Written questions by Gilmour.

What steps he is taking to ensure that young people with symptoms of breast cancer are not dismissed by healthcare professionals because of their age.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to ensure that households deemed financially eligible under the Warm Homes Local Grant are able to receive measures where local delivery agents are unable to provide t

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the impact of recent reforms to NHS dental contracts in England on patient access to services and supporting dentists to deliver NHS care; and whether he has consider

We have introduced a package of reforms this year to address some of the pressing issues that dentists and dental teams have been experiencing. These reforms prioritise those with the greatest need, shifting care away from clinically unnecessary check-ups...

Whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying a reduced or zero rate of VAT to essential fire safety equipment, such as fire extinguishers.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services ...

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mobile phone coverage in rural areas; and what steps he is taking to tackle gaps in mobile and broadband connectivity in Oake in Somerset.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. This includes rural communities such as Oake, as well as towns and cities. In their Connected Nations Spring update (13 May 2026), Ofcom reported that as of Ja...

What recent progress has been made in delivering the School Rebuilding Programme for Tiverton High School.

The project is at pre-feasibility stage, and the department is undertaking technical work and planning appraisals. Work to date suggests that significant development of the school will be required, and that this may not be permitted by the planning author...

What steps her Department is taking to improve enforcement against dangerous riding among moped and motorcycle delivery riders.

The Government is clear that dangerous or anti-social riding by any road user, including moped and motorcycle delivery riders, is unacceptable. Those who break the law should expect robust enforcement action.A strong legislative framework is already in pl...

What plans he has to support households in off-gas-grid homes where heat pumps are not a viable option; and whether he plans to introduce grant funding for alternative low-carbon heating tech

To provide additional support for off-gas-grid households the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will begin to provide grants of £9,000 for hydronic heat pumps replacing oil or LPG boilers in off-grid homes from 21 July, in addition to the £7,500 grants that are avail...

What steps her Department is taking to update the Crossbows Act 198, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislation; and what plans she has to regulate the

Measures being brought in through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which amend the Crossbows Act 1987, introduce stricter age verification procedures around the online sale, delivery and hire of crossbows. These measures will ensure that a crossbow, or pa...

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to address gaps in broadband connectivity in rural areas where properties are beyond effective range of fibre-to-the-cabinet infrastructure and have no confirme

As of the end of December 2025, over 1.3 million premises in hard-to-reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes.A further 580,000 premises are currently included in Project Gigabit c...

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of ICB-level oversight of neurology services.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local population, including for patients with neurological conditions. NHS England continues to set national standards, service specifications, and clini...

What estimate her Department has made of the total revenue raised through VAT on electricity used to charge electric vehicles, including (a) domestic charging at the reduced 5% VAT rate and (b) public charging at th

HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on VAT revenue on electricity used to charge electric vehicles. This is because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level within their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive ...

What assessment he has made of the impact of frozen state pensions on UK state pensioners residing overseas.

The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide without regard to nationality and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so. This a...

What assessment she has made of the impact of the overall tax burden on hospitality businesses.

The Government recognises the important contribution that businesses in the hospitality sector make to local communities, the high street and the wider economy across the UK. The potential impacts of changes on this sector are carefully considered as part...

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of current review and oversight mechanisms in cases where the police issue a conditional caution without a charging decision being made, particularly in ci

The use of conditional cautions is governed by a clear statutory framework and established safeguards. They are provided for under sections 22 and 23 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and are subject to the Ministry of Justice’s Code of Practice for adult ...

Whether her Department collects data from local authorities on the reasons why Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 is applied.

The department collects data from local authorities on placement reasons for pupils educated under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 for those in local authority funded placements.This information is published annually in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ accredited official statistics: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of embedding a cross-governmental approach to young people who go missing.

The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously and has provided clear guidance about responsibilities for all children who go missing. When a child is found, they must be offered an independent Return Home Interview and local authorities, police and voluntary services should also work together to understand why the child went missing and what support they may need, including with their mental health, in the future to prevent them from going missing again.The department has announced a £7 million funding boost to early support hubs across England providing drop-in mental health support for young people aged 11 to 25. Alongside this, we are investing an extra £688 million in mental health services this year and are recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers across children’s and adult services.Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme, supported by £2.4 billion, updates to the Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.Measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill aim to put an end to misconceptions about legal barriers to sharing information, through introducing an Information Sharing Duty and making provision for a Single Unique Identifier to improve information sharing between agencies.

What estimate her Department has made of the costs of expanding the rural fuel duty relief scheme to cover all of Tiverton and Minehead constituency.

The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme has provided a 5p reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas since its introduction in 2012. The areas included in the scheme demonstrate certain characteristics such as: pump prices much higher than the UK average; remoteness leading to high fuel transport costs from refinery to filling station, and; relatively low sales meaning that retailers cannot benefit from bulk discounts.There are no plans to amend the list of eligible locations.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of stock levels of propanolol 80mg and 160mg modified release capsules until July 2026 on (i) patient outcomes and (ii) availability of medication which is a suitable substitute.

The Department is aware of supply issues affecting propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram modified release (MR) capsules due to ongoing manufacturing issues. The issues affecting propranolol 80 milligram MR capsules are expected to resolve by July 2026, while issues with propranolol 160 milligram MR capsules remain ongoing until further notice.The Department is working with all suppliers to help resolve the issues and improve supplies, including asking that they source stock from other markets. We have also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed imports of propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram MR capsules. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and to advise on available alternative preparations.The Department continues to work with the supply chain teams and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to mitigate the situation and ensure supplies are available for patients as soon as possible.

If he will set out how the National Cancer Plan for England will reduce barriers to innovative and life extending treatments for people with secondary breast cancer when those treatments are not approved by National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

The National Cancer Plan commits to increasing access to the best innovative cancer treatments for all patients, including those with secondary breast cancer. The Cancer Drugs Fund has helped to ensure that, according to industry data, patients in England receive new cancer treatments 50% faster than the European Union average, and it will continue to provide earlier access to promising new treatments. By April 2026, a joint process between National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will boost the speed of decisions on licensing and appraisal of medicines, so that recommendations for the National Health Service to fund new drugs can be made faster.NICE has a strong track record in recommending treatments for breast cancer and will continue to evaluate all new medicines for breast cancer. There are no plans to routinely fund medicines where NICE has been unable to recommend them as clinically and cost effective.Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed through the Cancer Drugs Fund, including treatments for secondary breast cancer such as Truqap and Korserdu, which are now available to eligible NHS patients.To ensure that people diagnosed with secondary breast cancer have timely access to new and innovative treatments, NHS England commissioned a National Audit of Metastatic Breast Cancer, which provides timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary. The purpose of the audit is to identify information to increase the consistency of access to treatments and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. The NHS is now acting on those findings.