Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to (a) promote the use of made in Britain labelling on products and (b) prevent that labelling being used when a large part of the production process has been outside of the UK.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin. The government does not have plans to introduce such a requirement on behalf of consumers.
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products including in response to requests for information by consumers. Alleged breaches of this legislation should be reported to the Citizens Advice consumer service in the first instance.
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 making care homes non-exempt from the High Value Council Tax Surcharge on care home financial viability, the level of care received by care home residents and local authority finances.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is currently consulting on its proposed list of discounts and exemptions for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge; this includes care homes.
The Government welcomes views as part of the consultation, including on any specific issues relating to care homes which respondents feel we should consider.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration she has given to exempting care homes from the High Value Council Tax Surcharge in line with social landlords.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is currently consulting on its proposed list of discounts and exemptions for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge; this includes care homes.
The Government welcomes views as part of the consultation, including on any specific issues relating to care homes which respondents feel we should consider.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure ethical practices by major retirement housing providers in regard to leaseholder rights; and whether he plans to alter the retirement housing service charges system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises the importance of helping older people to live independently at home for as long as possible and is committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market, including retirement or sheltered housing. We are also committed to ensuring that leaseholders, including those living in retirement homes, are protected from unfair and unreasonable practices.
There are currently two government-approved codes of practice in force in relation to the residential leasehold sector and private retirement housing. These are the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Management Service Charge Code and the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (AHRM) Code of Practice. The enforcement of standards set out in these codes can be taken into account as evidence, at court or tribunal hearings.
Individual leases set out what services leaseholders may expect to receive, and what they should pay for. By law variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to works or services, the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges, they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.
On 4 July 2025, the government published a consultation on strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. We continue to analyse the feedback received and will set out next steps in due course.
As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), the government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People's Housing Taskforce report, including its recommendation that the government should implement the Law Commission’s 2017 recommendations to regulate event fees and a comprehensive report into resale values to support better consumer understanding and sector development.
On 27 January 2026, we published the Draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. I refer the hon. Members to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 27 January 2026 (HCWS1278), a guide to the draft Bill which can be found on gov.uk here, and to the draft Impact Assessment for the draft Bill which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of sharp edges on plastic collars of tethered bottle caps on the safety of people with pre-existing conditions.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
All products placed on the UK market must be safe. Under the General Product Safety Regulations, producers are required to ensure that products are safe under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, including where product features may present a risk to consumers. Producers are also expected to take account of the characteristics of those likely to use the product. Concerns about an unsafe product should be reported to Citizens Advice in the first instance. Producers must monitor the products they have placed on the market for any safety issues that may emerge and take action to mitigate risks.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, (a) when he will publish the analysis of responses regarding the ‘Strengthening leaseholder protections over charges and services’ consultation launched 4 July 2025, and (b) what steps is he taking to help protect leaseholders in Bromsgrove and the Villages from management companies and landlords that do not deliver an adequate level of maintenance.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 123090 on 31 March 2026 and UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Question 121253, what assessment has been made of the potential impact on beneficiaries of them paying a net tax rate of 68% when the pension holder passes away after the age of 75 resulting in a 40% inheritance tax and a 45% income tax charge on the remaining private pension.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following the reforms to the inheritance tax treatment of pensions. The reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth.
Income tax is only due from beneficiaries in certain circumstances. It is due at the beneficiary’s marginal income tax rate. Significant tax relief is provided on pension contributions when payments are made into a pension because the Government wishes to encourage pension saving to help ensure that people have an income, or funds on which they can draw, throughout retirement. In cases where income tax is due on pension benefits paid to a beneficiary, contributions into the pension scheme will have received this tax relief when they were made. If the pension benefits had been withdrawn by the original member, they would have been liable to income tax. If the original member died with the cash, or assets purchased with that cash, then this would then generally be included in the valuation of their estate for inheritance tax purposes too and inheritance tax paid if appropriate.
Income tax will not be due on the amount of relevant death benefits equal to any inheritance tax due on that pension death benefit. This means the same value will not be subject to both inheritance tax and income tax. For example, if beneficiaries choose to withdraw their taxable benefits and pay income tax on the full amount, the legislation provides for them to reduce their taxable pension income by any inheritance tax paid. Guidance on this will be published in due course ahead of the changes taking effect in April 2027.
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 steps he is taking to (a) improve ADHD diagnosis timeframes, (b) reduce the waiting list for ADHD medication and (c) improve support for patients and their families whilst undergoing the diagnostic process in Bromsgrove and the Villages.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
The Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB is committed to wait times for ADHD assessment of less than 18 weeks, however, there are known waits for children and young people to access ADHD diagnostic assessment services due to an increase in demand. There are currently 1,600 children and young people waiting for an assessment via an NHS provider, with an average wait time of 60 weeks. For adults, ADHD assessments are conducted by Right to Choose providers only and these services typically have a waiting time below the 18-week standard.
All patients, including children and young people, can access the Right to Choose pathway for ADHD assessments through their general practice, allowing them to select an alternative provider if the waiting time for NHS services exceeds 18 weeks at the point of referral. The ICB has put in place a number of contracts under Right to Choose to improve choice for patients and is working with its NHS commissioned services to reduce long waits. It has also commissioned additional capacity for those children waiting over 104 weeks in the NHS service in 2025/26 and will continue this in 2026/27.
For children, medication is provided by the NHS commissioned service, and the waiting time is six to eight weeks for first medication reviews, and four to six months to initiate medication following diagnosis. It should be noted that NICE guidelines expect non-pharmaceutical interventions to be considered before medication for all children. The ICB is investing in the local NHS commissioned service to increase medication treatment capacity. For adults, the only pathway available for ADHD assessments is Right to Choose. The ICB advises that there is no waiting list for these patients as they will automatically be initiated and titrated for medication, where that is identified as an appropriate treatment.
Furthermore, the ICB is at the end of a tendering process for a Neurodivergence Support Service for zero to 25 year olds and their families, and this should go live from September 2026. The ICB is considering commissioning a service for adults age 25 years old and over from April 2027.
More broadly, NHS England issued advice to systems on ADHD service delivery and prioritisation on 7 October 2025. This advice includes guidance on managing service provisions, reviewing waiting lists, and providing patient support. The advice can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/adhd-service-delivery-and-prioritisation-advice-to-systems/
Through the NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity. The framework was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of Modern Slavery with a positive conclusive grounds decision were eligible for Local Authority housing during the period 1st January 2025 to 31st December 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips
I refer the Hon. Member to the response given to UIN 127995 on 21st April 2026.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2026 to Question 121184 on Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Apprentices, how many of the Department's 57 apprentices were recruited in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The department offers apprenticeships to internal staff as part of our learning and development offer. Since the original PQ, our records have updated to reflect an additional apprenticeship completion in 2025. We therefore now have 58 members of DSIT staff that are either currently undertaking an apprenticeship or have completed an apprenticeship between 2023 and 2025. (GOV.UK). This information is obtained from our Apprenticeship Employer Account on GOV.UK.
Year by year breakdown:
Year | Apprenticeships (live and completed) |
2023 | No records due to creation of the department from fBEIS, CO and DCMS |
2024 | 7 |
2025 | 51 |
Total | 58 |