Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 extend fracture liaison services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to help ensure that those who are waiting to have their pensions paid under the McCloud judgement are paid in a timely manner.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), including the implementation of the 2015 Remedy (McCloud), is the responsibility of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
The Government is committed to implementing the remedy as quickly as possible. Capita took over responsibility of the Civil Service Pension Scheme from 1 December 2025, and Capita is currently preparing a delivery plan for undertaking all the outstanding Remedy work required.
Since October 2023 all members starting to receive their pension for the first time have been given their 2015 election options prior to their pension being put into payment.
From the Remedy group, there are c.70k members remaining (from the original 430k) requiring the issuing of a Remediable Service Statement and these are expected to be completed by March 2027. This will enable the member to either continue with their current benefits or opt for the alternative. It is important to note that all impacted members in receipt of a pension are already receiving benefits and that the remedy is an adjustment and the alternative scheme benefits will not automatically provide a member with a higher pension and lump sum. Where it does and the member makes an alternative scheme election, the difference between what has been paid and what is due, will be backdated to the original payment date and paid to the member inclusive of interest.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when those waiting for their pension repayments under the McCloud judgement will receive their payments.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), including the implementation of the 2015 Remedy (McCloud), is the responsibility of the Minister for the Cabinet Office.
Of the c.430,000 members subject to the McCloud judgment, all those retiring after 1 October 2023 have, or will, make a choice between their preferred pension options and no amendments need to be made to their pension in payment, as the work has been completed for this group.
Approximately 130,000 members who retired prior to October 2023, require an 'Immediate Choice' Remediable Service Statement, of which 44% (58,000) were issued before 31 March 2025 and members in this group (42,000) have confirmed their choice and their elections have been fully implemented. For the remaining 56% (c.70,000) of complex cases, the Cabinet Office has extended the delivery date to March 2027 both to prioritise accuracy for members and to protect wider services to all 1.7 million pension members. Capita, the new administrator from 1 December 2025 is drawing up plans and timelines for completion of this work.
It should be noted that many members who retired prior to October 2023, are not better off as a result of McCloud judgment and many choose to remain on the pension already in payment.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has conducted an impact assessment on UK musicians regarding the additional CITES permit requirements that an Appendix I listing would require, including travel, touring logistics, and compliance impacts.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DCMS has not conducted a formal impact assessment on UK musicians regarding the additional CITES permit requirements that an Appendix I listing would require.
Consultation on CITES proposals are led by DEFRA, who engaged extensively with the music sector and DCMS Officials ahead of the recent COP20 to understand potential implications of uplisting Brazilwood (Pernambuco) to Appendix I. This evidence informed the UK’s position to oppose an uplisting as it would have imposed significant negative impacts through increased administrative burdens and restrictions on the movement of finished bows, without delivering a clear conservation benefit.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information he has reviewed from the International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative and other scientific or industry bodies about sustainable cultivation, reforestation, and traceability schemes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra officials have engaged with a wide range of scientific and industry stakeholders — including some who may be affiliated with IPCI — through meetings, written submissions and open forums, and have reviewed information related to Pernambuco conservation, particularly on traceability. This evidence has informed the UK’s technical understanding and international engagement on this issue.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of HMRC’s procedures for granting exemptions from Making Tax Digital for taxpayers who are digitally excluded, including older individuals who do not use computers or mobile phones.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Whilst most taxpayers are able to use Making Tax Digital (MTD), some will be digitally excluded for a range of reasons which could include age, disability, health conditions, religious beliefs, or lack of internet access.
HMRC has clear processes and a dedicated team in place to ensure requests for exemption from MTD requirements are considered in a consistent and fair way. Exemption procedures for MTD for income tax broadly mirror those which have been successfully applied in MTD for VAT cases since 2019.
Taxpayers can apply for an exemption by phone or in writing, and authorised agents or family members may apply on their behalf. HMRC continually monitors service performance and capacity to ensure adequate resourcing and timely decisions.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 ensure that NHSE informs ICBs, practitioners and Regional Pharmacists about amendments to the liothyronine (T3) section in the guidance document entitled Items which should not routinely be prescribed in primary care.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Regional chief pharmacists have been informed of the changes made to the liothyronine section, including Armour Thyroid and liothyronine combination products, of the ‘items that should not be prescribed in primary care’ policy guidance via email. They have been asked to cascade this information through their integrated care board’s regional networks.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
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 help ensure that Young Futures Hubs deliver on their core purpose of early mental health support.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services in helping young people live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives, and is committed to building on great youth services by developing the National Youth Strategy, strengthening services and expanding opportunities for all young people.
As part of this Strategy, Young Futures Hubs will leverage local understanding of services in each area to improve support for young people at community level, increasing opportunities, improving mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime. 50 Young Futures Hubs across the country will be supported by the end of this Parliament.
We are working closely with DHSC, NHS England and a number of health stakeholders, to ensure that Young Futures Hubs offer services together to support young people with emerging needs, including early mental health advice and wellbeing interventions. This includes using learnings from programmes such as Early Support Hubs.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is planning to take to ensure that lessons from the 24 early support hubs will feed into the Young Futures Hubs programme; and what plans she has to build the Young Futures Hubs programme on these existing hubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Health and Social Care is responsible for Early Support Hubs, and interventions into young people’s mental health.
Young Futures Hubs, developed by DCMS, will leverage local understanding of services in each area to improve support for young people at community level, increasing opportunities, improving mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime. 50 Young Futures Hubs across the country will be supported by the end of this Parliament.
We are working closely with DHSC, NHS England, and health partners to ensure Young Futures Hubs builds on existing evidence to meet young people's emerging needs, including early mental health and wellbeing support.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the outcomes from the Shared Outcomes Fund early support hubs will be utilised in the development of the Young Futures Hubs programme; and whether transitional funding will be put in place to keep these early support hubs open.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Each Young Futures Hub will meet three outcomes of increasing opportunities, improving mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime.
We are collaborating with DHSC, NHS England, and health partners to ensure Young Futures Hubs meet young people's emerging needs, providing early mental health and wellbeing support. Early Support Hubs built the evidence base for next year's Young Futures Hubs, with evaluation findings directly informing the programme.
The Early Support Hubs were initially funded through the Shared Outcomes Fund in the 2024/25 financial year. The programme has since been extended for a further year to 2025/26.