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 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the suitability of the EQ-5D questionnaire as tool for measuring caregiver quality of life improvements.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I regularly meet with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to discuss a range of issues. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in its health technology evaluations. The NICE’s health technology evaluations manual, which was last updated in 2022 following extensive stakeholder engagement, states that its preferred measure for capturing health-related quality of life data in its health technology evaluations, whether for patients or caregivers, is the EQ-5D. The NICE can accept data using other measures, if evidence is provided that the EQ-5D is inappropriate. The NICE is aware of external work exploring how to better account for caregiver effects in health economic evaluations, for example through the work of the SHEER Task Force, and will continue to monitor and actively encourage further work in this area to potentially inform its methods in the future.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to make provision for grampian conditions to apply to any housing development planning applications where Ofwat has opened enforcement cases on the delayed delivery of environmental improvement schemes.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to ensure necessary water infrastructure is in place to support the housing the country needs.

If there are firm infrastructure plans in place, our planning practice guidance is clear that local planning authorities can grant planning permission with Grampian conditions linked to those plans to help developers bring forward the development.

Strategic planning for water infrastructure is being considered as part of the independent commission on the water sector regulatory system, as announced by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 October 2024.

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 potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contribution on (a) local animal shelters, (b) other small charities and (c) the whole charitable sector; and what steps she is taking to help mitigate the impact on that sector.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS Ministers have met with representatives from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector to discuss this issue and are aware of their concerns about the impacts of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change next year.

We are also expanding eligibility of the Employment Allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, to simplify and reform employer NICs so that all eligible employers now benefit. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs was provided to charities, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and their donors in 2023 to 2024. The biggest individual reliefs provided are Gift Aid at £1.6 billion and business rates relief at nearly £2.4 billion.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the entry criteria for the Innovative Medicines Fund and (b) whether these present barriers to patients accessing medicines in areas of high unmet need.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was launched in June 2022, building on the successful Cancer Drugs Fund and supporting patient access to the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected on their use to address clinical uncertainty.

The IMF’s principles ensure that patients can access promising but still clinically uncertain medicines while supplementary data is collected over a time limited period, to allow for more informed decision making about patient access and long-term National Health Service funding.

Since the IMF was established in June 2022, over 1,050 patients have been registered to receive treatment with 16 products, treating 16 different conditions. NHS England has made interim funding available via the IMF for 14 products, and two products have been recommended for managed access across three indications in the IMF.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the letter of 4 February 2025 from the hon. Member for Henley and Thames on the Stop Killing Games Campaign.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

My Department has provided a response to the Hon Member. The Government has also responded to a recent petition on this issue.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce the levels of tax evasion by of cash-only high street businesses and (b) support small businesses to adopt card payment systems.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is committed to ensuring the tax system operates fairly and efficiently, creating a level playing field for compliant businesses. Most businesses pay what they owe, but a minority fail to register or only declare a portion of their earnings for tax. This minority deprives our vital public services of funding, affects fair competition between businesses, and places unfair burdens on everyone else.

Cash is a legitimate means of paying for goods and services and continues to be used by many people across the UK. The Government’s position is that individuals and businesses can choose whether to accept or decline any form of payment, and this choice can be based on factors such as customer preference and cost. If a person or business receives cash payments, it is their responsibility to ensure they meet their tax obligations, including registering for and paying the right taxes.

At the autumn budget in October 2024 the government introduced the most ambitious package ever to close the tax gap, raising £6.5 billion in additional tax revenue per year by 2029-30. The government built on this at Spring Statement in March 2025, announcing a package of measures to further close the tax gap and raise over £1 billion in additional gross tax revenue per year by 2029-30.

HMRC’s approach to tax compliance includes a range of activities that aim to both detect and tackle current non-compliance and change future behaviours. We aim to help and support customers to understand their tax obligations and promoting compliance by simplifying policies and procedures, providing clear guidance to make it easy for them to get things right, providing accessible digital services to make it easier to register to pay the appropriate taxes, providing targeted support and guidance, and intervening early to reduce mistakes.

HMRC are making it increasingly difficult for people and businesses to hide their income, using improved targeting with new data sources, third-party data and focused compliance activity. We will not hesitate to use stronger sanctions against those who deliberately choose not to comply. This includes potential criminal prosecutions for the most serious cases involving tax evasion.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting (a) GP surgeries, (b) social care providers, (c) hospices, (d) NHS dentists, (e) charitable providers, and (f) pharmacies from the increase in employer's National Insurance contributions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous administration.

