Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support the aluminium industry in the context of (a) US tariffs and (b) global competition.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Thanks to the strength of the UK-US partnership, the UK remains the only country to benefit from a preferential 25% tariff on steel and aluminium exports to the US, avoiding the global rate of 50%. The UK is therefore uniquely positioned as the only country to have secured this commitment, giving our companies a 25% competitive advantage over global competitors.
After US global tariffs were introduced in May, the Business Secretary instructed the Trade Remedies Authority to work with the aluminium industry to gather and assess evidence for possible trade protection measures.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data his Department holds on (a) the number of claimants and (b) the total value of payments of (i) Statutory Maternity Leave, (ii) Statutory Paternity Leave, and (iii) Shared Parental Leave by occupation for each of the last three years.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information provided by employers to HMRC shows that the total value of payments made to individuals in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SShPP) for 2024/25, the latest year for which full year data is available.
The table below presents a breakdown of the value of payments made to individuals by the region, based on recipient residence.
Table 1. Total value of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SShPP) payments by claimant resident region, 2024/25
Government Office Region | Total value of SMP payments | Total value of SPP payments | Total value of SShPP payments |
East Midlands | £213,500,000 | £5,200,000 | £2,900,000 |
East of England | £328,100,000 | £6,800,000 | £3,900,000 |
London | £631,800,000 | £11,100,000 | £8,000,000 |
North East | £109,100,000 | £2,600,000 | £1,800,000 |
North West | £350,100,000 | £8,000,000 | £4,900,000 |
Northern Ireland | £104,500,000 | £2,200,000 | £1,300,000 |
Scotland | £234,300,000 | £5,500,000 | £1,800,000 |
South East | £481,200,000 | £9,900,000 | £7,600,000 |
South West | £245,900,000 | £5,600,000 | £5,200,000 |
Wales | £132,100,000 | £3,100,000 | £2,000,000 |
West Midlands | £267,700,000 | £6,600,000 | £3,000,000 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | £242,900,000 | £5,900,000 | £3,800,000 |
Unknown | £249,600,000 | £4,700,000 | £3,300,000 |
Total | £3,590,800,000 | £77,200,000 | £49,500,000 |
Source: HM Revenue and Customers (HMRC) Real Time Information (RTI) system 2024/25
Notes:
1. All figures are based on HMRC RTI system and were extracted in Aug 2025. RTI is subject to revision and there may be small fluctuations in figures reported - these figures should not be considered “final”.
2. Figures for the total value of parental payments (£m) are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
3. Government Office Regions (GOR) are determined by matching the most recent postcode from the previous tax year with the Office for National Statistics’ postcode lookup table. If a partial postcode is provided an assumption is made based on the postcode district or area. The GOR with the most postcodes of a given district is returned. If no postcode is listed then region is marked as unknown.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not hold data on the number of individuals in receipt or the value of payments of SMP, SPP and SShPP by occupation. However, the Government commissioned the Parental Rights Survey which provides the best source of data on the occupation of parents who have taken parental leave, the findings are published here - https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/resource/parental-rights-survey-2019 .
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value was of (a) Statutory Maternity Leave, (b) Statutory Paternity Leave and (c) Statutory Parental Leave in each region in the 2024/25 financial year.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information provided by employers to HMRC shows that the total value of payments made to individuals in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SShPP) for 2024/25, the latest year for which full year data is available.
The table below presents a breakdown of the value of payments made to individuals by the region, based on recipient residence.
Table 1. Total value of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) and Statutory Shared Parental Pay (SShPP) payments by claimant resident region, 2024/25
Government Office Region | Total value of SMP payments | Total value of SPP payments | Total value of SShPP payments |
East Midlands | £213,500,000 | £5,200,000 | £2,900,000 |
East of England | £328,100,000 | £6,800,000 | £3,900,000 |
London | £631,800,000 | £11,100,000 | £8,000,000 |
North East | £109,100,000 | £2,600,000 | £1,800,000 |
North West | £350,100,000 | £8,000,000 | £4,900,000 |
Northern Ireland | £104,500,000 | £2,200,000 | £1,300,000 |
Scotland | £234,300,000 | £5,500,000 | £1,800,000 |
South East | £481,200,000 | £9,900,000 | £7,600,000 |
South West | £245,900,000 | £5,600,000 | £5,200,000 |
Wales | £132,100,000 | £3,100,000 | £2,000,000 |
West Midlands | £267,700,000 | £6,600,000 | £3,000,000 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | £242,900,000 | £5,900,000 | £3,800,000 |
Unknown | £249,600,000 | £4,700,000 | £3,300,000 |
Total | £3,590,800,000 | £77,200,000 | £49,500,000 |
Source: HM Revenue and Customers (HMRC) Real Time Information (RTI) system 2024/25
Notes:
1. All figures are based on HMRC RTI system and were extracted in Aug 2025. RTI is subject to revision and there may be small fluctuations in figures reported - these figures should not be considered “final”.
