theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has plans to provide support to (a) community and (b) social enterprises to help re purpose churches that are now closed. \p Chris Bryant: Over 350 Grade I or II* closed listed churches have been saved by the Churches Conservation Trust. The Trust works with the public to ensure these churches once again stand at the heart of their communities, enjoyed as cultural, visitor, educational and social spaces.

The new Heritage Revival Fund will provide £4.85m in 2025/26 to support community organisations to bring neglected heritage buildings into community ownership and back into good use. Further details will be set out in Spring.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the modifications to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. \p Chris Bryant: Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims are for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate within the tight fiscal circumstances and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector.
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Stuart Andrew:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 31424 on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, whether her Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment of changes to that scheme. \p Chris Bryant: The decision to make changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was made with careful consideration of the public sector equality duty outlined in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, ensuring that the objectives in that section were taken into account. There is no legal requirement to publish an equality impact assessment.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support people with gambling addiction in Lincolnshire. \p Stephanie Peacock: Those experiencing gambling-related harm in Lincolnshire can access specialist treatment through the NHS East Midlands Gambling Harms Service and a range of support through the National Gambling Support Network.

To improve and expand the services available to tackle gambling-related harm, the Government is introducing a statutory levy on gambling operators to improve and expand research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. This will include ringfenced funding overseen by NHS England and appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales to commission the full treatment pathway, from referral and triage through to aftercare.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on introducing a TV License for people who only use streaming services. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and firmly believes that the unique obligations placed on the BBC demand continued, sustainable public funding to support its vital work.

There are a range of alternatives and we are thinking creatively about options for the future, to ensure we future-proof our national broadcaster for many years to come. The Government will be taking forward the question of how the BBC is funded as part of the Charter Review process.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing (a) artists, (b) musicians and (c) other people in creative industries to opt in, rather than opt out, to their intellectual property being used for the training of artificial intelligence. \p Chris Bryant: The government recognises the importance of the UKs copyright regime to the economic success of the cultural and creative industries, one of eight growth-driving sectors as identified in our Industrial Strategy. We also recognise the basic principle that rights holders should have control over and seek payment for their work, including when thinking about the role of AI. The current UK Copyright Framework enables creative right holders to prevent the use of protected works, but we are aware that this can be very difficult to implement in the context of AI, especially for individual firms and creators.

Responses to our consultation on the impact of AI on the copyright regime, which was published on 17 December and closed on 25 February, will inform our approach to the design and delivery of a solution to these issues. Our aim is to clarify the copyright framework for AI – delivering certainty through a copyright regime that provides creators with real control and transparency, and helps them licence their content, while supporting AI developers' access to high-quality material.

The consultation was published alongside an accompanying options assessment. The consultation sought to gather further evidence on the potential impact on the creative industries of both AI and any change to the copyright regime. We will now consider the full range of responses we have received through our consultation and if legislative changes are needed, a full economic impact assessment will be undertaken.
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Sir Iain Duncan Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made air travel arrangements for direct flights with any self declared state recognised by other countries. \p Mike Kane: In order for an international direct flight to take place, the relevant airports need to be designated as international customs airports.

Under the Chicago Convention, only the state with sovereignty over the territory in which an airport is located may designate that airport as an international customs airport, and grant permission for flights to operate between the UK and its territory. Making arrangements to operate direct flights to airports not so designated and without such permission would place the UK in breach of its obligations to respect that state’s rights under the Convention.

Furthermore, rights to operate direct flights would require an Air Services Agreement to be in place between the UK and the state with sovereignty over the relevant territory.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve the number of electric charging points in rural areas. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of February 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 74,334 publicly available charging devices, up 35% on this time last year. There was particularly strong growth in rural areas in 2024, with chargepoint numbers increasing by 45%. Funding allocations for the £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, which aims to increase the number of local public chargepoints, factored in the proportion of residents in rural areas, meaning local authorities in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland and (c) the North East for filling pot holes since July 2024. \p Lilian Greenwood: Northumberland County Council, which is a member of the North-East Combined Authority (NECA), is the local highway authority for Hexham. The Government has provided NECA with a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), which includes funding for local highway maintenance for its constituent authorities.

