Brain Tumour Survival Rates
I call Dame Siobhain McDonagh, who will speak for up to 15 minutes.
5,731 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them
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Policing: Rural Areas
Rural communities fear that mega-police forces will suck resources into cities, and police officer numbers are already down by 1,318 under this Government. How does the Minister expect police forces to protect rural communities when the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has confirmed that it is facing a £500 million funding shortfall this year?
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Policing: Rural Areas
Anybody listening to that garbage would not realise that there are fewer police on the streets now than under the last Conservative Government. Research done by the National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society shows the huge scale of crime affecting rural retailers. Since this Government came into office, shoplifting and robberies against businesses have surged. Does the Minister think this is because the Government have cut 1,318 police officers, or because they refuse to mandate tagging, curfews and bans for serial shoplifters and those who assault retail workers? Which is it—fewer police or weaker consequences?
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Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
I am sure everybody is aware, but I remind colleagues that if they are to mention another Member of Parliament, that Member has to be notified in advance. With respect to the House of Lords and peers, Members should refrain from direct criticism. I do not think I have heard that yet, and I have taken advice, but I remind colleagues to be aware of that.
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Domestic Violence: Victim Support
How the police respond to domestic violence incidents at the first instance oftentimes is critical for the criminal justice process, but also for interpreting events on the ground. I know the Minister—who in my view does a very good job, by the way—likes to look at best practice from across the world. Will she look at best practice in Europe, where academics have proven that when a male and a female officer respond to such incidents, the process of prosecuting is often far easier as a result of having, where possible, a mixed-gender patrol?
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Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
I do not know whether the Minister has read Confucius, the Chinese philosopher of 2,500 years ago, and his “Silver Rule”, which talks about mercy and compassion. While all of us in this House will continue to campaign for Jimmy Lai’s release, can the Minister at least confirm whether there is consular access to Jimmy Lai, and not just consular communication? Will she call upon President Xi, who no doubt has studied Confucius, to revisit compassion and mercy and at least allow Jimmy Lai medical treatment, the correct diet and to be released from solitary confinement?
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Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough), who, on behalf of the Petitions Committee, has brought us to Westminster Hall today. I particularly thank the 114,000 petitioners, who would like a public inquiry into Russian involvement in British democracy. I think that the Nathan Gill case and the petition do us a great good because they have flushed out, and given us a chance to shine a light on, something way bigger than Nathan Gill: the extent to which the Russians are attempting to infiltrate. I also thank a number of hon. Members who have spoken today.
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Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
It is difficult to know where to draw the line in our condemnation of Russian activity, but the hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point. He could also have mentioned the theft and indoctrination of thousands of children. I am sure that the whole House speaks as one in condemning such activities. The hon. Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell) never misses an opportunity to raise the Abramovich billions, and he did not do so today. The hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns) cleverly weaved into this debate on Russian influence the issues of second jobs and electoral reform, which she refers to in most of her speeches. The hon. Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) talked about Nathan Gill and attempted to disavow us of the notion that he was just “one bad apple”—a point I will come back to. Although quite a lot of party politics has played out today, it is important that we do not turn a Nelsonian eye to that case, which is potentially one of the most obvious and worrying. I also thank the hon. Members for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel) and for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) for their contributions. The hon. Member for Tewkesbury quoted von Clausewitz, and shortly I will do the same. The right hon. Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) talked about the post-shame world. She made the interesting point that the normal constraints on normal activity seem to have been cast off. The hon. Member for Cardiff West (Mr Barros-Curtis) said that we need to treat disinformation as the core security threat that it is. I completely agree. The hon. Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith)—apologies to her constituents for my pronunciation—said that we do not focus enough on the manipulation of our own people and called for balance. I approach this debate by looking at three questions. Is the threat real? Is the perception of the threat high enough in the country and in this House, or should the Government do more to amplify it? Is the Government’s response sufficient? This is all crucial. The hon. Member for Tewkesbury will be delighted to hear the second bit of von Clausewitz of the day; as the Minister knows only too well, given his distinguished military career, we never tire of quoting von Clausewitz to each other in the Army. “The first, the supreme, the most far-reaching act of judgment that the statesman and commander have to make is to establish” the nature of the war that they are embarking on. So let us see the evidence on whether the threat is real and whether the perception of the threat is sufficiently real. In the strategic defence review of June 2025, the Government said: “The UK is already under daily attack, with aggressive acts—from espionage to cyber-attack and information manipulation—causing harm to society and the economy.” In the same month, in the national security strategy, the Government said: “The openness of our democracy and economy are national strengths. Therefore, it is vital to keep ahead of those who seek to exploit them with robust defences.” Is the threat perception high enough? I cannot remember which hon. Member mentioned Estonia, but I have the pleasure of serving on the Defence Committee; we visited Estonia and Finland in February last year. I can tell hon. Members that the proximity to the geographical border with Russia focuses the mind considerably. From memory, the Finnish people have a population of 4 million; they can put 3.5 million of them underground at a moment’s notice. They can field an army of 200,000 with two weeks’ notice. They, too, have cyber-resilience and anti-grey zone units that work with the Estonians and other Baltic states to counter the disinformation and grey zone activity. I feel that in this country, because of our geographical distance from Russia, we fail to have that same focus. But we must. Sir Alex Younger, the former head of MI6—and, as an aside, a former member of one of the finest regiments of foot guards there has ever been—gave evidence to the Defence Committee. He said that the United Kingdom’s digital attack surfaces are far broader and greater than those of a number of our European neighbours. Given that, as someone mentioned, geographical proximity is irrelevant in the world of information and cyber, we should be doing much more. We heard interesting evidence at the Defence Committee the other day from James Heappey, the former Armed Forces Minister, who needed to get quite a lot off his chest. He was worried about the number of documents coming across his desk that had said, “You cannot share this with Parliament. This is too secret.” It worries me that the desire for secrecy means that we have all involved ourselves in something of a conspiracy for the past 30 years. Ben Wallace was at the same session. He said that, from the mid-1990s onwards, Governments of all three colours had hollowed out defence, and they had done so because they wanted to spend their money on other things. It is the old choice between guns and butter: they chose guns, we chose butter. We need to amp up the threat perception in the House and, importantly, more widely in the United Kingdom. If not, those real balance-of-investment decisions that we need for our national security will not be made.
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Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
It is important to look at elections to the left of the ballot box, because it is not just about going down with a polling card and ID and putting a tick in a box. The hon. Member for Llanelli said it best: we need to be much more alive to the fact that we are being manipulated and manoeuvred by information and disinformation. We can use pencils and paper, sure, but there is a way more sophisticated game going on here, and it is pretty terrifying. I come back to my theme of amping up the threat perception. We need to re-arm very quickly, not only with hard power but in the minds of our own people, so that we build national resilience to face threats more effectively across the spectrum. For example, as the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) mentioned, we had the Russian spy ship and the threat to subsea cables—I am delighted that someone mentioned them. Importantly, when the Secretary of State took the decision to order the surfacing of the Astute-class submarine next to the Yantar to say, “We know what you’re doing and you need to pack it in,” he also made that information available in the newspapers to ensure that the public had that threat perception.
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Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
The clever ones are the ones that the hon. Member cannot see. But yes, I agree that we urgently need to look at defence investment in hard power. It is a source of huge frustration in our defence industry domestically and overseas that the Government have failed to agree the defence investment plan. When I was in the Ministry of Defence, we had an old adage: “Plans without resources are hallucinations.” At the moment, our defence industry is dining on fresh air, because the defence investment plan has not yet been agreed. We have time, so I will ask your indulgence, Ms Butler, to mention that Nelsonian eye. Hon. Members will remember that in September last year the British ambassador to the United States of America was sacked. My right hon. Friend the Member for Goole and Pocklington (David Davis) secured an emergency debate, in which I made this point: “Since December last year, our ambassador in Washington has been potentially subject to leverage and blackmail, because someone—we do not know who—had politically fatal kompromat on Lord Mandelson throughout his whole time in office. I am amazed that the Foreign Office has not gone into full lockdown and damage limitation mode, having found out that potentially Lord Mandelson could have been blackmailed this entire time. If it had turned out that he had been an agent of a foreign state, the Foreign Office would have done that. All it knows now is that someone—we do not know who—had politically fatal kompromat on him that whole time.”