Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many ECO4 installations are incomplete due to installer insolvency in England the last 12 months; and what consumer protection and redress mechanisms are available to households supported through the ECO4 scheme where an installer has entered administration leaving works incomplete or defective.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Due to the level of non-compliance found for EWI measures, the Government is offering a comprehensive on-site audit to all households where external wall insulation (EWI) was installed under ECO4 or GBIS. This check will be provided at no cost to the consumer.
Should any issues requiring action be found, these should be remediated by the original installer. Where the installer has ceased trading, protections under the installation guarantee policy should be invoked.
All measures installed under current government schemes are covered by a guarantee.
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: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to implement he recommendations of the Independent Review of Carer’s Allowance Overpayments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to my Written Statement of 25 November HCWS1092 and (at Col 22WS) Carer's Allowance Overpayments Review - Hansard - UK Parliament where I outlined the department’s response to Liz Sayce’s Independent Review. The Government has welcomed the report and is accepting or partially accepting 38 out of the 40 recommendations. In some cases, the changes the report is asking for have already been made. Others will take more time to put in place.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
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 address regional variation in access to continuous glucose monitoring, including in Dorset.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning health services to meet the needs of their populations. In doing so they must have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, including for diabetes. The National Diabetes Audit (NDA), and the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA) along with NHS Digital’s NDA and NPDA dashboards provide comprehensive data on care processes and outcomes and highlight variation. The dashboards help commissioners, providers, and paediatric diabetes units benchmark themselves and target improvements.
NHS Dorset has a policy in place for the provision of prescribable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
In order to ensure that Dorset patients are being treated appropriately, use of CGM is tracked against patient eligibility criteria as set out in NICE guidance and the NHS Dorset CGM policy.
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: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by Marie Curie, entitled Dying in Poverty, published in 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government acknowledges the findings of Marie Curie’s Dying in Poverty report (2025), which highlights the financial insecurity experienced by individuals at the end of life.
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it including for those nearing the end of their life. For these claimants, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain welfare benefits without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend NHS eligibility for the Shingrix shingles vaccine to older adults who previously received Zostavax.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent departmental expert committee which advises the Government on matters related to vaccination and immunisation.
In November 2024, the JCVI provided advice to the Government on eligibility for the shingles vaccination programme. This included advice that the Government should consider expanding the shingles vaccination offer to include older adult cohorts aged 80 years old and over, regardless of whether these older individuals have previously been eligible for, or have been vaccinated with, Zostavax. The Department is carefully considering this advice as it sets the policy on who should be offered shingles vaccinations.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many radiotherapy machines are currently in operation in NHS hospitals, and how this compares with projected clinical need over the next five and ten years.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of radiotherapy treatment machines in use across the National Health Service in England is not recorded as part of a nationally mandated data collection.
The commissioning of radiotherapy services is overseen by local systems. They have the responsibility to ensure that sufficient capacity is in place for local populations, taking account of the different factors that can affect demand and capacity. The projected number of machines needed to meet future demand depends on a range of factors including clinical practice, for instance fraction protocols, patient choice, between different equivalent treatments, local working practices, for instance the hours and days of operation, as well as the technical specification of treatment machines, and the throughput per hour.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects the Health and Safety Executive to launch a public consultation as part of the statutory process for the potential renewal of the approval of glyphosate for use in Great Britain.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) expects to launch the statutory public consultation on the assessment of the renewal of the approval of glyphosate in Summer 2026. Further information can be found here Active substance renewal: glyphosate - HSE
The consultation will be hosted on the HSE consultation website, and they will announce the start of the consultation via their e-bulletin service. In line with the regulations, the consultation will last for 60 days.