Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of proposals to shift from analogue to digital announced in the 10-year Health Plan for England, what provisions will be established to ensure digital exclusion does not exacerbate any existing inequalities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
National Health Service organisations must ensure that all patients have equitable access to care, and that decisions or policies do not unfairly disadvantage people or lead to an increase in inequalities. All NHS organisations are legally obliged to not discriminate against patients or staff.
This means that a non-digital solution should be available for those patients who cannot or do not wish to engage digitally, and these non-digital routes must be available for all services provided by NHS organisations.
Aligned to the Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Social Care Act 2012, each 10-Year Health Plan policy, proposition, programme, proposal, or initiative in scope of public sector equality duties will undergo an Equality Impact Assessments and Equality and Healthcare Inequalities Impact Assessments.
Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how evidence from national and public bodies, including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, teaching unions and the security services, will be balanced against submissions from technology companies and members of the public in the consultation on children's social media use.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government has announced a consultation and national conversation to gather evidence to understand how best we can build on the Online Safety Act’s provisions to ensure children have positive, enriched digital lives.
We will consult parents, the organisations representing children and bereaved parents, technology companies and, crucially, children and young people themselves, because their views and voices must be heard. We will make sure that the consultation is evidence-led, with input from independent experts.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Sherlock on 3 February (HL Deb col 1428), what are the terms of reference for the consultation on the relationship between residence requirements and the benefits system; when that consultation will open; and who can contribute to that consultation.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Full details about the consultation including timelines, how long the consultation will last, and how to be involved, will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many units of social housing there were in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate they have made of the number of social housing units that will be available in 2035.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Figures published by the Regulator of Social Housing show there were 4,263,202 social rent and affordable rent units owned by local authority registered providers and private registered providers on 31 March 2025. This number includes both units of general needs homes and supported housing units. These figures can be found on gov.uk here (attached).
The department does not have an estimate of the number of units that will be available in 2035.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 introducing the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model on business investment in the food and drink sector.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. As part of this, the Government committed to updating the standards behind the restrictions on advertising ‘less healthy’ food or drink products on television before 9:00pm and online at any time, as well as the restrictions on the promotion of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products by location and volume price by applying the new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM).
The advertising and promotions restrictions currently rely on the outdated NPM 2004/05. The new NPM has been updated in line with the latest dietary advice from the United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, particularly in relation to free sugar and fibre. Applying it to the restrictions will strengthen these policies by bringing more products of concern for children’s health into scope.
The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. Application of the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions would be subject to a full public consultation and an impact assessment of the costs to businesses and intended health outcomes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much has been spent on the upkeep of HMS Albion since 20 November 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The annual maintenance cost for HMS ALBION is circa £2 million per annum. This expenditure is to ensure that the ship remains safe whilst alongside HMNB Devonport on a tidal mooring. This ensures the ship remains compliant with environmental and safety legislation until disposal is complete.
HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark were tied up by the last government with no intention to send them to sea again before their out of service dates in the 2030s.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of social media on young people’s wellbeing in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires services to protect children in the UK, including Surrey and Surrey Heath, from illegal and harmful content online. But we know that up and down the country, parents are grappling with how much screentime their children should have and the consequences on their mental health.
The government is determined to give children the childhood they deserve and enhance their wellbeing. That is why we are launching a consultation to gather evidence to understand how best we can build on the Online Safety Act’s provisions to ensure children have positive, enriched digital lives.
The consultation will be accompanied by a national conversation, and we want to hear from children and parents right across the UK. Every voice matters in shaping what comes next.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who leave higher education without completing their course and subsequently claim out-of-work benefits within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) one year of leaving university.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not held.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on community pharmacies of (a) business rates revaluation from April 2026 and (b) their exclusion from RHL reliefs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.
In 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Additional funding is also available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The Department will shortly consult with Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27. As part of this we will consider financial pressures on the sector.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department is planning to take to ensure that social media sites adhere to their 13+ rule of access.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services, including social media platforms, to protect children from illegal content, harmful content and age-inappropriate content.
The government has announced a consultation and national conversation to gather evidence to understand how best we can build on the Act’s provisions to ensure children have positive, enriched digital lives. The consultation will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is.
We will act on the findings of the consultation.