Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the third-party data entry of NHS patient data is processed securely.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
IT systems in the National Health Service operate to the highest standards of security, and all organisations have governance arrangements in place to ensure the safe, legal management of data. Third party organisations operate under the instruction of the NHS when processing data, with safeguards in place to keep people’s confidential information secure as per contractual requirements. All organisations that have access to NHS patient data and systems must use the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to provide assurance on an annual basis that they are practising good data security and that personal information is handled correctly. Over 61,500 organisations completed a DSPT assessment for 2024/25.
The privacy and confidentiality of health and care data is championed by the National Data Guardian who provides independent advice on the use of such data and holds the Caldicott Principles, which provide a framework for the safe and respectful use of data.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK’s approach to VAT on hospitality compared with EU member states.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. The UK’s VAT rate of 20 per cent is close to the OECD average of 19.3 per cent. The UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD, at £90,000. This keeps the majority of businesses out of the VAT regime altogether.
HMRC estimate that the cost of a 5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £13 billion this financial year. If the scope were also to include alcoholic beverages, the cost would be approximately £3 billion greater.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost of the pensions triple lock for each of the next ten year.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Expenditure on State Pension, which includes triple lock, for the years up to and including 2029/30 is available in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables.
Beyond 2029/30, the Office for Budget Responsibility project State Pension expenditure as part of their Fiscal risks and sustainability report. This assumes long-term annual growth rates of 4.4% for ‘Triple Lock’, and 3.8% for Average Earnings.
Source: OBR September 2024 Fiscal risks and sustainability – charts and tables: supplementary tables, Table 1.1
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
o ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with industry stakeholders on improving job prospects for people in their 60s.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department for Work and Pensions is therefore committed to supporting older people through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression. This includes promoting age-inclusive practices, supporting workplace health, policy and service reform and removing age related barriers to employment. The Department has also signed up to and actively promotes the Age-Friendly Employer Pledge, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working, age-positive hiring, and career development.
Our Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals.
We are taking a test and learn approach to developing the new service, working in an agile and flexible way. This will allow us to hear from a range of organisations and perspectives, as we develop the new service.
The DWP’s Strategic Relationship Team is actively engaging trade bodies and strategic employers across priority sectors, such as clean energy, digital, hospitality and construction, through innovation workshops, tailored recruitment pilots, and sector-led initiatives to promote DWP as the recruitment partner of choice and expand inclusive employment opportunities.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make and assessment of the potential impact of AI related job losses on the level of unemployment benefit.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with business leaders on the potential impact of AI on the number of jobs in the next five years.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We want to ensure that people have access to good, meaningful work. AI will impact the labour market and Government is working to harness its benefits in terms of boosting growth, productivity, living standards, and worker wellbeing, while mitigating the risks. We’re planning for varied outcomes and monitoring data to track and prepare for these. The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out how we will address key challenges and spread opportunity to fix the foundations of our economy to seize AI’s potential.
The Government is supporting workforce readiness for AI through a range of initiatives. The new AI Skills Hub, developed by Innovate UK and PwC, provides streamlined access to digital training. This will support government priorities through tackling critical skills gaps and improving workforce readiness. We are also partnering with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential impact of the severity modifier criteria on access to drugs for cancer patients.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been monitoring the impact of the severity modifier since it was implemented in 2022. Data up to March 2025 shows that the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher (85%) than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced (75%) and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher (81% compared to 69%).
Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed, including treatments for advanced breast cancer (such as Truqap and Korserdu), which are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.
The severity modifier is therefore working as intended and there are currently no plans to adjust or change it in the near future. However, NICE has commissioned research on people’s attitudes to how the severity modifier should be applied that will inform future reviews of NICE’s methods.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential impact of NICE's decision to restrict secondary breast cancer patient's access to Enhertu on the grounds of patient wellbeing.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes independent, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service in England on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded for eligible patients based on an evaluation of clinical and cost effectiveness.
NICE has recommended Enhertu, also known as trastuzumab deruxtecan, for use in the Cancer Drugs Fund for the treatment of women with HER2-positive secondary breast cancer and it is now available for the treatment of eligible patients while further data on its effectiveness is being collected that will inform a NICE decision on routine funding.
NICE published guidance in July 2024 on the use of Enhertu for the treatment of HER-2 low metastatic and unresectable breast cancer and was unfortunately unable to recommend it for routine NHS funding. I understand that NICE and NHS England have sought to apply as much flexibility as they can in their considerations of Enhertu for HER2-low breast cancer and have made it clear to the companies that their pricing of the drug remains the only obstacle to access.
Ministers met with the manufacturers of Enhertu, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo in November 2024, to encourage them to re-engage in commercial discussions with NHS England. Despite NICE and NHS England offering unprecedented flexibilities, the companies were unable to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price. NICE’s guidance published in July 2024 will therefore remain unchanged. NICE has reassured me that the door remains open for the companies to enter into a new NICE appraisal if they are willing to offer Enhertu at a cost-effective price.
Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) bringing forward legislative proposals to charge interest on outstanding debts of child maintenance of more than a year's standing and (b) ensuring that outstanding debts are paid by his Department to the parent with care.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent fails to pay on time or in full, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) aims to take immediate action to recover the debt and re-establish compliance.
If the paying parent is employed, the CMS will request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary. The CMS also has a range of other enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children, including deducting maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts. The CMS can also use further measures, including using Enforcement Agents to take control of goods, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison, and disqualification from holding or obtaining a UK passport.
Interest is not charged to outstanding debts. However, the CMS imposes enforcement fees to incentivise paying parents to meet their obligations voluntarily. If a parent fails to pay through a voluntary arrangement (like Direct Pay), the CMS may switch the case to Collect and Pay, which includes a 20% surcharge for the paying parent.
The CMS is committed to ensuring all separated parents within the statutory scheme support their children financially and will continue to pursue unpaid child maintenance debt, including deducting payments from pensions income.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times a court has cited Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as a reason for non-deportation in the last 12 months; and if she will provide a breakdown of those instances by level of court.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.