For the 2025/26 financial year, the Government is providing NECA with an extra £21.7 million for local highway maintenance: funding allocations can be found on gov.uk. It is up to NECA to allocate highway maintenance funding to its constituent members, including Northumberland County Council.

The Department advocates a risk-based whole life cycle asset management approach to local authority highways maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways and lighting columns – not just the fixing of potholes. Funding is not ring-fenced, and it is entirely a matter for Northumberland County Council to determine how the money is best spent to improve its local highway network, according to local needs and circumstances.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of road traffic fatalities related to potholes in (a) Solihull Borough, (b) the city of Birmingham, (c) Warwickshire, (d) Oxfordshire and (e) Worcestershire in each of the last four years. \p Lilian Greenwood: Statistics on reported road injury collisions in Great Britain are published based on data reported by police via the data collection known as STATS19.

Within STATS19, reporting police officers can assign up to 6 factors which they believe may have contributed to the collision, including ‘poor or defective road surface’. Contributory factors are assigned based on the opinions of the reporting officer at the scene or within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed investigation.

The number of road fatalities where a police officer assigned the contributory factor “poor or defective road surface” in Solihull Borough, the city of Birmingham, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire for the last 4 years for which data are available totalled 1 fatality. This fatality occurred in Warwickshire in 2020.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on the feasibility study for installing lifts at Dorchester South station under the Access for All programme; and what her planned timetable is for the completion of those lifts. \p Lilian Greenwood: Network Rail are expected to complete the feasibility study for Dorchester South by late spring 2025. Once all 50 studies within the Access for All programme have been completed, expected by summer 2025, Network Rail will be able to confirm a delivery schedule. Stations selected for delivery are due to be completed by 2029.
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Anna Dixon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 23 January 2025 on Question 24557 on the pavement parking consultation, what her planned timeline is for (a) publishing a formal response and (b) announcing next steps for pavement parking policy. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to our consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing increased powers to local councils to help them ensure that utility companies adhere to agreed timescales for completing emergency works on critical highway networks. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government continues to review how works are planned, managed and communicated and how this can be improved. The Government announced in December that we will be clamping down on disruptive works by doubling fixed penalty notices for utility companies who fail to comply with rules and extending charges for works that overrun into weekends.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 July 2024, HCWS49 on Transport Infrastructure, when she expects the internal review of her Department’s capital spend portfolio to complete its work; and if she will give details of the external expertise brought in. \p Lilian Greenwood: The capital review is an internal review, and its primary aim is to provide the Secretary of State with strategic advice across the whole of the transport portfolio to help inform her decisions on projects as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review, which it is currently doing.

The full list of panellists is available on the Department’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/department-for-transport-capital-review-panel.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to (a) install lifts, (b) reopen the subway and (c) implement other measures to enhance accessibility at Dorchester South station. \p Lilian Greenwood: Stations in the Access for All programme including Dorchester South railway station follow the normal Network Rail project lifecycle, including option selection and detailed design, which once complete will inform which measures are installed to improve accessibility at the station.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving test instructors have left their position in each year since 2018. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) approves people to be driving instructors and motorcycle trainers.

DVSA publishes driving instructor and motorcycle instructor register data on GOV.UK. This includes data on the numbers of approved driving instructors (ADI) and shows the number of ADIs joining or leaving the register, by reason, per financial year.

The attached excel document shows how many ADIs left the ADI register for the financial year 2017/18 to the financial year to date, 2024/25. This includes data on ADIs whose licence lapsed, ADIs who resigned their licence, and ADIs who were removed from the register (Registrar's decision).

