Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
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 support earlier diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in babies, toddlers and children presenting with symptoms in primary care in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local health commissioners and providers in Surrey are responsible for assessing how existing clinical guidance is being applied across primary care settings.
NHS England is undertaking a review of options for supporting primary care services in the identification of acute onset Type 1 diabetes in babies and children and in doing so will engage with relevant national organisations and partners.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we will continue to support people living with diabetes, including through the rollout of new wearable technologies such as hybrid closed loop (HCL) systems. The rollout of HCL systems is backed by £107 million in 2026/27 and has been made available to over 23,000 additional people since 2023/24.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the consistency with which existing clinical guidance on Type 1 Diabetes is applied across primary care settings in Surrey.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local health commissioners and providers in Surrey are responsible for assessing how existing clinical guidance is being applied across primary care settings.
NHS England is undertaking a review of options for supporting primary care services in the identification of acute onset Type 1 diabetes in babies and children and in doing so will engage with relevant national organisations and partners.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we will continue to support people living with diabetes, including through the rollout of new wearable technologies such as hybrid closed loop (HCL) systems. The rollout of HCL systems is backed by £107 million in 2026/27 and has been made available to over 23,000 additional people since 2023/24.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Hitchin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to develop a national diagnostic and treatment pathway for craniocervical instability.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Craniocervical instability (CCI) is a complex condition managed through existing specialised neurology and spinal pathways. There is currently no single national diagnostic or treatment pathway for CCI and no plan to change that at this time. Instead, care is provided through existing specialised neurology and spinal pathways in centres with the appropriate clinical expertise.
NHS England continues to review emerging clinical evidence through its established specialised commissioning processes. We will continue to monitor developments in this area and work with NHS England to ensure that patients can access the most appropriate care based on the best-available evidence.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish an assessment of the economic impact on early years providers of changes to employers national insurance.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government position was to compensate public sector employers only for the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) increase announced in Budget 2024. For eligible early years settings, this was provided through the dedicated £25 million Early Years NICs and Teachers’ Pay Grant in 2025/26.
We recognise the impact on the early years sector and remain committed to protecting investment. We expect to invest over £9.5 billion in 2026/27, an above-inflation increase on 2025/26. National average funding rate increases reflect full costs of delivering a full year of expanded entitlements for early years providers.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 health professionals are adequately trained on the differences between Functional Neurological Disorder and other neurological conditions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the need to improve awareness and understanding of functional neurological disorder (FND) across the health system.
The Royal College of General Practitioners provides a learning course that includes a dedicated module on recognising and explaining FND, helping general practitioners (GPs) to improve early identification and understanding of the condition. Further support is provided through guidance published by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) on suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, reference code NG127, which includes detailed recommendations on recognising symptoms commonly present in FND and appropriate referral pathways.
NICE also provides a Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on FND, offering practical, evidence‑based advice on diagnosis and management, supporting clinicians in distinguishing FND from structural or degenerative neurological disease.
FND is also included in a NICE guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders and acquired brain injury, reference code NG252, published in October 2025. This further strengthens the evidence base and ensure clinicians have clear, up‑to‑date guidance on assessment and management within a broader neurological context.
Together, these resources ensure that health professionals, across primary, secondary, and specialist services, have access to robust, evidence‑based tools to support accurate differentiation between FND and other neurological conditions.
GPs are required to undertake continuing professional development to maintain and update their clinical knowledge, and they can access a range of training resources through professional bodies, royal colleges, and National Health Service‑funded education platforms. Decisions about mandatory training requirements are made only where there is a clear and evidence‑based need, and the current approach remains to ensure that GPs have the flexibility to tailor their learning to the needs of their patient populations.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make training on Functional Neurological Disorder mandatory for General Practitioners.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the need to improve awareness and understanding of functional neurological disorder (FND) across the health system.
The Royal College of General Practitioners provides a learning course that includes a dedicated module on recognising and explaining FND, helping general practitioners (GPs) to improve early identification and understanding of the condition. Further support is provided through guidance published by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) on suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, reference code NG127, which includes detailed recommendations on recognising symptoms commonly present in FND and appropriate referral pathways.
NICE also provides a Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) on FND, offering practical, evidence‑based advice on diagnosis and management, supporting clinicians in distinguishing FND from structural or degenerative neurological disease.
FND is also included in a NICE guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders and acquired brain injury, reference code NG252, published in October 2025. This further strengthens the evidence base and ensure clinicians have clear, up‑to‑date guidance on assessment and management within a broader neurological context.
Together, these resources ensure that health professionals, across primary, secondary, and specialist services, have access to robust, evidence‑based tools to support accurate differentiation between FND and other neurological conditions.
GPs are required to undertake continuing professional development to maintain and update their clinical knowledge, and they can access a range of training resources through professional bodies, royal colleges, and National Health Service‑funded education platforms. Decisions about mandatory training requirements are made only where there is a clear and evidence‑based need, and the current approach remains to ensure that GPs have the flexibility to tailor their learning to the needs of their patient populations.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry. Video games are already regulated by a number of legislative and voluntary measures, governed by several enforcement bodies.
Video games are regulated with age ratings, which protect children and vulnerable people from inappropriate content. The Government works closely with the Games Rating Authority (GRA) who are designated by Government to ensure games are appropriately rated and include information for buyers on potentially harmful content, for example violence or bad language.
The Online Safety Act, made law on 26 October 2023, applies to online services which allow users to share content and interact with one another. This definition includes some video games, for example those with in-game chat functions. The Act is enforced by Ofcom.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes; which includes online and in-game advertisements, such as advertising of microtransactions or loot boxes.
Finally, where video game products amount to unlicensed gambling, such as skins gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown it will take strong enforcement action.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to develop or adopt a UK list of hazardous medicinal products and to require safety data sheets for finished medicines; and if he will take steps to work with the Health and Safety Executive to make such a list publicly available to NHS employers.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2025 to Question UIN 84436.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Valuation Office Agency’s valuation method for small independent hotels.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We recognise that hotels have expressed concerns about how they are valued for business rates. Hotels valuations are undertaken in a different way to some other sectors. The methodology used is well established, but, as with pubs, the government has announced it will review the way hotels are valued to ensure it accurately reflects the rental value for these sectors.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the methodology used by the Valuation Office Agency to calculate recent rateable value increases for self-catering accommodation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Self-catered accommodation is valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating.