Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Yellow Card reports on over‑the‑counter cough and cold medicines were received in each of the last five years.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) publishes information in the form of interactive Drug Analysis Profiles which can be accessed here on the Yellow Card website, at the following link:
https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/idaps
You will be able to access a complete listing of all suspected adverse drug reactions that have been reported to the MHRA via the Yellow Card scheme for all medicines, including medicines used to treat coughs and colds. This includes all reports received from healthcare professionals, members of the public, and pharmaceutical companies.
Please note information regarding whether a drug was prescribed or purchased over the counter is not mandatory to provide on a Yellow Card and as such we do not capture this information in a structured data field to be able to provide as part of this request.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 17 December 2025 (HL12793) and 5 January (HL13110), and the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 18 December 2025 (HC97798), whether Lord Mandelson left the his role as UK Ambassador to the USA (1) for gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal, (2) on the grounds of efficiency, (3) as a result of disciplinary proceedings in circumstances where summary dismissal is not justified, (4) during the probation period, (5) on medical grounds, (6) on other compulsory grounds, or (7) in exceptional circumstances.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
It has been the normal practice under successive governments, including the one in which the Noble Lord served, for the details of individual severance payments received by ministers to be disclosed on a named basis in departmental annual reports, but for payments made to senior officials, special advisers and other employees to be disclosed anonymously.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their weapon surrender bins on reducing violent crime.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to publicise the locations of their weapon surrender bins.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government did not fund and provide surrender bins prior to 2025, when the Government funded 37 surrender bins, with 33 bins located in London, 1 in Greater Manchester and 3 in the West Midlands to support the extended knife surrender scheme held in July last year.
A total of 2,787 knives and weapons were deposited in the surrender bins.
Since the installation, one bin in London has been vandalised by graffiti.
The maintenance costs in 2025/26 for the surrender bins is £32,500 which includes the collection and disposal of surrendered weapons.
In relation to the impact of the surrender bins, the data the Government published demonstrates that they are being well used. The Government promoted the use of the surrender bins during the extended surrender arrangements and is continuing to encourage their use through engagement with the relevant local authorities and community safety leads.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 January (HL Deb col 1408), when the research that showed that bursaries and scholarships are more important to overseas trainee modern foreign language teachers than the international relocation payment was carried out.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The research was commissioned by the department in 2024 with fieldwork taking place between March and November of the same year. The attached report was published in June 2025 and is also available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-teacher-recruitment.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the UK-US Technology Prosperity Deal has been suspended.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The United States is our close ally and tech partner, and we are committed to ensuring that bond delivers real benefits for hardworking people on both sides of the Atlantic.
We look forward to resuming work on this partnership as quickly as we can to achieve that and working together to help shape the emerging technologies of the future.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 levels of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, including Creon, on patient health outcomes.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no formal assessment of the potential impact of levels of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) on health outcomes. However, the Department engages routinely with a range of representatives including local and regional pharmacy leads and patient charities to ensure that management strategies are improving access to PERT.
The Department is aware of ongoing intermittent supply issues with PERT, including Creon capsules. Supplies of Creon and other licensed alternatives have improved in the past year, and specialist importers have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. We continue to work closely with the manufacturers to resolve the issues as soon as possible and to ensure patients have continuous access to medicines.
We have widely disseminated comprehensive guidance to healthcare professionals about these supply issues, which provide advice on how to manage patients whilst there is disruption to supply. This includes serious shortage protocols to limit prescriptions to one month’s supply to ensure equitable distribution of available supplies and that Creon remains available for those patients who need it. The Department has issued additional management advice to healthcare professionals which directs clinicians to consider the unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable and includes actions for integrated care boards to have local mitigation plans in place and implemented to ensure that no patient is left without PERT.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
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 implications for his policies of international no-fault compensation schemes for medicine-induced harm, including those in New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark, in relation to sodium valproate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department’s consideration of the Hughes Report’s recommendations for redress for those harmed by sodium valproate will take account of how other countries have chosen to approach this issue.
This is a complex, cross-Government policy area involving multiple organisations. This work requires coordinated input from several departments, and we will provide a further update in due course.
I met with the Patient Safety Commissioner in December 2025, to discuss progress following the Hughes Report, and made clear the Department’s expectation of continued, proactive engagement with the Patient Safety Commissioner and key stakeholders.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her a) Israeli and b) European counterparts on the decision to restrict the operations of international non-governmental organisations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement to the House I made on 5 January, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and several of her counterparts on 30 December, available on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jointstatementon-the-gaza-humanitarian-response
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the current asset condition of a) Brownshill and b) St Ives staunch.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current asset condition of Brownshill Staunch sluice is rated as poor (gates 1 and 2) and very poor (gate 3).
The current asset condition of St Ives Staunch sluice is rated as poor.
The Environment Agency carries out an accredited visual inspection of assets to assess their condition and performance every 6 – 24 months. The frequency of inspection depends on the asset’s priority.