Written questions by Brewer.

Communities and Local Government, what measures the Government has enacted to ensure local plans identify and manage the impacts of development on chalk stream rivers; whether these include buffer zones, green corridors or exclusion zones; and whether such measures are mandated in planning policy guidance.

The government is consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that includes clearer, more rules-based policies for decision-making and plan-making. The consultation includes explicit recognition of chalk streams as features of high environmental value. Our proposed policy is clear that local plans must identify and manage the impacts of development on these sensitive areas, for instance by creating buffer zones or green corridors, while giving local authorities flexibility to decide which measures are best suited to their local context. We have also set out more clearly expectations for development proposals to assess and mitigate adverse impacts to water quality on these sensitive waterbodies.

If he will include information in the Green Book on the HPV vaccine that includes reference to its role in reducing the risk of oral cancer.

The Green Book is written for healthcare professionals. The chapter on human papillomavirus (HPV) does highlight the causal link between infection with this virus, cervical cancer, and some non-cervical cancer including those of the head and neck. The HPV chapter 18a from the Green Book is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-papillomavirus-hpv-the-green-book-chapter-18aBroader UK Health Security Agency guidance on HPV also highlights the protection the vaccine provides against HPV infection and related conditions. This public‑facing information also explains that the vaccine helps protect against cancers of the mouth and is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64919b26103ca6000c03a212/HPV_Vaccination_For_All_-_English_Leaflet_from_September_2023.pdfIt also highlights that the greatest risk comes from infection with high-risk types of HPV. There is very good evidence that the vaccine in use in the United Kingdom offers excellent protection against these high-risk types.

What steps the Government is taking to ensure that child welfare and education charities receive timely and clear information on Government grants and funding.

All department competed and criteria-based general grants, except those identified as highly sensitive or which are Grant in Aid, are advertised centrally online using the Cabinet Office's Find a Grant advertising service. This process ensures that information on government grants and funding is made available in a single location for all applicants, including civil society organisations, and is free to access on GOV.UK.

If he will make it his policy to update the multi-criteria decision support analysis to ensure that hospital wave allocations within the New Hospital Programme reflect estate conditions and patient environment standards.

As set out in the New Hospital Programme’s Plan for Implementation, a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool was used to help prioritise schemes to support the development of funding options. Criteria included deliverability, estate condition, clinical outcomes and patient assessment of care environment for each of the hospitals falling within the scope of the review. The input data and scoring mechanism within the MCDA was reviewed with NHS England and Departmental colleagues to validate its appropriateness. The Programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future.The plan is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementation

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that inclusive, safe and accessible youth spaces are available in every area following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland v. The Scottish Ministers.

My department is committed to ensuring that our youth policies are inclusive and do not exclude any young people. Our recent consultations with young people as part of our National Youth Strategy informed us that they wanted safe and welcoming spaces. To make sure that young people of all backgrounds can access safe spaces, we are investing £350 million to refurbish or build up to 250 youth facilities through our Better Youth Spaces programme. We will review and update our policies wherever necessary to ensure legal compliance. We will also continue to uphold the Equality Act’s protections against unlawful discrimination and harassment.

Whether processes are in place to ensure (a) that hospitals within the New Hospital Programme are continually assessed and (B) that the prioritisation queue can be adjusted if circumstances change, such as structural safety concerns or urgent capacity needs.

On 20 January 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced a new, realistic plan to deliver the New Hospital Programme (NHP) and we continue to work to these timelines. As set out in the Plan for Implementation, delivery expectations may be subject to change depending on local and national factors and the programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future.We are prioritising the seven hospitals built wholly or primarily from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), as part of Wave 1, with ongoing mitigations in place to ensure patient and staff safety. Priority will be given to the most affected buildings and services.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned a comprehensive site-by-site report into these seven hospitals, which will help inform individual development plans, which continue to progress at pace.£1.6 billion will be provided to continue supporting NHS England’s national RAAC programme across the 2025 Spending Review period. The seven NHP RAAC replacement hospitals continue to receive funding and support from NHS England’s national RAAC programme ahead of the delivery of replacement hospitals.

What steps NHS trusts can take to accelerate their eligibility for prioritisation within the New Hospital Programme queue.

