Julian Smith MP: written questions 2026
187 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Statutory Sick PayDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 19992More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the availability of statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness absence on costs to businesses, particularly those relyin
Answer: Prior to the introduction of the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) reforms, the Government published an impact assessment which can be found at Impact assessment: Improve access Statutory Sick Pay removing Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period. The Government wi...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordBank ServicesTreasuryTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 19991More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using existing community infrastructure, including Post Office branches, to support access to cash and everyday banking transactions.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of cash, understanding that it continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including charities, churches, voluntary organisations and community groups to support communities across the UK, and is comm...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordLead: PoisoningForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17985More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support international counterparts to end childhood lead poisoning; and whether it intends to join the Partnership for a Lead-Free Futu
Answer: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 17 July in response to Question 17897.
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17334More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in light of the success of previous UK voluntary salt reduction programmes in reducing blood pressure and cardiovascular deaths, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reintroduci
Answer: Since the setting of the Public Health England voluntary salt reduction targets, regulations to limit the promotion and marketing of ‘less healthy’ or high salt, saturated fat, and salt (HFSS) food and drink products have been introduced.This includes the...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17333More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of encouraging lower salt intake amongst the general population on health inequalities.
Answer: If salt reduction policies were implemented, we would consider the health benefits of these as part of the policy development cycle. It is recognised that if the food industry lowered the salt content of commonly consumed foods, it would help to support r...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17332More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making nutritional information on pre-packaged food a) clearer, and b) more visible, especially with regard to salt.
Answer: Food labelling legislation means that pre-packaged food must include back of pack nutritional information. This includes total salt content.In addition, food businesses can voluntarily provide nutritional information on the front-of-pack. Front-of-pack nu...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the risks associated with unhealthy salt consumption.
Answer: Information on the impact of high salt intakes on health, and how people can lower their salt consumption, is communicated to consumers through the National Health Service website. Government dietary recommendations, including that adults should consume n...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of a) mandatory limits, and b) targeted fiscal measures, to reduce pre-existing levels of salt in foods.
Answer: Since the setting of the Public Health England voluntary salt reduction targets, regulations to limit the promotion and marketing of ‘less healthy’ or high salt, saturated fat, and salt (HFSS) food and drink products have been introduced.This includes the...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to encourage food producers to reduce the levels of salt in food.
Answer: Since the setting of the Public Health England voluntary salt reduction targets, regulations to limit the promotion and marketing of ‘less healthy’ or high salt, saturated fat, and salt (HFSS) food and drink products have been introduced.This includes the...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the food industry meeting salt reduction targets; and the potential impact of this on a) the number of people with coronary heart disease, b
Answer: If salt reduction policies were implemented, we would consider the health benefits of these as part of the policy development cycle. It is recognised that if the food industry lowered the salt content of commonly consumed foods, it would help to support r...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if salt reduction targets will be integrated into the Government's Healthy Food Standard.
Answer: Since the setting of the Public Health England voluntary salt reduction targets, regulations to limit the promotion and marketing of ‘less healthy’ or high salt, saturated fat, and salt (HFSS) food and drink products have been introduced.This includes the...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: SaltDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17326More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Public Health England Salt Reduction Targets for 2024 will be a) reviewed, or b) revised.
Answer: Since the setting of the Public Health England voluntary salt reduction targets, regulations to limit the promotion and marketing of ‘less healthy’ or high salt, saturated fat, and salt (HFSS) food and drink products have been introduced.This includes the...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17325More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of higher quality assessments for autism and ADHD on levels of welfare.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting people to have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment services. We recognise that, nationally in England, demand for assessments...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17324More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that all ADHD and autism assessments are of a high standard, regardless of assessment provider.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting people to have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment services, irrespective of their service provider. We recognise that, natio...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: Patient Choice SchemesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17323More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a dual-tier NHS Right to Choose Tariff for ADHD and autism assessments that distinguishes between straightforward and complex ca
Answer: The 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme was published on 26 March 2026 and came into effect from 1 April 2026. The scheme governs transactions between providers and commissioners of secondary healthcare. The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and auti...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17322More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of ensuring better quality ADHD and autism assessments on the number of assessments that result in a) misdiagnosis, and b) the failure to reach
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting people to have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment services, irrespective of their service provider. We recognise that, natio...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17321More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of ADHD and autism assessments resulting in a) misdiagnosis and b) no conclusion on long-term costs to the health budget.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting people to have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment services, irrespective of their service provider. We recognise that, natio...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17320More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure assessments for autism and ADHD are a) conclusive, and b) do not result in misdiagnosis.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting people to have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment services, irrespective of their service provider. We recognise that, natio...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD and Autism: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17319More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure high quality assessments for autism and ADHD.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting people to have equitable access to safe, effective, and high-quality autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment services, irrespective of their service provider. We recognise that, natio...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordME/CFS: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16893More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to develop specialist expertise in hospitals for treating very severe ME, further to the Prevention of Future Deaths Report published on 8 October 2024.
Answer: The Department, together with NHS England, has developed an e-learning programme to help support healthcare professionals in the treatment and care of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The programme consists of fou...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordME/CFS: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16892More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a specialist NHS service to support those with very severe ME.
Answer: The Department, together with NHS England, has developed an e-learning programme to help support healthcare professionals in the treatment and care of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The programme consists of fou...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordME/CFS: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16891More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to support those with very severe ME.
Answer: The Department, together with NHS England, has developed an e-learning programme to help support healthcare professionals in the treatment and care of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The programme consists of fou...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Houses: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16890More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review the current methodology used to calculate rateable values for pubs; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of improvements such as outdoor facilities, food offerin
Answer: The Government committed in January 2026 to review the methodologies used to value pubs and hotels for business rates, following concerns raised by ratepayers and representative bodies around the 2026 revaluation. Since then, officials have been progress...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Houses: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16889More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of higher rateable values being applied to pubs that play an active role in their local communities on the sustainability of rural pubs, including those des
Answer: The Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.In addition, the Government has introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and l...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Houses: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16888More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of HMRC guidance on business rates valuations for pubs in 'attractive locations', including rural and community pubs, on the financial viability of those establis
Answer: The guidance referred to sets out how pubs were to be valued for the previous valuation exercise which took place under the previous government, with valuation date of April 2024. This government is reviewing the methodology used to calculate rateable val...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament record
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