—[Official Report, 16 September 2025; Vol. 772, c. 1380.] The Foreign Office Minister in that debate did not respond to the suggestion that they turn Peter Mandelson inside out once they had realised that fact. I suspect that after the events of the past week, one or two Government Ministers wish that they had heeded that advice at the time; they might have saved themselves some problems. Last week, Members who were in the Chamber also heard the point of order made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Goole and Pocklington, who said: “On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Today’s Opposition day debate will focus on Mandelson and his relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. However, it will not cover his relationship with another alleged paedophile, murderer, gangster, specialist in bribery and corruption, and Putin favourite: Oleg Deripaska. That relationship may be just as bad as the one he had with Epstein. As European trade commissioner, Mandelson made decisions favouring Deripaska’s company by $200 million a year. Mandelson avoided proper investigation by lying about the timing of his relationship with Deripaska. How can we find out what investigations were carried out before Gordon Brown and his Government appointed Mandelson as a Minister? Do you agree that this House needs to see that information”?—[Official Report, 4 February 2026; Vol. 780, c. 269.] We all know how Wednesday played out after that. Lastly, I will speak about the other actions that the Government are taking. In preparation for this debate, I looked at the statement that the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, introduced at the back end of last year, would “require organisations in critical sectors to further protect their IT systems”. I must tell the Minister that I am on the Committee for that Bill, and it does no such thing. All it does is to say that various providers from various sectors have to report after the event; it says nothing about making them more secure. I will leave the Minister with a couple of questions. Is enough being done cross-Government to raise threat perception in the nation? What is the Government’s policy on political donations being made in cryptocurrency? How have the Government changed electoral law to keep pace with a quickly evolving threat? I thank the Minister in advance for his remarks, and the House for its indulgence.
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Russian Influence on UK Politics and Democracy
Is the Minister aware that, as a result of actions by the Scottish and Welsh Governments, a loophole has been created whereby people living in Wales and Scotland can now make unlimited political donations to any political party or politician? Is that something that is going to be addressed by the Government?
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Police Efficiency: Technology
I recently visited a major retailer in my Spelthorne constituency, and it reported that corporate systems for getting information to the police are so clunky that to transfer evidence of shoplifting, the police have to resort to sending round an officer to film the retailer’s footage on their body cam. As well as sorting out the technology within the police, will the Home Secretary encourage and reach out to big corporate retailer chains, so we have a seamless flow of information to drive down shoplifting?
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Violence against Women and Girls Strategy
When the violence against women and girls strategy was announced, I asked the Safeguarding Minister whether she had considered the impact that mass migration is having on the safety of women and girls and why it was not mentioned. I was not sure from her response then what the answer is. Can she please explain whether the Government will address that issue specifically as the strategy is implemented? If not, why not?
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Illegal Migrants: Pull Factors
Last week, The Times reported that companies and company directors who have previously abused the work visa system have been allowed to continue sponsoring visas, despite the Government’s promise of a clampdown. One social care business has been able to sponsor 116 visas, despite being caught hiring illegally. As the Home Secretary just said herself, being able to work here illegally is one of the greatest pull factors, so what message does she think this sends to companies that break the rules?
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Standards in Public Life
The Minister’s statement is insulting. The first, but not the last, time that Peter Mandelson resigned in disgrace from a Labour Government—on that occasion, it was Tony Blair’s Cabinet —I was seven years old. Is the Minister seriously telling us that our Prime Minister needs tweaks to process to know not to hire somebody who has been a nationally notorious crook for over 25 years?
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UK-India Free Trade Agreement
The Indian Government are highly unusual in their approach to trade agreements. Unlike most other countries, India has a long-standing policy of using trade deals to try to secure favourable treatment in the immigration system. This deal, unfortunately, is no different. Under the terms of the agreement, Indian companies will be able to transfer their workers to this country far more easily and, once they are here, those workers will be able to avoid national insurance for up to three years, needing only to pay into the Indian social security system—payments that are, unsurprisingly, much lower than here in the UK. This national insurance holiday will make it much cheaper to hire Indian workers, especially in fields such as IT and engineering, than domestic talent. Imagine a British IT firm is set to hire a computer programmer for £60,000 a year. On top of that, an employer must pay £8,250 in national insurance. That totals £68,250. To hire someone on the same salary, their Indian competitor would only need to pay about £1,470 to the Indian employee provident fund, to which mandatory contributions are capped at 15,000 rupees a month—about £120. That totals £61,470. Under the Government’s deal, it would, therefore, be at least 10% cheaper to hire an Indian worker than a British one. That is absurd.
