Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the announcement by the Prime Minister's Office of 21 July, New PM cuts tax on household electricity bills to give breathing space on cost of living, what assessment they have made of how cutting VAT on electricity bills will be funded after this financial year.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced a cut in VAT on electricity bills to give millions of households breathing space on the cost of living.

These changes to VAT apply and are funded for this winter (from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027).

Any further decisions will be taken at the Budget alongside an OBR forecast, and will be consistent with the Government’s fiscal rules.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the announcement by the Prime Minister's Office of 21 July, New PM cuts tax on household electricity bills to give breathing space on cost of living, whether the cut in VAT on electricity bills will last for one year.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced a cut in VAT on electricity bills to give millions of households breathing space on the cost of living.

These changes to VAT apply and are funded for this winter (from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027).

Any further decisions will be taken at the Budget alongside an OBR forecast, and will be consistent with the Government’s fiscal rules.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of a rise in the Ofgem price cap after 30 September; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such a rise.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The setting of the energy price cap is a matter for the independent market regulator Ofgem and the Government does not speculate on such matters.

Tackling affordability is this Government’s number one priority. For this reason, we have taken action to remove VAT from electricity bills from 1 October this year for six months. We also acted at last year’s Budget by taking on average £150 of costs off energy bills, with those decisions now factored into bills for the years to come.

The Government continues to monitor energy prices closely and recognises the impact that changes in bills can have on households.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have written to each local planning authority in England in the last 12 months to remind them that charges for pre-application advice under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003 must relate only to cost recovery; and, if not, whether they plan to do so.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government has not written to each local planning authority in the last 12 months to remind them that charges for pre-application advice should not exceed cost-recovery and has no plans to do so.

Planning Practice Guidance already makes clear that local planning authorities may charge for discretionary services, including pre-application advice, under section 93 of the Local Government Act 2003, but that such charges should not exceed the cost of providing the service.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they support the creation of a permanent group bringing together the Department of Health, academia, and industry on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance to accelerate the development of life-saving solutions.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Sepsis Modern Service Framework, a copy of which is attached, includes priority actions and tasks with indicative timelines. Immediate and short-term actions in the framework will be delivered within existing funding under the current departmental allocation following the 2025 Spending Review. Longer term funding will be subject to future spending reviews.

The wide range of experts on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance involved in development of the framework continue to be engaged, to support both implementation of best practice consistently across the National Health Service, and to prioritise research and innovation efforts to better enable improvements in patient care and outcomes.

The framework also commits to delivering a targeted public communications campaign for high-risk groups to improve prevention, identification, escalation, and response to sepsis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve awareness of the early signs of sepsis, particularly in high-risk populations; and how they plan to disseminate awareness resources.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Sepsis Modern Service Framework, a copy of which is attached, includes priority actions and tasks with indicative timelines. Immediate and short-term actions in the framework will be delivered within existing funding under the current departmental allocation following the 2025 Spending Review. Longer term funding will be subject to future spending reviews.

The wide range of experts on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance involved in development of the framework continue to be engaged, to support both implementation of best practice consistently across the National Health Service, and to prioritise research and innovation efforts to better enable improvements in patient care and outcomes.

The framework also commits to delivering a targeted public communications campaign for high-risk groups to improve prevention, identification, escalation, and response to sepsis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to release their implementation plan for the Sepsis Modern Service Framework; and how they will fund the necessary improvements.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Sepsis Modern Service Framework, a copy of which is attached, includes priority actions and tasks with indicative timelines. Immediate and short-term actions in the framework will be delivered within existing funding under the current departmental allocation following the 2025 Spending Review. Longer term funding will be subject to future spending reviews.

The wide range of experts on sepsis, severe infection, and antimicrobial resistance involved in development of the framework continue to be engaged, to support both implementation of best practice consistently across the National Health Service, and to prioritise research and innovation efforts to better enable improvements in patient care and outcomes.

The framework also commits to delivering a targeted public communications campaign for high-risk groups to improve prevention, identification, escalation, and response to sepsis.

Found: Hill-Cawthorne (Commons) (for Item 7) Tom Goldsmith Russ MacMillan (Delivery Authority) Lord Mackinlay of Richborough

Found: year 9/11 Steve Hails, external member Full year 10/11 John Lamont MP* From Sept 2025 6/7 Lord Mackinlay of Richborough