Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the context of The Children’s Society’s latest report which highlighted the importance of low-cost activity options for parents during the school holidays, what steps her Department is taking to widen the availability of low-cost holiday activities for children through museums, libraries and leisure centres, which are not covered by the temporary VAT relief on family activities.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
This government recognises the importance of our treasured museums, libraries and leisure centres in providing free and low-cost activities for families during the school holidays.
This government is providing billions over this Spending Review period to support our celebrated cultural institutions, such as National Museums or to Libraries via the Libraries Improvement Fund, to ensure cultural activity is accessible to all.
This builds on the existing VAT refund scheme (VAT 33a) available to museums and galleries that offer free admission, and a VAT cultural exemption scheme for eligible bodies that removes the VAT from ticket sales.
DCMS has also committed £400 million to transform sports and leisure facilities over the next four years to promote health, wellbeing and community cohesion for all.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 ensure that the forthcoming Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty will (a) improve the quality and consistency of dementia data and (b) improve data capture on dementia at the local level.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
We are considering all options to help reduce waiting times and improve dementia diagnosis and care, including reviewing targets, metrics, and data.
We are engaging with a wide group of partners to understand what should be included to ensure the best outcomes for people living with frailty and dementia, and as part of this exercise, we will develop a list of best evidenced interventions following analysis of the evidence gathering exercise submissions and wider research.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of asbestos-containing materials in components used in wind turbines operating in the UK; what information his Department holds on the number of turbines identified as containing such materials; what assessment he has made of the potential risks to (a) workers involved in the installation, maintenance and decommissioning of wind turbines and (b) members of the public; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safe identification, removal and replacement of any affected components and to prevent the importation of asbestos-containing materials.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is leading work with industry to establish the extent of any asbestos-containing components in wind turbines operating in the United Kingdom. DESNZ does not hold comprehensive data on the number of affected turbines.
The Government takes health and safety risks across the wind supply chain very seriously and expects all developers and suppliers to comply fully with existing legislation, including strict controls governing hazardous materials such as asbestos.
HSE has advised that, where present, asbestos is contained within sealed systems and monitoring has not identified airborne fibres or evidence of risk to workers or the public. They will continue to work with industry to ensure it delivers safe and prompt removal of affected components.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of speech and language therapy provision for children with speech, language and communication needs in Eastleigh constituency; what data his Department holds on (a) waiting times for assessment and intervention, (b) the number of children receiving face-to-face speech and language therapy support and (c) vacancies in speech and language therapy services in Hampshire; and whether he plans to review the availability of specialist training for speech and language therapists in supporting children with complex communication needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy services, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
We have set a clear target for systems to work to reduce long waits in NHS England’s Medium Term Planning Framework.
By 2028/29, at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, and in 2026/27, integrated care boards (ICBs) and community health services providers must also develop plans to eliminate 52 week waits. Whilst targets are not service-line specific, capacity growth and waiting time targets should impact positively on children and young people’s speech and language therapy services.
Alongside the new target for community health services, in 2025 we published an overview of core community health services. Setting clear expectations of the core community health services, ICBs should be providing help to ensure consistent delivery of community health services, support effective commissioning, and improve patient access to care.
As of April 2026, there were 66,695 children and young people on waiting lists for speech and language therapy.
The Department does not hold specific information on speech and language therapy services in Hampshire.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that pupils with medical conditions receive appropriate healthcare support during the school day; what assessment she has made of the respective roles and responsibilities of schools, NHS bodies and healthcare professionals in delivering that support; and what measures are in place to ensure that school staff undertaking healthcare-related tasks receive appropriate training, clinical oversight and support.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Eastleigh to the answer of 23 June 2026 to Question 10306.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on (a) legal fees and (b) associated costs defending judicial review proceedings brought by the WASPI Campaign since December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Based on the information held, since December 2024, the recorded legal costs on litigation brought by WASPI including disbursements and VAT and costs paid to WASPI are £348,566.14.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will assess the adequacy of the provision of heart and lung transplant services, including (a) access to specialist care, (b) post-transplant follow-up services, (c) psychological support for transplant recipients and their families, (d) long-term management of transplant recipients and (e) variation in outcomes between transplant centres.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring timely and equitable access to heart and lung transplantation services and of improving patient outcomes. This response relates to England only.
