Written questions by McVey.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to question 98754, what his planned timetable is for publication of the packaging change report.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published an overview of the completion of the work by the expert working group (EWG) and subsequent advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) in December 2025 on the MHRA website. The MHRA has been working with healthcare partner organisations to take forward the recommendations of the EWG and the advice of the CHM. This includes seeking the views of patients with a range of mental health conditions on the proposed updates to the regulatory position for the 28 antidepressants involved in the review in relation to the warnings on suicidal behaviour. The MHRA is ensuring that those who take part receive appropriate safeguarding and signposting, which is required to support their involvement in this work. It is estimated that this user testing will be completed within three months. It is not possible to confirm the timetable for the publication of the public assessment report until the regulatory position is finalised.

What estimate her Department has made of the increased cost to businesses as a result of the expansion of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), including directly through paying the increased SDIL and indirectly through the demand of product reformulation.

The changes to SDIL announced at Budget 2025 were confirmed following extensive industry engagement through the ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, which was open from 28 April to 21 July 2025. Representations from businesses, and the trade bodies representing them, were received and considered as part of this process. On 25 November 2025, the government published its summary of responses to the consultation. An assessment of impacts – including economic impacts for businesses – of the announced policy changes can be found within the Summary of Responses document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy/outcome/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy-summary-of-responses#assessment-of-impacts

What the average cost was of an inquiry into (a) NHS trust and (b) care trusts in the last 12 months.

There were three statutory and non-statutory inquiries into National Health Service trusts and care trusts commissioned by the Department in the 2025/26 financial year. The average cost per inquiry over this period is approximately £4.3 million.

How many people are claiming a UK State Pension whilst living abroad by the country they are living in.

There were around 1.1 million recipients of the UK State Pension living overseas outside the United Kingdom as of the quarter ending August 2025. DWP Stat-Xplore. A full breakdown by country of residence is also available via Stat-Xplore. These figures relate to State Pension cases paid outside the UK, administered by the Department for Work and Pensions and cover State Pensions accrued in Great Britain only. State Pension cases administered separately in Northern Ireland by the Department for Communities are not included.

What the bed capacity was in each NHS care trust in each of the last five years.

NHS England publishes data on general and acute bed occupancy and capacity. The data can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/

What estimate he has made of the number of mental health patients per caseworker across the country.

The information is not held in the format requested.

What the annual budget for each individual NHS care trust was in each of the last five years.

The trust accounts consolidation data publications for National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts include total operating income and expenditure, and are available for the last five financial years. Data for 2024/25 is currently being finalised for publication. This information is publicly available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/financial-accounting-and-reporting/nhs-providers-tac-data-publications/NHS England does not set annual budgets for individual trusts. Trusts earn income from their NHS commissioners for the clinical services they provide, as well as local authorities, private patient work, research, and other sources such as car parking. Trusts submit financial plans to NHS England for agreement that will reflect their planned income and expenditure, and performance against the plan is then monitored through the course of the financial year.

Media and Sport, how much the Arts Council has provided in grants for a) opera and b) brass bands in each of the last three years.

The tables in the attached PDF set out Arts Council England grants which support a) opera and b) brass bands for the years 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2024/2025. Please note that the distinction between Primary and Non-Primary Subclassifiers is important. It clarifies the difference between organisations primarily focused on opera or brass bands, and those for whom the disciplines form only part of their wider work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2026 to Question 111118 on Coronavirus: Research, what is the definition of the word “routine” in this context.

In the context of the answer to Question 111118 of 13 February 2026, “routine” refers to the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority standard practice on publications of audit outcomes.

With reference to The Bread and Flour (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024, what steps he has taken to avoid harm to people unable to take folic acid.

The Government laid legislation in England on 14 November 2024 to introduce the mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid. Similar legislation in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland has also been laid. The provisions will become mandatory in December 2026.Non-wholemeal wheat flour is already the established vehicle for mandatory fortification, as it is currently fortified with calcium, iron, niacin, and thiamine. There was a United Kingdom-wide agreement to limit folic acid fortification to flour that is already fortified, so that individuals are able to avoid fortified flour if they choose to or need to. These individuals will continue to be able to consume wholemeal flour and other non-wheat products, including gluten-free products and soy and spelt flours.To ensure people can easily identify products that are suitable for them, added vitamins and minerals, including folic acid, must be labelled in the flour’s ingredients list. This must also be declared when fortified flour is used as an ingredient. For individuals with specific dietary needs, personalised advice from a registered dietitian or healthcare professional is recommended to help manage intakes as part of a healthy, balanced diet. An impact assessment has been published alongside the legislation, and is available at the following link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/1162/resources

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 98773 on VAT: Repayments, how many of the (a) VAT repayment returns, (b) complaints received relating to VAT repayments and (c) complaints received directly relating to VAT refund delays were under the value of £1,000.

Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 600,000 VAT repayment returns that were under £1,000 in value. HMRC are unable to confirm how many of the 162 and 119 complaints referenced in PQ answer 98773 relate to VAT refunds which are under the value of £1,000, as establishing this would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.

If he will (a) make a statement and (b) bring forward legislation to strip Lord Doyle of his peerage.

An ongoing investigation is being carried out by the Labour Party.

When he expects to bring forward legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage.

The Government will provide further details about legislation to create a system to remove peerages from peers in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 109089 on Coronavirus: Research, when the UK Health Security Agency requested the report.

Routine audit outcomes by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority are not generally published or otherwise required to be shared externally beyond the parties involved. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) requested this report from Moderna in January. Whilst this has yet to be received, the UKHSA is due to meet with Moderna in the coming weeks to further understand how they are considering the findings, beyond the responses they have already provided as part of the interim case report.Once the follow-up audit has concluded, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, the final case report and any associated outcomes will be published in accordance with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Code of Practice.

Whether comparisons of the cost of maintained and independent special school placements take account of differences in (a) pupil needs, (b) placement complexity, and (c) length of placement.

Comparisons of the average cost of placements in different types of special school can be made at national level. The data collected on relevant local and central government expenditure is not differentiated on the basis of pupil needs, placement complexity or length of placement.

What (a) methodology and (b) data the Department uses to (i) calculate and (ii) compare the average cost of maintained special school placements and independent school placements.

For maintained special schools and special academies, the department uses local authorities’ actual expenditure on high needs top-up funding, to which is added the £10,000 per place funding using pupil numbers from the January school census, divided by those pupil numbers to produce an average placement cost.For independent special schools (ISS), the department cannot disaggregate this expenditure from that including non-maintained special schools (NMSS), so creates a combined average placement cost by adding spending on ISS fees, top up funding for NMSS and the total £10,000 per place funding for NMSS (using the number of pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans at NMSS), and dividing by the number of pupils with EHC plans at both ISS and NMSS.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 106102 on Coronavirus: Research, for what reason they have yet to receive a copy of the audit; and how the scope of the recommendations can be understood without it.

The UK Health Security Agency has requested this report and continues discussions with Moderna on their response to the audit’s recommendations. This is being considered and reviewed alongside the commercial management of the Moderna-United Kingdom Strategic Partnership.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59379 on Coronavirus: Research, and with reference to FOI 15/11/25/IR/575, when the UKHSA expects to receive the report from (a) Moderna and (b) PMCPA to review.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has yet to receive a copy of the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) audit report. However, as part of the United Kingdom’s Strategic Partnership with Moderna, the UKHSA is working to understand the scope of the audit's recommendations and how Moderna is addressing them. This includes any corrective actions they are putting in place ahead of a further audit, which the PMCPA have indicated they will carry out in late 2026, early 2027.

Pursuant to the Answer 1 December 2025 to Question HL12274 on Visual Snow Syndrome: Yellow Card Scheme, if he will confirm whether official UK drug labels or patient information leaflets warn about the possibility of this condition occurring.

Visual snow syndrome (VSS) was officially recognized in 2025 with a unique code in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Very few cases of VSS have been reported with 22 individual drugs or vaccines through the Yellow Card scheme.VSS is a rare disorder and the underlying cause currently unknown. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps all licensed medicines and vaccines under close monitoring and any potential signal of an association between a medicine or vaccine exposure and development of VSS will be rigorously assessed through the MHRA’s multidisciplinary signal review process and added to individual product information when there is data available to support regulatory action.

Pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2025 to question 63299, when he plans to publish the report on packaging changes to Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as discussed at the Commission on Human Medicines Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group on 1 May.

The Commission on Human Medicines Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group met in May and July 2025 and their recommendations were subsequently considered by the Commission on Human Medicines in September 2025. A public assessment report summarising the data considered and the recommendations will be published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as soon as the regulatory position is finalised with the 105 marketing authorisation holders of the 28 antidepressants involved in the review. An exact date for publication of the public assessment report cannot be confirmed yet. The MHRA will issue a Drug Safety Update to inform healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom of the new regulatory position for all antidepressants, not only selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and publication of the public assessment report.