Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of claims for clinical negligence in each NHS Trust in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The table attached shows the number of clinical claims and incidents received in the 2024/25 financial year, broken down by NHS trust.
The table provided sets out the number of clinical negligence claims and incidents notified to NHSR by NHS trusts in the most recent period for which data is available. It should be noted that these figures are based on the financial year in which a claim or incident was notified to NHSR, however, the incident may have occurred in previous financial years.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Channel 4 Fact Check report entitled Value of UK arms imported by Israel, published on 29 September 2025.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Channel 4 report focuses on imports of ammunition and munitions by Israel. The UK does not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank. As Members will be aware, last year we suspended licences for exports of items to the IDF that might be used in military operations in Gaza.
The report is based on Israeli customs data which does not differentiate between live munitions and training equipment or sporting ammunition for civilian use. Furthermore it does not differentiate between items staying in Israel and those scheduled for re-export to other countries.
We take our arms control system very seriously and have taken every possible measure to ensure licences are not approved for exports that could be used by the IDF in Gaza.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reducing VAT on labour costs to 10% for the hair and beauty sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
No VAT is charged on employment costs themselves, as wages are not subject to VAT. VAT only applies where labour is supplied through an agency or another business-to-business service, and VAT-registered businesses can recover any VAT incurred.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to increase the availability of the test digital service for applicants for (a) the Personal Independence Payment and (b) other benefits in (i) Horsham constituency and (ii) other areas.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are enabling customers to complete parts of their application online, as announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper. We are also planning to increase the number of face-to-face assessments.
We are transforming the way in which DWP delivers services, including the provision of online and self-serve options, while protecting and improving other channels.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the men’s health strategy; and whether it will include funding to help prevent (a) suicide and (b) premature death for men.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are developing a Men's Health Strategy which will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England. This includes finding the right ways to promote healthier behaviours, improving outcomes for health conditions that hit men harder, and improving engagement with healthcare. The strategy will be informed by the Call for Evidence which closed on 17 July 2025. We aim to launch the Men’s Health Strategy later this year.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of utilising shareable health data to help (a) fire and rescues services and (b) local authorities identify vulnerable residents.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a formal assessment of using health data in this way but is aware of exploratory work underway in the National Health Service, including in Greater Manchester. This year the Department is working to tackle the underlying barriers to linking health and non-health data to improve outcomes and is supporting a small number of priority projects.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Suspensions and permanent exclusions by young career status, published on 10 July 2025, what steps her Department help reduce (a) suspension and (b) permanent exclusion rates among young carers.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Whilst schools can use sanctions to improve behaviour, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary. The statutory ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance is clear that school leaders should consider early intervention to address the underlying causes of disruptive behaviour.
‘Keeping children safe in education’ also sets out school staff should be alert to the potential need for early help for young carers and requires designated safeguarding leads to be trained to understand and respond to their needs.
The department is committed to ensuring every child can succeed and learn in a safe, calm environment. To support this, we have committed to providing access to mental health support in every school and ensuring earlier intervention for pupils at risk of exclusion. Our new attendance and behaviour hubs will directly target the schools with the highest need, as well as wider support for schools in all corners of the country.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the definition of vulnerable residents when identifying priority cohorts for fire and rescue services to evacuate in emergencies.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 mandate Residential Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (Residential PEEPs) for all high-rise residential buildings and residential buildings over 11 metres in height that operate a simultaneous evacuation strategy.
Under these new regulations, which come into effect from April 2026, Fire and Rescue Services will be able to obtain information on residents with disabilities or impairments that may impact their ability to evacuate a building in the event of a fire, in case they need additional support, subject to the resident’s’ consent.
Once in force, the policy will be monitored over time which would allow the merits of any change in scope to be assessed.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the commercial arrangements made by NHS England with marketing authorisation holders between January 2020 and September 2025 involving indication-specific pricing were for indications for (a) rare non-oncology and (b) ultra-rare non-oncology conditions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Between January 2020 and September 2025, NHS England entered into 75 commercial arrangements involving indication-specific pricing. Of these, eight of the commercial agreements have involved indication-specific pricing for rare non-oncology conditions, and of those eight, two were for indications classed as ultra-rare non-oncology conditions.
Please note that the following definitions of rare and ultra rare non-oncology conditions have been applied: rare, meaning a condition which affects less than 1 in 2,000 people, as per the National Health Service rare diseases framework; and ultra-rare, meaning a condition affecting 1 in 50,000 people or fewer in England.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to work with the (a) Department of Health and Social Care, (b) Department of Education, (c) Carers Trust and (d) other organisations to ensure young adult carers can receive support through the Youth Guarantee.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is determined to provide carers of all ages with the recognition and support they deserve. Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), and the Department for Education (DfE) have convened twice this year to discuss support for unpaid carers and consider opportunities to provide further recognition and support. My Right Hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability has met with Carers Trust on several occasions, and the department will continue to work collaboratively with groups representing and supporting carers.
DWP and DfE are launching a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people aged 18-21 can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or help to find work. As part of the Youth Guarantee we are working with Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSA) to deliver 8 Trailblazers in England which are testing different approaches to identifying, engaging, and supporting young people who are NEET or at risk of becoming NEET. MSAs have developed their approaches with consideration to young people in their locality who need more support. As we set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper our Youth Guarantee will meet the needs of those facing disadvantages, including disadvantages related to unpaid caregiving.