Written questions by Holden.

When he plans to respond to Questions 2799 and 11451.

Awaiting answer.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 1717 on Cousin Marriage, if he will publish (a) the current guidance (b) the current training materials, and (c) any amended versions of (i) guidan

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Pursuant to the Answers of 16 June to Questions 1233 and 1236, if he will take steps to make the recording of SNOMED codes mandatory across all births.

There are no current plans to make the recording of SNOMED codes mandatory across all births.

When he plans to respond to Questions 1233 and 1236 from the Rt Hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answers I gave on 16 June 2026 to Questions 1233 and 1236.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 1717 on Marriage: Relatives, whether copies of the amended training materials are publicly available; and if he will place copies of those material

The amended training materials are available at the following link:https://learninghub.nhs.uk/Catalogue/close-relative-marriageThese materials are available to view; however, a log-in is required to access these, and anyone can register for an account.

How much (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its public bodies has spent on lanyards since 4 July 2024; what designs of lanyards have been purchased; and what the cost and number of each l

The following table shows the requested information for all bodies except for NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency; information for the excepted bodies is not held centrally or in the format requested, and can only be obtained at disproportionate...

With reference to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 108307 on Marriage: Relatives, whether the internal review has concluded; and if he plans to publish its findings.

Awaiting answer.

When his Department plans to publish a response to The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024; and whether he plans to approv

The Government extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh, and recognises the profound, life‑changing impact these harms have had on individuals and their families. We know that for many, the consequences are ...

What the status is of the NHS investigation into inappropriate wording referring to the potential benefits of cousin marriage; and whether the outcome of that investigation has resulted in amendmen

The medical evidence is clear that first cousin marriages are high risk, and we know the genetic defects and harm that they can cause. The Department has worked with NHS England to understand how previous materials that referred to the potential benefits ...

With reference to the answer of 24 April 2026 to Question 107772 on Childbirth: Medical Records, which NHS trusts have recorded SNOMED CT codes (a) 125678001, (b) 699110007, (c) 1269487002, (d) 126

Consanguinity can currently be recorded in the Maternity Services Data Set by maternity services providers at any point in the maternity care pathway. There are no current plans to make this recording mandatory.The Manchester University NHS Foundation Tru...

With reference to the Answer of 24 April 2026 to Question 107772, whether his Department plans to make the recording of consanguinity and related information in the Maternity Services Dataset manda

Consanguinity can currently be recorded in the Maternity Services Data Set by maternity services providers at any point in the maternity care pathway. There are no current plans to make this recording mandatory.The Manchester University NHS Foundation Tru...

Further to the HMT policy paper, "New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, published on 17 March 2025, whether the Food Standard Agency’s commitment to meet EU regulatory requirements for food grade recycled plastic a deregulatory policy; and in what respect do such EU requirements apply to (a) Great Britain and (b) the United Kingdom.

The Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) commitment to support United Kingdom businesses in meeting European Union regulatory requirements for food-grade recycled plastics is not a deregulatory policy. It reflects a facilitative and proportionate approach that supports economic growth and international trade while maintaining high standards of food safety.Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU requirements for food grade recycled plastics do not apply directly in Great Britain as domestic law. However, they apply in practice where UK operators choose to place recycled plastic food contact materials, or food packaged in such materials, on the EU market. In Northern Ireland, relevant EU food contact materials legislation continues to apply under the Windsor Framework, including the EU rules on recycled plastic food contact materials.The EU regulation on recycled plastic food contact materials requires specified “national authority” functions to be carried out. These functions are obligatory to support Northern Ireland-based operators in achieving full compliance with EU law. The FSA, together with Food Standards Scotland, has committed to act as the competent authority for food grade recycled plastic in respect of UK operators, enabling Northern Ireland obligations to be met and supporting Great Britain-based operators where they choose to access the EU market.

When he plans to respond to Question 107772 from the Rt hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 April 2026 to Question 107772.

When he plans to respond to Question 117002 from the Rt Hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 March 2026 to Question 117002.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 112364, whether the annual spend on maternity care reported in the NHS National Cost Collection includes or excludes payments made by NHS Resolution for maternity clinical negligence claims; and under which budget heading such payments are accounted for.

The annual spend on maternity in the NHS National Cost Collection does not include payments made by NHS Resolution.Payments for maternity clinical negligence claims are made from the clinical negligence scheme for trusts, which is managed by NHS Resolution.https://resolution.nhs.uk/services/claims-management/clinical-schemes/clinical-negligence-scheme-for-trusts/

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 114110, what information his Department holds on tyre procurement by its arm’s-length bodies, including NHS trusts and other agencies; and whether he plans to collect centrally data on the proportion of retread and single-use imported tyres procured for heavy vehicle fleets operated by those bodies.

