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 17 June 2025 to Question 59412 on Government Departments: Reviews, if his Department will publish the line by line review of its spending conducted for the Spending Review 2025.

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

The Government has used this Spending Review to maximise the value from every taxpayer pound. Phase 2 of the Spending Review marks the first zero-based review in nearly 18 years, with every line of Government spending scrutinised, to make sure it is delivering value for money.

The Government published robust delivery plans that set out exactly how departments will achieve their efficiency targets. HM Treasury published an overview of departmental efficiency targets and delivery plans for the 2025 Spending Review on 11 June 2025. These are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/departmental-efficiency-delivery-plans

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, what recent discussions his Department have had with HM Treasury on the provision of funds for valproate (a) financial redress and (b) interim payments.

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

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding for valproate (a) financial redress and (b) interim payments were included in the Spending Review 2025.

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

The Government is carefully considering the work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to meet with those harmed by sodium valproate.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This is the responsibility of the Secretary of State at DHSC, whose department is meeting with these stakeholders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a provisional registration scheme for trained international dentists to practice (a) under supervision and (b) with training support in the UK.

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

We recognise that there is a considerable waiting list for candidates to sit the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). I have asked the GDC to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the ORE waiting list, and will be regularly meeting with them to monitor progress.

I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place, and their ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. I will continue to discuss the new arrangements with the GDC, with a focus on understanding how they will further increase the availability of the ORE exam in the short and longer term.

We will not be providing the GDC with any additional legislative powers for international registration at this time. Having considered the options for a provisional registration scheme, the Government’s view is that other, more cost-effective and efficient routes to registration should be the immediate priority.

Meanwhile, we expect the GDC to make full use of the flexibility afforded by the international registration reforms introduced in 2023 to ensure that those who have the right skills and experience are able to join its registers as quickly and efficiently as possible.

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 Overseas Registration Examination (ORE) capacity beyond the additional (a) 1,800 places for part 1 and (b) 576 places for part 2.

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

We recognise that there is a considerable waiting list for candidates to sit the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). I have asked the GDC to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the ORE waiting list, and will be regularly meeting with them to monitor progress.

I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place, and their ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. I will continue to discuss the new arrangements with the GDC, with a focus on understanding how they will further increase the availability of the ORE exam in the short and longer term.

We will not be providing the GDC with any additional legislative powers for international registration at this time. Having considered the options for a provisional registration scheme, the Government’s view is that other, more cost-effective and efficient routes to registration should be the immediate priority.

Meanwhile, we expect the GDC to make full use of the flexibility afforded by the international registration reforms introduced in 2023 to ensure that those who have the right skills and experience are able to join its registers as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made in the procurement process for a new examination board for applicants wanting to take the Overseas Registration Examination (ORE).

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

We recognise that there is a considerable waiting list for candidates to sit the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). I have asked the GDC to urgently develop an action plan of concrete measures to reduce the ORE waiting list, and will be regularly meeting with them to monitor progress.

I have welcomed the additional sittings of both parts of the ORE that the GDC has put in place, and their ongoing procurement of new ORE provider contracts. I will continue to discuss the new arrangements with the GDC, with a focus on understanding how they will further increase the availability of the ORE exam in the short and longer term.

We will not be providing the GDC with any additional legislative powers for international registration at this time. Having considered the options for a provisional registration scheme, the Government’s view is that other, more cost-effective and efficient routes to registration should be the immediate priority.

Meanwhile, we expect the GDC to make full use of the flexibility afforded by the international registration reforms introduced in 2023 to ensure that those who have the right skills and experience are able to join its registers as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to approve the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements scheme.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)

The Secretary of State updated Parliament on the 7th of July regarding which rail and road infrastructure projects will progress following the completion of the 2025 Spending Review. The Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) was not among those projects funded at this time.

We are focused on prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and freight and support economic growth as quickly as possible. The previous government had committed to a number of infrastructure projects that were unfunded, this includes the EACE scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the benefit-cost ratio of the Ely Area Capacity Enhancements scheme.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)

The Secretary of State updated Parliament on the 7th of July regarding which rail and road infrastructure projects will progress following the completion of the 2025 Spending Review. The Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) was not among those projects funded at this time.

We are focused on prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and support economic growth as quickly as possible. The previous government had committed to a number of infrastructure projects that were unfunded, this includes the EACE scheme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) implementation of guidance entitled Loot boxes in video games: update on improvements to industry-led protections, published on 18 July 2023.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is committed to ensuring that video games are enjoyed safely and responsibly by everyone and that, where they contain loot boxes, guidance is followed so that appropriate protections are in place for players of all ages.

Following the implementation period of the industry-led protections, DCMS commissioned independent academic research into their effectiveness. The research is in its final stages and a report will be published in due course.

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