The same document also includes how many ADIs were added to the ADI register for the same period. This includes data on new ADI registrations, ADIs who renewed their licence (renewals), and ADIs who re-registered after a period of time off the register (Re-registration).

Driving test instructors (xlsx, 78.6KB)
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Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February to Question 32303 on Alexander Irvine, whether her Department plans to issue a response separate to the DVLA. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s response reflects the view of the Department and there are no plans for any further responses.
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Christine Jardine:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason her Department has chosen to decline to support more open access services along the Kings Cross to Edinburgh Waverley via Newcastle route. \p Simon Lightwood: As detailed in the 4 February response to the Office of Rail and Road, the Department did not support Lumo’s applications to operate additional Open Access services between London Kings Cross and Newcastle, and to extend existing Newcastle/Edinburgh services on to Glasgow, due to concern over the capacity of the East Coast Main Line and the consequential detrimental effects on reliability; and also the impact of the revenue reduction to existing services on the route, which would diminish revenue and thus increase subsidy from taxpayers to the railway as a whole. Access to the network, however, is currently a matter for the Office of Rail and Road in its capacity as independent regulator, and it will now consider the Department’s response alongside those from other consultees, and its statutory duties before making, a decision.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will bring forward a bus workforce strategy. \p Simon Lightwood: The government has no current plans to develop a bus workforce strategy. We will, however, continue to work with the bus and coach sectors to support them in being able to meet both their current and future labour requirements.
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Dr Kieran Mullan:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on allocations for the Bus Service Improvement Plan. \p Simon Lightwood: The government has allocated £670 million in Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding in the financial year 2025 to 2026. BSIP funding is allocated directly to local transport authorities in England.

On 18 December 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced an additional £515 million in support for local authorities (including combined authorities) in England to mitigate the additional impact of the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions on their budgets, including their transport budgets. More information can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-explanatory-note-on-the-employer-national-insurance-contribution-grant-2025-to-2026.
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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with (a) statistical and (b) land registry authorities on the availability of land for use as public (i) walkways and (ii) cycleways. \p Simon Lightwood: The Secretary of State has not had any such discussions. It is a matter for individual local authorities to establish what land is available in their areas for public walkways and cycleways.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many bus routes were registered in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (d) England in each of the last five years. \p Simon Lightwood: The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain only publish data on a Traffic Area wide basis. The North Eastern Traffic Area includes: the counties of Northumberland, County Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire; the metropolitan boroughs within South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear; and the districts of North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire.

Between the 2019-20 and 2023-24 reporting years the Traffic Commissioner annual reports detail the following:

North East Traffic Area

Reporting Year

Number of live registrations

Number of new registrations received

2023/24

1831

239

2022/23

1967

429

2021/22

2477

436

2020/21

2770

324

2019/20

3559

381

England

Reporting Year

Number of live registrations

Number of new registrations received

2023/24

7321

1390

2022/23

8781

xx-xxxx-xxxx

2021/22

10941

1547

2020/21

12067

1145

2019/20

16323

xx-xxxx-xxxx

A new bus registration does not always mean a new bus route has been created. For example, a registration could have been cancelled and replaced with another registration that covers much of the same route, or the route continues to be served by different operator.

It should also be noted that prior to 2019-20 the total number of live local bus service registrations included an element of double-counting as services running across multiple local authority areas were recorded multiple times, e.g. a service running between Hexham and Newcastle was presented as two services when it should have been counted as a single service. This was rectified in the report for 2020/21.
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Leigh Ingham:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Stafford Constituency for (i) road maintenance and (ii) pothole filling since July 2024. \p Lilian Greenwood: For the 2024/25 financial year, the previous Government allocated Staffordshire County Council £28.935 million for local highway maintenance. For the 2025/26 financial year, this Government is providing Staffordshire County Council with £39.4 million, an increase of around £10.5 million, for local highway maintenance.

