The consultation on the draft statutory guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022 closed on 30 March 2026. The Government is required to carefully consider the responses received to inform the final guidance to be published.

In the meantime, relevant authorities remain bound by existing legal duties. The act brings together existing statutory requirements and guidance that relevant authorities must and/or should already comply with to support people with Down syndrome.

Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people are not disadvantaged and must have due to regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty when exercising their functions. NHS England statutory guidance, published on 9 May 2023, also states that every integrated care board (ICB) should identify a board member to lead on supporting the ICB to perform its functions effectively in the interest of people with Down syndrome.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 20 February in response to Question 112133, in particular points three and four. For ease of reference, this is reproduced below.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England and is delivering initiatives to increase blood donations. These include:

1. increasing awareness of donation through high-profile year-round campaigns including National Blood Week and World Blood Donor Day alongside the use of social media such as TikTok to reach additional audiences;

2. using direct marketing, including phone calls, emails, and text messages, to encourage previous donors to book appointments and attend local sessions;

3. increasing appointment availability and targeting communities where specific blood types are most needed through initiatives such as the Community Grants Programme, with further information available on the NHSBT website; and

4. increasing the number of successful donation appointments by: improving pre-donation haemoglobin (Hb) testing, with low‑Hb deferral rates having fallen since the full rollout of new testing in September 2025; implementing a pilot translation service to reduce language‑related deferrals; and enhancing vein-identification training using ethnicity-specific training arms to help staff recognise vein characteristics across different skin tones and body.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.

More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.

More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.

More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.

More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board is working with the Cheshire and Merseyside Hospice Collaborative to develop a longer-term sustainability strategy, aligned to a wider, population needs-based commissioning strategy.

More widely, we are developing a modern service framework for palliative care and end-of-Life care to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end-of-life care. The modern service framework will cover both generalist and specialist palliative care, and 24/7 provision will be considered as part of the interventions. Further metrics and associated targets will build on the 2029 ambitions set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework, which include increasing the number of people identified as approaching the end of life by 10% and reducing non-elective admissions and hospital bed days by 10% for that cohort.

The Faraday Battery Challenge (2017-2025) was supported by £610 million of Government funding and helped establish the UK as a global leader in battery research, innovation and scale-up. It supported over 118 battery projects and helped unlock more than £800 million of follow-on private investment, with around 80% of projects led by SMEs. Supported technologies include advanced anodes, solid-state batteries and battery recycling. Key lessons include the need to link research, innovation and industrialisation to accelerate commercialisation. Its successor, the Battery Innovation Programme, will build on this legacy with £452 million in funding to 2030.

An ONS study in 2021 (Productivity in the construction industry, UK - Office for National Statistics) concluded that both the level of productivity, and the rate of productivity improvement in the construction sector, have historically been below that of the wider economy, and have not changed much in decades.

The Government is addressing this challenge through investing £625m in the Construction Skills Challenge, £85m in the Industrialising and Digitalising Construction Challenge, and has also worked with the industry to develop a Publicly Available Specification, PAS 4010, which will create a consistent approach to managing productivity improvement in the sector.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) records all cases of botulism in humans, including iatrogenic and foodborne botulism. Foodborne, infant, and wound botulism are very rare. Iatrogenic botulism cases only emerged in England in 2025 and have not yet been included in routine reporting.

To support global data collection of botulism, outbreaks of botulism involving United Kingdom residents are published by Eurosurveillance, Europe's journal on infectious disease surveillance, epidemiology, prevention, and control.

Foodborne and infant botulism cases are also published within UKHSA’s annual Gastrointestinal infections and outbreaks in England reports, and wound botulism counts annually in the UKHSA’s Shooting Up: infections among people who inject drugs in the UK reports.

Botulism in animals is not notifiable.

Data on compliance with the Accessible Information Standard is held locally by healthcare providers, whilst responsibility for monitoring compliance rests with the commissioner of the service such as integrated care boards and NHS England.

The Department does not currently hold these records centrally and has no immediate plans to request them for a national evaluation.

The total value of payments for clinical negligence claims in 2025/26, as reported in NHS Resolution annual Report and accounts: 2025 to 2026, published on 9 July 2026, was £3.2 billion, for all clinical schemes. This includes payments for damages, National Health Service legal costs, and claimant legal costs on both open and settled claims.

The government is taking a range of steps to improve labour productivity in the public sector - that is, to increase public services output per hour worked. I will touch on a few of them.

