Written questions by Blackman.

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the diagnostic time taken and levels of misdiagnosis among individuals harmed by sodium valproate, and its impact on long-term outcomes.

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review, First Do No Harm, identified significant shortcomings in National Health Service care pathways for people harmed by sodium valproate, including fragmented services, limited diagnostic expertise, delays in diagnosis, and inequitable access to multidisciplinary care. NHS England has acknowledged variation in the availability and adequacy of care pathways, the impact of delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis on long-term outcomes, and the need for improved care coordination for those requiring lifelong support.In response, NHS England has commissioned a Fetal Exposure to Medicines Services Pilot, being delivered by the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. The pilot provides multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment and is informing the development of improved care pathways, including consideration of specialist multidisciplinary services to support earlier diagnosis, better coordination of care, and reduced reliance on emergency care. Initial learning was shared with NHS England in September 2025, with final recommendations expected this summer to inform decisions on any national commissioning, subject to funding.Finally, whilst integrated care boards (ICBs) are the responsible commissioners of the majority of health services, including services related to medically induced disabilities, no specific guidance has been issued to ICBs in relation to supporting individuals with complex, medicine-induced disabilities arising from sodium valproate.

Whether conditions arising from sodium valproate exposure are consistently recognised and coded within NHS diagnostic systems.

The National Health Service in England collects data on patients suffering adverse effects of medication and on drug poisoning. While adverse conditions arising from sodium valproate would be captured in this data, the data does not go to the level to identify sodium valproate and is not aligned to coding within NHS diagnostic systems.

Whether medicine-induced harm from sodium valproate is systematically captured within NHS patient safety, incident and mortality data.

The National Health Service in England operates a comprehensive central database, the Learn From Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service, which is a national NHS system for the recording and analysis of patient safety events that occur in healthcare. It collates all records of patient safety incidents made by healthcare providers. Where local healthcare providers identify and record incidents related to sodium valproate, that information will be collated by the LFPSE.On mortality data, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects and publishes mortality statistics for deaths registered in England and Wales. Deaths in which harm caused by sodium valproate exposure is a contributing factor are not captured as a distinct, searchable category in ONS mortality statistics. Further information on mortality statistics is available on the ONS website, at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/methodologies/userguidetomortalitystatisticsjuly2017#:~:text=Mortality%20statistics%20are%20gathered%20using,data%20for%20the%20previous%20period

What steps are being taken in response to inaccuracies, omissions and loss of NHS medical records relating to historic sodium valproate prescribing.

Affected patients who feel there are inaccuracies or omissions in their medical record can ask for their records to be amended. NHS England’s guidance on amending patient and service user records is available at the following link:https://transform.england.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/amending-patient-and-service-user-records/Where patients are not satisfied with the response to their request, they can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 98592, which independent organisation has been contracted to conduct the audit of Palestinian Authority curriculum reform.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 20 January 2026 to Question 104985.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make the approval of China’s new embassy conditional on the release of Jimmy Lai.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 in response to Question 65869.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what concessions are being sought by China on His Majesty’s Government’s decision to approve the planning application for China’s new embassy.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 in response to Question 65869.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make planning permission for China’s new embassy contingent on the release of political prisoners in Hong Kong.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 14 July 2025 in response to Question 65869.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to meet with animal welfare organisations to discuss the promotion of responsible cat ownership and sourcing.

The department maintains regular contact with key stakeholders on companion animal welfare issues. This includes the Canine and Feline Sector Group, which brings together leading welfare charities, veterinary bodies, trade associations and representatives from local authorities.

Whether her Department has made an assessments of the potential impact of approving a new Chines embassy on Hong Kongers in the UK.

The decision on whether or not to approve planning permission for the proposed Chinese Embassy site at the Royal Mint Court is an independent one for the Secretary of State for the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government in his quasi-judicial role.Protecting the public and our national security has been the key priority for the Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office during the planning process. We have made this clear in public representations to the inquiry throughout. The Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary confirmed in their 27 November representation to the planning enquiry that the public safety and national security concerns raised in previous representations have been addressed.This Government stands with members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and will continue to support them. Any attempt by China or any other foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use any and all measures, including through our world-class intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether conditions haven been made as a prerequisite by his Chinese counterparts in advance of the Prime Minister’s trip to Beijing.

