Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the turn around time for results on livestock samples at the Pirbright lab has been in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Pirbright Institute is the UK national reference laboratory and provides a commercial testing service five days a week. Results from submissions from private vets are reported within three working days from the time samples are received at the lab, as stated on Pirbright’s website.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered including lipedema as a relevant condition for NHS prescription of (a) Mounjaro injections and (b) other weight loss treatments.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Semaglutide, brand name Wegovy, tirzepatide, brand name Mounjaro, and liraglutide, brand name Saxenda, are approved for the management of obesity. They are recommended as cost-effective for use on the National Health Service for people who have a body mass index (BMI) over a certain threshold, and one or more weight-related comorbidities.
The marketing authorisations for tirzepatide and other weight loss medicines do not include an exhaustive list of qualifying comorbidities, and it is for the prescriber to apply their clinical judgement in determining whether a patient meets the eligibility criteria.
The exact causes of lipoedema are not clear, and the NHS.UK website states that it’s not caused by being overweight, and that it is a separate condition to obesity.
The NHS is currently rolling out tirzepatide in primary care, using a phased approach based on clinical need. Approximately 220,000 individuals are expected to be eligible over the next three years. NHS England worked with clinical experts, NHS integrated care boards, patient and public representatives, healthcare professionals, charities, and royal colleges on its prioritisation approach, which it set out in its interim commissioning guidance, at the following link:
At the current time, patients will be eligible for treatment in primary care if they have a BMI of at least forty, and four or more out of five ‘qualifying' conditions. The qualifying conditions for tirzepatide treatment are cardiovascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, obstructive sleep apnoea, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children who arrive at school by (a) state-provided buses and (b) taxis to make use of free breakfast clubs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to offering every primary aged child a free breakfast club and is currently working with 750 early adopter schools to test how best to implement this policy ahead of national rollout. Transport will be considered as part of this.
Free breakfast clubs should be at least 30 minutes immediately before the start of the compulsory school day. Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopter-guidance-for-schools-and-trusts-in-england/breakfast-clubs-early-adopter-guidance-for-schools-and-trusts-in-england.
Local authorities’ statutory duty requires them to arrange free travel to enable an eligible child to travel to school for the beginning of the school day, and to return home at the end of the school day. While local authorities are not required to make travel arrangements to enable eligible children to attend breakfast clubs, we encourage them to work with schools to find solutions wherever possible.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if Pirbright lab will prioritise blood samples from sheep farmers in northern England ahead of the Kelso ram sales on 12 September 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All pre-movement tests for bluetongue virus performed at Pirbright are reported within three working days of receipt, with no prioritisation given to particular samples. Pirbright has the provisions to expand its testing capacity, if required, to meet higher demand.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to address regulatory failings highlighted in the independent review by Malcolm Sheehan KC concerning the collapse of football index.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Independent Review announced by the previous Government and conducted by Malcom Sheehan KC made a number of recommendations for the Gambling Commission and Financial Conduct Authority, both of which are independent of Government. All recommendations of the report have since been implemented.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to expand testing capacity for the bluetongue virus.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
All diagnostic testing for bluetongue virus is conducted at the bluetongue national reference laboratory at The Pirbright Institute. Current testing capacity is sufficient to meet the demands for disease control and movement testing. Nevertheless, Pirbright has the provisions to expand its testing capacity, if required, to meet higher demand.
The Official Laboratory in Weybridge is also designated by Defra for the purpose of surveillance and post-movement tests for bluetongue if required which provides additional capacity.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to (a) alter the statute of limitations and (b) review time limits for claims for (i) brain injuries and (ii) other lifelong conditions resulting from (A) medical and (B) clinical negligence.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Limitation periods set statutory time limits within which a party must bring a civil claim, or give notice of a claim, to the other party in a dispute. For negligence resulting in personal injury (which would include clinical negligence claims) the limitation period is normally three years from the date of the alleged negligence or the date of the claimant’s knowledge of damage, whichever is later.
However, under Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, this period can be extended at the court’s discretion, if it appears that it would be equitable (fair and reasonable) to all parties to allow an action to proceed.
The Government has no plans to reform the law.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with (a) campaigners and (b) stakeholders on treatment for (i) lobular breast cancer and (ii) other rare cancers.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving outcomes and experiences of cancer treatment, including lobular breast cancer and other rare cancers, is a priority for the Government. Engagement with campaigners and partners is vital to achieving this.
My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, accompanied by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Health, met with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot Project on 14 July 2025 to discuss their work. Following this meeting, the Chief Scientific Adviser and officials from the Department and the Medical Research Council (MRC) met again with the Lobular Moonshot Project to provide advice on existing funding options. Both the MRC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research have committed to continuing to work with the Lobular Moonshot Campaign team to support the development of fundable research proposals in this area and help drive our collective ambition to increase understanding and effective management of this disease.
In April 2025, I attended an event with Cancer Research UK, Macmillan, and Cancer52. The was followed by a roundtable in May 2025, in which I met with Cancer52 members, representing a wide range of cancer types, to discuss how the National Cancer Plan can prioritise rare cancers, to make a meaningful difference to how patients experience cancer treatment, and to bring cancer survivability back up to the standards of the best in the world. I have also met with brain cancer campaigners and All-Party Parliamentary Group members on several occasions since taking up post.
The National Cancer Plan will include more details about improving treatments for all tumour types, including lobular breast cancer. The Department continues to engage with a wide range of cancer partners on the Plan, including charities and patient representative bodies.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the distribution of financial awards by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As an MP representing a mining community and previous member of the Coalfields Communities APPG, I understand the concerns raised about the performance of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO). As a constituency MP I have spoken to both ex-miners and stakeholders about the practices of CISWO. I would strongly encourage CISWO to strengthen its engagement with the coalfield communities that it was established to support.
As the Minister for Civil Society, I have met with the Charity Commission to discuss CISWO’s support for coal mining communities, and I know that the Charity Commission is in contact with CISWO directly. CISWO is an independent charity that does not receive direct government funding. It is for the charity trustees to make decisions about how it should deliver its charitable purpose. If the trustees are acting within the law, fulfilling their duties and furthering their charitable purpose, the Charity Commission cannot become involved in the internal decision making of a charity.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with ex-miners and stakeholders on the financial practices of CISWO.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As an MP representing a mining community and previous member of the Coalfields Communities APPG, I understand the concerns raised about the performance of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO). As a constituency MP I have spoken to both ex-miners and stakeholders about the practices of CISWO. I would strongly encourage CISWO to strengthen its engagement with the coalfield communities that it was established to support.
As the Minister for Civil Society, I have met with the Charity Commission to discuss CISWO’s support for coal mining communities, and I know that the Charity Commission is in contact with CISWO directly. CISWO is an independent charity that does not receive direct government funding. It is for the charity trustees to make decisions about how it should deliver its charitable purpose. If the trustees are acting within the law, fulfilling their duties and furthering their charitable purpose, the Charity Commission cannot become involved in the internal decision making of a charity.