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 recent steps he has taken with the British Dental Association to make changes to the dental contract.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Ministers meet regularly with external stakeholders on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, dentistry. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website.
We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for National Health Service dental patients.
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, when he last met with the British Dental Association.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability.
Ministers meet regularly with external stakeholders on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, dentistry. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website.
We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for National Health Service dental patients.
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 his Department's timeline is for publishing its plan for 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.
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 potential implications for her Department’s policies of cases of fraud involving the Seventy Ninth Group.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On 28 February 2025, the City of London Police announced that it was investigating allegations of fraud in relation to the 79th Group. It is understood that the 79th Group offered investment opportunities involving loan notes that were marketed as being secured against properties. The investigation remains in progress.
A number of entities in the 79th Group have been placed into administration. On 14 July 2025 the joint administrators published an update on the administration, which can be viewed on the Companies House website.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of fraud from 79th Group.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Our ongoing Stop! Think Fraud campaign continues to raise awareness and provide practical guidance to help both the public and businesses protect themselves against fraudulent activity.
Furthermore, the government has legislated to implement mandatory reimbursement for victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams. This measure came into effect in October 2024 and is already contributing to improved outcomes for victims, while also strengthening incentives for firms to prevent these scams from occurring in the first place.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the assessment of the Music Hub programme by the National Centre for Social Research will report on the progression of students.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government is investing £25 million capital for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year, across all Music Hub partnerships in England. The proportion of the funding distributed to date by region is set out below, with the remaining funding to be distributed by the end of the 2025/26 academic year.
England | Proportion distributed |
East Midlands | 43% |
East of England | 30% |
London | 36% |
East and South East | 30% |
North East | 30% |
North West | 37% |
South East | 52% |
South West | 47% |
West Midlands | 29% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 34% |
England | 38% |
The independent evaluation is focussed on implementation, delivery and impact of the partnerships and capital investment, and reported benefits for pupils and schools. Interim findings are due by autumn 2025.
Data on progression at pupil level is outside of the scope of the evaluation, however Arts Council England publishes management information on standards achieved through whole class ensemble teaching, and individual and group lessons, on their Music Hubs data dashboard.
It is for schools to decide whether to seek the support of Music Hub partnerships. Guidance on schools’ annual music development plans strongly encourages them to do so.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring state schools to engage with music hubs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government is investing £25 million capital for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year, across all Music Hub partnerships in England. The proportion of the funding distributed to date by region is set out below, with the remaining funding to be distributed by the end of the 2025/26 academic year.
England | Proportion distributed |
East Midlands | 43% |
East of England | 30% |
London | 36% |
East and South East | 30% |
North East | 30% |
North West | 37% |
South East | 52% |
South West | 47% |
West Midlands | 29% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 34% |
England | 38% |
The independent evaluation is focussed on implementation, delivery and impact of the partnerships and capital investment, and reported benefits for pupils and schools. Interim findings are due by autumn 2025.
Data on progression at pupil level is outside of the scope of the evaluation, however Arts Council England publishes management information on standards achieved through whole class ensemble teaching, and individual and group lessons, on their Music Hubs data dashboard.
It is for schools to decide whether to seek the support of Music Hub partnerships. Guidance on schools’ annual music development plans strongly encourages them to do so.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the capital grant for musical instruments has been distributed in (a) total and (b) each region of England.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government is investing £25 million capital for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year, across all Music Hub partnerships in England. The proportion of the funding distributed to date by region is set out below, with the remaining funding to be distributed by the end of the 2025/26 academic year.
England | Proportion distributed |
East Midlands | 43% |
East of England | 30% |
London | 36% |
East and South East | 30% |
North East | 30% |
North West | 37% |
South East | 52% |
South West | 47% |
West Midlands | 29% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 34% |
England | 38% |
The independent evaluation is focussed on implementation, delivery and impact of the partnerships and capital investment, and reported benefits for pupils and schools. Interim findings are due by autumn 2025.
Data on progression at pupil level is outside of the scope of the evaluation, however Arts Council England publishes management information on standards achieved through whole class ensemble teaching, and individual and group lessons, on their Music Hubs data dashboard.
It is for schools to decide whether to seek the support of Music Hub partnerships. Guidance on schools’ annual music development plans strongly encourages them to do so.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of delays between people being confirmed medically fit and getting their driving licenses back by the DVLA.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services are the quickest way to apply for a driving licence and drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, visual impairments, sleep conditions or heart conditions can renew their driving licence online. The DVLA has also introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with multiple sclerosis, some mental health conditions and glaucoma. This has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver.
The DVLA is continuing to make improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions and is introducing a new strategic system to process cases. This will provide better services for customers and allow straightforward applications to be processed more quickly.
In the 2024/25 financial year, the average time taken to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued was 44 working days, a reduction from 56 working days in the previous financial year.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can sometimes take longer depending on the medical condition or conditions being investigated. The DVLA is also often reliant on receiving information from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a decision can be made on whether to issue a licence.
Most applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria.
Asked by: Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to speed up the process of DVLA reviewing license renewal following medical improvement.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online services are the quickest way to apply for a driving licence and drivers with diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, visual impairments, sleep conditions or heart conditions can renew their driving licence online. The DVLA has also introduced a simplified licence renewal process for drivers with multiple sclerosis, some mental health conditions and glaucoma. This has significantly reduced the need for the DVLA to seek further information from medical professionals and enabled more licensing decisions to be made based on the information provided by the driver.
The DVLA is continuing to make improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions and is introducing a new strategic system to process cases. This will provide better services for customers and allow straightforward applications to be processed more quickly.
In the 2024/25 financial year, the average time taken to make a licensing decision in cases where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued was 44 working days, a reduction from 56 working days in the previous financial year.
Driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued can sometimes take longer depending on the medical condition or conditions being investigated. The DVLA is also often reliant on receiving information from third parties, for example doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a decision can be made on whether to issue a licence.
Most applicants renewing an existing licence will be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing the driver can meet specific criteria.