Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to introduce financial support for family’s impacted by brain tumours following the concerning findings in the Brain Tumour Charity’s recent report; and what plans his Department has to increase support for the charities who help families impacted by brain tumours.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure people living with brain tumours have care which addresses their financial concerns, NHS England has committed to ensuring that every person diagnosed with cancer has access to personalised care. This includes needs assessments, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. Through the provision of information, personalised care empowers people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer, including the financial impact on their families.
The Department for Work and Pensions provides a range of benefits and support for families with people with a range of health conditions and disabilities, including for those impacted by high grade or life limiting brain tumours. These include Universal Credit, Employment Support Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Carer's Allowance, and Access to Work. The Pathways to Work Green Paper was built on the principle that the Government should support those who can work to do so, while protecting those who can’t, and we have already made significant progress bringing forward proposals from the Green Paper to transform the support we offer.
To support charities, including those who help families impacted by brain tumours, the Department of Health and Social Care has a Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Programme. This is a mechanism through which the Department, NHS England, and the UK Health Security Agency work together with VCSE organisations to:
In addition, the National Cancer Plan, which is due to be published shortly, has featured significant ongoing engagement with charities, covering topics such as how to improve the experience of people living with cancer. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, including support for people living with brain tumours and their families.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of Ofcom data on phone signal in Worcestershire; and what plans her Department has to improve connectivity in Worcestershire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for the reporting of mobile coverage across the UK but does not publish mobile coverage data at a county level.
The Government recognises that there are discrepancies in some cases between peoples’ lived experience and the level of coverage that Ofcom reports should be available. The launch of Ofcom’s updated mobile coverage checker ‘Map Your Mobile’ in June 2025 was a positive step forward in helping address this.
Government, however, recognises that there is further work to be done and we continue to encourage Ofcom to improve the accuracy of mobile coverage reporting across the UK, allowing consumers to make more informed choices about which operator provides the best level of service in their area.
Our ambition is for all populated areas, including communities in Worcestershire, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030.
The Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure their continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks, and that investment translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, including those in Worcestershire.
We are also working to identify and address barriers to deployment of mobile infrastructure. This includes recently launching a call for evidence to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Valuation Office Agency being able to increase property valuations without visiting the premises on business rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency collects a large amount of rental and trade evidence from occupiers and landlords for revaluations, and then applies one of three RICS-approved valuation methods. We inspect properties when we need to gather additional information or confirm facts. This has been the established practice for all revaluations since 1990.
Rateable values reflect the open market rental value of a property at a specific date.