Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 85105, tabled on 27 October 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 November 2025 to Question 85105.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when does he expect to receive the results of the Generation Study.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The 10-Year Health Plan set out an ambition to “implement universal genomic testing” within the next decade. Delivering against this ambition will be subject to evidence gathered through the Generation Study. This research programme is evaluating the effectiveness of using whole genome sequencing to test 100,000 newborns for genetic mutations associated with more than 200 rare genetic conditions. The sequencing of 100,000 newborns through the study will be completed by summer 2027. The evaluation part of the study will then be completed and presented to the UK National Screening Committee who will make a recommendation to Government ministers on whether newborn genomic screening should be offered in the National Health Service or whether more research is required. Subject to this, and appropriate funding being available, genomic testing could be available for all newborns by 2035.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to ensure that veterinary medicine supply via suitably qualified persons to Northern Ireland will continue on the same basis as now from 1 January 2026.

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

Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs) are unique to the UK, and the Government is committed to supporting them and the vital role they play in supporting the UK’s farming and companion animal sectors.

Continued access to veterinary medicines for Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period is a Government priority. After extensive stakeholder engagement, our current estimate is that 10-15% of products are expected to be discontinued. Many of these authorisations are dormant or sold in very low volumes and we do not anticipate significant animal health or welfare issues as a result of these discontinuations.

Where there is, or likely to be, a significant animal health issue, and it is appropriate to do so, products under the Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme could be made available for prescription and supply by SQPs who would be able to supply veterinary medicines as they do now.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will commission an independent assessment of the effectiveness of the (a) Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme and (b) Veterinary Medicine Health Situation Scheme since those schemes were established.

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

Continued access to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland at the end of the grace period is a government priority. We continue to engage extensively with stakeholders and have updated the guidance following their feedback, including on the two schemes. The two schemes will take effect from 1 January and we will monitor their effectiveness and consider further reviews, which could include an independent assessment by the Veterinary Products Committee, if needed. We remain confident that the schemes can address supply gaps if they emerge.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a (a) medal and (b) formal recognition of members of the emergency services who have sustained (i) severe and (ii) life-changing injuries in the line of duty.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Any official award is a gift from the Government, on behalf of His Majesty The King to recognise individuals within policing and emergency services personnel. The creation of a new award requires cross Government consensus and approval from the Committee on The Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals, before advice is put to HM The King to make his final decision.

The Home Office will continue to consider proposals for new awards for members of the emergency services. It is only right that we recognise the sacrifices made by the emergency services, and it is important to make sure this is considering fully and carefully to ensure any changes are proportionate and effective.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the EU on the movement of veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after 1 January 2026; and when she plans to communicate relevant decisions to veterinary practices.

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

The Government continues to engage with the EU on a range of issues relating to the Windsor Framework, including veterinary medicines.

We continue to engage extensively with industry including veterinary bodies and other veterinary experts and will use this information to inform and calibrate the guidance and measures we are taking.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress has been made on identifying a location for a geological disposal facility for generational storage of nuclear waste.

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

A process is underway to identify a suitable site for a geological disposal facility (GDF) in England and Wales. Two areas are currently participating, both in West Cumberland, and site suitability investigations and community engagement activities are well underway in both of these areas. The siting process is consent-based, requiring both a willing host community and suitable geology.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is having discussions with counterparts in the devolved Administrations on the circular economy strategy.

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

Yes. This government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy where resources are kept in use for longer and waste is designed out. This systemic change, with investment in green jobs and vital infrastructure, builds a path to economic growth, progress towards Net Zero, restoration of nature, and a more resilient economy.

The Government convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help map that transition; in the new year we will publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy.

The Government will maintain this collaborative approach as the Circular Economy Growth Plan is finalised, with further joint working and mutual learning scheduled to ensure coherence across the United Kingdom.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she expect to receive the Payments Forward Plan from the Payments Vision Delivery Committee before 18 December 2025.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 30 October 2025 to PQ UIN 85107.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking with his US counterpart to ensure that advanced F-35 fighter jet technology is not utilised by the Chinese Government.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence works closely with the F-35 Joint Program Office to protect sensitive defence technologies associated with the F-35 programme.