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UK-India Free Trade Agreement
That is an important point because, as I am about to talk about, we have double contribution conventions with other countries, but not with other countries with economies like India’s where so many people—well north of a billion people—would be happy to do these jobs for much lower salaries than our workers at home would expect. As I say, it is true that we have double contribution conventions with other countries. These aim to simplify intracompany transfers for international businesses. However, these agreements are usually struck with countries that have compatible economies, similar educational outcomes and comparable social security systems, such as Japan or Canada. India stands alone as by far the largest and least wealthy country on the list. In exchange for a deal with India, this Government have chosen to sell out skilled British workers who have worked hard to get where they are by allowing Indian firms to undercut them. We will see highly skilled British workers in cutting-edge fields, such as engineering, priced out by Indian workers. Given the relative markets and educational systems in the UK and India, we should not expect that always to be a like-for-like swap in terms of talent. We have already seen this model take hold in the United States. There, Indian consultancy firms lease their workers to American companies, who are then able to pay an Indian worker far less than they would need to pay an American. The result has been a massive expansion in the number of lower-cost Indian workers at the expense of American workers. Most other countries are perfectly happy to strike trade deals without forcing us to undercut our own workforce. This Government should have expected India to do the same.
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UK-India Free Trade Agreement
It would remiss of me not to touch on the fact that the roots of this trade deal stretch back to the previous Conservative Government, and not to mention that the then Secretary of State Alister Jack—now Lord Jack of Courance—sent an aircraft carrier stuffed with dancers and pipers from the Edinburgh military tattoo to India, to highlight the unfairness of the regime that whisky faced out there, which this deal does much to address. I have the pleasure of serving on the Business and Trade Committee, chaired adroitly by the right hon. Member for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (Liam Byrne). When we talk about these trade deals in the Committee, the Government figures worry me, and he touched on them himself. We have heard time and again that the expected lift in GDP from this deal is around £4.8 billion, or 0.13% of the UK’s GDP, but those figures seem incredibly low. That may be because of a lack of ambition—I hope not—or because of caution on the part of the Government, which is perfectly understandable, but it is incredible that we are expecting so little from these trade deals. We could raise those figures—they must be a floor, not a ceiling—and do much better. A difficulty that hon. Members have touched on is that the Department for Business and Trade is cutting its head count. Of course the bloated state has to be reduced, but we have to apply those cuts judiciously. It is good that the in-country team in India is staying put, but if the teams in the UK that help businesses here to export are cut, then we will have a problem, and we will kill growth. We expect modest gains from the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership, yet it offers a tremendous—an absolutely huge—market at a time when the EU’s share of GDP is drifting away. The hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) is keen on returning us to a customs union, but that customs union would commit us to applying EU-set tariffs, taking away the freedom we got from Brexit to strike out and do our own deals. The EU is potentially looking at the CPTPP, but we are already in the partnership. We have first-mover advantage. We should strike out with the confidence that Brexit gives us as a trading nation. Adam Smith literally wrote the book on free trade; this country is a trading nation—that is what built this country—and we should get back to that confidence. On agriculture, the Business and Trade Committee took written and oral evidence from Tom Bradshaw, the president of the National Farmers Union. He was concerned that while lamb exports could do well through this deal, dairying is once again left wide open to difficulties. That is an issue in my constituency of Dumfries and Galloway; we have some of the most productive grassland in the UK. We make fabulous Galloway cheddar, and I would love to see more of that exported to India. Not much paneer probably comes to this country from India at the moment, but that will change. India is moving at incredible pace. It is hard to believe that in five or 10 years’ time, the Indian dairy industry will not have moved on. The licences that the Minister talked about will be in place, and there will be a flow this way from dairying, which is a concern for that sensitive sector. The other thing that worries me on the Business and Trade Committee is the much-vaunted EU reset that the Government are seeking. Part of that is a sanitary and phytosanitary deal, which will affect agriculture in the round. Can the Minister tell us what impact that might have on future trade deals? At the moment, these trade deals are struck with the UK based on UK rules and regulations. If we accept dynamic alignment with Europe, we are no longer rule makers in this area; we are rule takers. Will those countries with whom we are striking deals have to look to the EU? Where does that leave us? Does it not hamstring us at a time when, as I say, we have this fantastic opportunity to strike our own deals and hopefully drive growth?