The Department advocates a risk-based whole life cycle asset management approach to local authority highway maintenance programmes. This considers all parts of the highway network, such as bridges, cycleways and lighting columns – not just the fixing of potholes. Funding is not ring-fenced, and it is entirely a matter for Staffordshire County Council to determine how the money is best spent to improve its local highway network according to local needs and circumstances.
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Mr Paul Kohler:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of dedicated (a) cycleways and (b) walkways on public health. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government recognises that investment in high quality active travel infrastructure delivers high value for money and supports its economic growth, health and net zero missions. Encouraging more active travel helps to revitalise high streets, enable people to live longer and healthier lives and helps to reduce transport emissions and to promote greener journeys.

On 12 February, the Department announced the details of almost £300 million of funding for active travel in 2024/5 and 2025/6, which will deliver 300 miles of brand-new footpaths and cycle tracks. Total estimated benefits of this investment are £1.3 billion, including £9 million every year to the economy through improved productivity, equivalent to 43,000 fewer sick days a year, by making it easier to walk and cycle to work and for everyday journeys.

Beyond the funding announced by the Department on 12 February, any further mileage for active travel routes, delivered up until 2030, will be dependent on the outcome of the Spending Review.

Local authorities are empowered to decide where investment is made in their areas. As such, it is for local authorities to consider whether disused railway lines in their areas would be suitable for active travel routes and to work with National Highways, in their role as custodians of the Historical Railways Estate, to assess the viability of any particular routes.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress her Department has made on publishing a road safety strategy. \p Lilian Greenwood: Improving road safety is one of the Department’s highest priorities. Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Department is developing a road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.
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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what date bids for the next wave of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding should be submitted to her Department. \p Simon Lightwood: At October Budget, the Government confirmed funding for the current City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement programme in 2025-26, including a £200m uplift. Further funding beyond 2025-26 is being considered as part of the multi-year Spending Review, which is expected to conclude in late Spring.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28794 on Railways: Season Tickets, what the cost of a standard-class annual rail season ticket from (a) Longbridge, (b) Northfield and (c) Kings Norton stations to Birmingham New Street was between 03 March 2024 and 01 March 2025. \p Simon Lightwood: The price of the standard class annual season ticket for all these journeys was £971.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating new cars and buses to have engines which automatically switch off when in traffic. \p Lilian Greenwood: Vehicle manufacturers are under legislative and market pressure to deliver fuel-efficient vehicles that produce less carbon dioxide. This encourages the fitment of technologies such as automatic engine start-stop systems. Government sees its role as the setting of standards, and that of industry as the development of appropriate technologies to meet those standards.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the levels of corrosion on the Class (a) 150/0, (b) 150/1, (c) 150/2, (d) 155, (e) 156 and (f) 158 vehicles operated by Northern Trains. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department does not hold information with regards to the levels of corrosion on the specified rolling stock. It is a matter for the operator, rolling stock owner and maintainer to ensure that their rolling stock remains in an appropriate condition for operation on the railway network.
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to monitor train service improvements in North East Hampshire constituency. \p Simon Lightwood: Department officials are in regular conversation with South Western Railway regarding its service provision in response to demand. When reviewing train services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations.
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Catherine Fookes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made following her Department's closed consultation on improving moped and motorcycle training. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government is considering plans to review existing requirements for motorcycle training, testing and licensing, and wants to take account of the long-standing plans in the Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, alongside recent information and proposals from the motorcycle sector. These include a desire to make things simpler for riders whilst recognising the importance of maintaining our safety record.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to amend the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements system for dealing with people who have been convicted of terror-related offences after their release from prison. \p Hilary Benn: The Multi Agency Review Arrangements (MARA) are a devolved matter, led and co-ordinated by the Department of Justice. MARA makes provision for classification of and risk management of Terrorist Risk Offenders following their release from prison. Any changes to MARA would be a matter for the Department of Justice.