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.

This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional employer NICs costs, as was the case with the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy.

As a result of this measure, along with others announced at Budget, the NHS will receive an extra £22.6 billion increase in resource spending which will benefit employers.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 35545 on Environment Protection: Henley-on-Thames, if he will hold discussions with Ofwat on the adequacy of the progress on the improvement scheme at Horton-cum-Studley sewage treatment by Thames Water.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

My officials and I have regular conversations with Ofwat and other regulators, to discuss a range of activities, including delivery by water companies.

Ahead of Price Review 24 (PR24), funding investment works through 2025 – 2030, the Horton-cum-Studley site has had further works identified to meet the government’s targets by reducing spills to no more than 10 per year and causing no adverse ecological impact. The exact delivery date of these works is officially to be confirmed.

In February 2025 Ofwat opened an enforcement case into Thames Water to investigate whether its delayed delivery of environmental improvements schemes has meant the company has breached its obligations. The focus of that investigation is schemes that were intended to be delivered in the 2020-25 period. Ofwat's investigation will keep under review if there is any further action to take in relation to the delivery of schemes planned for the PR24 period (2025-30).

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support British bakeries.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026 - 27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have extended retail, hospitality, and leisure relief for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

The Government will protect the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all. We are also working with businesses to understand their barriers to growth and High Streets will be a key pillar of our forthcoming Small Business Strategy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the length of funding periods of pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Government spending is normally agreed through spending reviews, and we are currently planning the Spending Review which will cover budgets beyond 2025/26.

We agree that funding agreements that cover multiple years can bring certainty for contractors and support investment decisions, but it is also difficult to flex such agreements to take into account unforeseen events, as demonstrated in the last five-year deal for pharmacy.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to link pharmacy funding to inflation and National Living Wage increases.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have taken the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

The Department has considered the increases in the National Living Wage when consulting on the funding arrangements for community pharmacy. We have now agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion from April 2025. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 37093 on Environment Agency: Finance, if he will take steps to fast track the flood and coastal erosion risk management grant-in-aid funding application for the (a) repair of the Horsebridge at Marsh Lock and (b) restoration of the Thames Path National Trail.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government’s Spending Review process will consider all of the investment requests relating to the non-tidal Thames navigation assets. The Environment Agency (EA) will then develop its medium-term capital delivery programme based on the benefits, opportunities, and risks of each of its candidate projects.

The EA will only apply for funding towards maintaining structures which it has a responsibility to maintain. Where the Agency is the landowner for sections of the towpath it will consider what works it can progress within its maintenance and refurbishment programmes. Other landowners and risk management authorities will have the opportunity to consider restoration works to the Thames Path National Trail within their annual work programmes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the final costs and benefits statement for programmes delivered under the National Programme of Technology, published on 6 June 2013, in his plans for (a) an NHS Federated Data Platform and (b) a single patient record.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are keen to draw on the lessons from the National Programme for IT in delivering the Federated Data Platform and the single patient record.

NHS England publishes information each quarter on the benefits being realised by the Federated Data Platform, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/nhs-federated-data-platform/solution-exchange/fdp-uptake-and-benefits/

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Macquarie Bank’s involvement in UK infrastructure development; and what steps she plans to take to ensure the stability and sustainability of essential services.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 Year Strategy for the UK’s social, economic and housing infrastructure to support a flourishing modern economy, drive growth, deliver net zero and support improved public services.

The government has been engaging openly with industry as it develops this Strategy to ensure that it is credible and deliverable.

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 is taking to mark the 30th anniversary of the Thames Path National Trail; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of the trail at Marsh Lock Horsebridge on the (i) anniversary and (ii) tourism to the Henley and Thame constituency.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There will be a programme of events in the summer of 2026 celebrating the history and importance of the Thames Path National Trail.

The Environment Agency recognises the importance of Marsh Horse Bridge to the community within the Henley & Thame constituency and the role it plays supporting tourism along the Thames Path National Trail.

The Health, Safety, and Wellbeing of river users is the Environment Agency’s foremost consideration. The current condition of the bridge is such that closure was the only option to keep people safe.