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Leagrave Station: Step-free Access
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. This is an important debate. If she has been following the proceedings of the Public Bill Committee for the Railways Bill, she will have heard that at the current rate it will take more than 100 years to get step-free access across the full estate. Does she agree with the Opposition in this instance that that is too long?
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Topical Questions
T5. Girls were raped and abused by grooming gangs in Scotland just as they were in England and Wales, yet girls in Scotland are excluded from the grooming gangs inquiry. Girls, no matter where they are in the UK, must get justice, and rapists, no matter where they are in the UK, must face the consequences. In response to an earlier question, the Minister said of perpetrators of violence against women and girls that she does not care who they are or where they come from. Will she please now do the right thing and also include Scottish victims in her inquiry?
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Standards in Public Life
Let me go back to the process that the Prime Minister followed. He received information from the vetting and security services that Peter Mandelson might have had an ongoing relationship. He then questioned Peter Mandelson about that. Did he then test the answers that Peter Mandelson gave with the vetting and security service? If he did not, it can mean only one of two things: either the Prime Minister has committed a dereliction of duty or he is a credulous fool. Either way, should he not resign?
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Draft Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Adoptions from Overseas) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Parental Order Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
It is a great pleasure to be in this Committee on behalf of His Majesty’s official Opposition. The regulations before us continue vital work that occurred under both Conservative and Labour Governments, as the Minister rightly said. I am pleased but not surprised that that work attracts genuine cross-party support. For a baby to lose their mother or primary caregiver is a tragedy for that child, and for the father and wider family. In this place, whenever possible and where it is practical to do so, we should support those families with their grief and as they continue to care for their child. It is with those families in mind that I can of course confirm that the official Opposition support the regulations. Just one questioned has emerged as I have engaged with businesses, so I would appreciate a simple clarification on their behalf. I understand and welcome the fact that guidance will be provided for businesses, and the Minister acknowledged the £0.9 million impact on them. The Government have made it clear that they will publish details for businesses on the relevant website. The regulations are to come into force in April this year—just 40 working days away—so will the Minister provide a specific date as to when, between now and 40 days’ time, the guidance will be published? Businesses have raised that specific question with me. I repeat the Opposition’s position that we fully support the regulations. I join the Minister in praising the great work of the former MP for Broxtowe, Darren Henry, the great work of the hon. Member for Bridgend through a private Member’s Bill, and the tremendous campaigning efforts of Mr Horsey, who is in the Public Gallery to witness proceedings. I thank the Minister for presenting the regulations, and we are pleased to support them. Question put and agreed to. Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Adoptions from Overseas) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 Resolved, That the Committee has considered the draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Adoptions from Overseas) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.—(Kate Dearden.) Draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Parental Order Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 Resolved, That the Committee has consider the draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Parental Order Cases) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.—(Kate Dearden.)
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Standards in Public Life
Given the importance of standards in public life, why is it that the adviser who suggested that Peter Mandelson be made ambassador to the United States had to resign, but the person who actually appointed Peter Mandelson—the Prime Minister —is still in post?
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Asylum Seekers: Hotels
9. How many asylum seekers were accommodated in hotels on (a) 30 September 2025 and (b) 30 June 2024.
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Asylum Seekers: Hotels
A number of my constituents have written to me requesting details on the future of the George hotel, which is one of the asylum hotels in Solihull town centre. Given the statistics that the Minister has just provided, can he provide some clarity to my constituents on when the George hotel will close?
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Standards in Public Life
May I thank the Chief Secretary for his statement about the new rules and legislation that he is bringing forward? I have missed something, though. Can he point to what he is bringing forward that would stop a Prime Minister from appointing a twice-sacked best friend of the world’s greatest paedophile?
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Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
The Prime Minister was happy to trot back from China heralding the successes of the visit without having secured the release of Jimmy Lai, and now we see Jimmy facing a 20-year prison sentence—in effect, a life sentence. Does the Minister think that was a price worth paying?
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Standards in Public Life
The problem with the list of measures that the Chief Secretary read out is that, unfortunately, not one will protect us from the Prime Minister’s poor judgment. Before asking my question, I point out the fact that—as the right hon. Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) knows, and as the Chief Secretary has mentioned himself—the Government are currently introducing the duty of candour Bill, which will legally require Ministers to answer questions frankly and with any information that people could usefully think they should know. I ask for a third time: how much is Peter Mandelson due to take as part of his pay-off?