Access to transplantation is based on nationally agreed clinical criteria, with donor organs offered, or allocated, through a national system managed by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to ensure equity according to clinical need. NHSBT publishes data annually on access and outcomes in its organ-specific reports, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.odt.nhs.uk/statistics-and-reports/annual-activity-report/
This data shows some variation in post-transplant survival rates between centres, but good overall rates. In addition, it shows some geographical variation in lung registration rates and no evidence of variation beyond chance for heart and lung transplantation rates. Further work is needed to understand and address unwarranted variation in access to transplantation.
Variation in patient outcomes, including longer‑term survival and listing outcomes, are reviewed through established NHSBT and NHS England clinical governance processes, including routine outcome reviews and centre‑specific follow‑up where indicated. The National Transplant Clinical Panel has been established to provide expert clinical interpretation of transplant outcome data to support quality oversight, including where issues of statistical variation are identified.
Heart and lung transplant services provide multidisciplinary assessment, ongoing follow‑up, and access to psychological support where clinically indicated, ensuring that care addresses both physical and mental health needs across the patient pathway, before and after transplantation. The quality and effectiveness of care is monitored through national audit, service review, and patient feedback, with oversight provided by the National Transplant Clinical Panel.
To improve equity of access, transplant activity, and outcomes, NHS England has established a national improvement programme, informed by the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise. This programme, alongside NHS England commissioning structures, includes work to improve referral pathways, organ utilisation, and service consistency, through strengthened peer review processes, audit of organ acceptance practices, and work with transplant centres to support consistent decision-making. Further information on the national improvement programme and the Implementation Steering Group for Organ Utilisation’s Cardiothoracic Information Collation Exercise is available at the following two links:
While progress has been made, including increases in transplant activity and reductions in waiting lists, NHS England continues to work with partners and patients to ensure services are consistent, resilient, and able to meet patient need across the country.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to secure continued access to online educational content and learning resources for children under the age of 16; whether her Department has assessed the extent to which pupils use social media platforms for educational purposes, including revision, independent study and exam preparation; what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential effect of a social media ban on access to platforms for pupils preparing for GCSE and other public examinations; whether consideration has been given to exemptions or alternative arrangements for educational content hosted on platforms that would otherwise be subject to age restrictions; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of these proposals on (a) pupils from lower-income households who rely on free online educational resources and (b) neurodivergent pupils who may benefit from video-based learning formats.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The government is clear that access to high-quality educational content is essential. We want to see more high-quality services designed specifically for young people.
Through the EdTech Testbed Programme the government are investing £24m to identify and test the impact of technology tools and resources, and have launched an innovative programme to develop safe, high quality AI tutoring tools. Oak National Academy provides free, national curriculum-aligned resources across all national curriculum subjects, and has a dedicated online pupil interface for access to curriculum resources, including lesson videos delivered by teachers and interactive quizzes.
Government has been clear that proposed restrictions will apply to social media services, with a narrowly defined list of exemptions including, for example, educational services.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 4381 on Water Supply: Eastleigh, if she will take steps to ensure that Southern Water addresses the more than 400 maintenance-related improvements identified across its wastewater assets between April 2025 and March 2026; if she will set a timetable for improvements to be completed; and what assessment she has made of the implications of those maintenance issues for the safety, reliability and resilience of water and wastewater infrastructure serving Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Water companies are accountable for maintaining their assets and must address issues identified through Environment Agency (EA) inspections, meeting deadlines set by it as the regulator.
Timescales for improvements are set by the EA on a case-by-case basis.
The EA continues to regulate Southern Water closely and will take enforcement action where necessary to ensure timely improvements and protect the safety, reliability and resilience of infrastructure serving Eastleigh.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what training will be given to border officials to enforce the government’s proposed ban on imports of hunting trophies, including how to identify the species from which the trophy is derived; and what checks will be conducted on items brought in via cargo and passenger terminals.
Answered by Mary Creagh
Defra officials continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to determine the scope and design of this ban, including what will be required to implement it effectively. The detail of arrangements such as training for border officials and checks at cargo and passenger terminals will be considered as part of that design work.