theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress the Government has made on implementing the recommendations of the report by Dr Hilary Cass entitled Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people, published in April 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Government and NHS England are fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care updated the House on the progress to implement the Cass Review on 11 December.

In line with NHS England’s ambitious two-year implementation plan, three new Children and Young People’s Gender Services have opened in the North-West, London, and the South-West. These services operate under a fundamentally different model, where children and young people get the tailored and holistic care they need from multi-disciplinary teams of experts in paediatrics, neurodiversity, and mental health. NHS England remains on schedule to open a Children and Young People’s Gender Service in each region of England by 2026.

NHS England has updated its service specification in line with the recommendations from the Cass Review. A referral to the specialist Children and Young People’s Gender Service can now be made only by a National Health Service-commissioned, secondary care-level paediatric service, or a children’s and young people’s mental health service. This will ensure that the needs of these children and young people are met holistically

The Government is supporting NHS England to set up a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence.

The study team’s application for funding is going through all the usual review and approval stages, including peer review and National Institute for Health and Care Research funding committee consideration, and full ethical approval processes ahead of set up. The trial will be uncapped and aims to begin recruiting participants in early 2025.

As recommended by the Cass Review, NHS England has commissioned a comprehensive study of adult gender services, which is currently underway.
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Gill Furniss:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that women with spinal cord injuries receive adequate (a) breast feeding assistance, (b) breast feeding assistance and (c) other postnatal support. \p Karin Smyth: The Government will prioritise women’s health, placing women’s equality at the heart of our agenda and ensuring women’s health is never again neglected. Spinal cord injury centres provide life-long services and support, providing ongoing advice and management for those under their care. They provide advice to general maternity services in managing pregnancy in line with individual need, as well as information, advice, and support to women regarding the practical elements of breast feeding, as required.

The Three-Year Delivery plan for Maternity and Neonatal services sets out the vision for women to experience personalised, joined-up, high-quality care right through to the postnatal period with handover to health visiting services and general practices (GPs). According to NHS England guidance, all women who have given birth should be offered a check-up with their GP six to eight weeks after giving birth. The check-up will cover a range of topics such as mental health, physical recovery, breastfeeding, and support with family planning. Women should be provided with practical support and information that reflects how they choose to feed their babies. Providers should ensure that, for women with spinal cord injuries, care is tailored to their individual needs.

NHS England is also rolling out perinatal pelvic health services to reduce rates of perineal tears, and maternal mental health services to provide additional mental health support and improve outcomes for women.

The Department is working closely with 75 local authorities across England, including Sheffield, to improve their infant feeding services, including breastfeeding support, through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. These services are helping families to access face-to-face and virtual infant feeding support whenever they need it, and in a location that suits them. This could be at home, in their family hub, or in a hospital setting.

At a national level, families across the United Kingdom can access round-the-clock support and advice on breastfeeding through the National Breastfeeding Helpline.
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Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many birth defects were reported among children born to couples who are first cousins in each of the last three years, broken down by the nationality of the parents. \p Karin Smyth: The Government does not hold this data. We continue to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to grow our maternity workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure that women and babies receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to encourage uptake of the flu vaccination in 2024. \p Andrew Gwynne: This year’s national communications campaign to encourage the uptake of essential winter vaccinations, including for influenza and COVID-19, launched on 30 September 2024. The campaign, called Get Winter Strong, targets eligible cohorts where uptake has historically been lower, and has involved a range of national media engagement activities, paid marketing, social media, and stakeholder engagement. The marketing campaign was complemented by NHS England’s national call and recall programme, and communications from general practices and pharmacies. The campaign’s resources can be viewed on the Campaign Resources Centre, which is available at the following link:

https://campaignresources.dhsc.gov.uk/campaigns/get-vaccinated-get-winter-strong/

There is also a comprehensive range of information leaflets, promotional materials, and other resources to inform members of the public and health care professionals, to raise awareness of the programme, and support decisions in relation to consent. This includes leaflets, translated versions, in over 30 languages, simple text, easy read, large print, braille and British Sign Language. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/Home.html
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Julia Lopez:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reinstate funding for the National Institute for Health and Care Research Bioresource project providing infrastructure for the development of novel non-CFTR treatments for cystic fibrosis. \p Andrew Gwynne: The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) BioResource worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to establish the Cystic Fibrosis BioResource project, which began recruiting participants in 2021. In October 2024, the NIHR BioResource altered its participant recruitment strategy to focus on two cohorts, and to put greater resources towards its recall strategy.