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Brain Tumour Survival Rates
I thank the hon. Members for Mitcham and Morden (Dame Siobhain McDonagh) and for Witney (Charlie Maynard) for bringing forward this debate on a very important subject. The hon. Member for Mitcham and Morden talked about the people she had met who had experienced brain cancer and brain tumours. For me, this debate is about my grandfather, who sadly died of a brain tumour some years ago. Some 12,000 people have a brain tumour diagnosed each year, and this debate is supposed to focus on how we improve the survival rates for this condition, which are very poor. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths among children and adults under 40. The five-year survival rate is poor and—unlike the rate for many other cancers over the last few years—has not really moved at all. How can we improve the survival rates for people with brain tumours? There are essentially three areas that we can look at: prevention, early diagnosis and better treatment. On prevention, if we look on the NHS website to see how we can prevent a brain cancer or brain tumour, it talks about having a good diet and preventing obesity. These things are important, but not specific to brain cancer. It also talks about trying to avoid head injury, for example by wearing helmets. What about early diagnosis? Some people have genetic conditions, such as neurofibromatosis, Li–Fraumeni syndrome, tuberous sclerosis and Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, that make them genetically predisposed to having tumours in their central nervous system. Those individuals can receive regular screening, which can help identify these tumours at a much earlier stage, but what about people who do not have such conditions?
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Brain Tumour Survival Rates
My right hon. Friend invites me to speak outside my area of expertise; I am afraid I do not know the answer to that.
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Brain Tumour Survival Rates
I will, particularly if the hon. Gentleman has an answer for my right hon. Friend.
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Brain Tumour Survival Rates
It is certainly something that I have read about. I am happy to be corrected by the hon. Gentleman if he feels that my resources are incorrect, but that was certainly one of the suggestions for how to prevent these tumours. I do not think that prevention will necessarily be the major way in which we improve the survival rate. I also do not think that it will be early diagnosis, but I would like to finish talking about that. Regular screening for people with genetic disorders can really help to identify tumours early, and the second thing that can help is access to diagnostic tests. The Conservative Government introduced community diagnostic centres across the country, which increased the number of scanners available to those who needed a scan to identify whether they had a brain tumour. This Government have said that they will double the number of scanners available. Can the Minister comment on whether they are on track with that? We need the workforce plan, so that we have the people to perform and interpret the scans. I do not know whether the Minister has had any tips on whether the workforce plan is imminent, but can he give us a date for when it is likely to be published? It has been delayed, but it is important. We have the cancer plan, but so much of it is dependent on the workforce plan. Thirdly, opticians have a role to play. Since a South Tees project pioneered in 2015, opticians have been able, during regular eye tests, to identify people who have signs of brain tumours, and to refer them, when necessary. Encouraging people to get regular eye tests may contribute to early diagnosis. The fourth thing that can help with early diagnosis is symptom awareness—among both the general public and healthcare professionals. I want to talk about HeadSmart, a 2011 programme about the types of symptoms that could help identify a brain tumour. It had quite significant cut-through with both healthcare professionals and the public. It halved the time for a scan, and for diagnosis of children with brain tumours. It also improved the cognition of survivors, but it did not significantly improve the survival rate. While early diagnosis helps a bit, it is very difficult—particularly in children, who are quite neuroplastic, so symptoms appear quite late. The location and type of tumour are more important in the treatment and prognosis, and there are many different types. That makes this area of medicine extremely complicated, so I think the answer is that we need better treatments. Treatments currently include steroids, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, but there are many others with promise. Convection-enhanced delivery enables chemotherapy to be delivered across the blood-brain barrier more effectively. Many hon. Members have talked about freezing, and last month there was a debate on the topic of freezing brain tumour samples; does the Minister have an update following that debate? His colleague, the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton), said that she would look at the detail and report back, so I hope that he will have an update for us this evening. Gene therapy has also shown a lot of promise, and there has been talk this evening about the trial in which an adeno-associated virus is used as a vector to seek out the glioblastoma cells and use the patient’s immune system to kill the tumour cells. That trial has promise; if it works, it could lead to real improvements in treatment. Research will be key. BioNTech’s 2023 partnership promised that there would be 10,000 patients in cancer vaccine trials by 2030, but new innovators face barriers. This is a global fight; work is going on right across the globe, and we need to make the UK’s environment one that stimulates and supports research, so that British people can have the earliest possible access to the newest treatments. At the moment, the wider economic picture for research is not great, and we have seen some researchers pull out of investments in the UK. Taxation, national insurance, employment rules and the speed of adoption by the NHS are all factors that I hope the Minister will try to improve. The hon. Members for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) and for Strangford (Jim Shannon) talked about the devolved Administrations. Could the Minister comment on how he and his team are working with those Administrations to encourage research right across the United Kingdom? I also wanted to talk about rural areas, because it is all very well encouraging trials in the UK or England, but so many of those trials are in the centre of London, or in the other big cities; it is much more difficult for people living in rural areas, such as my constituents in Sleaford and North Hykeham, to access them. Could the Minister please update the House on how he is making it easier for research to occur in rural spots? The hon. Member for Witney summed it up perfectly when he said that ambition is important, but actions, not words, are the key. We need specific, measurable targets, not just warm words—this Government have been very good at warm words on health, but much poorer on delivery. For the sake of the one in two people who will get cancer, and all their friends and loved ones, I hope that on this occasion, there is more action, not just words.
