Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for annual milestones for the rollout of Fracture Liaison Services to all areas of England by 2030; and whether any such milestones have been set.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) remain well placed to make decisions according to local need.
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy sets an expectation that ICBs prioritise community-based models when commissioning new fracture prevention services.
The Government has not set annual milestones for the rollout of Fracture Liaison Services.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) introduce compulsory eye tests for drivers over 70 and (2) prepare optometrists to undertake such tests.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
A public consultation on introducing mandatory eyesight testing for older drivers was launched on 7 January and closed on 11 May.
The Department for Transport is currently analysing the responses, and the government response will be published once that is complete.
The logistical arrangements for carrying out any potential new eyesight tests formed part of the consultation. No decisions will be made until the responses to the consultation have been carefully considered.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, as the Private Rented Sector Database introduced in the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is rolled out regionally, provision has been made for inspections to take place to verify the information provided by landlords.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are working closely with local councils to support them in using the information that will be provided by the Private Rented Sector Database in their enforcement activities. Through guidance we will encourage local councils to verify the information recorded on the Database and carry out enforcement action as appropriate during the regional rollout.
The Database will collect a range of information which will be confirmed through secondary legislation. We are continuing to explore which key performance indicators will help us to assess whether the Database is meeting its objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what baseline information will be collected at the start of the rollout of the Private Rented Sector Database to ensure an assessment can be made of its effectiveness in ensuring a decent standard of provision for renters.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are working closely with local councils to support them in using the information that will be provided by the Private Rented Sector Database in their enforcement activities. Through guidance we will encourage local councils to verify the information recorded on the Database and carry out enforcement action as appropriate during the regional rollout.
The Database will collect a range of information which will be confirmed through secondary legislation. We are continuing to explore which key performance indicators will help us to assess whether the Database is meeting its objectives.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether landlords will be required to pay for three yearly inspections by the relevant local authority to ensure compliance with the Renters' Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have allocated the £41.12 million new burdens funding for 2026-27 to support the enforcement of measures in the Renters’ Rights Act, based broadly on private rented sector stock levels per local housing authority, with a small proportion allocated to local weights and measures authorities, typically the local trading standards department, to cover their additional responsibilities in enforcing the rent in advance measure. New burdens funding for 2026-27 follows new burdens funding of £18.2 million to local housing authorities in 2025-26 allocated according to the level private rented sector stock in each authority. We are committed to providing funding support for new burdens throughout this spending period.
The Renters' Rights Act places a new duty on local housing authorities to take enforcement action where they suspect non-compliance. Whilst local authorities are best placed to decide the most effective way to enforce the measures in the Act, we expect councils to take a proactive approach to enforcement. Our aim is to establish a sustainable funding system for enforcement over the long term based on future Private Rented Sector Database fee revenues.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the funding allocation to local authorities for enforcement of compliance with the Renters' Rights Act 2025 has been calculated.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have allocated the £41.12 million new burdens funding for 2026-27 to support the enforcement of measures in the Renters’ Rights Act, based broadly on private rented sector stock levels per local housing authority, with a small proportion allocated to local weights and measures authorities, typically the local trading standards department, to cover their additional responsibilities in enforcing the rent in advance measure. New burdens funding for 2026-27 follows new burdens funding of £18.2 million to local housing authorities in 2025-26 allocated according to the level private rented sector stock in each authority. We are committed to providing funding support for new burdens throughout this spending period.
The Renters' Rights Act places a new duty on local housing authorities to take enforcement action where they suspect non-compliance. Whilst local authorities are best placed to decide the most effective way to enforce the measures in the Act, we expect councils to take a proactive approach to enforcement. Our aim is to establish a sustainable funding system for enforcement over the long term based on future Private Rented Sector Database fee revenues.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many yellow card reports of serious adverse effects have been received in each of the past 15 years for children aged (1) 0–9 years old, and (2) 10–16 years old, who were prescribed puberty blockers to treat central precocious puberty, including goserilin, leuprorelin, triptorelin and other gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists; and whether any of those reports included adverse effects on bone health.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses the available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, the MHRA’s independent advisory committee, where appropriate, to inform regulatory decisions, including amending the product information.
Puberty blockers are also known as gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues or ‘GnRH analogues’. These medicines are licenced for conditions such as young children who enter puberty too early, also known as precocious puberty, prostate cancer, and endometriosis. The GnRH analogues included in this search were buserelin, leuprorelin, goserelin, gonadorelin, nafarelin, and triptorelin. Please note it is not mandatory to provide information on indication when submitting an adverse drug reaction report.
The MHRA has received a total of 17 serious United Kingdom suspected adverse drug reaction reports in the past 15 years of GnRH analogues in children aged between zero to nine years old, with 16 reports, and 10 to 16 years, with one report, between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2025, where the indication for use was reported as precocious puberty. Of these 17 reports, two included an adverse effect on bone health, namely bone marrow failure and epiphysiolysis, or growth plate fracture.
It is important to note that a reaction reported to the Yellow Card scheme does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have. Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to commence sections 10 and 11 of the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have no plans at present to commence these provisions. Overseas electors have the right to participate in UK parliamentary elections, and this includes the right to donate to parties or candidates they support. Political parties and other donees can only accept donations from registered electors. Overseas electors are subject to the same counter-fraud measures as domestic electors, including having their identity confirmed as part of the registration process.
The government has commissioned the Rycroft Review to consider whether political finance laws could be strengthened. We look forward to the findings of this independent review, due in late March, and we anticipate that they will inform the Representation of the People Bill.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the appropriate level for the fixed penalty for uninsured driving in relation to average motor insurance premiums, and (2) the need to create a genuine deterrent against uninsured driving.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is consulting on motoring offences, as part of the recently published road safety strategy. This includes exploring the minimum penalties for the offence of uninsured driving and whether they should be increased.
This is to ensure that the minimum penalties act as a suitable deterrent and reflect the seriousness of the offence of driving uninsured.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to track the number of road traffic collisions where dazzling headlights are found to be a contributory factor; and (1) whether they hold any such data since the road safety statistics were published in 2023, and (2) whether the published statistics will include this information in future.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Published data and statistics on road collisions involving injury are based on data reported to the Department by police forces via the STATS19 system, which includes details of factors contributing to collisions as recorded by the attending officer based on their judgement at the time of the collision.
Up to 2023, these contributory factors included ‘vision affected by dazzling headlights’, but following a review of STATS19, in the new specification in place from the start of 2024, a wider category ‘distraction to driver or rider from inside or outside the vehicle’ has been introduced. This is part of a wider change to rationalise the contributory factors into fewer ‘road safety factors’ which aims to make the data easier for officers to report consistently.
Statistics based on both the previous system of contributory factors and the new road safety factors are published on the gov.uk website as soon as they are available. The latest published figures relate to 2024, with 2025 data scheduled for publication in September 2026.
The Department has commissioned ground-breaking research into headlamp glare, and the Department’s road safety strategy includes a commitment to undertake further research aimed at identifying what vehicle design factors may be responsible for increased headlamp glare.