Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has a national definition of a high-risk repeat speeding offender.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not undertaken specific analysis of international approaches to require intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology for high‑risk or repeat speeding offenders. The Government keeps the motoring offences framework under review, but does not currently have any plans to introduce Intelligent Speed Assistance for those convicted of speeding offences. The Department will continue to consider emerging evidence on technologies to improve road safety.
The Department does not have a specific national definition of a high-risk repeat speeding offender. Sentencing in individual speeding cases is a matter for the courts, which assess the seriousness of the offence by reference to the speed recorded against the applicable speed limit and any relevant aggravating factors, including previous convictions.
The Department has not commissioned bespoke data from police forces specifically on repeat speeding offenders to inform policy development. Data on motoring offences, including speeding, is published annually by the Home Office in its “Police powers and procedures: Roads policing” statistical release.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to speed up the completion of building works at the Anglo Portuguese School of London; and if she will ensure that key facilities, including the play deck and kitchen, are completed before the start of the 2026–27 academic year.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of significant disruption for the Anglo Portuguese School of London and its pupils since the original contractor entered administration. A new contractor, Kier, was quickly appointed but identified various issues which needed to be addressed before works could continue. Progressing works at the school is a priority, but it is complex and has taken longer to resolve than we would ideally have liked.
To address the urgent need for additional facilities, the department authorised early construction work which commenced in June. The additional classroom space will be completed for September 2026. Construction of the play-deck will take longer as it involves essential fire protection work.
We are working at pace so the remaining school facilities, including the kitchen, can be delivered as quickly as possible.
Departmental officials will continue to push for a resolution. We would like to thank teachers and school leaders for their resilience and collaborative approach to delivering education during this time.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 improve access to treatments for pancreatic cancer and increase survival rates.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The National Cancer Plan includes further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with rare and less survivable cancers such as pancreatic cancer, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will help ensure patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and will put the National Health Service at the forefront of global cancer care.
The plan sets out a major expansion in the use of genomics to support earlier diagnosis and more personalised treatment. By 2028, genomic data will be integrated into the unified genomic record, forming part of the Single Patient Record, enabling clinicians to start patients on the most effective treatment pathway faster.
To accelerate breakthroughs in cancer treatments, we will explore innovative procurement methods. This will aim to stimulate the development of new diagnostic tests, targeted therapies, and more effective treatments for rare cancers, ensuring that the NHS remains at the forefront of medical innovation.
Finally, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type. This includes symptoms of pancreatic cancer, which will support earlier diagnosis and better treatment options for patients with the disease.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the levels of the use of dogs at the MBR Acres facility in Cambridgeshire; and whether she plans to take steps to end the breeding and supply of dogs for scientific testing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Pharmaceutical legislation requires that, before a medicine can be approved for testing in humans, it is tested in a rodent and non-rodent species under international guidelines. This may include dogs as an appropriate model. The number of Beagles bred is largely determined by the forecast needs of the pharmaceutical industry that require testing of medicines. The number of scientific procedures using animals, including dogs, is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#statistics.
The Home Office regulator assures compliance of all work licensed with the rigorous requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. For every research proposal, Home Office inspectors assure that animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.
This Government has made a commitment to the long-term goal of phasing out animal testing in science and research in all but exceptional circumstances. In November 2025, the Government published Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation, and uptake of alternative methods, backed by £75 million in funding. This includes plans to establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods and a preclinical translational models hub, alongside specific commitments to reduce the number of dogs used in scientific procedures.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 expand access to naloxone in communities.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Naloxone forms a key part of the Government’s plan to reduce drug related deaths, and we are committed to expanding access to naloxone in communities across the country. The Government has already amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone by enabling more services and professionals to supply naloxone without needing a prescription.
In addition to the changes made in 2024, we recently published a United Kingdom wide public consultation which closed on 9 March, to seek views on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone. We are analysing the responses to this consultation, and we will be setting out the next steps soon.
One of the legislative proposals we have consulted on is to create a new route of supply by enabling publicly accessible naloxone for emergency use using a locked box model. This overdose prevention method could enable more local areas to have naloxone available at any time in high-risk public spaces such as high streets and near to nightlife venues, without needing a prescription or in person supply. We have also consulted on making further legislative changes to allow hostels, day centres, and outreach services for people experiencing homelessness to supply naloxone without a prescription.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
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 help ensure the routine freezing of suitable brain tumour tissue samples to improve patient access to genomic testing, personalised treatments and research.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Department continues to engage with NHS England and wider stakeholders on improving access to high-quality pathology and genomics services, including those relevant to brain tumour patients.
NHS England and the Department will work with professional bodies, including the Royal College of Pathologists, to review tissue retention guidance. This work includes guidance on the consent of fresh-tissue freezing for all cancers, including for brain tumour patients. The Genomics Medicine Service has developed a Genomics Centre of Excellence for brain cancers to ensure access to whole genome sequencing (WGS) for brain tumour patients.
NHS England has made several wider commitments to address variation in the access and provision of pathology services, particularly histopathology and genomics across England, and has issued national guidance on sample handling, including for WGS of solid tumours. This guidance is intended to support consistent approaches to maintaining DNA quality, and support improved consistency and access to precision diagnostics across England, to improve personalised treatments and further support research.
In addition, standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the fresh freezing of tissue samples have already been developed across pathology networks in England. It is, however, the responsibility of individual pathology services to maintain their own SOPs for the fresh freezing of tissue samples. These protocols outline local capabilities and practices, including access and storage capacity.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the environmental and animal welfare impacts of the breeding, release and shooting of game birds, and whether she plans to introduce a ban on these practices.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has no plans to ban the breeding, release or shooting of gamebirds. However, gamebird shooting can have trade-offs with environmental, economic, and animal health and welfare outcomes and we want to ensure the highest standards of practice are consistently applied. To achieve this, Defra will work with stakeholders to explore wider measures, and this will begin with evidence gathering. Any proposed changes will be subject to public consultation.