1,358 participants have been recruited to the Cystic Fibrosis BioResource to date, all of whom will continue to be approached, via recall, to research studies. The NIHR BioResource plans to re-open recruitment to other cohorts, including the cystic fibrosis project, if additional funding can be sourced, for example from industry or charity partners.

The Department does not fund specific disease cohorts within the NIHR BioResource. The Department will be working closely with the NIHR BioResource as they develop their future strategies for participant engagement, recruitment, and retention, to ensure this is appropriate for each cohort and supports the best science.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to tackle (a) delays to diagnosis and (b) emergency presentation rates for blood cancer patients. \p Andrew Gwynne: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam on 2 December 2024 to Question 16329.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding has been allocated to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. \p Andrew Gwynne: For 2024/2025, the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme was allocated a budget of £40 million. This covers funding for payment awards, and administration costs associated with assessing the claims and managing the scheme.
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Claire Hanna:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the devolved administrations on development of a new HIV Action Plan. \p Andrew Gwynne: Health is a devolved matter and it is the responsibility of individual governments to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need. All four nations, however, are committed to reducing HIV transmissions.

The new HIV Action Plan, which is due to be published in summer 2025, will apply to England only. Government officials in England meet regularly with their counterparts in the devolved governments, to share information and best practice on our response to HIV.
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Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of funding for mental health services and (b) the potential impact of the level of that funding on waiting lists for such services. \p Stephen Kinnock: Adequate funding for mental health services is important. While funding for reforms and improvements to mental health services will be decided at the Spending Review, the Autumn Budget provided an extra £26 million to open new mental health crisis centres, and funding to provide NHS Talking Therapies services for an extra 380,000 patients.

We remain committed to recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is specific support for haemophiliacs impacted by the infected blood scandal. \p Andrew Gwynne: The victims of the infected blood scandal have suffered immeasurably. It is the Government’s utmost intention to deliver what justice and compensation it can to all those impacted, as quickly as possible.

Haemophiliacs infected via National Health Service blood or blood products are eligible for financial and psychological support from the United Kingdom’s infected blood support schemes, as well as a bespoke Infected Blood Psychological Service that has been introduced by NHS England. They may also apply for comprehensive compensation from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

As set out in the Government’s response to the inquiry’s recommendations on protecting the safety of haemophilia care in their final report, NHS England is undertaking work on a peer review of haemophilia centres, networks for haemophilia care, recombinant products, and a national haemophilia database. Work is also underway in the Department to review the support being offered to the relevant charities for the infected and affected community in England.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to review the regulations surrounding the sale of potent medications such as (a) finasteride, (b) dutasteride, and (c) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors via telehealth companies, in the context of the correlation between these medications and long-term health conditions. \p Karin Smyth: There are no current plans to review the legal avenues of online prescribing and the dispensing of prescription-only medications.

Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by the doctor or healthcare professional responsible for that part of the patient’s care, and prescribers are accountable for their prescribing decisions, irrespective of the forum in which these decisions are made.

Clinicians are expected to work with patients to make decisions about their care and treatment as part of shared decision making, including discussing risks, benefits, and possible consequences of different options, in line with professional guidelines laid down by the General Medical Council, which are available at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-practice-in-prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve ambulance waiting times in Bude. \p Karin Smyth: The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.

As a first step, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September 2024 and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.

Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter, sent to all integrated care boards including NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board which serves Bude, is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities
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Maureen Burke:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to simplify health treatments between the UK nations. \p Andrew Gwynne: While health is predominantly devolved, the Department holds some reserved functions, and working together across the United Kingdom on health and social care is ingrained in the values of our National Health Service and social care sector.

The Department works collaboratively with the devolved administrations to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer, and to simplify health treatments between the nations of the UK.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and I met with health ministers from the devolved administrations on 11 December at the Interministerial Group for Health and Social Care, where we discussed a range of issues and approaches to drive reform and tackle the common challenges in our healthcare systems.
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Ian Sollom:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) promote patient awareness of walking aid return and reuse schemes, (b) promote NHS staff awareness of the possibility of establishing those schemes and (c) encourage NHS trusts to set up those schemes. \p Karin Smyth: The National Health Service is committed to reducing its environmental impact, and in 2020, published its Delivering a Net Zero NHS strategy, committing to reach net zero by 2045.

