Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is responsible for reforming the regulation of funeral directors.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care will lead on co-ordinating cross-Government work to raise standards in relation to the care and treatment of the deceased, supported by the Department of Business and Trade, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to bid for the 2031 Special Olympic Games; and whether she has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of such a bid.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK has a strong record of delivering events that unite diverse communities and reflect inclusivity, creativity, resilience and openness and the Government is committed to delivering international events with pride, building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events. We recognise that major sporting events deliver significant socio-economic benefits and play a unique role in bringing people together, fostering a shared sense of belonging, and showcasing the UK’s cultural and sporting identity both domestically and internationally.
We are always keen to work alongside our arm’s-length body UK Sport and other stakeholders to grow and develop our strong pipeline of events. We prioritise support for events based on a range of criteria, which includes how far they help create social and economic benefits for the UK and contribute towards the Government's Plan for Change.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is responsible for reforming the regulation of funeral directors.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Department of Health and Social Care will lead on co-ordinating cross‑government work to raise standards in relation to the care and treatment of the deceased, supported by the Department of Business and Trade, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make a comparative assessment of trends in the level of participation in physical activity for people with intellectual disabilities with the national average.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that contribute to the persisting inequalities in participation and want to ensure that everyone can experience the physical, mental and social benefits that come with being active.
Our Arm’s Length Body Sport England engages with Special Olympics Great Britain and other sector partners to understand participation rates amongst underrepresented groups including people with intellectual disabilities, and how access for all can be improved. The most recent statistics from Special Olympics Great Britain outline that as many as 59% of people with a learning disability do not participate in sport. Sport England recognises these challenges, and has invested £1.5 million across 4 years into Special Olympics Great Britain as part of its Uniting the Movement strategy.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Special Olympics Great Britain on the difference in participation in physical activity between people with intellectual disabilities and the national average.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that contribute to the persisting inequalities in participation and want to ensure that everyone can experience the physical, mental and social benefits that come with being active.
Our Arm’s Length Body Sport England engages with Special Olympics Great Britain and other sector partners to understand participation rates amongst underrepresented groups including people with intellectual disabilities, and how access for all can be improved. The most recent statistics from Special Olympics Great Britain outline that as many as 59% of people with a learning disability do not participate in sport. Sport England recognises these challenges, and has invested £1.5 million across 4 years into Special Olympics Great Britain as part of its Uniting the Movement strategy.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2026 to Question 124547 on Medical Treatments: Costs, what plans he has to update the 2009 guidance.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to update the guidance at this current time.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March to Question 114810, whether the underlying cost data from the Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD) paper referred to in the Answer was critically appraised; and whether NHS England, when interpreting the data from this research to inform guide prices, (a) took into account inflation since publication and (b) checked that the hourly rate for clinical time included appropriate adjustments for patient facing time.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD) paper was considered as part of the development of guide prices for 2026/27. Specifically, the amount of professional time linked to an average assessment and the evidence of increased cost for children and young people over adult assessment.
During the process of determining guide prices, NHS England considered that the costs reported would have changed since publication of the NHS England commissioned RE-ASCeD evaluation, due to various reasons, including changes in practice. As a result, NHS England did not use these costs directly to inform the guide prices, but noted some of the helpful components such as the amount of professional time linked to an average assessment and the evidence of increased cost for children and young people over adult assessments.
We reflected that practices have changed over time and therefore not all elements of the RE-ASCeD evaluation remain relevant. Whilst we did not consider the hourly rates within the evaluation, we continued to be guided by optimal assessment pathway practice as outlined in the National Autism Framework and Operational Guidance from 2023 and current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 114810 Neurodiversity: Mental Health Services, what weight was given to the autism assessment cost data in the Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD) paper in determining guide prices.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD) paper was considered as part of the development of guide prices for 2026/27. Specifically, the amount of professional time linked to an average assessment and the evidence of increased cost for children and young people over adult assessment.
During the process of determining guide prices, NHS England considered that the costs reported would have changed since publication of the NHS England commissioned RE-ASCeD evaluation, due to various reasons, including changes in practice. As a result, NHS England did not use these costs directly to inform the guide prices, but noted some of the helpful components such as the amount of professional time linked to an average assessment and the evidence of increased cost for children and young people over adult assessments.
We reflected that practices have changed over time and therefore not all elements of the RE-ASCeD evaluation remain relevant. Whilst we did not consider the hourly rates within the evaluation, we continued to be guided by optimal assessment pathway practice as outlined in the National Autism Framework and Operational Guidance from 2023 and current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how he is working with the DSMA to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of information from HMNB Portsmouth by the media which would improve an adversary’s knowledge and understanding of the UK’s military plans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence has frequent contact with the Defence and Security Media Advisory Committee during which specific matters are discussed in confidence, with impartial advice provided to the Department and to the media.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Women's Justice Board report entitled Women’s Justice Board recommendations for reducing women’s imprisonment.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 14 April to Questions 124155, 124156 and 124157.