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Written Question
Stem Cells: Medical Treatments
Friday 18th September 2026

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 consideration has been given to changing NHS policy so that the possibility of a second transplant is assessed individually for relapses within 12 months of an allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England does not routinely collect or hold data on the number of patients with blood cancer who do not meet the eligibility criteria set out in its clinical commissioning policies, the numbers who have not been funded to receive treatment under the current commissioning policy, or the number of patients whose disease relapsed under 12 months of a first allogeneic-hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

NHS England recognises the seriousness of relapse following a stem cell transplant and is actively reviewing the current policy, working with clinicians, patients, and charities to assess the latest available evidence. A revised draft policy is expected to undergo stakeholder testing in the new year, with final decisions currently anticipated in late spring 2027.

The ongoing review will consider the latest peer-reviewed clinical evidence, alongside clinical benefit, patient safety, affordability, and the opportunity cost of any new investment. Any changes to commissioning arrangements will be considered through NHS England's established policy development process, which includes an independent evidence review, expert clinical input, patient and public involvement, and stakeholder testing. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on the draft policy through a formal stakeholder testing process before any final decisions are made.


Written Question
Prescriptions: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Tuesday 15th September 2026

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, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the list of medical conditions which provide exemption from the prescription charges to include rheumatoid arthritis.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 August in response to Question 18253.


Written Question
Palliative Care: Hospitals
Monday 14th September 2026

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 is she taking to improve the palliative care for terminally ill hospital patients that cannot be transferred to a hospice or into the care of end-of-life charities, and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing fit-for-purpose mini hospices in NHS hospitals to aid the improvement of end-of-life palliative care services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 20 July 2026 in response to Question 18732.


Written Question
Friedreich’s Ataxia: Health Services
Monday 14th September 2026

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 her department has to introduce the Omavelexolone treatment for Friedrich’s Ataxia in the NHS.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 29 June 2026 to Question 11724.


Written Question
Fires: Risk Assessment
Wednesday 9th September 2026

Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether assessments are being carried out on wildfire risk and management for areas where open or agricultural land adjoins to residential communities; whether environmental land-management schemes adequately take account of extreme wildfire conditions; and what steps her Department is taking to help farmers and agricultural landowners manage wildfire risks.

Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Responsibility for assessing local risks, including wildfire risk, sits with local responders under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Local Resilience Forums bring together emergency services, local authorities, health bodies and other partners to assess local risks and develop, maintain and exercise multi-agency emergency plans.

Local Resilience Forums are expected to consider risks relevant to their local area, including where environmental and land-use factors may increase the potential impact of incidents on nearby communities. Risk assessments and preparedness arrangements are therefore tailored to local circumstances and informed by local evidence.

Environmental Land Management schemes already support a range of actions that can help reduce wildfire risk and improve resilience, for example Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier includes options for wildfire planning, fire and fuel breaks, and fire belts. Defra has also introduced temporary adjustments to Environmental Land Management revenue agreements in response to the exceptionally hot and dry conditions experienced this year, including measures to support the creation of fire breaks.


Written Question
Breast Cancer: Screening
Wednesday 9th September 2026

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 consideration she has given to lowering the screening age for breast cancer to women aged twenty and above.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 July in response to Question 13406.


Written Question
Animal Experiments
Wednesday 9th September 2026

Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider introducing temperature regulations for the housing of animals in (a) testing and (b) vivisection breeding facilities, including the establishment of maximum and minimum temperature thresholds.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government does not currently plan to introduce statutory maximum and minimum temperature ranges for each species housed in establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

The statutory Code of Practice requires establishments to maintain conditions that protect the welfare of animals in their care. This allows environmental conditions to be appropriate to variable requirements within a species, for example according to factors such as age, health, housing, acclimatisation and the nature of the procedures being undertaken.

Further guidance is available to establishments in the Advisory Standards, which provide suggested (non-mandatory) temperature ranges for different species, and their named persons. The regulatory framework therefore combines relevant numerical guidance with outcome-based requirements. Establishments must monitor environmental conditions and animal welfare, assess the risks arising from temperature extremes, and take prompt corrective action where necessary.

Compliance is assessed against the Act, licence conditions and the Code of Practice, including whether an establishment’s monitoring, contingency arrangements and response protect animal welfare in practice.


Written Question
Offenders: Electronic Tagging
Tuesday 8th September 2026

Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on (a) how many individuals are awaiting installation of an electronic monitoring device in each police force area, (b) the average waiting time, and (c) the number of outstanding installation visits.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

While the Ministry of Justice centrally holds and publishes data about individuals without electronic monitoring equipment and the reasons for this, the reasons do not distinguish between those who are awaiting installation from those who are not (due to being without equipment for other reasons such as recently returning to custody).