On 20 January 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced a new, realistic plan to deliver the New Hospital Programme (NHP) and we continue to work to these timelines. As set out in the Plan for Implementation, delivery expectations may be subject to change depending on local and national factors and the programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future.We are prioritising the seven hospitals built wholly or primarily from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), as part of Wave 1, with ongoing mitigations in place to ensure patient and staff safety. Priority will be given to the most affected buildings and services.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned a comprehensive site-by-site report into these seven hospitals, which will help inform individual development plans, which continue to progress at pace.£1.6 billion will be provided to continue supporting NHS England’s national RAAC programme across the 2025 Spending Review period. The seven NHP RAAC replacement hospitals continue to receive funding and support from NHS England’s national RAAC programme ahead of the delivery of replacement hospitals.

What steps his Department is taking to support NHS trusts in managing and removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from hospital buildings; and how this work is prioritised within the New Hospital Programme.

On 20 January 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced a new, realistic plan to deliver the New Hospital Programme (NHP) and we continue to work to these timelines. As set out in the Plan for Implementation, delivery expectations may be subject to change depending on local and national factors and the programme reserves the right to adjust the delivery plan as schemes develop in the future.We are prioritising the seven hospitals built wholly or primarily from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), as part of Wave 1, with ongoing mitigations in place to ensure patient and staff safety. Priority will be given to the most affected buildings and services.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned a comprehensive site-by-site report into these seven hospitals, which will help inform individual development plans, which continue to progress at pace.£1.6 billion will be provided to continue supporting NHS England’s national RAAC programme across the 2025 Spending Review period. The seven NHP RAAC replacement hospitals continue to receive funding and support from NHS England’s national RAAC programme ahead of the delivery of replacement hospitals.

What steps the Government has taken to review the provisions of the Marriage Act 1949.

The Government announced on 2 October that we intend to reform weddings law when parliamentary time allows. The reforms reflect a commitment to making marriage law fairer, simpler and more modern, whilst also protecting the solemnity and dignity of marriage. We want to create a level playing field for all groups, including allowing humanist weddings to be legally recognised for the first time. We will be consulting on the details early next year.

What steps his Department is taking to implement the Law Commission’s July 2022 recommendations for reforming weddings law in England and Wales.

The Government announced on 2 October that we intend to reform weddings law when parliamentary time allows. The reforms reflect a commitment to making marriage law fairer, simpler and more modern, whilst also protecting the solemnity and dignity of marriage. We want to create a level playing field for all groups, including allowing humanist weddings to be legally recognised for the first time. We will be consulting on the details early next year.

When the Emergency Services Network will be fully operational, including phone-based location tracking capabilities for emergency responders.

The programme’s priority is to achieve the right balance between credible plans that have user confidence and the need to deliver ESN as quickly and safely as possible to enable the shutdown of Airwave.The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) has successfully concluded two major re-procurements. In November 2024, the Mobile Services contract was awarded to BT/EE, followed by the award of the User Services contract to IBM in December 2024. With these committed delivery partners firmly on board, ESMCP has made excellent progress into full delivery mode.The programme has finalised a revised Programme Business Case, which has been endorsed by the Senior Users of the three Emergency Services and representatives from the devolved nations. The Business Case is expected to complete departmental and HM Treasury approvals in early 2026. Our user community remains actively engaged in planning the deployment and rollout of the Emergency Services Network (ESN) and ensuring a safe transition from Airwave. Early adoption of a service-ready solution is on track for early 2028, with full transition from Airwave targeted for completion by the end of 2029.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that students from low socio-economic backgrounds, in rural areas, have access to funds for extra curricular activities.

My department has been co-producing a new National Youth Strategy with young people from all backgrounds, including those in rural areas from low socio-economic backgrounds, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential The Strategy will support better coordination of youth services across different regions, including rural areas and move away from one-size-fits-all approaches. This includes enhancing access to high-quality enrichment opportunities through an enrichment expansion programme, which will invest £22.5 million across 3 years to support up to 400 schools to provide a youth-voice led and tailored extracurricular enrichment offer. By doing so we are providing a voice for all young people and their communities to help rebuild the youth and extra-curricular provision throughout the country.

What assessments his Department has made of how to best support patients suffering with overlapping illnesses.

