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 recent assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the rate of community pharmacy closures in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.
There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.
For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
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 steps his Department is taking to help support the long-term (a) financial and (b) operational sustainability of community pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.
There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.
For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
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 steps he is taking to help ensure that patients have timely access to pharmacy services in areas where community pharmacies have closed.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has been clear that community pharmacies will have a vital role in the Neighbourhood Health Service, bringing healthcare to the heart of the high street, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan.
There are over 10,400 pharmacies in England. Despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies, access to pharmacies remains good. Over 80% of the population live within one mile of a pharmacy and there are twice as many pharmacies in the most deprived areas. In some rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines to their patients. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the over 400 National Health Service online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver medicines they dispense free of charge to patients.
For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance contamination in drinking water in England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works with other departments, regulators and devolved administrations to assess PFAS levels, their sources and potential risks, informing future policy and regulation.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance on PFAS since 2007, most recently updated in August 2024 and consolidated in March 2025. The guidance uses a tiered system with graduated responses based on concentrations detected in raw water.
In 2021 a guideline value of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/L) was adopted. Since August 2024, water companies must monitor for 48 PFAS in supplies, agreed with the UK Health Security Agency as safe levels with an appropriate margin. Any exceedance must be reported to the DWI, with actions taken to reduce levels. No exceedances have been found in UK supplies.
The DWI continues to review advice from World Health Organisation and the UK’s Committee on Toxicity, acting on emerging science to safeguard public health.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to support national expansion of the Yellowfish campaign to reduce drain contamination.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Yellow fish campaign is a targeted community-led engagement initiative that raises awareness of water pollution caused by contaminants such as chemicals, oils, detergents, and litter entering road drains. Where drainage has been identified as a pollution source, this campaign offers a practical, visible solution to support pollution reduction efforts. It aligns with policy goals on clean water, community engagement and sustainable infrastructure and is a solution that should be encouraged in appropriate locations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure clear consumer labelling on wet wipes marketed as flushable.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s message is clear – if you need to use wet wipes, dispose of them in the bin, not the loo, flushing wet wipes causes a number of environmental and drainage impacts.
We are considering if further action, including on product labelling, is required to tackle the issues caused by wrongly flushing wet wipes and other unflushables.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve public awareness of drinking water (a) safety and (b) quality standards.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Drinking water quality in England is exceptionally high and among the best in the world; the UK was ranked in the top 8 countries globally for drinking water safety in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index.
Public drinking water compliance with the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 has been consistently high for years. The most recent published figures show 99.97% compliance rate compared with between 98-98.5% in the early 1990s.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) publishes advice on drinking water quality safety and standards online. In December 2024, the DWI published a report, with recommendations, on drinking water standards by an advisory group of specialists with wide-ranging technical expertise. Defra and the DWI will work together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on these recommendations.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for banning wet wipes containing plastic.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are working together with the devolved Governments to ban wet wipes containing plastic across the UK. For England, we will legislate in Autumn this year.
Asked by: Amanda Hack (Labour - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on how many and what proportion of driving test bookings involved the initial driving licence number on the booking form being subsequently changed, in each month since January 2015.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests.
Between 28 May and 23 July 2025, DVSA ran a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. Views were sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties on changes which aim to prevent learner drivers from being exploited by those who resell tests at a higher price.
In line with the consultation principles, DVSA will aim to publish a summary of responses, including the next steps, which might include new legislation.
While the selling of tests for profit is not illegal, DVSA deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly, but these applications are constantly evolving and changing. DVSA continues looking for ways to ensure the safest and fairest way to book a driving test is for a legitimate candidate to use its services. DVSA has zero tolerance for those who exploit learner drivers and is committed to tackling the reselling of driving tests.
The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00047632, shows the number bookings made* and the number of bookings ,including percentage, of practical driving test bookings where the initial test candidate’s driving licence number was subsequently changed to a different driving test candidate’s licence number in each month since January 2015.
* The number of bookings made does not equate to the number of practical driving tests conducted. Not all test bookings result in a test being conducted.
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, whether his Department plans to review the manner in which NICE considers carer-related quality of life in its assessments of treatments for (a) rare, (b) progressive and (c) paediatric diseases.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) technology appraisal process allows its independent committees to take societal benefits, such as health-related quality-of-life for carers and impacts on personal social services, into account. 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
Evaluations should consider all health effects for patients, and, when relevant, carers. 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.