Central to this is investment in artificial intelligence and technology to reduce administrative burden and free up staff time for frontline delivery.
More broadly, the government is investing in productivity-enhancing reform across public services, including up to £10 billion for NHS technology and digital transformation, £2.1 billion to modernise HM Revenue and Customs' information technology and data infrastructure, and £1.9 billion for cross-cutting digital transformation across government.

The government is also committed to improving Civil Service productivity. This includes reducing bureaucracy by adopting digital technology and AI tools, streamlining approval processes, and establishing a higher-skilled civil service with stronger accountability for performance.

Through automation of routine administrative tasks, we are freeing up civil servants to focus on high-value casework and delivering better services to the public. For example, the incubator for AI (i.AI) tool "Consult", has publicly supported 38 consultations across 10 departments, saving tens of thousands of administrative hours and millions of pounds.

The Cabinet Secretary is also leading a wide-ranging review of the permanent Civil Service to set out a vision for its future as an efficient, world class institution serving the elected government of the day. The review will report before summer 2027. Its final report will include proposals to strengthen accountability and capability across the Civil Service, with a focus on delivery, innovation and productivity, and public trust.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28 August in response to Question HL2592, in which I set out that we will share next steps in due course regarding the new patient level data set.

In the meantime, work is ongoing to improve identification of people with a learning disability within General Practice (GP) Learning Disability Registers. New guidance was published on 1 September to support the development and maintenance of those registers, enabling patients to access support and services, and improve data on learning disability.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 28 August in response to Question HL2592, in which I set out that we will share next steps in due course regarding the new patient level data set.

In the meantime, work is ongoing to improve identification of people with a learning disability within General Practice (GP) Learning Disability Registers. New guidance was published on 1 September to support the development and maintenance of those registers, enabling patients to access support and services, and improve data on learning disability.

Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine poses a direct threat to UK and European prosperity and security. We are proud to be a leading partner in providing vital support to Ukraine since the onset of the war in 2022, and we will continue to do so.

This calendar year, the UK has provided up to £5.6bn to date in support to Ukraine. We track support across a calendar year rather than the financial year to align with Ukrainian budget timescales. Ukrainians are defending their country against Russian aggression at immense personal cost, and their fight is in our national security interests. Supporting Ukraine helps to deter further Russian aggression across Europe, and protect the security and prosperity of the United Kingdom.

In total, the UK has committed up to £25bn for Ukraine since Russia’s illegal invasion: this includes £16bn in military support, £3.5bn cover limit in UK export finance and up to £5.6bn in non-military support including bilateral assistance, humanitarian and fiscal support.

This Government has pledged to sustain £3 billion a year in military aid to Ukraine until 2030 to 2031 and for as long as it takes until a just peace is achieved.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 6 July in response to Question HL1318, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

General practices (GPs) are independent business that hold contracts with the National Health Service to perform essential services to the public. We require practices to provide online consultation tools. From 1 October 2025, GPs have been required to offer access to online services throughout core hours, 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. This change aims to improve patient access, reduce long phone queues, and help GPs manage demand more effectively

NHS England collects data on GP appointments, online consultation submissions, and cloud-based telephony. This data shows that 99% of practices have reported having an online consultation system in place. Where a practice does not comply with these contractual requirements, it may be in breach of contract. Patients who have concerns should contact their practice in the first instance, or raise the matter with their local integrated care board.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 6 July in response to Question HL1318, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

General practices (GPs) are independent business that hold contracts with the National Health Service to perform essential services to the public. We require practices to provide online consultation tools. From 1 October 2025, GPs have been required to offer access to online services throughout core hours, 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. This change aims to improve patient access, reduce long phone queues, and help GPs manage demand more effectively

NHS England collects data on GP appointments, online consultation submissions, and cloud-based telephony. This data shows that 99% of practices have reported having an online consultation system in place. Where a practice does not comply with these contractual requirements, it may be in breach of contract. Patients who have concerns should contact their practice in the first instance, or raise the matter with their local integrated care board.

NHS England has developed eLearning on trauma-informed care and Perinatal Mental Health Birth Trauma to support professionals involved in perinatal care.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce is developing a National Maternity and Neonatal Action Plan, within which maternal mental health is an area of focus, reflecting Baroness Amos’ recommendation for further consideration.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), part of Jisc, is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. The information is shared with the department and includes data on student accommodation through the HESA student record.

The publication date for the 2025/26 HESA student record has not yet been confirmed. However, based on previous publication cycles, it is expected to be published around January 2027.