Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of clause 9 (c)(5) of the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 on public information on water quality.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Regulation 9 of the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 amends Regulation 15A of the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 and requires the appropriate Minister to prepare and publish a report on the bathing season or seasons for that year.
It broadly makes the same provision for publication of annual reports as under the previous Regulation 15A but with consequential changes to reflect that there will be a discretion to set different bathing seasons under amendments made by Regulation 5 of the 2025 Regulations. There is no change in the frequency of reports (annual) nor in the content of the reports required.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce the time taken for and costs associated with Court of Protection applications for care decisions and (b) ensure families have access to clear, publicly available guidance on those processes.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS is working to increase overall system capacity to decrease processing times across all types of applications. Measures taken include a targeted action plan to allocate additional administrative resources in response to higher demand, as well as training and upskilling new staff. Additional judicial sitting days have been added to support performance improvement. HMCTS is also working on improvements to the new case management system, to help reduce overall end-to-end processing times.
Guidance on the court process is publicly available on GOV.UK. In addition, online application forms which assist users with ‘in application’ guidance and prompts are also available for some types of applications.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle the theft of (a) farm equipment and (b) livestock.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will be implementing the Equipment Theft Act, making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen vehicles and equipment and assisting the police with identifying the owner.
The Act’s secondary legislation will require forensic marking to be applied to new All-Terrain Vehicles and for the details to be registered on a property database, for forensic marking to be applied to all new GPS units for use in agricultural and commercial settings, and for the details to be registered on a property database. This provides an important additional tool to help police identify if an item is stolen and to return it to its rightful owner.
Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked by GPS or other means, which will help the police in tackling stolen equipment and machinery.
This financial year we have provided the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit. The NRCU, takes the lead on improving co-ordination and partnership working, which provides police forces with specialist operational support in their responses to rural crime, such as the theft of farming machinery and livestock theft.
We have also worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the new Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy which has just recently been published (25th November). The strategy sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities, including theft of farming machinery and livestock theft as priority areas of focus for policing.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the apprentice rate for those over 21 or in their first year of their apprenticeship from £7.55 to the minimum wage for their age of £12.21.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government remains committed to ensuring that apprentice wages support the attraction of talented individuals into apprenticeships and remain fair for employers. The Government considers the expert and independent advice of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) when setting minimum wage rates.
Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they are aged under 19 or aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship. In all other cases, they are entitled to the minimum wage for their age, so all apprentices who are aged 19 and over and have completed the first year of their apprenticeship are entitled to the minimum wage for their age. Many employers pay their apprentices more than the minimum and the latest data shows that the median gross hourly pay for apprentices in general in 2023 was £11.63 an hour.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
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 8 October 2025 provided to question 76507, (i) how many NICE Technology Appraisal approved therapies are not being provided in contravention of obligations by a) Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust b) Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and c) Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and (ii) what the names of these therapies are.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps are being taken to support young people living in supported housing to move on.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We have invested over £1 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year, which can be used flexibly to address a range of local needs, including support for young people. The Spending Review protects this record level of investment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping for the next three years.
For young people ready to live independently, we are delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, backed by the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme. We are also reforming the private rented sector to give more security to tenants, bringing an end to rental bidding, outlawing discrimination against prospective tenants with children or those who receive social security benefits; and preventing landlords from demanding large amounts of rent in advance.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to involve Oxfordshire residents in the decision-making process on local government reorganisation, including how communities will be consulted before final decisions are made.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 5 February, the government issued invitations to councils in two-tier areas in England and neighbouring unitary councils to prepare proposals for local government reorganisation. In that invitation, we set out that any proposals involving boundary change or affecting wider public services would need a strong justification on public services and financial sustainability grounds, recognising the additional costs and complexities of implementation. We also asked that areas demonstrate how the local community has been engaged in developing proposals.
Proposals for unitary local government in Oxfordshire are due by 28 November. The government will decide which, if any, of those proposals to implement after a statutory consultation, to which the constituents of Oxfordshire will be able to respond. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications of any local government reorganisation model in Oxfordshire that would involve changes to existing district boundaries.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 5 February, the government issued invitations to councils in two-tier areas in England and neighbouring unitary councils to prepare proposals for local government reorganisation. In that invitation, we set out that any proposals involving boundary change or affecting wider public services would need a strong justification on public services and financial sustainability grounds, recognising the additional costs and complexities of implementation. We also asked that areas demonstrate how the local community has been engaged in developing proposals.
Proposals for unitary local government in Oxfordshire are due by 28 November. The government will decide which, if any, of those proposals to implement after a statutory consultation, to which the constituents of Oxfordshire will be able to respond. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the statutory guidance and the available evidence.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) provide an official NHS definition of dyscalculia and (b) whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including dyscalculia in NHS A-Z conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is used to classify diseases and other health conditions and is set by the World Health Organisation. ICD-11 classifies dyscalculia as a developmental learning disorder with impairment in mathematics. We want all children who struggle with maths or any other subject to be able to receive the appropriate support so they can succeed in their education. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice is clear that meeting the needs of a child or young person with Special Educational Needs and Disability does not require a diagnostic label or test.
NHS England advises that the NHS.UK website is not intended to cover every condition, treatment, or service the National Health Service provides. If something is not currently covered, it does not mean the NHS does not recognise it. The key factors considered include:
NHS England appreciates the importance of providing information for conditions like dyscalculia and will continue to review and assess requests to ensure the NHS.UK website best serves the needs of the public.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the recent FDA advisory committee discussion on the risks and benefits of HRT, on (a) product labelling and (b) patient information; and whether the MHRA plans to conduct a similar review in the UK.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department which regulates medicine, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion in the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ensuring that medicines meet appropriate standards of safety, quality, and efficacy.
Patient safety is our top priority. The MHRA keeps the safety and effectiveness of all medicines under continuous review, drawing on the latest scientific and clinical evidence.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is an important treatment that helps many women manage menopause symptoms. We continually review emerging data on HRT to ensure that information and guidance in the UK reflects the latest evidence. The MHRA is currently reviewing the available evidence on HRT risks and considering whether updates to the product information are warranted for certain HRT products. This review remains ongoing, and we are currently determining the appropriate next steps based on the evidence.
Women should not make any changes to their treatment plan without first speaking to their general practitioner or healthcare professional, who can provide advice tailored to their individual circumstances.