The Environment Agency is in regular contact with National Trails, to ensure it has the latest information on the bridge closure. It has published details of a diversion route on their website to ensure progress along the trail is not significantly hampered by the bridge closure.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of closing NHS England on the (a) timeline for the production of the NHS 10-year plan and (b) publication date of that plan.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We do not envisage that the changes set out by the Prime Minister on 13 March 2025 will affect the publication of the 10 Year Plan. We still intend to publish the plan later in the spring.

The changes will set the National Health Service up to deliver on the three big shifts needed to make the service fit for the future, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to dementia research by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Research, (b) UK Research and Innovation and (c) other public bodies in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government’s responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The following table shows NIHR and UKRI spend data for dementia research across five financial years, from 2019/20 to 2023/24:

Spend for dementia research is calculated retrospectively, with a time lag due to annual reporting cycles, therefore 2023/24 is the most recent year for which we have data. The Department does not centrally hold data on dementia research funding from other public bodies.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including dementia. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. All NIHR programmes welcoming applications on dementia enables maximum flexibility both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many phase (a) one, (b) two and (c) three dementia clinical trials there have been in the UK in each of the last ten years; and how many participants were recruited for each of those trials.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department does not hold information centrally on clinical trials hosted in Wales and Scotland. The Department is therefore unable to provide how many phase one, phase two, and phase three clinical trials for dementia have taken place in Wales and Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

The following table shows the number of phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:

In addition, the following table shows the number of participants recruited into phase one, two, and three trials in England for dementia, supported by the NIHR Research Delivery Network, from 2014/15 to 2023/24:

Note: studies are sometimes conducted across multiple phases, for example a study may cross phase one/two or phase two/three. Therefore, figures cannot be totalled.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund after March 2026.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty across the UK.

That is why we are providing £742 million in England to extend the Household Support Fund by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will enable Local Authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.

However, no decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward regulations on the composition of bread marketed as sourdough.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has no current plans to introduce regulations to specifically cover the composition of ‘sourdough bread’. The UK maintains high food standards including on requirements relating to food labelling and information. Existing legislation ensures the labelling and marketing of food, including sourdough products, does not intentionally mislead consumers.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient energy supply to meet demand in the next 10 years.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Great Britain is expected to have sufficient supplies of electricity and gas to meet consumers’ demands over the short and long-term (Statutory Security of Supply Report 2024). The government’s mission is to secure our energy supply with home-grown, clean power – and we have set out the steps to achieve this in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. These include: cleaning up a dysfunctional grid system by prioritising the most important projects; speeding up decisions on planning permission by empowering planners to prioritise critical energy infrastructure; and expanding the renewable auction process to stop delays and get more projects connected.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the ringfenced £340 million budget for the Innovative Medicines Fund has been spent in each year since its launch in June 2022.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was established to provide a funding mechanism for promising non-cancer medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a period of managed access to address uncertainties in the evidence base. Up to £340 million has been available each financial year to support funding of medicines through the IMF. Expenditure in 2023/24 was £2 million.

The relatively low level of expenditure within the IMF for 2023/24 reflects the high proportion of topics assessed by NICE as having potential for managed access which have gone on to secure a positive recommendation for routine commissioning, therefore bypassing the need for further data collection and reappraisal through the IMF.

The remainder of the IMF budget is used to support pressures in the overall specialised commissioning budget and is reported as part of the overall financial position.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40119 on Members: Correspondence, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in access to UK’s National Trails on the work of (a) VisitBritain and (b) VisitEngland.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS has not specifically undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of any potential reduction in access to the UK’s National Trails on the work of VisitBritain or VisitEngland.

However, we recognise that access to National Trails plays a role in supporting rural tourism and promoting the natural and cultural assets of England, which are central to the work of VisitEngland. VisitBritain also promotes outdoor and nature-based tourism as part of its international marketing activity to showcase the UK’s diverse visitor offer.

While responsibility for public access and National Trails policy rests with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), DCMS continues to work closely with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, including Experience Oxfordshire, to ensure England’s natural landscapes can support the growth of a sustainable and resilient visitor economy.

Introduction of the Hillsborough Law and the 36th anniversary

Chalk stream river protection

Abduction of Ukrainian children

Protecting children from data exploitation

West Bank

Commemorating 200 years of the modern railway

Domestic Abuse Offences