Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to (a) inheritance tax and (b) business property relief on family-owned manufacturing businesses.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 56360.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when Horizon redress claimants where no evidence of shortfalls can be established will have their claims assessed.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We are aware that some postmasters are waiting for their Horizon Shortfall Scheme Fixed Sum Offer due to a lack of available data to verify that shortfalls occurred. To help address this, the Post Office is conducting further investigations using branch files to identify potential Horizon-related shortfalls. Where evidence is found, fixed sum payments are being issued as quickly as possible.

In cases where additional information is needed, the Post Office will reach out to these individuals for further information about the shortfalls that they experienced.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the human rights situation in Eswatini.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since reopening our High Commission in Eswatini in 2019, the UK has been active in promoting good governance and the rule of law, through engagement with trade unions, political groups and civil society organisations as well as with the three branches of government. The UK supports the Swazi people indirectly through programmes delivered by UN agencies (including the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)), their implementing partners and the Global Fund, as well as through advocacy and engagement with local Human Rights Defenders and state authorities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling access to BBC iPlayer for license fee payers while abroad.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Charter the BBC is required to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. With regard to the provision of services internationally, as the BBC is operationally independent, decisions on whether and how the BBC makes its content available to licence fee payers abroad are therefore for the BBC to make independent of government.

DCMS has not made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling access to BBC iPlayer for license fee payers while abroad. However, it is worth noting that the ability of the BBC to make content available is limited in large part due to rights agreements. The BBC does not hold the international rights to many of the programmes it carries on iPlayer, and therefore cannot provide audiences outside the UK with access to the iPlayer service.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the BBC on digitising the BBC archives.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport meets regularly with representatives of the BBC on a range of matters.

With regard to the digitisation of the BBC archives, the BBC has an obligation under their Framework Agreement to both maintain an archive, and give the public reasonable opportunities to visit the archive and view material kept there. As the BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government, decisions on how it discharges its obligations in relation to its Archive Services are a matter for the BBC.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Child Maintenance Service cases lapse each year due to failure to trace the paying parent.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The statistical information specific to the scenario you have given is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the Department.

The Government is committed to ensuring parents meet their financial obligations to their children.

Where a paying parent fails to take responsibility for paying their child maintenance and cannot be traced, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will take immediate action and do everything within its powers to trace the paying parent.

The CMS have a range of enforcement powers that can be used against those parents who consistently refuse to meet or evade their obligations to provide financial support to their children. We are committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families to ensure compliance.

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 establishing a national fire and rescue service statutory advisory body to oversee national standards on (a) fire cover, (b) training, (c) equalities and (d) health and safety.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government has accepted, in principle, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s recommendation to establish a national college of fire and rescue. The Inquiry report suggested a range of potential functions for a college to fulfil, including the development of policies and procedures to ensure both the effectiveness of fire and rescue services and the safety of firefighters and the public.

The government response to the Inquiry’s report notes that a necessary first step in the process will be to consult on the functions a college should have, what these functions should look like and how the college could best be structured and delivered. We expect to launch this consultation in the coming months.

Any future college function relating to national standards would build on the work already undertaken by the Fire Standards Board (FSB), which currently develops and maintains a suite of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England. The 19 standards currently published by the FSB cover a range of topics relating to operational management, leadership and ethics.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of apprenticeships in Eastleigh constituency.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners across the country, including in Eastleigh, and support the Industrial Strategy.

In August, the department introduced new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. These flexibilities will help more people learn new high quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country.

To support the growth of apprenticeships, the government provides £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19 to 24-year-old apprentices who have an education, health and care plan or have been, or are, in care. We will also pay employers up to £2,000 for eligible foundation apprenticeships to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Environment Agency on the enforcement of water quality standards in national parks.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) regulates to protect water quality standards across England, including within national parks. National parks often contain sensitive area designations such as bathing waters, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) or protected habitats, which afford higher levels of protection and regulation. Any environmental offences in national parks, such as pollution incidents and breaches of permits or regulations, are investigated and enforcement taken in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Protecting the natural environment remains a priority, and we continue to work closely with the Environment Agency to ensure high standards are upheld.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to review the regulatory requirements of sewage treatment works that serve fewer than 2,000 people.

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

Through the recommendations made by the Independent Water Commission, Defra is embarking on a review of regulations as part of the Government’s wider commitment to regulatory reform.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the financial performance of the Royal Mint in the last financial year.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Royal Mint faced a challenging year in 2024-25, but took necessary steps to place the business on a sustainable footing. Over 60% of The Royal Mint’s reported losses were due to exceptional costs, including ending overseas coin production and a right-sizing initiative.

