Written questions by Yasin.

Whether his Department has considered providing self-sampling cervical screening kits to all women.

Following the announcement to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling in the National Health Service cervical screening programme for the under-screened population, the NHS has begun planning an in-service evaluation (ISE) of HPV self-sampling in the wider population.The purpose of the ISE is to ensure that the self-sampling test is as accurate at detecting HPV as a clinician collected specimen, and to evaluate its impact on cervical screening uptake. The findings of the ISE will inform any future UK National Screening Committee recommendation to ministers to offer self-sampling across the whole population.

Whether his Department has considered allowing dentists qualified in Canada an exemption from the requirement to sit the Overseas Registration Examination before practicing in the UK.

The Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) exam is operated by the General Dental Council (GDC). The GDC is independent of the Government.It is the role of the GDC to set the standards that must be met by domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to the United Kingdom dental register, and the required routes to registration.

Whether he plans to review the Continuing Healthcare Assessment for dementia patients.

The Department has no plans at this time to review the NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessment in relation to individuals with dementia.Eligibility for CHC is not determined by age, diagnosis, condition, or financial means, as it is assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the totality of an individual’s needs. This ensures a person-centred approach to CHC, where the individual is placed at the centre of the assessment and care-planning process. We continue to work with our partners, including NHS England, who are responsible for oversight of CHC delivery, external organisations, and people with lived experience, to seek feedback on CHC policy and implementation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 36441 on World Health Assembly, by what date his Department will confirm (a) ministerial attendance at the World Health Assembly 2025 and (b) whether it plans to endorse the WHO resolution on Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is a unique opportunity to meet health ministers from around the world and to showcase the United Kingdom’s health leadership. The Department is planning to send a senior representation to the WHA in May, but plans are still being finalised.The UK is actively engaged in negotiations on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) resolution ‘Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease’ in advance of the 156th WHO Executive Board this February. The Executive Board recommended the adoption of all resolutions considered to the WHA in May, including this one, subject to ongoing WHO budget discussions.

Whether she has made an estimate of the potential revenue raised by removing the 2 percent NI on earnings over the threshold and charging a flat rate of 8 percent.

The impact of raising the additional rate of employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) by 6 percentage points to 8 percent has not been directly evaluated. The impact of a 1 percentage point increase in the additional rate of employee NICs has been published. HMRC regularly publish statistics relating to the direct effects of illustrative tax changes, including changes to NICs rates in section 9. The most recent version of this publication can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that rent review tribunals have access to sector-specific data on market rents in retirement communities.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will enable tenants to challenge above-market rent increases through the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The Tribunal has the relevant expertise to determine what the market rent should be and will be able to take into account the special characteristics of Integrated Retirement Communities in doing so.

What steps his Department is taking to support hospices.

The hospice sector has been provided with the largest capital spend in a generation - £100 million.We are also providing £26 million revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices.I recently visited Katharine House hospice in Stafford and heard from staff how important this record investment is.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to review rules around burning solid fuels in (a) general and (b) smoke control zones.

Domestic combustion remains a major source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions in the UK, and ownership of solid fuel appliances is increasing. The Government recognises that it is important that we take further action to reduce emissions from domestic burning, and the impact on human health. We are currently evaluating a number of options to reduce emissions of PM2.5 from domestic burning both in and outside of Smoke Control Areas.

What steps she is taking to support the arts and humanities in the higher education sector.

The government is committed to supporting creative subjects, such as the arts and humanities, in higher education (HE).​For the 2024/25 academic year, the department has allocated around £12.9 million in high-cost subject funding from the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) towards creative and performing arts courses to cover course costs. This increases the per student funding rate to £130.54, which is an increase of 3.8%.​The department has also maintained SPG funding for world-leading small and specialist providers at £58 million for the 2024/25 academic year. Of the 20 providers recognised in this way, 12 are creative and performing arts providers.The department knows that the HE sector needs a secure financial footing to face the challenges of the next decade, and to ensure that all students can be confident they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve. That is why, after seven years of frozen fee caps under the previous government, we have taken the difficult decision to increase maximum tuition fee limits for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation. ​​The department will continue to work with the Office for Students to ensure that costs of provision are assessed.

Whether he plans to (a) attend the World Health Assembly 2025 and (b) endorse the WHO resolution on Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease.

The Department is still considering Ministerial attendance at the World Health Assembly 2025. The Government continues to be a strong supporter of the World Health Organization (WHO).The UK actively engaged in negotiations on the WHO resolution on Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease in advance of the 156th WHO Executive Board in February 2025. The Executive Board recommended adoption of all resolutions considered to the World Health Assembly, including this one, subject to ongoing budget discussions. We remain committed to tackling NCDs, including kidney disease, domestically and internationally.

What progress her Department has made toward publishing the results of the urgent review into the presumption of parental involvement.