Individuals released under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 are not managed under MARA, unless they are subject to other sentences which bring them within the MARA arrangements. I am not planning any changes to the arrangements under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of decisions taken by the (a) Scottish Government, (b) Northern Ireland Executive and (c) Republic of Ireland Government to commit to using renewable liquid fuels as a key part of their decarbonisation strategies. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Although heat policy is a devolved matter, policies relating to the supply of fuels (including renewable liquid heating fuels) are reserved. Officials work closely with the Devolved Governments when developing UK Government policies and will be considering these nations’, and the Republic of Ireland’s, decarbonisation strategies’ impact on future policies.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on the number of public sector projects contracted by his Department that have had cost overruns due to mandatory net zero requirements since 5 July 2024. \p Michael Shanks: This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help maintain the landfill gas to energy sector. \p Michael Shanks: The Government is aware that the expiration of Renewables Obligation accreditation may affect the commercial viability of generators from a range of technologies, including landfill gas generators.

Officials are continuing to assess the impact that the end of Renewables Obligation support will have on security of supply, clean power 2030 and the environment, and we are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to consider options.

No decisions have been made on future support for landfill gas generators.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps her Department has taken to help prevent unlawful access refusals into business premises for customers who require a guide dog. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Equality Act 2010 provides strong protection to disabled people with guide dogs in a range of settings, including when accessing business premises. It is highly likely that access refusals will be unlawful and strong remedies are available to disabled people who have experienced this and wish to enforce the law.

A person who feels discriminated against may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), a Government-funded helpline, which is the initial point of contact for anyone with discrimination concerns. The EASS provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. It also supports individuals to resolve issues using alternative informal dispute resolution and can advise on next steps when someone feels discriminated against. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further, and can be contacted through their website at www.equalityadvisoryservice.com, by telephone on xx-xxxx-xxxx or text phone on xx-xxxx-xxxx.

Additionally, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has published guidance for businesses on their obligations under the 2010 Act - “Assistance dogs, a guide for all businesses” available at: www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/assistance-dogs-guide-businesses-and-service-providers
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Ian Sollom:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with pharmaceutical companies on taking steps to ensure an adequate supply of hormone replacement therapies for women experiencing the menopause. \p Karin Smyth: The Department manages medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Cambridgeshire is not held centrally.

Previously, there have been issues with the supply of a limited number of these products, primarily driven by very sharp increases in demand. Following the Department’s intensive engagement with industry, the supply position has improved considerably. As part of this we have met with suppliers on a very regular basis and have held nine hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply roundtables since April 2022, with the most recent in September 2024, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists, to provide updates on the supply position and the actions being taken to address the issues, share data, and discuss relevant policy developments and their potential impacts.

There are over 70 HRT products, and the vast majority are in good supply. Where there are issues with HRT products, we continue to work closely with suppliers and other stakeholders, such as the National Health Service and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, to expedite resupply dates of disrupted products to resolve the issues as soon as possible
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Wendy Chamberlain:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues on improving support for unpaid carers. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the meeting between PANS PANDAS and his Department on 19 November 2024, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for research into that condition. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 23858 on NHS Business Services Authority: Workplace Pensions, how many remedial pension savings statements (a) were required in total, (b) had been issued to date, (c) were calculated and awaiting fulfilment and (d) were still outstanding in the latest period for which data is available. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Remedial Service Statements (a) are required in total (b) have been issued to date (c) are calculated and awaiting fulfilment and (d) still outstanding. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer through the non-specific symptoms pathway. \p Ashley Dalton: We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, including blood cancer. NHS Planning Guidance, issued on 30 January 2025, set stretching targets for cancer. By March 2026, approximately 100,000 more people every year will be told whether they have cancer or not within 28 days, and 17,000 more people will begin treatment within two months of a referral.

Meeting these targets for cancer will ensure that no patient waits longer than they should for diagnosis or treatment, and we have started by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, to support faster diagnosis and access to treatment.

Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.