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Leagrave Station: Step-free Access
I am grateful to the hon. Member for giving way in this very important debate. This issue affects constituencies across the country, including mine—we have problems at Weybridge station. May I draw to her attention my new clause 69 to the Railways Bill, which sets out a requirement for an accessibility strategy that the Government have to report on? I have intervened on her now, but I hope to intervene on the Minister later for his comment on that.
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Leagrave Station: Step-free Access
Specifically on third-party funding, does the Minister agree that when it comes to infrastructure projects such as airport expansion, noting Heathrow’s proximity to my constituency, airports really should be a key target in terms of further funding, in order to improve accessibility on our railways?
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Leagrave Station: Step-free Access
The Minister knows this is coming. He has just mentioned the Railways Bill, so would he care to comment on my new clause 69, which would require the setting out of an accessible rail strategy, not only on step-free access but on lift downtime? I feel a bit guilty in a sense, because we have lifts in Weybridge in my constituency, but one of the biggest problems is that they are not functional a lot of the time, so people who are travelling play a sort of Russian roulette as to whether the lifts are going to be available, with all the disruption that follows. Could the Minister please comment on the strategy that I am proposing?
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Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
The Trump Administration are not known for their record on human rights, yet the United States has been perfectly prepared to sanction Chinese Communist party officials who have been abusive, whereas the United Kingdom has sanctioned no one. Why is that, and when will the judges and prosecutors involved in Jimmy Lai’s sham trial be sanctioned by this Government?
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Standards in Public Life
The Minister has managed to throw out more chaff than a B-52. He mentioned security vetting. Does he mean developed vetting, of the sort applied to very senior officials, including military individuals, before they are appointed to extremely sensitive positions, or does he have something else in mind? Will that vetting be repeated periodically, as it is for officials? Will it be applied to both political appointees and ministerial appointments, where those positions are particularly sensitive?
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Topical Questions
My constituents are concerned about the imminent closure of volunteer-manned Pinner police station, as part of a programme of closure by the Mayor of London that leaves the whole London borough of Harrow with no in-person access to the police. Thus far, the volunteers who man the front desk and I have had no response at all from the Mayor of London to our attempts to raise this issue. Will the Minister intervene to ensure that we at least get a response, and that the Mayor of London listens to my constituents’ concerns?
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UK-India Free Trade Agreement
Will my hon. Friend reflect on the view, which I hear a good deal in a constituency, which contains very many entrepreneurs both of Indian heritage and with connections to business in India, that this deal shows a Government who are not listening to the voice of business that has that level of experience, because they are missing out, as he is describing, on so many of the opportunities that those existing business links contain.
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UK-India Free Trade Agreement
My hon. Friend will recall that during the debates about post-Brexit trade agreements, the highest possible standards of animal welfare were raised frequently across the House on a cross-party basis. The matter my hon. Friend is talking about involves swapping prawns and other types of seafood caught in British waters to the highest possible standards with creatures reared using a method that involves pulling off their eyeballs while they are alive in order for them to lay more eggs so that more prawns can be produced more cheaply. I am sure we would all agree that is cruel and would not meet the expectations set out across the House. Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a powerful point that illustrates the asymmetry in this deal, which he is quite rightly seeking to criticise?