Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
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 ensure people are able to access a timely diagnosis for arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving timely diagnosis and management of arthritis and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions across England.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These guidelines help ensure that patients receive evidence-based care as early as possible.
NHS England is working to improve early diagnosis rates through its Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) rheumatology programme. This initiative focuses on reducing variation in care, improving referral pathways, and ensuring patients with suspected arthritis and other MSK conditions are assessed promptly by specialists.
The Government has funded NHS England’s GIRFT programme to deploy its proven Further Faster model for MSK community services. The programme has been designed to reduce waiting times for community MSK appointments and to enhance access to quality treatment, working with integrated care board leaders to improve data and metrics and referral pathways to wider support services.
We are working together to further develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to reduce access to treatment variations between ICBs for people with arthritis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to improving timely diagnosis and management of arthritis and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions across England.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These guidelines help ensure that patients receive evidence-based care as early as possible.
NHS England is working to improve early diagnosis rates through its Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) rheumatology programme. This initiative focuses on reducing variation in care, improving referral pathways, and ensuring patients with suspected arthritis and other MSK conditions are assessed promptly by specialists.
The Government has funded NHS England’s GIRFT programme to deploy its proven Further Faster model for MSK community services. The programme has been designed to reduce waiting times for community MSK appointments and to enhance access to quality treatment, working with integrated care board leaders to improve data and metrics and referral pathways to wider support services.
We are working together to further develop the approach to better enable integrated care systems to commission the delivery of high quality MSK services in the community, which will benefit patients now and into the future.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the 12-month period during which holders of non-designated foreign driving licences are permitted to drive in the UK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This department reviews GB driver licensing arrangements from time to time. Any changes to the current 12-month period during which the holders of non-UK driving licences are permitted to drive in the UK would be subject to appropriate consultation and revised legislative provisions.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to take steps to stop joint ventures using corporation tax reliefs through the purchase or transfer of trading losses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Group relief allows the transfer of allowable losses from one company to another in the same group. Consortium relief is a type of group relief which allows companies that jointly own another company (a consortium company) to obtain relief for their share of that company’s tax losses, so that they are taxed on a measure of profits that reflects losses they may make from their participation in a joint venture.
For these reliefs to apply, groups and consortia must meet certain eligibility criteria. For example, both types of relief are available to companies that have specific shareholding ownership relationships and are subject to UK Corporation tax. Joint ventures must meet the eligibility criteria to claim relief which is limited by reference to the proportion of member’s economic interest in the consortium company.
Existing legislation already contains targeted anti‑avoidance provisions designed to prevent the exploitation of losses, and the Government keeps these rules under review.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has any plans to review the statutory minimum provision within the English National Concessionary Travel scheme to support disabled and elderly residents to safely and equitably access services and activities within their communities; and whether she has any plans to extend the scheme to include companion travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £795 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the travel times, would need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
However, local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, including funding companion passes locally. In the year ending March 2026, 66% of local authorities are offering companion passes to disabled people as a discretionary concession. These are additional local concessions provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.
The Government is investing in bus services long-term and has confirmed over £3 billion from 2026/27 to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services over the remainder of the spending review period. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year.
Hampshire County Council will be allocated £45 million under the LABG from 2026/27 to 2028/29, in addition to the £14.2 million they are already receiving this year. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers, including funding discretionary concessions.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the validity period of driving theory test certificates for learner drivers who have been unable to secure a practical driving test date within the standard two-year window due to ongoing DVSA booking backlogs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a customer’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.
Ensuring learner drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the learning to drive process as new drivers are disproportionately casualties on our roads. Learners therefore need to pass another theory test if their two-year theory test certificate expires.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing everything it can to ensure that learners can access practical tests within the theory test validity period, to prevent candidates from having to retake the theory test.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the reasons for current waiting times within the Specialist Team of the Probate Registry, and of the impact of those delays on bereaved families; and what measures his Department is introducing to reduce the distress and financial uncertainty caused by protracted waiting times.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Applications for Probate can be delayed where more information is needed from the applicant, a caveat is in place or where cases are more complex. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is investing in more staff, alongside system and process improvements to improve timeliness and further build capability for the more complex cases, which include cases involving a lost will.
The Ministry of Justice publishes regular data on probate timeliness in our regular quarterly family court statistics bulletin: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the backlog within the Probate Registry; and what steps his Department is taking to expedite the processing of applications for Grants of Probate, including in cases involving lost wills.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Applications for Probate can be delayed where more information is needed from the applicant, a caveat is in place or where cases are more complex. HM Courts & Tribunals Service is investing in more staff, alongside system and process improvements to improve timeliness and further build capability for the more complex cases, which include cases involving a lost will.
The Ministry of Justice publishes regular data on probate timeliness in our regular quarterly family court statistics bulletin: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential for a safe, accredited inspection or certification process to allow second-hand infant car seats in good condition to be re-used; and whether she will review current guidance in light of the environmental and social impacts of requiring these items to be discarded.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not provide specific guidance on the use of second-hand infant car seats and has not evaluated the feasibility of an inspection or certification process for such products.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) advises against using second-hand car seats for several reasons, including the risk of hidden damage from previous collisions. Such damage can compromise the seat’s structural integrity even when no visible defects are present. Detecting these issues would require complex and costly assessment techniques, making an accredited inspection or certification process impractical.
Asked by: Luke Murphy (Labour - Basingstoke)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are his Department taking to ensure NHS staff can recognise rheumatological symptoms and ensure urgent referral to rheumatology services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Royal College of General Practitioners has produced e-learning modules on a number of musculoskeletal (MSK) and rheumatic conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, osteoarthritis, and axial spondyloarthritis, which are designed to help general practitioners and other primary care professionals recognise the symptoms of these conditions.
Additionally, to support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of different rheumatological conditions, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance on rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and spondyloarthritis, with guidance for all three available, respectively, at the following three links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng65
The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Rheumatology has made recommendations on the diagnosis and management of a range of rheumatic and MSK disorders and will support the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across the country and closer to patients’ homes, and to improve services nationally. The GIRFT National Speciality Report included a number of recommendations designed to help support patients with non-inflammatory MSK conditions to be cared for in primary and community settings, freeing up capacity for those who need it to have urgent referrals to outpatient rheumatology services.