Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Treasury on (a) the Hughes Report and the recommendations for valproate, (b) redress for those harmed by sodium valproate.

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

The Government is carefully considering the work 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 HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the British Business Bank's publication Small Business Equity Tracker 2024, if she will make a comparative assessment of (a) venture capital investment in the life sciences in the UK and the US and (b) the implications for companies in each jurisdiction seeking to scale-up.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK remains Europe’s leading destination for life sciences venture capital (VC) investment, according to the British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker 2024.

The US market is larger in scale, supporting late-stage growth with deeper capital pools and larger fund sizes. While the UK VC market is competitive with the US at the seed stage, UK companies face a widening funding gap as they scale.

At the recent Spending Review, the Government increased the British Business Bank’s financial capacity to £25.6 billion, a two-thirds increase in investment activity. Alongside reforms to give the British Business Bank greater flexibility to deploy funding responsively, this expanded capacity will enable more substantial support for SMEs and scale-ups, including life sciences companies, and move the UK market closer to the scale of late-stage financing seen in the US.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, under what circumstances she would direct Local Government Pension Funds to a specific asset pool.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government’s firm preference is for pool membership to be determined on a voluntary basis at a local level. In the Pension Schemes Bill, the government has made provision for a power to protect the Local Government Pension Scheme over the long term. The power could be used to direct an administering authority to participate in a specific pool in the event that an authority is left without a pool to participate in or that a pool’s governance intractably breaks down. The government would intend only to use this power as a backstop in these circumstances.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much and what proportion of the additional British Business Bank funding will be allocated to the life sciences sector.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

This Government is committed to ensuring high-potential life sciences businesses can access the finance they need to innovate, grow, and boost the UK economy.

As part of the Industrial Strategy, the British Business Bank will invest £4 billion across key sectors, including life sciences, supporting both the expansion of the Life Sciences Investment Programme and direct investment in R&D-intensive companies.

This funding is not hypothecated by sector, allowing the Bank to back the most promising opportunities, including through specialist fund managers.

The percentage of Bank supported deals in life sciences was 7.2%, compared to 4.9% for the overall equity market and 6.1% for the wider PE/VC market from 2022-2024.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of (a) abductions, (b) forced marriages and (c) religious conversions of (i) Christian and (ii) other minority girls in Pakistan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Promoting the rights of religious minorities is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I am deeply concerned by reports of abductions, forced marriages and religious conversions of Christian and other minority girls. I raised the importance of protecting minority rights with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights during my visit in November 2024 and Lord Khan raised this in meetings with senior Government of Pakistan interlocutors during his visit in April 2025. Our High Commission in Islamabad continues to raise these issues at the highest levels and engages regularly with civil society to monitor the situation. We urge the Government of Pakistan to uphold its international human rights obligations and ensure that all citizens, regardless of faith, are protected from coercion and violence.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that consumers are made aware that some forms of buy now, pay later will remain unregulated when BNPL regulation is in force.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products.

At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices.

Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers.

The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to require merchants that might offer unregulated Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) once BNPL regulation is in force to provide clear information to consumers to make it clear that certain consumer protections will not apply to their credit agreements.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products.

At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices.

Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers.

The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Financial Conduct Authority is able to deliver final rules for Buy Now, Pay Later regulation that are proportionate to the product.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Regulating the Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) sector is a government priority. On 19 May, the government introduced legislation to bring BNPL products into regulation. Our legislative approach will disapply the elements of the consumer credit regulatory regime that were originally designed for interest-bearing loans. This will enable the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to create a proportionate information disclosure regime tailored specifically to BNPL products.

At this stage, the government considers that BNPL agreements provided directly by merchants should remain exempt from regulation. Including merchant-provided BNPL in the regime would disproportionately impact small businesses offering low-risk agreements such as gym memberships and instalment plans for invoices.

Consumers using merchant-provided BNPL will remain protected by wider consumer protection laws, including strict rules on advertising and financial promotions; and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which prohibit unfair commercial practices such as misleading consumers.

The government has not seen evidence that merchants are seeking to offer BNPL agreements on a scale similar to third-party lenders. However, my officials and I will continue to monitor the merchant-provided BNPL market closely, working with the FCA and industry. If we see clear evidence of significant market expansion or large-scale consumer harm, we will intervene swiftly to address these risks.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the protection of religious freedom for Christian communities in Nepal, in the context of (a) recent political movements advocating for the restoration of a Hindu kingdom and (b) trends in the number of attacks on Christians.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK condemns all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief, recognising that freedom of religion is a cornerstone of human rights and democratic societies. Our Embassy in Kathmandu engages a range of different faith leaders and civil society on human rights. Through this and other engagement, the UK will continue to signal respect for religious diversity and support for everyone's right to freely practise their faith, traditions, and beliefs without fear or prejudice.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the market cost of therapeutic support interventions delivered via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the new reduced Fair Access Limit of £3000 per application to cover the support required, based on those costs.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department took a range of factors into account when setting the new £3,000 fair access limit for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF). In the 2024/25 financial year, the average cost per ASGSF recipient was £3,170 for therapy and £2,399 for specialist assessments (£3,090 overall). In addition, since July 2024, the department has collected detailed data on the costs of applications for therapeutic interventions and specialist assessments funded by the ASGSF. Using this information, the department assessed that £3,000 could fund an average of 19-20 hours of therapy, on the basis of median hourly rates for contact time and allowing for additional costs.

Where ASGSF funding has been used for a specialist assessment, remaining funding up to the £3,000 fair access limit may be used for therapy, where this is assessed as being needed. If appropriate, local authorities and regional adoption agencies may use their own funding to offer extra therapy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the market costs of specialist assessments given under the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund; and whether applicants applying for an assessment of need will also receive therapy under that fund.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department took a range of factors into account when setting the new £3,000 fair access limit for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF). In the 2024/25 financial year, the average cost per ASGSF recipient was £3,170 for therapy and £2,399 for specialist assessments (£3,090 overall). In addition, since July 2024, the department has collected detailed data on the costs of applications for therapeutic interventions and specialist assessments funded by the ASGSF. Using this information, the department assessed that £3,000 could fund an average of 19-20 hours of therapy, on the basis of median hourly rates for contact time and allowing for additional costs.

Where ASGSF funding has been used for a specialist assessment, remaining funding up to the £3,000 fair access limit may be used for therapy, where this is assessed as being needed. If appropriate, local authorities and regional adoption agencies may use their own funding to offer extra therapy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) allocated Departmental budget, (b) amount of overspend, (c) amount of surrendered funds not used by local authorities and (d) amount of surrendered funds repurposed for other applications for the adoption and special guardianship support fund was in (i) 2023-24 and (ii) 2024-25.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The table below provides the data requested on the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF).

All surrendered funding from 2023/24 and 2024/25 was repurposed for other ASGSF applications and added to the total spend.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the average amount of funding allocated per child awarded via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial years.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The table below provides the data requested on the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF).

All surrendered funding from 2023/24 and 2024/25 was repurposed for other ASGSF applications and added to the total spend.

Found: meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Rachel Blake; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Rachel Blake; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Dorking and Horley) Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat; Carshalton and Wallington) John Glen

Found: John Glen: I understand. Thank you.

Found: present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Rachel Blake; Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: John Glen: Yes.

Found: John Glen: Yes.

Found: John Glen: Yes.

Found: Chair: Let us turn back to the spending review with Mr John Glen.

Found: When John Glen was C ity Minister, he ran 40 different consultations in terms of what would need to

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