The Prime Minister's travel will be confirmed in the usual way.This Government is taking a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. We will co-operate where we can and challenge where we must.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government will call for the removal of Chinese sanctions on British parliamentarians during the proposed trip to Beijing

The Prime Minister's travel will be confirmed in the usual way.This Government is taking a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. We will co-operate where we can and challenge where we must.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will call for the removal of bounties placed on Hong Kong democracy activists living in the UK during the proposed trips to Beijing.

The Prime Minister's travel will be confirmed in the usual way.This Government is taking a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK's relations with China, rooted in UK and global interests. We will co-operate where we can and challenge where we must.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cats are included in the Animal Welfare Strategy.

The Animal Welfare Strategy was published on 22 December and sets out priorities for animal welfare, focusing on the changes and improvements the Government aim to achieve by 2030. In the Strategy Defra has committed to take steps to improve the uptake of the pet selling licence by those who sell cats and kittens as pets. The department will also improve its understanding of the size, scale and current management practices related to cat breeding, drawing on expertise from the sector, and consider any further steps which may improve welfare practices in the cat breeding sector. Cats will benefit from broader measures outlined in the Strategy including tackling low welfare imports and implementing the measures contained in the Renters’ Rights Act to make it easier for tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation.

What steps he is taking to provide emergency day-to-day funding to hospices; and whether he will commit to releasing (a) £100 million in emergency funding now and (b) a further £100 million in April 2026 to stabilise hospice services and protect patient care.

Children and young people’s hospices have received £26 million of revenue funding for 2025/26 and we are also providing approximately £80 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices over the next three financial years, 2026/27 to 2028/29, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients. In December 2024, we announced that we were providing £100 million of capital funding for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England. This was split across two financial years, with hospices receiving £25 million to spend in 2024/25 and £75 million to spend in 2025/26. We are pleased to say that we can now confirm we are providing a further £25 million in capital funding for hospices to spend in 2025/26. We are in a challenging fiscal position across the board. At this time, we are not in a position to offer any additional funding beyond that outlined above. However, we are supporting the hospice sector in other ways. The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. As part of the MSF, we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.

What estimate she has been of the number and proportion of hospitality businesses that will see an increase in their business rates liabilities between April 2025 and April 2028.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without this support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The Government is paying for this tax cut through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. Large distribution warehouses, such as those used by online giants, will pay around £100m more in 2026/27, with this going directly to lower bills for in-person retail. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions.

Whether she plans to publish an impact assessment of changes to business rates for the hospitality sector due to take effect from April 2026.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without this support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The Government is paying for this tax cut through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. Large distribution warehouses, such as those used by online giants, will pay around £100m more in 2026/27, with this going directly to lower bills for in-person retail. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions.

On what date the Valuation Office Agency provided Ministers with its final advice relating to the 2026 business rates revaluation.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) published the draft 2026 Rating List on 26 November 2025 and regularly provided Ministers with advice on progress up to that date. The VOA provides advice throughout each stage of a revaluation and will continue to do so in the lead up to, and following, the publication of the compiled 2026 Rating List on 1 April 2026.

What estimate she has been of the cumulative change in business rates liabilities for hospitality businesses over the next three years.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. Without this support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The Government is paying for this tax cut through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. Large distribution warehouses, such as those used by online giants, will pay around £100m more in 2026/27, with this going directly to lower bills for in-person retail. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the use of non-disclosure agreements during corporate restructuring in safety-critical sectors; and he plans to ensure that non-disclosure agreements cannot prevent employees and union representatives from participating in statutory consultation processes.

The Government is unable to assess sector-specific trends regarding the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) because they are private contractual arrangements, and data on their use is not collected.While NDAs can legally require one or more parties to maintain the confidentiality of certain information, such as trade secrets, there are a range of legal limitations on their use. For instance, NDAs cannot stop someone from making a whistleblowing disclosure, known as making a ‘protected disclosure’ or making a disclosure required by law.