The previous Government announced the Review into the Presumption of Parental Involvement in November 2020, following the recommendation of the Harm Panel Report. Research into the courts’ application of the presumption was commissioned and carried out, however the outcome of the Review was not published before the 2024 general election was announced.The Government is committed to improving outcomes for all children and families involved in the family courts. Ministers are considering the evidence gathered and the Government's response will be published in due course.

What recent discussions he has had with the British Medical Association on incentivising hospital consultants to routinely work on weekends.

There have been no discussions between the current health ministers in England and the British Medical Association on incentivising hospital consultants to routinely work on weekends.Hospital consultants agree job plans with their employer at a local level. The job plan sets out all the consultant’s duties and responsibilities and includes a job schedule, which details when those duties and responsibilities will be delivered. Any scheduled work delivered on weekends would fall under enhanced pay arrangements as per the national terms and conditions of employment for hospital consultants in England.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a process whereby the formal acceptance of a home purchase offer creates a legally binding contract between the buyer and the seller.

We recognise that the home buying and selling process in England and Wales is inefficient and costly for consumers and professionals with one in three property transactions falling through. On 9 February, we announced that we are launching a series of projects to improve the availability of property information through digitalisation that will help towards reducing the number of transactions that fall through. We continue to review evidence from other jurisdictions, including on protections such as reservation agreements, as we consider next steps.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prevent and (b) protect victims of title fraud.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) takes the issue of fraud extremely seriously and is always looking for ways to minimise the risk of property title fraud and to maintain the integrity of the land register. HMLR has a range of controls and processes in place that can highlight fraudulent activity. HMLR’s specialist counter fraud teams focus on detection and prevention of fraud, working with the Cabinet Office, the Public Sector Fraud Authority and other government departments to stay ahead of new and emerging threats, sharing and implementing best practice. HMLR collaborates with law enforcement and regulators to assist with any investigations into property related fraud, safeguarding public trust and the integrity of the land register. HMLR is working with conveyancers to encourage them to use digital cryptographic ID checking as part of their professional responsibilities. The Land Registration Act 2002 places a legal liability on HMLR to indemnify for losses resulting from errors or omissions in the register of title. This includes errors resulting from frauds perpetrated by third parties. HMLR encourages all homeowners to sign up to alerts via their free, award-winning Property Alert service. Information about this can be found on gov.uk here.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10592, whether he has received any further advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the potential merits of extending eligibility for the Respiratory Syncytial Virus vaccination to people who turned 80 before 1 September 2024.

The Department has not received any further advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme for older adults since the Committee’s advice of 3 June 2023.The latest discussion of RSV by the JCVI was during their October 2024 main committee meeting. The Committee agreed that it would need to formally review, in detail, the evidence for a potential extension to the programme for the very elderly and for those in risk groups which would be undertaken by the RSV sub-committee.The JCVI will review the necessary scientific evidence once it is available and will continue to keep evidence under review, including data from clinical trials and real-world evidence emerging from immunisation programmes in different countries. The next JCVI committee meeting is scheduled to take place in February 2025. The minutes from this meeting will be made publicly available in spring 2025 at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisationThe Department will consider any further JCVI advice on who should be offered an RSV immunisation in due course.

Whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of (a) revising the school calendar and (b) reducing the length of the school summer holidays.

The department does not currently have any plans to propose changes to the school calendar or to the setting of school holidays.School holidays are not determined at national level, they are decided locally by trusts, schools and local authorities depending on school type. The department believes that they are best placed to set school term and holiday dates in the interests of the pupils at their schools and their parents.If schools, trusts or local authorities decide to change their term dates, it is expected that they will act lawfully and reasonably, giving parents notice and considering the impact on those affected. This includes pupils, teachers, the local community, parents’ work commitments and childcare options for both parents and teachers.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the boiler upgrade scheme to social housing tenants.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides support to property owners in England and Wales to replace their existing fossil fuel boiler with a low carbon alternative by providing grants to reduce the total cost of the installation. Other government schemes provide support for low-income households including social housing tenants to get a heat pump, such as the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant, Energy Company Obligation, Local Authority Delivery and Home Upgrade Grant.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a redress scheme for victims of the Sodium Valproate scandal in line with recommendations in the Hughes Report.

The Government is carefully considering the valuable work done by the Patient Safety Commissioner and the resulting Hughes Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. We will be providing an update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report at the earliest opportunity.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing an investment programme in cryptocurrency.

The UK’s foreign currency assets are held in the Exchange Equalisation Account. These assets are managed in line with the following investment principles:Ensuring readiness to meet the policy requirements of the reservesLimiting risk and volatility to avoid compromising the policy readiness of the reservesMaximising returns within these constraints More detail on how the official reserves are managed can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/management-of-the-official-reserves--2 Given this, HM Treasury has no plans to adopt an investment programme in crypto assets.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to respond to the call for evidence entitled Jointly owned properties which closed on 7 April 2024.

The Government has no immediate plans to respond to the call for evidence launched by the previous administration entitled Jointly owned properties, and which closed on 7 April 2024. The Government is however reviewing how to better protect leaseholders from costs relating to building safety.