Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing people with disabilities and chronic illness so add voluntary National Insurance contributions beyond the current six year limit.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Individuals can pay voluntary National Insurance contributions for up to six years in arrears to fill gaps in their National Insurance record.
There are also a wide range of National Insurance credits available, ensuring people can build their National Insurance record. Some are linked to benefits that can be claimed in relation to illness or disability such as Employment and Support Allowance.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make it his policy to use the mandatory Adaptation Reporting Power regularly.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are reviewing our approach to the Adaptation Reporting Power ahead of the fifth round of reporting, due 2026–2029. This work includes a synthesis of past rounds and other relevant reporting regimes, and an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the previous round. Taking these outputs into account, Defra will be consulting shortly on the approach to the next round of reporting. We will publish the supporting evidence alongside this.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Future Homes Standard will make solar batteries mandatory on new build homes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Batteries aren’t mandated under the Future Homes and Buildings Standards because Building Regulations set performance‑based outcomes and do not mandate specific technologies. This ensures flexibility for developers and avoids locking in solutions that may not be suitable in every setting.
Battery storage is permitted and encouraged, and we continue to welcome ambitious developers who choose to go further than the minimum requirements.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 potential merits of facilitating the installation of solar panels on listed properties and properties in conservation areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included policies that recognised that the installation of energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures in listed buildings and conservation areas are an important public benefit to be taken into account when determining planning applications.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on regulating the property agent sector.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 merits of making unpaid carers eligible for vaccination against Coronavirus.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Suffolk Coastal on 3 March 2026 to Question 115220.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has assessed the potential merits of introducing mandatory offer disclosure in Modern Method of Auction property sales.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team are investigating practices in the auction market involving the submission of misleading or inauthentic bids.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits unfair commercial practices by traders in their dealings with consumers, including misleading actions or omissions, which can extend to auction property sales. The Act also requires businesses to act with professional diligence, in line with honest market practice and general principles of good faith.
On 6 October, my Department published two consultations outlining reform proposals to transform home buying and selling. Transparency during the property sales process is one of the core objectives of these reforms. That is why we proposed requiring sellers to provide comprehensive upfront information to buyers and mandating the provision of critical information in property listings. The consultations can be found on gov.uk here and here.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 that all surgeons, including private surgeons, record the implants they have done in the Breast Implant Registry.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Outcomes and Registries Directions 2024 require that all healthcare providers of National Health Service funded care contribute data to the Breast and Cosmetic Implant Register. Therefore, compliance from both NHS and private clinicians, in relation to NHS funded care, is mandatory. Furthermore, work is ongoing within NHS England to ensure that all NHS and independent sector providers contribute data to the Medical Devices Outcomes Registry, following the recommendations of the Cumberlege Inquiry, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/outcomes-and-registries-programme/
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help make primary care workers aware of the potential for a link between autoimmune conditions and breast implants.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Guidance for clinicians and patients called Symptoms sometimes referred to as Breast Implant Illness, including autoimmune conditions, was published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 2020 and updated in 2023. Healthcare professionals and anyone experiencing any symptoms that they believe to be associated with their breast implants are strongly encouraged to report these through the Yellow Card scheme.
Continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for primary care workers are provided by royal colleges and professional bodies for each profession.
Primary care workers should ensure their own clinical knowledge remains up to date and are responsible for identifying learning needs as part of their CPD. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high-quality care to all patients.
General practices and primary care networks also have access to a regional Primary Care Training Hub, which will bring together education and training resources from National Health Service organisations, community providers, and local authorities. Training hubs are usually run by a clinical leader and a manager supported by a network of primary care staff with education and training professionals based in the community. They work closely with primary care networks and integrated care systems to support workforce priorities and tackle health inequalities to help meet patient and population demand.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will introduce regular testing of approved breast implants to ensure continued compliance with safety standards.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under existing medical device regulations, UK Medical Devices Regulations 2002, all medical devices must meet the Essential Requirements, which includes the use of designated standards that specify mandatory safety and performance criteria for those devices. As breast implants are the highest class medical device, class III, they must undergo rigorous pre-market testing by the manufacturer, which is then assessed by a third party such as a United Kingdom approved body or European Union notified body, before being registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and prior to being placed on the market in the UK. Once on the market, the manufacturer must continuously review the safety of their devices. The manufacturer is subject to annual surveillance and monitoring, alongside unannounced audits to ensure claimed standards of quality and safety management are being applied in practise. The MHRA also monitors emerging signals to determine if previously unrecognised risks exist or if the nature of known risks is changing.
Following the Cumberlege recommendations in the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, the MHRA has introduced post-market surveillance regulations to require that safety issues with medical devices are identified early. Further information on the review is available at the following link:
The MHRA is also developing a future regulatory framework to strengthen pre-market requirements for medical devices. This intends to introduce requirements for unique device identifiers, implant cards, and new rules to ensure that claims are consistent with intended purpose to better reflect potential risks to patients, increase containment of safety issues, and reduce patient harm.