Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his timeframe estimation is for the final settling of all outstanding claims within the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, including those with registered intent.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) Framework Document, published in March 2025, sets out the timelines agreed between IBCA and Cabinet Office; namely for the bulk of infected people to be paid no later than the end of 2027 and the bulk of affected people to be paid no later than the end of 2029.
These timescales have been agreed with IBCA, to ensure that the door is kept open for those who have not yet identified themselves as being infected or affected. In my oral statement to the House on 21 July 2025, I set out that these dates are not targets for delivery, but ‘backstops’, and I am pleased that all registered infected people have now been contacted to begin their claim, and that IBCA has started the first claims from all eligible groups.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make it her policy to condition the continuation of UK funding to the Palestinian Authority on the removal of (a) antisemitic content and (b) incitement to violence from its school textbooks.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this topic on 3 March at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Oral Questions, and on 9 March in response to Question 115698.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
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 implications for her Department's policies of the paper by the Online Safety Act Network entitled Strengthening the Online Safety Act: A Ten-point plan for Government, published in January 2026.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society organisations, to ensure our policymaking remains rooted in evidence and responsive to emerging harms. Contributions from organisations across the sector, including the Online Safety Act Network, form an important part of this dialogue.
The Online Safety Act is one of the most robust systems globally to tackle illegal content and protect children from harmful content. However, there is growing agreement that more should be done to keep children safe online, which is why the Government has launched the Growing Up in the Online World consultation and National Conversation.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment was made of the potential merits of including an examination of the evidence base relating to the spike protein and lipid nanoparticles used in Covid‑19 mRNA vaccines within the scope for oral evidence of the UK Covid‑19 Inquiry; and whether the Government has received any correspondence from the Inquiry on whether such issues fall within its remit.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK COVID-19 Inquiry is an independent statutory inquiry. As an independent body, it is responsible for determining its own scope, lines of investigation, and the evidence it seeks. Decisions about whether to include examination of specific scientific or technical matters, such as the evidence base relating to spike proteins or lipid nanoparticles, fall within the inquiry’s discretion.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not received any specific correspondence or instruction from the inquiry relating to spike proteins or lipid nanoparticles.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department has modelled alternative funding structures for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency that would reduce reliance on industry fees; and if it will publish any assessments made of the impact of such models on regulatory independence.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such modelling has been undertaken.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is taking to improve clinician reporting of myocarditis and pericarditis in the Yellow Card system; and whether the Department has assessed under‑reporting rates for these conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is committed to continually strengthening the Yellow Card scheme to support patient safety. The MHRA regularly promotes awareness through public health campaigns, conferences, established networks, and new educational resources available on the Yellow Card website. Further information is available on the MHRA website at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency
Reporting rates through spontaneous reporting systems, such as the Yellow Card Scheme, are highly variable, and dependent not just on the condition, but other factors such as the product, public interest, and media attention. As such, the MHRA does not hold estimates of under reporting rates for these conditions.
The MHRA is expanding and improving digital reporting routes. Every National Health Service webpage relating to a medicine or vaccine now links to the Yellow Card scheme, and the MHRA is working with NHS colleagues to enhance integration with the NHS App to increase visibility and reporting by the public. Yellow Card reporting is now embedded in almost all general practice clinical IT systems, enabling healthcare professionals to submit reports directly on behalf of patients.
Over recent years, the MHRA has delivered a major upgrade programme to modernise the Yellow Card scheme’s technology and infrastructure. This includes improving the quality and timeliness of submitted information, making it easier to report, adding conditional questions to reduce follow up, and support real time signal detection of safety issues.
The Yellow Card app has also been modernised to mirror the website, broaden reporting options, including defective and counterfeit medicines, and improve access to safety data. Multifactor authentication has been introduced to enhance account security and enable future integration with the NHS login. The app has also been upgraded to a progressive web application, providing a seamless and engaging user experience across devices.
Together, these improvements increase public awareness, make reporting, including of myocarditis and pericarditis, easier, and enhance the MHRA’s ability to identify and assess emerging safety concerns across healthcare products.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency have, in each of the last five years, (a) moved to roles with pharmaceutical companies or industry-funded bodies and (b) joined the Agency from such organisations; and what safeguards are in place to manage potential conflicts of interest arising from such movement.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) requires all staff to undertake a conflict-of-interest declaration upon joining the agency and then on a yearly basis. All declarations are assessed according to MHRA policy to ensure due consideration and agreement of required mitigations. The MHRA does not routinely record where staff move to when leaving the agency, however all staff are bound by the business appointment rules for crown servants and are required to seek prior agreement if they fall within the specified criteria. Further information on the business appointment rules for crown servants is available at the following link:
In relation to staff joining the agency, the MHRA does not record the information in the manner requested, but a manual review of the records from new joiners between the financial years 2021 to 2026 indicates that 47 staff have declared previous employment in a pharmaceutical or industry funded body. The following table shows a breakdown of the 47 staff who have declared previous employment in a pharmaceutical or industry funded body from 2021/22 to 2025/26, and in total:
Financial year | Number of staff |
2021/22 | 0 |
2022/23 | 5 |
2023/24 | 17 |
2024/25 | 14 |
2025/26 | 11 |
Total | 47 |
It should be noted that this assessment is a best estimate to match within the criteria requested and the number may be subject to change.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many whistleblowing reports relating to conflicts of interest have been submitted within the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in each of the last five years; and whether the Department will publish anonymised summaries of the issues raised.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the last five years, three internal whistleblowing reports relating to conflicts of interest have been made to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) nominated officers.
Nominated officers are trained individuals designated to give confidential advice, support, and guidance on whistleblowing concerns to staff, and to help staff escalate those concerns appropriately. The following table shows the number of whistleblowing reports related to conflicts of interest, from 2021/22 to 2025/26, up to 20 March 2026:
Year | Number of whistleblowing reports related to conflicts of interest |
2021/22 | 0 |
2022/23 | 0 |
2023/24 | 0 |
2024/25 | 0 |
2025/26 | 3 |
There are no requirements or plans to publish summaries of these whistleblowing reports. The MHRA submits data annually to the Cabinet Office on all whistleblowing investigations that have taken place and publishes a short summary of its internal whistleblowing actions, including the number of whistleblowing investigations, in its Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to enable smaller charities to contribute more effectively to public policy development, including through improving access to (a) tenders, (b) grant applications and (c) policy consultations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government is doing much to reset the relationship with civil society and ensure we listen to - and heed - a broad range of voices from across the sector, including those from small charities. The Civil Society Covenant, launched by the Prime Minister in July 2025, sets out the ambition of this government to fully recognise the value of civil society. No.10 has established the Civil Society Council, to work in partnership with government at the highest level to drive and oversee the implementation of the Covenant.
Our recently-launched £11.5 million Local Covenant Partnerships (LCP) Fund puts many of the Covenant’s principles into practice, including testing new approaches to commissioning and procurement. The LCP Fund will invest in 15 places across England to develop innovative partnership models between VCSE organisations and local public sector bodies. This in turn will increase levels of local VCSE delivery of public services, including from small charities, and work towards developing the local sector’s knowledge and confidence of commissioning structures and procurement processes.