The NHS recognises that reusing walking aids, such as crutches, frames, and walking sticks, provides an excellent opportunity for carbon savings due to the high greenhouse gas intensity of aluminium manufacture. As part of its commitment to reach net zero by 2045, NHS England is working to expand walking aid refurbishment and reuse schemes, and has made a range of resources and tools available to support NHS staff starting new schemes or boosting existing schemes. The most recent support for staff being the inclusion of walking aids in the net zero product savings calculator, available to all NHS staff. NHS Supply Chain’s Aid for Daily Living framework has also been designed to maximise the return and reuse of such devices with the inclusion of a refurbishment service.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a British supplier of Creon. \p Karin Smyth: The Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with Creon, which is a brand of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) used by patients with conditions such as cystic fibrosis and certain cancers, including pancreatic cancer. The supply issues with Creon are impacting countries throughout Europe and have been caused by the limited availability of raw ingredients and manufacturing capacity constraints to produce volumes needed to meet demand. These issues have resulted in knock-on supply disruptions of alternative PERT medications.

The Department is continuing to work with all suppliers of PERT to help resolve the supply issues in the short and longer term by asking that they expedite deliveries, source stock from other markets, and increase production. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers of unlicensed medicine to understand whether they can source unlicensed imports of Creon to help mitigate this supply issue. Where such imports have been sourced, the Department has worked with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to expedite regulatory processes.

There are no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a British supplier of Creon. However, we have established incentives to encourage United Kingdom life sciences manufacture, including via the Life Science Innovative Manufacturing Fund. The Government has committed up to £520 million to support businesses investing in life science manufacturing projects in the UK, and this would be open to applicants interested in setting up PERT manufacture in the UK.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to commission further waves of the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England report. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department recognises the importance of the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England Report. We will publish plans in due course.
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Luke Murphy:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that men with risk factors for prostate cancer are encouraged to receive regular prostate-specific antigen tests. \p Andrew Gwynne: Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, called the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm some men as many would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life.  This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects, for example sexual dysfunction and incontinence.

The UK NSC regularly reviews its recommendations. The evidence review for prostate cancer screening is underway and will conclude at the end of 2025.

The Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme (PCRMP) provides general practitioners (GPs) with information and guidance to counsel men who have no symptoms but wish to have a PSA test. It highlights the potential benefits and harms of PSA testing so that men, including those at higher risk, can make an informed decision about whether to have the test. Based on the current evidence, the PCRMP guidance is for GPs not to proactively offer a PSA to men without symptoms, due to high level of inaccuracy of the PSA test.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he has met NHS England's (a) National Clinical Director for Urgent and Emergency Care and (b) Deputy Chief Operating Officer on NHS winter preparedness. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers in the Department engage with NHS England regularly on a variety of issues, including, but not limited to, winter preparedness.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has held discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of the Windsor Framework on any proposed UK wide smoking ban in Northern Ireland. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced on the 5 November 2024, has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive, as well as with other departments across the wider Government. We intend the smoke-free generation policy to apply United Kingdom-wide.
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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the recognition of overseas medical qualifications of Ukrainian refugees. \p Karin Smyth: The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of doctors, physician associates, and anaesthesia associates in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for setting standards that must be met by both domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to their registers to ensure registrants are safe to practise.

A page has been published on GOV.UK specifically for Ukrainian refugees which aims to provide an overview of the processes required by specific healthcare professional regulators, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-in-healthcare-in-the-uk-homes-for-ukraine.

The GMC provides help with fees associated with registration. Individuals can seek further information from the GMC’s website.

It is our ambition that all Ukrainian refugees who are healthcare professionals in their home country and meet the standards required in the UK are able to achieve registration efficiently and use their skills within our National Health Service.
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the average waiting time of 13 years for a diagnosis of coeliac disease. \p Andrew Gwynne: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment, and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20

The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.

No formal assessment has been made of the impact of diagnostic delays on the long-term health of patients with undiagnosed coeliac disease, but the Government does recognise that patients, including those with coeliac disease. have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need.

The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals, and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.

The National Health Service website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on neurodiversity-affirmative approaches in schools. \p Stephen Kinnock: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions on a wide range of matters with Cabinet colleagues, including my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
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Mr Calvin Bailey:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the UK National Screening Committee’s public consultation on prostate cancer screening will open. \p Andrew Gwynne: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) review for prostate cancer screening is currently underway. The evidence review will cover modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening. This will include different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher than average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.

This work is detailed and complex. Once the modelling and evidence review are complete it will be considered by the UK NSC. Subject to no further revisions being required, the UK NSC plans to hold a public consultation towards the end of 2025.

