Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 hospice contracts reflect the (a) cost of the services they provide and (b) needs of their local populations.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
Additionally, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of restricting the sale of fireworks to organised and regulated displays.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of restricting the sale of fireworks to organised and regulated displays.
The Government has launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign includes new guidance for those running community fireworks events, and new social media posts that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.
The Government will continue engaging with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a windfall tax on the profits of (a) banks and (b) other financial institutions.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government’s position on the taxation of the banking sector remains as set out in the Corporate Tax Roadmap. The regime is kept under review to ensure that objectives around growth and fiscal responsibility are appropriately balanced.Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure industries on the level of business rates relief which would help to drive (a) investment and (b) local employment.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
The rates for new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the revaluation outcomes as well, as the economic and fiscal context.
The Government has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders on business rates. The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report, published on 11 September, brings together extensive feedback from stakeholders and outlines the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system, that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-business-rates-interim-report/transforming-business-rates-interim-report.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle Asian hornets.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to follow an eradication strategy against Yellow Legged Hornet (also known as Asian Hornet) to prevent this invasive non-native species from establishing in GB. Contingency action is delivered by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU). As of 10th October 2025, the NBU have found and destroyed a total of 143 Yellow Legged Hornet nests.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of retail businesses impacted by (a) the business rates reduction for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties and (b) the higher business rates multiplier in the City of Durham.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government will introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026/27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.
The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes and broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps with the Financial Conduct Authority to help ensure that (a) Gypsies and (b) Travellers are able to access homes and contents insurance.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the answer to question 75505 on 11 September 2025, the Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly, and insurers must comply with all relevant regulations and legislation. This includes the Equality Act 2010 which generally prohibits discrimination based on certain protected characteristics, including race.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator of financial services firms, requires firms to treat customers fairly under its rules. This includes ensuring that firms meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
The FCA operates independently within the statutory framework agreed by Parliament and has robust powers to take action where necessary.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress her Department has made in implementing the civil society covenant.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Civil Society Covenant was launched by the Prime Minister in July at a major civil society summit. Its ambition is to strengthen relationships and encourage partnership between civil society and all levels of UK government. Achieving this will require the collective commitment of organisations across the full breadth of both civil society and government.
At the launch we also announced the initial steps that DCMS is taking to implement the Covenant. This includes establishing a cross-sector Joint Civil Society Covenant Council to drive implementation and provide strategic oversight, and a Local Covenant Partnerships Programme to support collaborative working at the local level between civil society and public sector organisations. We are making progress and plan to share details and engage civil society in due course.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that Gypsies and Travellers are able to access homes and contents insurance without discrimination.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. This is usually informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics. The government does not usually intervene in these decisions.
However, the government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and insurers must comply with all relevant regulations and legislation. This includes the Equality Act 2010 which generally prohibits discrimination based on certain protected characteristics, including race.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator of financial services firms, requires firms to treat customers fairly under its rules. This includes ensuring that firms meet their obligations under the Equality Act 2010. The FCA actively monitors firms and has robust powers to take action if firms do not comply with its rules.
Individual insurers may take a different view of the relevant factors in determining whether they will offer insurance and at what price. Consumers may wish to contact the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, who can offer guidance on how to look across the insurance market for the best deals and may be able to provide names of specialist brokers.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve rail services on the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has invested £4bn in route-wide upgrades – including new trains and improvements to platforms, tracks, signals and junctions.
This will deliver journey time, reliability and capacity improvements, with more than 60,000 extra seats across the route each week, faster services between London and Edinburgh, and London to Leeds, and a third train per hour to and from London and Newcastle. This will all form part of the new timetable in December.
The Department are now working closely with Network Rail and industry stakeholders to develop a long-term strategy for the route.