We do not currently have access to information on how many people have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer through the non-specific symptoms pathway.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many parents who have experienced the death of a child have waited more than three months to receive the final post-mortem report. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department does not hold post-mortem reporting data. It is likely to be held by National Health Service trusts and Coroner’s Offices for the post-mortems they are responsible for.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Public Health Grants in rural areas. \p Ashley Dalton: In line with the Government’s Health Mission, our goal is to create a more equitable healthcare system that leaves no person or community behind.

The government recognises the health inequalities faced by rural communities in England, particularly around access to healthcare services.

In response, we are working closely across the department, with NHS England (NHSE), and regional Directors of Public Health (DPHs) to develop approaches that address these inequalities. The Department supports statutory Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in delivering National Health Services across England. ICSs are partnerships of organisations which come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services, this includes considering adequate healthcare provision for populations in rural and remote areas.

The local authority Public Health Grant, including funding for the ten Greater Manchester authorities through a business rate retention arrangement is £3.858 billion in 2025/26. This is an increase of 5.4% in cash terms, 3% in real terms, compared to 2024/25. On average, funding for the most deprived local authorities is more than two times greater than that for the least deprived.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with bidders for prison education contracts on the New Fair Deal for pensions. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Guidance to bidders on the application of the New Fair Deal was included in the Invitation to Tender. Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender. Successful bidders will be supported to mobilise new services, including addressing any questions relating to New Fair Deal.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy paper entitled 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, published on 11 December 2024, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new prison developments do not negatively impact local (a) air and (b) water quality; and whether she plans to put systems in place to monitor the environmental impact of those developments. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: All new prison developments require the Ministry of Justice to submit a detailed Environment Impact Assessment. In addition, the Ministry of Justice applies the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) policy, which requires new builds, where technically feasible, to achieve the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ accreditation as a minimum with the ambition to achieve ‘Outstanding’, the highest rating achievable. BREEAM is a third-party certification process which assesses a project’s environmental, social and economic sustainability performance, including specific consideration of water course pollution, air quality and other environmental impacts. Once construction is complete, the Ministry of Justice is committed to monitoring the environmental impact of developments throughout their lifespan in accordance with BREEAM policy and in line with planning condition requirements.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure individuals subject to a community order are able to complete their unpaid work in a neighbouring local authority area. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Community Payback allows offenders to pay recompense to the communities they have harmed by completing between 40 and 300 hours of unpaid work. The work primarily takes place in the local area to where the offender resides. This allows for reduced travel time to projects and for the offender to make reparation to their local community. There are certain circumstances when this arrangement deviates. Where are compelling reasons relating to local placement such as links to local gangs and employment considerations, steps can be taken to change the project to another local authority area.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will undertake a review of sentencing guidelines for causing serious injury by careless driving. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The Sentencing Guideline for the offence of causing serious injury by careless or inconsiderate driving was published by the Sentencing Council in June 2022 and came into force in July 2023.

The Council is independent of Parliament and Government. As an independent body, it decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and reviewing guidelines. The Lord Chancellor or the Court of Appeal can ask the Council to consider guidelines in a particular area, but the Council is not required to agree to any such requests.

The Council monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so. The assessment covers the operation and effect of the guideline. A report on the evaluation findings is published online.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-02)

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Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with his US counterpart on reducing VAT on US firms exporting to the UK. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: DBT Secretary of State and officials continue to hold regular and productive conversations with the Trump administration to press the case for UK business interests. We’re prioritising engagement with the US to stand up for our national interests.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer 18 March 2025 to Question 36660 on USA: Trade Agreements, if he will set out his the expected timeline for an economic deal. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: On Tuesday 18 March, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and the Special Envoy to the UK Mark Burnett in Washington DC. The meeting followed last month’s agreement between the Prime Minister and President Trump that teams would start working together on an Economic Prosperity Deal, building on our shared strengths and commitment to economic security. Ministers and officials will be continuing discussions moving forward.