Written questions by Huq.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent student and pensioner protests in Serbia.

We are following closely developments in Serbia where large-scale peaceful street protests have been underway for several weeks, following the tragic collapse of a station canopy last November. When I visited Belgrade last month, I noted the Serbian government's commitment to transparency in investigating the incident and their undertaking to act against corruption. During my visit I discussed with the Serbian government and others the importance of respect for citizens' rights of freedom of expression and assembly.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of anti-epileptic medication.

The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve the intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, most issues, including with carbamazepine, lamotrigine, and oxcarbazepine presentations, have been resolved.We are currently aware of an ongoing supply issue with all strengths of topiramate tablets from one manufacturer. This supply issue is expected to resolve by the end of May 2025. We are also aware of a shortage of phenobarbital 15 milligram tablets from one manufacturer, with the resupply date to be confirmed. In both cases, alternative suppliers are in stock with sufficient supply to support patients, and these issues have been communicated to the National Health Service.

If he will respond to the recommendations on the use of sodium valproate in the Hughes report, published 7 February 2024.

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

What the cost to the public purse was of spending on railway station lift maintenance in (a) 2014 and (b) 2024.

Network Rail reported that in 2013/14 it spent £4.2 million maintaining 1127 lift assets, compared to £8.3 million in 2023/24 to maintain 1516 lift assets.

How many (a) underground and (b) overground railway station lifts were in place in (a) 2014 and (b) 2024.

The Department does not hold this information as transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground and the London Overground.

What data her Department holds on the number of days when lifts were out of service at (a) underground and (b) overground stations in (i) 2014 and (ii) 2024.

The Department does not hold this information as transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground and the London Overground.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing introducing individual (a) licencing and (b) partnerships for AI companies.

The Government’s consultation on AI and Copyright sets out its goal of strengthening right holders’ control of their material and ability to be renumerated for its use through licensing. This would help deliver a balanced copyright framework for AI, alongside increased transparency and enhanced access to material for AI training.

What steps she is taking to ensure that businesses comply with the Equality Act 2010 in granting access to disabled individuals accompanied by guide dogs.

The Equality Act 2010 is clear that disabled people should not be refused access to businesses or services because they have a guide dog. Any such refusals are likely to be unlawful. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published a range of guidance on this matter to ensure that businesses and service providers are aware of their legal responsibilities towards customers with guide dogs and are equipped with the knowledge to ensure the Equality Act 2010 is complied with.

What steps he is taking to increase provision for NHS dentists in Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Ealing Central and Acton constituency, this is the NHS Northwest London ICB.

What steps he is taking to improve rates of (a) prevention and (b) early diagnosis of liver disease.

The Department is aware of the burden of undiagnosed liver disease in the population, and its impact on health and the working years of life lost.Community Liver Health Checks are being piloted in 19 areas to identify patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis, who are at high risk of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). These patients will be referred into, and supported to engage with, National Institute for Care and Excellence recommended six-monthly liver cancer surveillance. Many of the patients identified by this route will also receive lifestyle advice and support which aims to reduce future cancer incidence. From June 2022 to October 2024, over 80,000 fibroscans have been delivered and over 5,600 people have been referred for cancer surveillance.The Community Liver Health Checks programme is also funding a primary care case finding pilot, which uses primary care records to identify patients at high risk of cirrhosis, and offers them blood tests and fibroscans. The pilots are due to finish in December 2024. To date, over 12,400 people have been tested, and 288 people have been identified to have advanced liver disease requiring cancer surveillance.More widely, NHS England is also focussed on developing pathways for the early diagnosis of fatty liver disease, and prevention via the work to reduce hepatitis C and B infections and to reduce obesity rates. In addition, the NHS Cancer Programme is working to detect more HCCs, the most common liver cancer, at an early stage, when the chances of survival are higher.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of potential irregularities in the recent elections in Georgia.

I made clear in a statement on 27 October my support for the findings of the preliminary report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election monitoring mission. I also outlined the need for irregularities to be investigated thoroughly and independently. The Georgian authorities must reverse their declining commitment to democratic values and we will work with our international partners to encourage Georgia to return to a Euro-Atlantic path.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support the rollout of full-fibre broadband.

The Government is committed to the rollout of fast, reliable broadband to all parts of the UK. As of February 2024, over 1 million premises had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes. In total, 36 Project Gigabit contracts have now been signed, to connect over 1 million more homes and businesses, with more contracts to be awarded in the coming months.

What steps he is taking to improve diagnosis times for pancreatic cancer in Ealing Central and Acton constituency.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service in taking steps to improve diagnosis times for pancreatic cancer across England, including for the Ealing Central and Acton constituency. The Government is committed to meeting all three NHS cancer waiting time standards across England within the next five years. Meeting these will ensure no patient waits longer than they should for diagnosis or treatment.We know that pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose due to the non-specific nature of its symptoms. NHS England is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who have symptoms, such as unexplained weight-loss and fatigue, that do not align to a single tumour type, and pancreatic cancer is one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways. NHS England is also providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those patients at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer, as well as increasing general practice direct access to diagnostic tests.In March 2024, NHS England published guidance for providers and systems to implement a timed Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary cancer pathway with the aim to ensure patients receive a diagnosis or that cancer is ruled out within 28 days of urgent referral. The pathway aims to improve delays in diagnosis, with less time between referral and receiving the outcome of diagnostic tests.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the average cost to leaseholders of marriage value in the last 12 months; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing marriage value.

The Government intend to act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. These include measures that will make it easier for leaseholders to exercise their right to take over the management of their properties; enable the introduction of a new valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise, which includes the removal of the requirement for leaseholders to pay marriage value; and deliver reforms to drive up the transparency of service charges to make them more easily challengeable if leaseholders consider them to be unreasonable. We will set out details in due course about the extensive programme of secondary legislation needed to bring the Act into force. An impact assessment for the Act, including on the removal of marriage value, was published in December 2023 and received a green rating from the independent Regulatory Policy Committee.Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure. The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny. We will announce further details in due course.