There are comprehensive security, counter-intelligence, and export-control arrangements in place to prevent any unauthorised access, transfer, or exploitation of advanced capabilities by third parties, including the Chinese Government.

We continue to engage regularly with our US counterparts to ensure these protections remain robust, up to date, and fully aligned with our shared national-security priorities.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2025 to WPQ 88205, when the remaining 7 F-35 aircraft ordered from Lockheed Martin under Tranche 1 will be delivered.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Department expects to have received all seven F-35B aircraft ordered in Production Lot 17 by the end of April 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the numbers of (a) grey squirrels and (b) red squirrels in England.

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

A 2018 report by the Mammal Society estimates there are 1.94million grey squirrels and 38,900 red squirrels in England.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to WPQ 87695, what plans the Commission has to improve the efficiency and workability of the IT system in the immediate future.

Answered by Nick Smith

The House administration recognises that having effective and reliable digital services is vital for Members. It is also vital that these services, and changes to them, are delivered in a way which reflects the many demands and pressures of a Member’s role. The services must meet the needs of Members, and their staff, and help them respond to the needs of their constituents.

In coming months, such work includes improving network connectivity and roaming over Wi-Fi to support the Parliamentary community to access online services on the go, improving search.parliament.uk, and improving how the public can find, sign, and create petitions on petitions.parliament.uk.

With every rollout of new technology there will be things that don’t go perfectly and from which we can learn. Feedback on our digital services, and how we introduce change, is sought from Members. We make sure that feedback is understood and applied to drive improvements every quarter. A new way of proactively understanding the needs of Members has been introduced by the Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) to inform and shape changes to digital services. PDS has regular engagement with the Administration Committee to validate and prioritise the changes we are planning.

Based on Member feedback we are currently piloting a constituency telephony offering, eliminating location-based limitations so Members and their staff can make and receive calls seamlessly from a single system, regardless of where they work, and assessing alternative printing solutions for Westminster and constituency offices to identify options that deliver greater cost-effectiveness.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions has a Director for Northern Ireland of the National Wealth Fund met with the NI Executive in the past twelve months to discuss how the fund can help promote economic growth in Northern Ireland.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The National Wealth Fund works collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive to identify investment opportunities in Northern Ireland. It has a dedicated director based in Northern Ireland and opened a Belfast office in December 2024.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has been made of the reduction in shipping emissions by the end of the Parliament.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Under the planned scenario presented in the Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, the greenhouse gas emissions from UK domestic and international shipping are estimated at around 10.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2029, an estimated reduction of around 4.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), or 29%, from the 2008 base year of our emissions goals. Our approach to deliver these emission savings are set out in our Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy [2].

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carbon-budget-and-growth-delivery-plan-2025

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maritime-decarbonisation-strategy

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether changes have taken place within the last twelve months that place additional restrictions on registered sex offender's ability to change their names.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government has introduced a series of measures to strengthen the management of registered sex offenders (RSOs) and prevent them from evading monitoring by changing their identities in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently at Committee stage in the House of Lords.

The new legislation will enable police to serve a notice on RSOs requiring them to seek the police’s authorisation before applying to change their name on a specified identity document (namely, a UK passport, driving licence or immigration document). It also requires RSOs to notify the police of an intended change of name at least seven days in advance of using it, or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as far in advance of their using it as it reasonably practicable.

These measures close previous loopholes to enable the police to monitor registered sex offenders more closely and better protect the public.

BBC and pro-trans ideologies

Asylum reform proposals

Access to banks

International Day of People with Disabilities

Phenylketonuria awareness and access to treatment

Sara Cox’s challenge for Children in Need

Irish Sea herring quotas

Houses of Parliament Shop deliveries to Northern Ireland

Movember

International Men’s Day and prostate cancer