Further details of the UK NSC’s evidence review process is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the licensing process for the drug sipavibart. \p Karin Smyth: Department officials regularly discuss a range of topics with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including progress with specific appraisals, such as for sipavibart.

The NICE started its appraisal of the medicine sipavibart for preventing COVID-19, ahead of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) decision on whether it should be licensed in the United Kingdom, with the aim of publishing guidance as soon as possible, if a licence was granted. At present, the NICE appraisal is suspended as AstraZeneca has been unable to provide an evidence submission as planned. The NICE is currently awaiting notification from AstraZeneca on when it can make a submission, and will update stakeholders in due course.

If sipavibart is recommended as clinically and cost effective by the NICE, the National Health Service in England will be legally required to fund sipavibart for eligible patients in line with the NICE’s recommendations, normally within three months of final guidance being published.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) reports of and (b) convictions for shoplifting there were in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire in each of the last three years. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including motor vehicle theft and shoplifting offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales, at the Police Force Area level and the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level. This information is published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

The Home Office does not collect information at the Parliamentary Constituency level.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on trends in the level of teachers pay in Northern Ireland. \p Hilary Benn: It is for the Northern Ireland Department of Education to set pay policy for teachers.

This Government has provided a record £18.2bn funding settlement for 2025-26 to the Northern Ireland Executive. This represents a £1.5bn increase and the largest settlement in real terms spending in the history of devolution. It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to use this money effectively and deliver good public services for the people of Northern Ireland.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2024 to Question 12917 on InterTrade UK, when he plans to announce the (a) remaining membership appointees and (b) first and subsequent meetings of InterTrade UK. \p Hilary Benn: Preparatory work necessary to establish Intertrade UK is ongoing. I expect to be in a position to announce the membership of the body and the date of the first meeting at the earliest opportunity in the New Year.
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Clive Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the (a) governance and (b) performance of the water industry in England meets the UK's obligations under the Aarhus Convention. \p Emma Hardy: The Government is committed to the effective implementation of our international obligations under the Aarhus Convention on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters.

The United Kingdom is not currently subject to any water industry related compliance recommendations concerning its obligations under the Convention.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her policies on (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief on ancient woodlands. \p Mary Creagh: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to prevent companies from polluting (a) Lake Windermere and (b) other national parks. \p Emma Hardy: Labour introduced National Parks 75 years ago, and introduced the Rights of Way Act that secured public access and preserved natural beauty.

A thriving natural world underpins our economy, health and society. That’s why this Government is investing £400 million to protect and restore nature, including in our Nationals Parks.

This Government is committed to making Protected Landscapes, such as the Lake District National Park which contains Windermere, greener, wilder and more accessible. We have just announced our intent to strengthen legislation when parliamentary time allows. We will develop the details of the new legislation with partners, with the intention of ensuring that public bodies deliver better outcomes for people and nature in Protected Landscapes.

The Government is committed to taking action to address water pollution in Lake Windermere and in National Parks. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.

Ofwat has recently published final determinations on PR24. United Utilities’ will invest approximately £200 million in Lake Windermere, with improvements planned at all six storm overflows and nine wastewater treatment works impacting the lake.

Ofwat are also supporting a reduction in phosphorous in Lake Windermere by United Utilities. This includes ensuring United Utilities engage third parties to reduce the phosphorus entering the catchment and improve the water quality.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Carla Denyer:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7788 on Air Pollution, what guidance his Department provides on safe limits of NOx. \p Emma Hardy: The Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) set a limit of 40µg/m³ for the annual average concentration of NO₂ (a component of NOx). This threshold, determined with consideration of pertinent health guidelines, aims to safeguard human health.

NOx is extensively monitored across the UK, and monitoring data is made available to the public in near real-time on Defra’s UK-AIR website. Defra annually publishes Air Quality Accredited Official Statistics, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/air-quality-and-emissions-statistics.

Through the NO₂ programme, Defra is working closely with local authorities to deliver air quality measures to meet legal limits for NO₂ and improve the health of their residents.

Further to this, in 2022, Defra updated the statutory policy and technical guidance for local authorities on their responsibilities for Local Air Quality Management, including achievement of legal air quality limits for local communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is (a) his Department's and (b) the Environment Agency's policy on the use of positive discrimination in the recruitment process for internships. \p Emma Hardy: The core department, Defra, and its Non-Departmental Public Bodies, including the Environment Agency, comply with all legislation relevant to recruitment and will only target an internship recruitment campaign to a specific group as a proportionate form of positive action to address known workforce gaps, undertaken to achieve a legitimate aim in accordance with section 159 of the Equality Act 2010.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to make recycling easier for residents in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas. \p Mary Creagh: The Government’s Simpler Recycling reforms will ensure that across England, every citizen will be able to recycle the same materials, no longer needing to check what their council will accept for recycling. This policy will make recycling easier and ensure there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England. This will reduce confusion with recycling to improve recycling rates, ensuring there is more recycled material in the products we buy, and that the UK recycling industry will grow.