Despite these challenges, the organisation continued to advance its transformation plan, adopting new technologies and refining its cost base. Notably, it launched the Precious Metals Recovery (PMR) plant, which uses pioneering technology to extract gold from electronic waste.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to update the NHS Car Parking Guidance 2022 for NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts.

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

The Department currently has no plans to review National Health Service car parking guidance. Free hospital car parking is available to the groups that are most in-need, including disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, the parents of sick children staying overnight, and staff working night shifts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of ambulance response times in Eastleigh constituency.

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

The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance response times have not met the high standards that patients should expect.

We are determined to turn things around. Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.

We have already seen improvements in ambulance response times for the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), which serves Eastleigh. The latest NHS performance figures for SCAS show that Category 2 incidents were responded to in 30 minutes 44 seconds on average, over eight minutes faster than the same period last year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS England’s processes for (a) identifying and (b) responding to concerns about the (i) quality and (ii) accuracy of children’s hearing test services; and what steps his Department is taking to improve the (A) consistency and (B) reliability of children’s hearing tests.

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

In December 2021, a report was published into service issues in children’s hearing services in NHS Lothian. The report focused on whether children’s hearing tests were being conducted properly and were effectively followed up. Further problems with the diagnosis of hearing issues in newborns and children were identified in other Scottish NHS trusts in 2023.

Subsequent assessment of NHS hearing services in children’s departments across England in 2023 and 2024 identified similar problems. In 2023, NHS England established the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme to address the issues and oversee remedial action.

In April 2025, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Dr Camilla Kingdon to chair an independent review into children’s hearing services. The review has considered:

• NHS England’s response to the service failures in children’s hearing services;
• how the relevant governance arrangements between the Department and NHS England could be improved, and identify lessons learned; and
• how NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved, and identify lessons learned.

The Department is currently considering next steps and how to ensure lessons learned can be acted upon promptly, including whether steps need to be taken to improve both the consistency and reliability of children’s hearing tests.

NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards who are the commissioners of audiology services to improve performance and reduce waiting lists for appointments and assessments for hearing services. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in NHS trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and directing support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of people with a Parkinson’s diagnosis were diagnosed by a specialist; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of that proportion.

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

Guidance on Parkinson’s disease in adults published by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people with suspected Parkinson's disease are referred for an expert clinical diagnosis by a specialist without delay, and that the diagnosis should be reviewed regularly by a specialist.

While a formal diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease should always be undertaken by a specialist, NHS England does not hold information centrally to audit this.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with international sporting bodies on the use of dynamic pricing for major sporting events.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As a Government we are aware that the UK has a global reputation for excellence in staging major sporting events. These major cultural and sporting events are an important part of our national life.

This Government is committed to putting fans back at the heart of live events, which is why we launched a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, alongside a consultation on ticket resales. The call for evidence looked at how practices like dynamic pricing are impacting consumers and businesses. We are reviewing responses and will publish the government's response shortly.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to (a) expand the role of post offices as one-stop-shops for a range of needs and (b) enhance their role in government service delivery.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Government published a Green Paper on 14 July, seeking views on the future of the Post Office, from the services it provides, how we modernise and strengthen the network, through to changing the culture and the way in which the Post Office is managed.

The consultation closed on 6 October and we thank all individuals and organisations for their detailed responses to our Green Paper which included proposals on expanding the role of post offices and on the provision of Government services. Government is carefully considering all responses to the Green Paper and aims to respond in early 2026.

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 potential merits of making all asthma-related medication free on prescription for adults.

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

No specific assessment has been made of the potential merits of making all asthma-related medication free on prescription for adults.

While there are no plans to amend the criteria for eligibility for free prescriptions, approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there are a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with asthma may be eligible.

Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have another qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the National Health Service Low Income Scheme, which provides help based on a comparison between a person’s income and requirements. Prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) are also available. PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with 3-month and 12-month certificates available. 12-month PPCs can be paid for in ten monthly instalments, allowing the holder to get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

Air Ambulance employees and the Ambulance Service (Emergency Duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Government proposals for mandatory digital ID

Transparency and accountability in social media account closures

Conduct of the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby

The Lakes School

Dentists in Hazel Grove constituency

Political donations

Future of BBC Radio 4 Longwave

Council elections in areas pursuing devolution reform

Medical Defence Union 140th anniversary

Warm Spaces Programme

Administration of Sheffield Wednesday

National Cancer Plan

Water bills

Warm Homes Plan

Eligibility variations in access to IVF

Elon Musk at the Unite the Kingdom rally

40th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Menopause Awareness Month

National inquiry into child sexual exploitation

Renewable energy and coal

Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme

Global Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day 2025

Digital ID

Pavement parking consultation response

Chinook Justice Campaign