Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the independent review into mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism will include the demand for education, health and care plans and special educational needs and disabilities places.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The review will look to understand the similarities and differences between mental health condition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism, regarding prevalence, early intervention, and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals.
This will include exploring the evidence around clinical practice and the risks and benefits of medicalisation. The review will also seek to identify opportunities to provide different models of support and pathways, within and beyond the National Health Service, that promote prevention and early intervention, supplementing clinical support. The full terms of reference have been published on the GOV.UK website.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they instructed a reduction of integrated care board staff by April 2026 without making additional up-front funding provision for redundancy payments.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we have been clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate costs, in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy.
We have recently announced the Spending Review settlement which provides an additional £29 billion of annual day-to-day spending in real terms by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. We are now carefully reviewing how the settlement is prioritised, including making provision for redundancy costs. In due course, the NHS will be asked to incorporate this into the multi-year planning round which has now been launched with the publication of the Medium-Term Planning Framework on 24 October 2025.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government which organisations with instances and tenancies are included in the NHS England Federated Data Platform.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 13 January 2026, the NHS England Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) includes live instances and tenancies across 149 National Health Service organisations. The following table shows these organisations sorted by organisation type:
Organisation type | Number of live organisations |
Acute trusts | 96 |
Mental health trusts | 9 |
Community trusts | 1 |
Ambulance trusts | 2 |
Integrated care boards (ICBs) | 41 |
Total | 149 |
The organisations listed in the document attached have an active NHS FDP instance or tenancy and are operating within the platform in line with their respective data controller responsibilities and the NHS FDP governance framework.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consultations are underway with North Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust and local community members regarding the possible closure of Goole and District Hospital.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The planning and commissioning of local healthcare services is a matter for local integrated care boards (ICBs). The Humber and North Yorkshire NHS ICB has no plans to close the Goole and District Hospital. The ICB is committed to developing sustainable services for the future that meet the healthcare needs of people living in and around Goole.
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 ensure that children awaiting (a) ADHD or (b) Autism assessment receive interim support during extended waiting periods in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays in accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including provision of autism and ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
The NICE guidance for the assessment of autism recommends the length between referral and first appointment should be no more than 13 weeks. We know that this is not happening routinely across the country. In respect of ADHD, the NICE guideline on ADHD does not recommend a maximum waiting time for people to receive an assessment for ADHD or a diagnosis, however it sets out best practice on providing a diagnosis.
The Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has identified that children and young people who are on their waiting lists for ADHD or autism, or a dual diagnosis, and their families have access to a wide range of support and resources. These are provided by the foundation trust’s neurodevelopmental experts and partners, including the National Autistic Society and Barnardo’s.
The foundation trust’s neurodevelopmental needs page on the Mindworks website has helpful strategies and interventions to support neurodevelopmental needs, and the out-of-hours advice line provides advice to parents and carers who are struggling with behaviours or difficulties in young people, which could be related to neurodevelopmental need. It is open from 5:00pm to 11:00pm, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Further information on the trust’s neurodevelopmental needs page and the out-of-hours advice line is avaiable, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.mindworks-surrey.org/advice-information-and-resources/neurodevelopmental-needs
https://www.mindworks-surrey.org/our-services/neurodevelopmental-services/out-hours-advice-line
In 2026, the Government will bring forward a schools white paper, which will detail the Government’s approach to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform, ensuring joined-up support, including education and healthcare providers working together.
Through local commissioning, the Government will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, and colleges to offer timely and joined-up support to children, young people, and their families, including those with SEND.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the acquisition of the UK-based AI start-up Faculty by Accenture for the UK’s broader strategy to support domestic AI innovation and retain high-growth AI companies in Britain.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK has a great history of successful UK AI startups. Faculty is an excellent example of a UK startup running with its vision and succeeding on a global scale.
We want to ensure that this ecosystem continues to thrive and recently announced a comprehensive package of support. This includes the Advance Market Commitments in which Government will act as a first customer for promising UK start-ups who are building high-quality AI hardware products. The commitment is backed by up to £100 million of government support to give British startups the opportunity for a competitive edge and to win customers in a multibillion-dollar global market.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10% tariff announced by the USA and the 25% tariff proposed from June on British businesses.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Having retained our cool-headed approach and robustly defended the rights of the people of Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark alone to determine their future, we are glad that the President has announced that these tariffs will not be proceeding.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects to (a) receive and (b) publish Part Two of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government received the second and final report at the end of 2025 from Jonathan Fisher KC, Chair of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.
We are now carefully considering the Review’s findings and recommendations and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 105103 on Ajax Vehicles: Procurement, what the value is of contractual payments to General Dynamics for the Ajax programme made since 23 July 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence paid General Dynamics Land Systems UK £192 million in line with contractual obligations for the Ajax programme between 23 July 2025 and 12 Jan 2026.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve cross-Government coordination on the delivery of Government priorities in rural areas.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Since coming into office, this Government has taken action to ensure rural communities begin to feel the benefits of change they voted for at the last election.
We have allocated £1.9 billion into broadband and 4G connectivity, and £2.3 billion of transport funding for local places, across rural communities.
The Cabinet Office plays an important role in convening Ministers across Government and deploying the record £10.5 billion we have invested in flood defences; and to support rural communities through our Flood Resilience Partnership.