1 Jun 2026·Northern Ireland Office·Answered
AskedWhat discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in his Department have had with the Soft Power Council.
ReplySince the Soft Power Council was established in January 2025, it has met four times. Information about the Soft Power Council and its meetings is available on GOV.UK, including meeting dates, terms of reference, and abridged minutes of discussions.
1 Jun 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what consideration she has given to improving cross-government coordination for the Overseas Territories through the Cabinet Office.
ReplyThe Overseas Territories Ministerial Group which I chair already provides for effective coordination of UK Government policy and activity on strategic and cross cutting issues affecting the OTs.
1 Jun 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the elected head of government chairing meetings of Cabinet in all Overseas Territories.
ReplyArrangements on chairing Cabinet meetings are set out in each Overseas Territory's constitution. The UK will engage closely and proactively with each Overseas Territory where the democratically elected Territory Government seeks engagement on reviewing th...
1 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve support for people requiring wheelchairs.
ReplyOn 21 July 2025, the Minister for Social Security and Disability announced our plans to develop and publish a Government Plan for Disability. The Department is working with the Cabinet Office Disability Unit to support the development of the Plan for Disa...
1 Jun 2026·Treasury·Answered
AskedWhat discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in her Department have had with the Soft Power Council.
ReplyNo Government Department Ministers beyond FCDO and DCMS have met the Soft Power Council as a group. Further information about the Soft Power Council and its meetings is available on GOV.UK. Beyond this, the information you requested regarding discussions ...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Education·Answered
AskedWhat steps she is taking to support home schooled children with additional needs.
ReplyAs part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, the department will introduce mandatory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England and Wales. When implemented, these registers will support local authorities to identify child...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
AskedWhat discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in his Department have had with the Soft Power Council.
ReplySince the Soft Power Council was established in January 2025, it has met four times. Information about the Soft Power Council and its meetings is available on GOV.UK, including meeting dates, terms of reference, and abridged minutes of discussions.
1 Jun 2026·Ministry of Defence·Answered
AskedWhat discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in his Department have had with the UK Soft Power Council.
ReplyThe information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
1 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to support people with Multiple Sclerosis in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
ReplyIntegrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB, which covers Newcastle-under-Lyme, is responsible for commissioning services for their local population, including for those with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Governmen...
1 Jun 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Ghanaian government on freedom of expression in that country.
ReplyThe UK regularly discusses the importance of freedom of expression and wider human rights with the Government of Ghana. The Prime Minister discussed human rights with President Mahama during their meeting in London on 2 June, reiterating that human rights...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Work and Pensions·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to ensure adequate regulation of charities who supply assistance dogs.
ReplyStandards for assistance dogs are currently and historically maintained on the basis of a voluntary regulatory framework. Several UK charities and organisations are accredited to recognised international standards for assistance dogs. Assistance dogs are ...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support farmers in Staffordshire with energy costs.
ReplyGovernment is actively monitoring the developments in the Middle East, including their impact on the supply and price of red diesel. This Government is taking decisive action to support farmers and fishers by cutting the duty on red diesel to its lowest r...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Work and Pensions·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to improve support for children impacted by decisions taken by the CMS.
ReplyThe Child Maintenance Service (CMS) supports children through ensuring sustainable child maintenance arrangements are in place. In 2025, £1.6bn maintenance was arranged by CMS. Taken together with private arrangements, this has the ongoing impact of lifti...
1 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis of polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.
ReplyThe Government recognises that women suffering with gynaecological conditions, including polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), previously referred to as polycystic ovary syndrome, have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact...
1 Jun 2026·Scotland Office·Answered
AskedWhat discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in his Department have had with the Soft Power Council.
ReplySince the Soft Power Council was established in January 2025, it has met four times. Information about the Soft Power Council and its meetings is available on GOV.UK, including meeting dates, terms of reference, and abridged minutes of discussions.The Sco...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Badger vaccination scheme.
ReplyMultiple published studies indicate that badger vaccination is safe and can reduce TB infection and transmission in badgers. Vaccination is now being deployed across a number of large areas, including through a newly contracted Badger Vaccination Field Fo...
1 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, what discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in her Department have had with the Soft Power Council.
ReplySince the Soft Power Council was established in January 2025, it has met four times. Information about the Soft Power Council and its meetings is available on GOV.UK, including meeting dates, terms of reference, and abridged minutes of discussions.
1 Jun 2026·Department for Education·Answered
AskedWhat discussions a) Ministers and b) officials in her Department have had with the Soft Power Council.
ReplySince the Soft Power Council was established in January 2025, it has met four times. Information about the Soft Power Council and its meetings is available on GOV.UK, including meeting dates, terms of reference and abridged minutes of discussions.
1 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to improve early diagnosis of prostate cancer in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, b) Staffordshire and c) England.
ReplyThe Government has committed to meeting the cancer waiting times standards in England by the end of this Parliament, by modernising the whole cancer pathway so that patients are diagnosed and treated more quickly.Through the National Cancer Plan for Engla...
19 May 2026·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in a) India and b) Pakistan about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
ReplyThe UK remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and it remains one of our largest humanitarian programmes. The £154 million we allocated to Afghanistan in the last financial year ensured continued access to health, nutritio...