Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 help ensure that UKMDR audit fees remain affordable for UK based businesses who source medical devices from overseas manufacturers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In Great Britain, medical devices are regulated under the Medical Device Regulations 2002 (MDR 2002), which is available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/618/contents/made
Manufacturers of the lowest risk medical devices can self-declare the conformity of their devices against these regulations, and manufacturers of medium and high-risk medical devices must seek third party conformity assessment from an approved body to obtain a UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking.
Fees are set by the approved body themselves and vary depending on the specific service provided.
To protect supply, the government continues to accept CE-marked medical devices on the Great Britain market until 30 June 2028 or 2030, depending on the type of device and the legislation it complies with. If a device has a valid CE marking, the manufacturer is therefore not required to also obtain a UKCA marking. We will consult further on our long-term approach to the recognition of CE-marked medical devices later this year.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently developing a reformed regulatory framework for medical devices, designed to protect patient safety, while improving access to innovative medical devices. This will introduce an international reliance framework, allowing the MHRA to use the expertise and decision-making of other regulatory partners to introduce a new, streamlined, route to market for certain devices with prior approval from comparable regulatory countries (Australia, Canada and the US). This will reduce unwarranted regulatory burden on manufacturers of medical devices with overseas approval.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Scottish Government to ensure financial provision is in place for English nursing students studying in Scotland.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with the Scottish Government over a range of important matters.
Eligible undergraduate students from England, who are attending a course in nursing at a university in Scotland, qualify for the same student support package from Student Finance England as English students studying in England, which includes a fee loan for meeting the full costs of their tuition, a partially means-tested loan for living costs and, for students with adult or child dependants, means-tested dependants’ grants. In addition, students with disabilities may qualify for non-means-tested Disabled Students’ Allowance.
The government has increased maximum grants and loans for living and other costs for students from England by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, in line with forecast inflation, based on the RPIX inflation index.
Students studying on nursing courses also qualify for additional support through the NHS Learning Support Fund. However, this is only available to students who study at English Universities, regardless of where they are domiciled.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many early years recruits received the sign-on bonus launched in 2024.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is supporting the sector to attract talented new staff to join the workforce, as well as encourage skilled and qualified staff to return to early years roles by creating conditions for improved recruitment.
The department has been running a pilot that tests whether offering an incentive payment would increase recruitment levels in 20 local authorities. New starters in early years settings, and those returning to the sector, were required to have started in an eligible provider and meet certain eligibility criteria in one of these local authorities in order to receive a £1,000 payment.
Delivery on the scheme ended in March 2025. Data on the number of recruits receiving financial incentives will be included in the evaluation report, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to allocate adequate resources to support households at risk of flooding in Ribble Valley constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities and other stakeholders continue to work in partnership with local communities to deliver innovative and alternative flood risk management practices. This includes Natural Flood Management measures, demonstrated most notably in Ribchester with an £80,000 investment. Advice and support are given to flood action groups, and the Environment Agency continue to issue flood warnings to residents. Collectively, all these measures serve to reduce the risk of flooding for households within the Ribble Valley.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle agricultural pollution in (a) Ribble Valley constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In 2025/26 the Ribble Catchment around Edisford Bridge was identified as a priority area for farm inspections due to a new bathing water designation. Since April this year 13 farms in the area of the new bathing water and Bashall Brook have been inspected and advice and guidance provided where non-compliance relating to the Farming Rules for Water and SSAFO Regulations (Storing silage, slurry and agricultural fuel oil - GOV.UK ) has been identified.
In the wider Ribble Catchment in Lancashire, the Environment Agency has inspected 27 farms since April this year. Where advice and guidance has been given and not followed, the Environment Agency will consider enforcement in line with its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow a newborn child's father to have automatic parental rights over his child in light of the mother’s death during childbirth.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation to grant automatic parental responsibility to a father in unfortunate circumstances where the mother dies during childbirth.
In England and Wales, a father only acquires parental responsibility automatically if he is married to, or in a civil partnership with the mother at any point between the conception or the birth of the child, or he subsequently marries or enters a civil partnership with the mother. In other cases, parental responsibility may be obtained through formal agreement with the mother, being named on the birth certificate, or a court order. The Government recognises that in cases where the mother dies during childbirth, the father, if not married to the mother at the time of the birth, may be unable to acquire parental responsibility through the usual mechanisms. In such cases, the family courts retain discretion to grant parental responsibility based on the child’s welfare and the circumstances of the case.
The Government is aware of the calls to broaden the parental responsibility measure in the Victims and Courts Bill to include instances where an individual has been convicted of rape and a child has been conceived as a result of that offence. We are carefully considering these suggestions as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to remove parental rights from convicted rapists to children conceived through rape.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has no plans to bring forward legislation to grant automatic parental responsibility to a father in unfortunate circumstances where the mother dies during childbirth.
In England and Wales, a father only acquires parental responsibility automatically if he is married to, or in a civil partnership with the mother at any point between the conception or the birth of the child, or he subsequently marries or enters a civil partnership with the mother. In other cases, parental responsibility may be obtained through formal agreement with the mother, being named on the birth certificate, or a court order. The Government recognises that in cases where the mother dies during childbirth, the father, if not married to the mother at the time of the birth, may be unable to acquire parental responsibility through the usual mechanisms. In such cases, the family courts retain discretion to grant parental responsibility based on the child’s welfare and the circumstances of the case.
The Government is aware of the calls to broaden the parental responsibility measure in the Victims and Courts Bill to include instances where an individual has been convicted of rape and a child has been conceived as a result of that offence. We are carefully considering these suggestions as the Bill progresses through Parliament.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department (a) has had and (b) plans to have with stakeholders on the Best Start digital service.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Best Start in Life website, launched on 1 September. This is accessible at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
As development continues, the department is committed to ensuring the service is designed, positioned, and delivered in a way that meets the needs of parents and families. To date, discussions have taken place with officials across Whitehall and parents have been engaged directly through user research. We will broaden this engagement, including with local authorities and other key stakeholders, and continue to conduct further user research to ensure the service is responsive, effective and accessible to those who will benefit most.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
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 help reduce waiting lists for diagnostic services at Preston Royal Hospital Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) has agreed a Diagnostic Improvement Programme with key focuses including:
The Trust also makes use of mutual aid. In the NHS, mutual aid is the voluntary cooperation and resource-sharing between different healthcare organisations or sectors to meet shared needs, especially during emergencies or when systems are under extreme pressure. The Trust continues to scope other options to increase capacity and support from other local organisations via mutual aid.
Performance at the Trust has significantly improved against the Diagnostics Waiting Times and Activity data collection (DM01) six-week target from 49.3 percent of patients on the waiting list waiting in excess of 6 weeks from referral in June 2024, to 39.6 percent in June 2025.
Nationally, the government is supporting the NHS to recover diagnostic services and bring down waiting times through investment in new capacity and technology. At the Spending Review in June 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £6 billion in capital funding across 5 years for new diagnostic, elective and urgent and emergency capacity in the NHS. This includes £600 million in 2025/26.
Asked by: Maya Ellis (Labour - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the medical conditions on the list of exemptions for prescription charges.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to review the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate.
There are extensive arrangements in place in England to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for everyone. Approximately 89% of prescription items are dispensed free of charge in the community in England, and there is a wide range of exemptions from prescription charges already in place for which those with chronic illnesses may be eligible. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.
People on low incomes can apply for help with their health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme. People who need to pay and need many prescription items could save money with a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC). PPCs allow people to claim as many prescriptions as they need for a set cost, with 3-month and 12-month certificates available. The 12-month PPC can be paid for in direct debit instalments.