedrops (ASE) are manufactured by NHSBT and are supplied to patients who experience severe dryness of the eye and who do not obtain relief from conventional pharmaceutical eyedrops. As such, ASE is supplied to patients following a clinical request from a consultant.

The Government does not anticipate the changes to NHS England will have any impacton the service NHSBT provides regarding ASE.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_195

Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the work of the Lung Health Check programme at the Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. \p Ashley Dalton: NHS England is aware of the interesting data originating from Hull, which demonstrates that an appreciable number of people can be identified as having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through a targeted approach to those that have been through lung cancer screening. This work is informing policy considerations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_197

Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to improve NHS access for people with postural tachycardia syndrome requiring specialist care. \p Ashley Dalton: It is the responsibility of local integrated care boards to work with clinicians, service users, and patient groups to develop services and care pathways that are convenient and meet the needs of patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS).

The National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) has published a clinical knowledge summary on the clinical management of blackouts and syncope, that provides advice for clinicians in the United Kingdom on best practice in the assessment and diagnosis of PoTS. This was last updated in November 2023, and is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/

General practitioners (GPs) have been asked to investigate symptoms to ensure that it is not misdiagnosed. Following referral, patients are treated within National Health Service cardiology and neurology services. Where more specialist advice is required, a referral will be made to an appropriate clinician.

To improve awareness of PoTS amongst healthcare professionals, and specifically GPs, the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link:

https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/view.php?id=500
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_198

Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of the symptoms of chronic urinary tract infections. \p Ashley Dalton: The National Health Service provides information on the symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTIs), including chronic UTIs, at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-tract-infections-utis/

The Department currently has no plans to raise public awareness of the symptoms of chronic UTIs. However, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is funding research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs, including chronic UTIs. This research includes the development of antimicrobial-impregnated catheters to reduce episodes of catheter-associated UTIs as well as the TOUCAN study, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation

This study is evaluating rapid point of care UTI diagnostic tests in general practice surgeries that not only enable faster detection of UTIs but also provide real-time information on antibiotic resistance, ensuring patients receive the correct treatment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_199

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) raise awareness of hydrocephalus and (b) improve support for people living with the condition in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department has engaged extensively with a national charity dedicated to raising awareness of hydrocephalus. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with charity representatives regarding hydrocephalus in November 2024, and officials remain mindful of issues which affect people with hydrocephalus.

We are currently refreshing the Healthy Child Programme guidance, applicable to all areas of England, including Surrey Heath, to strengthen service delivery for all children, including those living with hydrocephalus who may or may not have already been diagnosed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_200

Jim Dickson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to prohibit the free distribution of nicotine vapes to children. \p Ashley Dalton: The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will end the current loophole which allows free samples of vaping and nicotine products to be given away to anyone of any age. This will come into force six months after Royal Assent of the bill.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_201

Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NICE document entitled Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)/chronic fatigue syndrome: diagnosis and management, published on 29 October 2021, what progress has been made on implementing the guidelines in NHS trusts serving Wiltshire; and what monitoring is in place. \p Ashley Dalton: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning specialist myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), services that meet the needs of their population, subject to local prioritisation and funding. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on ME/CFS diagnosis and management, published in October 2021.

The NICE’s guidelines provide recommendations on principles of care for people with severe ME/CFS, including hospital care and adopting a multidisciplinary approach involving access to various health and social care professionals based on needs, including diet and nutrition. NICE guidelines are not mandatory, but the Government does expect healthcare commissioners to take the guidelines fully into account when designing services to meet the needs of their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.

We are developing a final delivery plan for ME/CFS, which we aim to publish soon. The plan will focus on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease throughout England, including in Wiltshire.

Linked to the delivery plan, the Department has also been working with NHS England to develop an e-learning course on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes, including improving diagnosis.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-23)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-23 conversation_202

Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that NHS England's guidance entitled Play well – resources for health play services for England, published on 2 June 2025, is policy across the NHS. \p Ashley Dalton: We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play, as games and active play in all settings build social skills and support children’s well-being.

To ensure that children’s right to play is maintained and supported in healthcare settings, NHS England has worked with Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, to publish the Play Well toolkit. This includes the first national guidelines and standards for commissioning and delivering health play services in England.

To support implementation, NHS England encourages the use of these standards by managers of health play services across a wide range of healthcare environments accessed by children and young people, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards. This will support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services.