Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of a national biobank linked to a national surveillance database for research and for improving the quality of surveillance for liver cancer patients.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the ongoing restructuring of Integrated Care Boards on commissioned pathways for the early detection of liver disease.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific data requested by the Hon Member is not centrally held, but he may find useful data on the prevalence and treatment of liver disease at local level via the Department’s Fingertips website at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/liver-disease
On the broader issues raised, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 September in response to Question 27776.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will provide a breakdown by Integrated Care Board of the proportion of patients presenting with liver disease at a late stage.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The specific data requested by the Hon Member is not centrally held, but he may find useful data on the prevalence and treatment of liver disease at local level via the Department’s Fingertips website at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/liver-disease
On the broader issues raised, I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 18 September in response to Question 27776.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of an increase in Machine Games Duty on the financial sustainability of the land-based bingo sector.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110360 on kidney diseases: dialysis machines, what steps is the government taking to remove variation in rates of home dialysis in paediatric dialysis centres.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
NHS England is delivering a comprehensive programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of people with kidney disease, through its renal services transformation programme. This includes a specification for renal services which sets out the scope for the work of the renal clinical networks commissioned across England. The specification is available at the following link:
The goals of the specification include reducing variation across the renal care pathway by developing, agreeing and implementing standardised pathways of care, including dialysis and home therapy services for adult and paediatric services. The eight regional kidney networks in England, working with providers, will review service delivery across network against need and identify gaps and variation in services, gaps in overall provision, quality, geographical distribution, and deliver improvements to network services to address these issues.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Indian counterpart on the recent attack on a Christian worship service in that country; and what steps her Department is taking to help protect religious minorities in India.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
We continue to track these issues closely and engage wherever possible to promote religious freedom and tolerance. Our High Commission in New Delhi, along with our network of Deputy High Commissions, monitors the human rights situation closely. We also engage with civil society and faith leaders to support efforts to promote tolerance and respect between communities. We will continue in these efforts and keep the House updated as this work progresses.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
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 levels of current capacity for in-centre dialysis services; and what plans his Department has to ensure that renal service capacity matches both current and projected patient need.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is delivering a comprehensive programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of people with kidney disease. In 2023, NHS England published a renal services transformation (RSTP) toolkit to support earlier identification of chronic kidney disease and more joined up services. The RSTP sets out that services, working in partnership with integrated care boards, should undertake capacity planning and activity monitoring to ensure service capacity matches demand requirements.
These changes are intended to make it easier to deliver improvements along the whole patient pathway including earlier diagnosis and treatment, that can potentially prevent or delay the need for dialysis and transplant further downstream in the pathway.
NHS England is also investing in home dialysis for children, supported by a robust network of nurses and clinicians who can move that care from hospital to home. This approach is working, with rates of home dialysis ranging from 64 % to 76% across the 10 National Health Service paediatric dialysis centres.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs has updated its assessment of the number of suicides linked to the loan charge since January 2023; and whether the Government plans to publish updated figures on a routine basis.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government promised to commission a new independent review of the loan charge and that is what it delivered. The purpose of the review was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The Government accepted all but one of the review’s recommendations and in a number of instances has decided to go further.
Most notably, we decided to write off the first £5,000 of everyone’s liability, providing significant relief to those with the lowest liabilities who are more likely to have been lower earners and targeting support at those who most need it. Because of the decisions the Government has taken, around 30 percent of people within scope of the review could have their liabilities removed entirely. Most other individuals will see their liabilities reduced by at least half.
HMRC are committed to supporting customers through this process and are working hard to give them certainty on their tax positions as quickly as possible. This includes a dedicated service to guide customers through the settlement process and provide extra support for those who need it. Anyone who is worried about a tax liability should get in touch with HMRC as soon as possible. HMRC can provide reasonable adjustments to meet an individual’s needs and is working with Samaritans to provide guidance to advisors and signposting taxpayers where needed to a dedicated Samaritans helpline.
Any loss of life is a tragedy. The government and HMRC take the safeguarding of individuals and issues relating to loss of life extremely seriously. HMRC has a statutory obligation to refer incidences of death or serious injury of a customer, where there is an indication that HMRC contact may have directly or indirectly contributed to the event, to external oversight bodies. Since March 2019, HMRC has made eleven referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct where a taxpayer has sadly taken their life and had used a disguised remuneration scheme. HMRC does not currently have arrangements in place to routinely publish these figures.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate support for people with mental health problems when they return to the workforce.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
My department has a range of initiatives to ensure adequate support for individuals with mental health conditions when they return to work, including Access to Work. The Access to Work grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. Access to Work also has the Mental Health Support Service which can provide up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment.
DWP has also developed the Support with Employee Health and Disability digital guidance for employers. This offers practical advice on supporting health and disability in the workplace. DWP continues to champion the Disability Confident Scheme which promotes employer good practice, as well as working with the occupational health sector to increase the proportion of the workforce supported by expert health services.
WorkWell provides funding to 15 local areas in England to lead, design and deliver early intervention, low intensity, integrated work and health support, including for mental health. Participation in WorkWell is voluntary and includes people in and out of work, regardless of benefit entitlement.
Additionally, the Employment Advisors in the NHS Talking Therapies service – jointly funded by DWP and Department for Health & Social Care - enables patients to access combined therapeutic treatment and employment support to help them to remain in, return to or find work as well as improve their mental health. The service co-locates employment advisors alongside therapists to offer support and advice to patients, whatever their employment or benefit status.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
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 potential merits of adopting a preventative approach to mental health; and what steps he is taking to support such an approach.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services. We want to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation, prevent people from developing mental health problems, and improve the lives of people living with a mental health condition. This includes providing mental health support teams in schools and colleges, improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments, and increasing access to evidence-based digital interventions.
Additionally, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Regional Public Health team work closely with local councils to become signatories to the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health. This includes developing local plans to improve mental wellbeing across the life course and to reduce inequalities in mental health, working with partners across the health and care system, as well as schools and employers.
The Government has also recently launched an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. This review will seek to identify opportunities to provide different models of support and pathways, within and beyond the National Health Service, that promote prevention and early intervention.