Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legally-binding targets for reducing child poverty.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Monitoring and Evaluation framework published alongside the Strategy set out that a baseline report will be published in Summer 2026 with annual reporting on progress thereafter and Government already has a statutory duty to publish poverty statistics annually. We have put these clear reporting arrangements in place so that the progress we make is transparent for all.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Recovery Grant Guarantee to match the national average core spending power increase.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding need. By 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived.

We recognised that maintaining the Recovery Grant would not be enough for some councils to deliver visible service improvements over the next three years. The government announced an additional £440 million uplift to the Recovery Grant over the multi-year Settlement, specifically aimed at upper tier councils that would otherwise receive less than a 17% funding increase over the period. This will take the total funding allocated via the Recovery Grant and Recovery Grant Guarantee to £2.6 billion over the multi-year Settlement.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will guarantee that all local authorities within the most deprived decile will see an above average increase in Core Spending Power in each year of the multi-year settlement.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This Settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding need. By 2028-29, the top 10% most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived.

We recognised that maintaining the Recovery Grant would not be enough for some councils to deliver visible service improvements over the next three years. The government announced an additional £440 million uplift to the Recovery Grant over the multi-year Settlement, specifically aimed at upper tier councils that would otherwise receive less than a 17% funding increase over the period. This will take the total funding allocated via the Recovery Grant and Recovery Grant Guarantee to £2.6 billion over the multi-year Settlement.

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 5 November 2025 to Question 86003, if his Department will commission a specific comparative review, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, into the relative level of National Institute for Health and Care Research funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome compared with other long-term conditions.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not intend to commission a specific comparative review into the relative level of National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) or Medical Research Council funding for research into myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), compared with other long-term conditions. We recognise that ME/CFS is an under-researched area, and we are committed to working with the ME/CFS community to identify and address barriers to research, with the ambition of supporting and funding more research and capacity-building programmes.

As outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan, there has historically been a relatively low amount of biomedical research funded on ME/CFS, compared with disease burden. Our efforts are focussed on delivering the actions outlined in the ME/CFS Final Delivery Plan to support and increase research in this area. Since our answer to Question 86003, we have hosted a showcase on post‑acute infection conditions, bringing together people with lived experience, researchers, clinicians, and funders to stimulate further research. A summary of this showcase has been published on NIHR Open Research. We have also made progress with our new funding opportunity for development awards focussed on the feasibility of a phase 2 platform clinical trial. This would test multiple repurposed pharmaceutical interventions and/or non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of post-viral conditions including ME/CFS. The committee will now consider the applications, and shortlisting decisions will be shared with the researchers in March.

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 improve access to, and the effectiveness of, palliative and end of life care.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and will enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to address challenges in access, quality, and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in last year’s 10-Year Health Plan.

Through our MSF, we 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.

The MSF will put in place a clear and effective mechanism to deliver a fundamental improvement to the care provided. This will enable the adoption of evidence-based interventions that are proven to make a difference to patients and their families. Examples include earlier identification of need, care delivered closer to home by integrated generalist and specialist teams, and strengthened out-of-hours community health support, including dedicated telephone advice.

Last year’s Strategic Commissioning Framework and Medium-Term Planning Guidance for the National Health Service also make clear the expectations that ICBs should understand current and projected total service utilisation and costs for those at the end of life, creating an overall plan to more effectively meet these needs through neighbourhood health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) neurologists, (b) geriatricians and (c) nurses there are working in the NHS who have specialist training in Parkinson’s.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold data on the number of neurologists or geriatricians with specialist training in Parkinson’s disease working in the National Health Service in England. National workforce datasets do not record condition‑specific sub‑specialisms, and responsibility for determining local specialist workforce configurations rests with individual employers and integrated care boards (ICBs).

As of December 2025, there were 2,002 full‑time equivalent doctors in neurology and 6,318 in geriatric medicine working in NHS trusts and other organisations in England. These specialties include clinicians who provide care to people with Parkinson’s.

The Department does not hold a central count of the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses employed across the NHS in England. Workforce planning, including decisions about the number and type of specialist nurses needed locally, is the responsibility of individual employers and their ICBs, which are best placed to assess the needs of their populations.

We continue to work with NHS England through programmes like Getting It Right First Time to support improvements in access to specialist care. The Department has also established a United Kingdom‑wide Neuro Forum, which brings together governments, the NHS, the devolved administrations, and neurological alliances across the four nations to share best practice and address system-wide challenges, including workforce needs for conditions such as Parkinson’s.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of schools’ mobile phone policies in preventing disruption in learning.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Mobile phones have no place in schools.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner, published in April 2025, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools, 99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools, already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

The department’s recently strengthened guidance on mobile phones in schools is clear that all schools should be mobile phone-free by default. Pupils should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons.

The guidance will be implemented through behaviour management in schools, and by setting out clear expectations for teachers and school staff. Our attendance and behaviour hub lead schools will support other schools to implement and enforce a mobile phone policy where needed.

From April, Ofsted will also check school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to be mobile phone-free by default. Ofsted will examine both schools' mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented when judging behaviour during inspections.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the healthcare system in Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to my statements in the Westminster Hall debate on the healthcare system in Gaza on 24 February.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how she is ensuring that UK-supported humanitarian programmes provide timely and effective support to survivors of gender-based violence.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As part of the Foreign Secretary's focus on preventing violence against women and girls, we continue to prioritise support to survivors of gender-based violence in humanitarian settings. From April 2023 to March 2024, 3.21 million people were reached with gender-based violence prevention or response services through bilateral Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office support. More information can be found on GOV.UK at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68af15d3969253904d1558dd/FCDO_gender_based_violence_results_factsheet_2023_to_2024.pdf.

Another recent example is the UK's effort to step up support and improving frontline services for survivors of sexual violence in Sudan. In February 2026, the Foreign Secretary announced a new £20 million multi-year programme to support survivors of rape and sexual violence in Sudan.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to anticipate and pre-emptively mitigate humanitarian crises around the world.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is working with partner governments to improve early warning for disasters, including through the Met Office. We are also pushing the humanitarian system, including the UN, to better anticipate and act ahead of crises to reduce humanitarian need, including through our contributions to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, the largest global funder of anticipatory action. The UK is a global leader on pre-arranged finance (PAF) and insurance which pay out in advance or after a disaster to help pre-empt damage. For example, Jamaica received $242 million from a catastrophe bond and insurance after Hurricane Melissa and, in the past month, UK-supported PAF has paid out over $22 million to fund anticipatory and emergency responses to drought in Somalia and cyclones in Madagascar.

Student finance system reform

State visits to the US

Heating oil prices

Endometriosis Awareness Month 2026

Energy prices for households and businesses

New US sanctions on Cuba

Cardiac risk in the young

Health and Care Worker visas

90th anniversary of the Spitfire

Found: Yours sincerely Tom Morrison-Bell Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google UK