Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce geographic variation in liver disease (a) diagnosis (b) treatment and (c) health outcomes.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government wants people from all walks of life to be able to consider becoming magistrates, including those in full-time employment, the self-employed and people with caring responsibilities. Our engagement with employers is informing work to address barriers including time commitment, financial considerations and understanding of the role, alongside guidance to help employers support staff who wish to serve. Magistrates can also claim reasonable expenses associated with carrying out their judicial duties and we will shortly be consulting on the expenses framework to help meet magistrates’ evolving needs and support recruitment and retention.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department intends to publish an Alcohol Strategy before the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 30 March in response to Question 122627.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the proportion of liver cancer patients diagnosed through emergency presentation, including targeted case-finding in alcohol services and diabetes clinics.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 20 July in response to Question 17757.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Government has to secure long-term funding and commissioning for community liver health checks beyond the current funding period.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 20 July in response to Question 17757.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent steps he has taken to work towards the phasing out of animal testing.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 September 2026 to Question UIN 23800. (Find written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament)
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce health inequalities in liver disease outcomes in the North West.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer he received on 20 July in response to Question 17758.
Subsequent to this answer, NHS England’s Transformation of Liver Services Programme has been retitled Liver Disease Programme, and has moved into the next phase of delivery, which will focus on a targeted set of priorities where the programme can continue to build on the strongest areas of impact and provide strategic national support, strengthen alignment with wider transformation agendas, and enable systems to prepare for new clinical and operational opportunities.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the UK-US pharmaceutical agreement, how the Government’s proposed pilot on productivity benefits in medicines assessment will account for the wider value of treatments for rare conditions, including impacts on patients, families and unpaid carers.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation work is currently underway to develop further details for each individual pilot. Detail regarding which treatments, including for rare conditions, are included, how each pilot will function, and how stakeholders will be involved are yet to be determined. Groups including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition and the Association of Medical Research Charities have been involved in the development of pilot concepts and will continue to be consulted. These groups collectively represent hundreds of organisations, including those representing people affected by rare conditions.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how treatments for rare conditions will be prioritised for inclusion in the Government’s proposed pilot on supporting faster access to innovative medicines, as part of the UK-US pharmaceutical agreement.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation work is currently underway to develop further details for each individual pilot. Detail regarding which treatments, including for rare conditions, are included, how each pilot will function, and how stakeholders will be involved are yet to be determined. Groups including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition and the Association of Medical Research Charities have been involved in the development of pilot concepts and will continue to be consulted. These groups collectively represent hundreds of organisations, including those representing people affected by rare conditions.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how patient organisations representing people living with rare conditions will be consulted on the development of new pilots being delivered as part of the UK-US trade agreement.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Implementation work is currently underway to develop further details for each individual pilot. Detail regarding which treatments, including for rare conditions, are included, how each pilot will function, and how stakeholders will be involved are yet to be determined. Groups including the Charity Medicines Access Coalition and the Association of Medical Research Charities have been involved in the development of pilot concepts and will continue to be consulted. These groups collectively represent hundreds of organisations, including those representing people affected by rare conditions.
Asked by: Peter Dowd (Labour - Bootle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received from children and young people on improving the healthiness of school food as part of the proposed updated School Food Standards.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department knows that children and young people’s own experiences are key to shaping effective school food standards. To support this, the department has been engaging with children and young people to understand what they eat at school, what they enjoy, and what they would like to see improved.
As part of the consultation, the department has worked with youth organisations, such as the Food Foundation’s Young Food Ambassadors and Bite Back 2030.This is to ensure that the consultation responses they submitted capture the views of children and young people, helping the department build a rounded picture of what matters to children in their day-to-day school life.
The consultation ran from 13 April 2026 to 12 June 2026 and the department is analysing the responses. The results of the consultation and the department's response will be published on GOV.UK in September 2026.