The Department does not hold any information on tyre procurement by its arm’s length bodies and does not intend to collect data on the proportion of retread and single-use imported tyres by those bodies. NHS England reports that that emergency ambulances and rapid response vehicles used by National Health Service trusts, which are based on light commercial vehicle and car platforms, do not routinely utilise retread tyres. This reflects the demanding operational duty cycles associated with frontline emergency response, where vehicle reliability, performance, and safety are critical. As a result, these vehicles typically operate with new tyres in line with manufacturer guidance and operational requirements.

With reference to the Freedom of Information response reference FOI-251202287377 of 9 January 2026, if he will place a copy of the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk for (a) midwives and (b) health visitors in the Library; and if he will place a copy of the associated guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset in the Library.

The NHS Learning Hub originally had five training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk. Three of these modules were retired in October 2025. The remaining two modules were subsequently updated and can be found online on the NHS Learning Hub, which is available at the following link:https://learninghub.nhs.uk/Catalogue/close-relative-marriageThe guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Maternity Services Dataset can be found on the NHS England Digital website, which is at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/data-collections-and-data-sets/data-sets/maternity-services-data-set/guidance/msds-consanguinity-data-quality-guidanceThere are currently no plans to place a copy of the training modules on close relative marriage and genetic risk or a copy of the guidance on submitting data on consanguinity and pregnancy to the Commons Library as these are publicly available.

What information their Department holds on (a) the proportion of tyres procured that were re-tread tyres for (i) Department-operated and (ii) commercially contracted heavy vehicle fleets, including lorries, buses and refuse vehicles and (b) the volume of tyres procured for those fleets that were single-use imported tyres in the last 12 months; and whether such information is held centrally or by individual contractors.

The Department does not operate vehicles and does not procure tyres.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 108297, whether his Department holds any evidence on rates of neonatal and post-neonatal death, including accidental suffocation and overlaying, associated with parental cannabis use during pregnancy and the postnatal period.

The Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) programme is responsible for reviewing stillbirths and neonatal deaths across the United Kingdom to identify causes, improve clinical care, and reduce future preventable deaths. Analysis of MBRRACE-UK data found that between 2014 and 2024, there were 17 neonatal deaths attributed to accidental suffocation, with only one case explicitly linked to cannabis use. There was also one neonatal sudden infant death syndrome case involving maternal cannabis and alcohol history, and one neonatal death where maternal cannabis use was a secondary contributor. There were thus a total of three neonatal deaths linked to cannabis use between 2014 and 2024.The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) collects and analyses data on the deaths of all children under 18 years of age. The latest data published by the NCMD highlighted that of the deaths reviewed by Child Death Overview Panels between April 2024 and March 2025, substance misuse during pregnancy was identified as a contributing factor in 62 out of 4,035 infant deaths where data was available. The NCMD thematic report on Deaths of children and young people due to traumatic incidents also highlighted that between 1 April 2019 and March 2022, there were 42 deaths as a result of accidental strangulation or suffocation. 13, or 31%, children were aged under one years old, 17, or 40%, were aged one to four years old, and 12, or 29%, were aged five to 17 years old. In total, 18 children died where entrapment or overlay was found to be a significant contributing factor, but the analysis did not look at whether or not there was substance misuse by the parents.

How much his Department has spent in each of the last 3 years on (a) maternity services and (b) compensation for errors in maternity services.

The following table shows the annual spend for providing maternity care for each of the last three years:YearAnnual spend2022/23£4,722,376,5942023/24£5,174,161,6372024/25£5,790,365,917Source Patient-Level Costing dataset, NHS National Cost Collection, NHS EnglandNote: data is not yet available for the financial year 2025/26.NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. The following table shows the total payments for maternity, including obstetrics and neonatology, clinical negligence claims across all clinical schemes between 2022/23 and 2024/25, broken down by primary specialty and payment year:Payment YearObstetrics (£)Neonatology (£)Total Maternity (£)2022/231,086,187,27620,097,4301,106,284,7062023/241,145,173,13430,185,7391,175,358,8732024/251,287,368,29147,037,7981,334,406,089Source: NHSR.Notes:the data includes the damages and NHS legal costs and claimant legal costs paid in each relevant financial year;payments include those raised against both claims that were closed or open at the end of each financial year; anddata on “notified claims value” only includes an early estimate of eventual settlement value if all the claims were to settle with damages.