Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to prevent funding gaps during the transition from the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will provide an equivalent overall level of financial support to that provided by the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, £23 million per annum.
The new Places of Worship Renewal Fund is a capital fund providing grants upfront, which in some cases, may award a greater proportion of the project costs than what would have previously been received through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
We are aware of concerns regarding the transition between the two schemes. Guidance, including eligibility criteria and application process on the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund, will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to promote best practice in data collection and service standards for early identification and treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is strengthening best practice in cardiovascular disease prevention through CVDPREVENT, a national primary care audit that enables general practices (GPs) and primary care networks (PCNs) to extract data held by GPs to identify gaps in diagnosis, and management of people who are at risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim is to improve patient care, reduce inequalities, and optimise treatment.
Furthermore, this year, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease modern service framework (CVD MSF). The Department and NHS England are engaging widely with stakeholders to co-produce the CVD MSF, ensuring that experts, people, and communities are at the heart of its development. The CVD MSF will support evidence-led, consistent, high quality and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the cardiovascular disease pathway.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that people from (a) ethnic minority and (b) low socio-economic backgrounds have adequate access to endometriosis diagnosis services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government acknowledges the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the impact it has on their lives, their relationships, and their participation in education and the workforce.
The 10-Year Health Plan described our reimagined National Health Service, which will be designed to tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as to give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with the NHS on their own terms.
We are committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis for all women, and we have already taken action to address this.
£25 million has been invested in women’s health hubs to improve care for common gynaecological and urogynaecological conditions, with care for endometriosis outlined as a core service within the women’s health hubs. The women’s health hubs aim to address gaps in provision and long waiting times, specifically for those from low socio-economic background or those who are from minority ethnic backgrounds.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has updated their guidelines on endometriosis in November 2024, with two new treatments having been approved, and we are investing £5.6 million into research to support our efforts in gynaecology and are taking action to cut gynaecology waiting lists through our Elective Reform Plan.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of data on the impact of flooding on social housing tenants.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In January 2025 the Environment Agency commissioned an independent review of Property Flood Resilience (PFR). The review identified gaps and opportunities to grow the PFR market, resulting in a new action plan for all relevant parties to take forward.
The National Housing Federation (NHF) representing 600 housing associations who provide nearly 2.7 million homes formed part of the review’s Leadership Group.
The review found that there is growing awareness among housing associations of the increasing flood risk and noted they already have access to a comprehensive Flood Toolkit. Social landlords however face several challenges including data gaps, securing temporary accommodation and ensuring residents have access to the right advice and support.
The review recommended that social landlords develop clear and coordinated strategies to prepare for and mitigate flood risk for their tenants and homes aligning PFR measures with wider work to improve energy efficiency, building safety and decency. The NHF has committed to delivering several actions over the next five years to strengthen members’ flood readiness.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with small businesses on the apprenticeship system.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners in England and support the industrial strategy. We recognise the importance of ensuring that small and medium sized (SME) employers can benefit from these reforms and continue to access apprenticeships.
The department engages regularly with employers and their representative organisations, including small businesses, to inform the ongoing development of the growth and skills levy. This includes regular sessions to explore how to simplify systems and processes as well as engagement with employers following the Budget on delivery of the next phase of the growth and skills levy.
Skills England also works closely with employers, training providers, unions and other key partners to identify priority skills gaps, helping ensure that the growth and skills levy delivers value for money, meets the needs of business and helps kick-start economic growth.
To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England maintains regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It also has a dedicated SME sponsor on its board and an executive team actively engaging SMEs across the country, ensuring smaller firms have a strong voice in shaping the skills system.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 increase access to healthcare services in rural areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan has set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.
This includes ending the postcode lottery for cancer patients through introducing new training places targeted at trusts with the biggest workforce gaps, prioritising rural and coastal areas.
There are also a range of adjustments made to integrated care board funding allocations that account for the fact that the costs of providing health care may vary between rural and urban areas. These adjustments specifically support remote or sparsely populated areas.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle youth knife crime and serious violence in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are already making clear progress against our ambition to halve knife crime. In our first year in Government, police-recorded knife crime offences fell by 5%.
We have banned zombie knives and ninja swords and are holding online sellers criminally responsible removing almost 60,000 knives from streets in England and Wales. We are taking a range of action in the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen legislation on knives.
New crime mapping tools are already allowing us to identify highly specific knife crime concentrations and focus police and community safety resources where they are needed most. Further investment in cutting-edge capabilities, such as knife detection technology, improved data platforms, and live facial recognition will further enhance our ability to target knife crime.
Preventing young people from getting involved in crime is crucial to achieving our ambition. As part of the Young Futures programme, we are piloting new Young Futures Panels. These pilots proactively identify and refer children who may be falling through the gaps, to a range of different support services much earlier. More than 50 panels went operational in October and November, including in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
This financial year (2025/26), we have also allocated £47m to the network of 20 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) across England and Wales to support their valuable work. VRUs bring together partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. This includes over £1m in VRU grant funding to Leicestershire specifically. We have also allocated £194k to Leicestershire and £1.9m across the East Midlands in grant funding to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's document entitled Guidelines and guidance on the responsible use of veterinary medicines, updated on 8 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the inclusion of blanket flea and worming treatments in veterinary health plans on the responsible use of veterinary medicine and antimicrobials in animals.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flea and tick products play an important role in protecting animal and human health; however, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) recognises increasing concerns about the environmental impacts of substances such as fipronil and imidacloprid. Monitoring in England has detected these substances in some watercourses at levels that may pose a risk to aquatic invertebrates.
The VMD is leading cross‑government work through the Pharmaceuticals in the Environment Group to support responsible use of these products. Recently published VMD‑funded studies (2024–25) have shown that spot‑on flea and tick products can contribute to environmental levels of imidacloprid and fipronil through wastewater pathways and when dogs swim. These findings strengthen the evidence base, but important gaps remain, including understanding the potential unintended consequences if usage patterns change. This is being considered as part of wider stewardship work to ensure future decisions remain proportionate, evidence based and protective of animal welfare.
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 he is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to help tackle health inequalities affecting women in Surrey.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain, to ensure people can live well for longer. Our reimagined National Health Service will tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as give women, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with the NHS on their own terms.
This financial year the Department has invested approximately £53 million in direct awards on research to support the health of women. This includes conditions that are unique to women, such as endometriosis, and health topics that are relevant to women such as violence and abuse.
Significant progress has been made towards delivering the ambitions in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy, for example improving women and girls’ awareness and access to services as well as driving research to benefit women’s health, but we know there is more to do.
That is why we are renewing the Women’s Health Strategy, to assess the progress that has been made so far and to continue progressing delivery.
The renewed strategy will update on the delivery of the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy and set out how the Government is taking further steps to improve women’s health as we deliver the 10-Year Health Plan. It will also address gaps from the 2022 strategy and drive further change on enduring challenges such as creating a system that listens to women and tackling health inequalities.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support advanced AI roles and specialist technology skills in the UK financial services labour market.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Setting the UK’s financial services sector up with the skills and talent it needs is an important pillar of the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.
This is why the Economic Secretary commissioned the Financial Services Skills Commission (FSSC) to produce a report on how the skills system can drive growth and productivity by supporting more effective adoption and innovation of AI and other disruptive technologies. The FSSC have committed to reporting back by the end of the year.
The Government also committed to support the development of a sector Skills Compact for financial services and aim to launch it in summer 2026. This will accelerate progress and ensure the sector have the skills to thrive in the future. It will set out targeted, meaningful and ambitious actions for signatories to address skills gaps.