The Ministry of Justice works closely with the service provider to monitor a suite of performance indicators including timeliness of equipment installation attempts. A number of contractual levers exist where performance falls below contractual expectations.


Written Question
Offenders: Electronic Tagging
Tuesday 8th September 2026

Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on how many individuals in each police force area are subject to electronic monitoring, broken down by licence, community order, suspended sentence order and bail requirement.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Data on the total number of individuals assigned with electronic monitoring (EM) equipment by cohort as at 30 June 2026 can be found in the department’s latest published statistics on EM : Electronic Monitoring Statistics Publication, June 2026 - GOV.UK.

A further breakdown of this data by police force area has been provided in Table 1 below. This is derived from the same underlying data and constitutes a subset of the published statistics as at 30 June 2026 (linked above).

Table 1: Number of individuals assigned with EM equipment by region and cohort, 30 June 2026

Month

Police Force Area

Court Bail

Court Sentence

Immigration

Post Release

TOTAL

30/06/2026

Avon and Somerset

120

130

70

280

600

30/06/2026

Bedfordshire

180

50

70

150

450

30/06/2026

Cambridgeshire

80

50

60

130

320

30/06/2026

Cheshire

80

90

20

220

410

30/06/2026

Cleveland

80

70

30

140

320

30/06/2026

Cumbria

30

60

10

100

200

30/06/2026

Derbyshire

90

60

40

220

410

30/06/2026

Devon & Cornwall

100

90

40

190

420

30/06/2026

Dorset

60

30

20

100

210

30/06/2026

Durham

80

30

10

150

270

30/06/2026

Dyfed-Powys

30

40

10

60

140

30/06/2026

Essex

370

140

100

380

990

30/06/2026

Gloucestershire

20

50

30

70

170

30/06/2026

Greater Manchester

660

180

240

650

1,730

30/06/2026

Gwent

50

50

10

140

250

30/06/2026

Hampshire

250

100

70

230

650

30/06/2026

Hertfordshire

120

50

50

140

360

30/06/2026

Humberside

80

60

40

180

360

30/06/2026

Kent

350

170

90

340

950

30/06/2026

Lancashire

300

150

80

440

970

30/06/2026

Leicestershire

100

30

80

150

360

30/06/2026

Lincolnshire

40

30

30

100

200

30/06/2026

London, City of

-

-

-

-

-

30/06/2026

Merseyside

160

130

70

540

900

30/06/2026

Metropolitan Police

2,470

570

1,070

1,300

5,410

30/06/2026

Norfolk

120

60

40

80

300

30/06/2026

North Wales

20

130

10

170

330

30/06/2026

North Yorkshire

30

40

-

70

140

30/06/2026

Northamptonshire

100

50

60

120

330

30/06/2026

Northern Ireland

-

-

50

-

50

30/06/2026

Northumbria

200

70

40

240

550

30/06/2026

Nottinghamshire

160

60

70

330

620

30/06/2026

Scotland

-

-

120

-

120

30/06/2026

South Wales

110

100

50

370

630

30/06/2026

South Yorkshire

150

50

100

210

510

30/06/2026

Staffordshire

170

60

40

220

490

30/06/2026

Suffolk

50

70

20

100

240

30/06/2026

Surrey

120

50

30

100

300

30/06/2026

Sussex

140

80

60

170

450

30/06/2026

Thames Valley

240

160

140

360

900

30/06/2026

Warwickshire

50

20

20

110

200

30/06/2026

West Mercia

140

70

30

150

390

30/06/2026

West Midlands

850

190

270

940

2,250

30/06/2026

West Yorkshire

370

180

170

470

1,190

30/06/2026

Wiltshire

40

30

20

60

150

30/06/2026

Unknown

60

40

370

190

660

Table notes:

  1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Where a figure is 0, or is rounded to 0, this will be shown as "-". The total caseload is a total of the rounded cohort figures shown.

  1. These figures are drawn from administrative data systems provided by contractors. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in individual-level administrative data.

  1. The "Unknown" region reflects the small proportion of individuals in the caseload who do not have recorded location data.

  1. Figures exclude special orders.

  1. The "Total" column reflects total counts across the cohorts. Due to rounding, the total counts for each cohort across the regions may differ slightly from the total counts nationally for that cohort.

  1. Further information on counting rules and methodology can be found in the linked statistical publication.


Written Question
Offenders: Electronic Tagging
Tuesday 8th September 2026

Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on (a) how many electronic monitoring breaches were recorded in each police force area during the latest 12-month period, and (b) of the breaches recorded, how many resulted in (i) enforcement action, (ii) recall to custody, (iii) arrest, (iv) prosecution and (v) no further action.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on individual police forces. However, the Department works closely with the National Police Chiefs Council through a dedicated liaison embedded in HMPPS on a range of common challenges, including Electronic Monitoring of bail cases.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data centrally on electronic monitoring breaches or outcomes of these breaches.