Every household and non-household municipal premises (such as businesses, schools, and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic; paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). Simpler Recycling will be implemented on a phased timeline, beginning from 31 March 2025 for non-household premises and 31 March 2026 for households.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 6270 on Poultry and Pigs: Animal Welfare, if he will publish a public consultation on the use of farrowing crates for pigs. \p Daniel Zeichner: We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.

The use of farrowing crates for pigs is an issue we are currently considering very carefully.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to support indoor pig farmers to adopt free farrowing systems. \p Daniel Zeichner: We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway supports farmers to improve their animals’ health and welfare through funded vet visits as well as targeted grants. We continue to work with the industry on how the Pathway can encourage improvements in indoor pigs’ welfare.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reform the current right to roam regime. \p Mary Creagh: Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many across the country are left without access to the great outdoors. That is why the last Labour Government expanded public access by introducing the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which provided the public a right of access to large areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin in England. 2024 marked 75 years since the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, which secured public access and preserved natural beauty.

This Government will continue to increase access to nature for families to enjoy, boosting people’s mental and physical health and leaving a legacy for generations to come. We will create nine new National River Walks, plant three new National Forests and empower communities to create new parks and green spaces in their communities with a new Community Right to Buy. We will announce further details on our plans for improving access to nature in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Adrian Ramsay:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to roll out mandatory water efficiency labelling. \p Emma Hardy: On 5 September 2024, the Secretary of State reaffirmed the Government’s intention to rollout a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label (MWEL). We will introduce the MWEL in the UK via Secondary Legislation under Section 52 and Schedule 6 of the Environment Act 2021.

We are working with the Environment Agency to engage manufacturers and other stakeholders to keep them informed about the regulations as they develop. As this is a devolved matter, we are also working closely with colleagues in the devolved governments to deliver the legislation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether changes have been made to the criteria of the Farming Recovery Fund since Storms Ashley and Bert. \p Daniel Zeichner: October 2023 to March 2024 has been recorded as the wettest six-month period ever recorded. The Farming Recovery Fund used data from Environment Agency and remote imagery on high river levels during Storm Babet (October 2023) and Storm Henk (January 2024). These were the two largest storms in this period. Met Office data was used to identify local authority areas in England which experienced exceptional rainfall. These data were used to identify eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund which has now made one off recovery payments of £57.5 million to over 12,700 farm businesses to help farmers most affected by the exceptional flooding and wet weather. Eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund does not include Storms Ashley nor Bert.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for the Frequently Flooded Allowance on flood risks in low population rural areas. \p Emma Hardy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to their previous question 20325 on 2 January.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Barry Gardiner:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his priorities are for the 68th Global Environment Facility Council Meeting in relation to target (a) 5 and (b) 18 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. \p Mary Creagh: The 68th Global Environment Facility Council meeting will discuss a programme of work to fund projects that will deliver environmental benefits, including contributing to achieving the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework. The UK’s priorities will be to support improved access to GEF finance for recipient countries.

The 3rd Council meeting for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF) will discuss the programming of the GBFF in its first year of operation. The UK will reconfirm the additional pledge of £45 million to the GBFF made at CBD COP16.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Sojan Joseph:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of adding XL Bullies to the list of prohibited dogs under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 on the number of attacks by XL Bullies. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra is continuing to engage closely with the Police, local authorities, and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban. These measures are vital to protect the public and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with the conditions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to announce new projects funded by the Frequently Flooded Allowance in the next year. \p Emma Hardy: We are investing £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive government funding in 2025/26 will be consented in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees with local representation.

Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-06)

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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of existing (a) culvert and (b) land drainage responsibility legislation. \p Emma Hardy: Defra keeps all legislation under review. Between 2022 and 2024, Defra undertook a review of the statutory powers and responsibilities to map, monitor, inspect and maintain all flood and coastal erosion risk assets, including culverts. This review also considered powers within the Land Drainage Act 1991. The review will be examined by the new Government and likely published in early 2025.

We expect those responsible for all assets including risk management authorities, other public and community organisations, the private sector and riparian owners to invest in ongoing maintenance and ensure timely repairs where necessary.