2. Figures for the total value of parental payments (£m) are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
3. Government Office Regions (GOR) are determined by matching the most recent postcode from the previous tax year with the Office for National Statistics’ postcode lookup table. If a partial postcode is provided an assumption is made based on the postcode district or area. The GOR with the most postcodes of a given district is returned. If no postcode is listed then region is marked as unknown.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not hold data on the number of individuals in receipt or the value of payments of SMP, SPP and SShPP by occupation. However, the Government commissioned the Parental Rights Survey which provides the best source of data on the occupation of parents who have taken parental leave, the findings are published here - https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/resource/parental-rights-survey-2019 .
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 Mounjaro, also called tirzepatide, is available to people who meet the clinical criteria for weight management.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimated that approximately 3.4 million people are eligible for tirzepatide, known by the brand name Mounjaro, to treat obesity. Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a legal duty to make NICE-recommended medicines available to the eligible population alongside the appropriate behavioural and lifestyle support.
The National Health Service is rolling out access to tirzepatide, prioritising those with the greatest clinical need. Approximately 220,000 people are expected to benefit in the first three years of implementation. The NHS is developing and testing new models of care, including community-based services and digital technologies, and will speed up the roll out if possible. Progress on the NHS rollout of tirzepatide will be reviewed by NICE in three years.
NHS England is providing support for NHS ICBs, including providing:
- additional funding to support the delivery of services within primary care and the cost of obesity medicines in line with interim commissioning guidance; and
- a centrally funded wraparound care service ‘Healthier You: Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing’ to refer patients to.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
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 improve outcomes for patients with atrial fibrillation in Camborne and Redruth constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service in Cornwall has a comprehensive cardiovascular training programme in place for primary care staff. This is a key initiative to increase awareness of prevention, cause and management of stroke, atrial fibrillation, acute coronary syndromes and heart failure.
The NHS locally report over nine in ten patients with atrial fibrillation in Camborne and Redruth are treated with anti-coagulants, with treatment rates having increased across Cornwall over the last three years with biggest increases in areas with highest deprivation.
The NHS in Cornwall is also working to prevent, identify and treat linked conditions such as diabetes, alcohol dependency and high blood pressure and to support lifestyle changes that can improve atrial fibrillation symptoms, coronary heart disease, strokes and transient ischemic attacks as well as other cardiovascular conditions such as peripheral arterial disease.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
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 cervical cancer self-sampling on reaching under-screened populations; and what targets he has for the uptake of (a) in-clinic and (b) at-home self-sampling options.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Both the impact assessment and the equality impact assessment on the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling for the under-screened population in the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme have been published and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-hpv-self-sampling-impact-assessments
The UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation for the use of HPV self-sampling was permissive, meaning the NHS can, but does not have to, implement it. They should use it where they believe it can have a useful impact on supporting uptake. There are therefore no national targets at this time.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 cancer survivability rates in Devon.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Early cancer diagnosis is a key priority for the Government, as the chances of survival are higher if cancer is diagnosed at an early stage.
The Department recognises that cancer patients, including those with in Devon, are often waiting too long for referral and treatment. As the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and treatment, NHS England has delivered an extra 100,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week since the start of this administration. This is supported by an increase in capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new MRI and CT scanners. The government is investing an extra £26 billion in the NHS and opening up community diagnostic centres (CDCs) at evening and weekends, including three CDCs located within NHS Devon Integrated Care Board, to help diagnose cancer earlier.
Reducing the number of lives lost to cancer is a key aim of the National Cancer Plan for England. The plan will include further details on how the Government will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including brain cancer patients, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 the availability of health play (a) services and (b) professionals for children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, which includes ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it.
In support of this commitment, NHS England and Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, co-published the Play Well Toolkit in June 2025. The toolkit recognises the important role of health play teams and provides important guidance on best practice, enabling these teams to deliver child-friendly care. NHS England is promoting the Play Well toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North 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 merits of opportunities to (a) enable earlier diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes and (b) reduce incidences of diabetic ketoacidosis; and what actions are being taken by (i) his Department and (ii) NHS England to support (A) research and (B) improved clinical practice in these areas.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is important to reducing incidences of diabetic ketoacidosis. NHS England is working with experts and relevant stakeholder organisations to monitor the outcomes of the current research on the early detection of type 1 diabetes. To support integrated care boards, NHS England has convened experts and stakeholder organisations to consider emerging evidence and articulate what a pathway of care could look like given advancements in this field.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of restricting the (a) sale and (b) use of fireworks on trends in the level of the illegal trade in fireworks.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of giving local authorities the power to set up firework free zones or on the impact of restricting the sale and use of fireworks in respect of illegal trade.
The Government regularly engages with its counterparts in Scotland and will continue to discuss the impacts of their Firework Control Zones. The Government is keen to understand the outcomes the changes have made, before considering if similar changes are needed for England and Wales.