We recognise the growing prevalence and complexity of overlapping and co-existing chronic illnesses and long-term conditions, and the importance of improving diagnosis, management, and support for these patients.Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we are expanding community diagnostic services, introducing Neighbourhood Health Centres, and deploying multidisciplinary teams to provide holistic support. Patients will benefit from enhanced NHS App functionality, including My Medicines and My Health, and will be able to self-refer to specialist services where appropriate.Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitments on artificial intelligence will give clinicians advanced tools for faster diagnosis, predictive analytics, and personalised care planning. For people with long-term conditions, this means earlier interventions, better monitoring of complex needs, and more time for clinicians to focus on patient-centred care rather than administrative tasks. The plan also commits to 95% of people with complex needs having a personalised care plan by 2027.The appointment by NHS England of a National Specialty Adviser on multi-morbidity provides expert leadership to improve care for people with multiple long-term conditions, ensuring services are better coordinated, evidence-based, and focused on holistic patient needs.We also recognise that doctors can find it challenging to diagnose Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) because these conditions share symptoms with many other disorders.Resources such as the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Syncope Toolkit for PoTS and the EDS Toolkit, now maintained by Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, are improving clinician awareness of both conditions. The National Institute for Care Excellence provides a clinical knowledge summary on blackouts and syncope to support consistent assessment and diagnosis of PoTS. NHS England commissions a National Diagnostic Service for rare EDS subtypes.

What steps his Department taking to help improve the diagnosis of overlapping illnesses such as PoTs and EDS.

We recognise the growing prevalence and complexity of overlapping and co-existing chronic illnesses and long-term conditions, and the importance of improving diagnosis, management, and support for these patients.Through the 10-Year Health Plan, we are expanding community diagnostic services, introducing Neighbourhood Health Centres, and deploying multidisciplinary teams to provide holistic support. Patients will benefit from enhanced NHS App functionality, including My Medicines and My Health, and will be able to self-refer to specialist services where appropriate.Additionally, the 10-Year Health Plan’s commitments on artificial intelligence will give clinicians advanced tools for faster diagnosis, predictive analytics, and personalised care planning. For people with long-term conditions, this means earlier interventions, better monitoring of complex needs, and more time for clinicians to focus on patient-centred care rather than administrative tasks. The plan also commits to 95% of people with complex needs having a personalised care plan by 2027.The appointment by NHS England of a National Specialty Adviser on multi-morbidity provides expert leadership to improve care for people with multiple long-term conditions, ensuring services are better coordinated, evidence-based, and focused on holistic patient needs.We also recognise that doctors can find it challenging to diagnose Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) because these conditions share symptoms with many other disorders.Resources such as the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Syncope Toolkit for PoTS and the EDS Toolkit, now maintained by Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, are improving clinician awareness of both conditions. The National Institute for Care Excellence provides a clinical knowledge summary on blackouts and syncope to support consistent assessment and diagnosis of PoTS. NHS England commissions a National Diagnostic Service for rare EDS subtypes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support Natural England in their responsibilities in wildfire prevention, including in agreeing land management plans.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the lead Government department for wildfire. Defra works closely with MHCLG and supports Natural England (NE) to deliver its responsibilities. This includes the recently published Environmental Improvement Plan commitment that by 2030 NE will conduct research on increasing the natural resilience of habitats to wildfires, such as through re-wetting or restoring hydrological function, including case studies of success. An initial scoping review will be reported on in the annual progress report in 2027. This will develop our understanding of actions we can take to naturally reduce the risk of wildfires. Alongside this, Defra supports NE in:Working with partners to improve systems to alert land managers about fire risk and management techniques to improve resilience. This includes through support and membership of the UK Fire Danger Rating System Steering Group.Being represented on a number of local and regional wildfire groups in England which help address wildfire issues.Encouraging landowners/managers to maintain good relations with their local Fire and Rescue Service, including through joint visits to identify risks and familiarise all involved with sites that may be susceptible to wildfire.Advising that landowners complete a wildfire checklist (which can be funded through Countryside Stewardship). Where high vulnerability is identified it is the landowners’ responsibility to consider fire risk assessments and fire response plans.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance response times in North East Hampshire constituency.

The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance performance has not met the high standards patients should expect.In October, NHS England published the Medium Term Planning Framework which sets out ambitious targets to improve core urgent and emergency care performance to constitutional standards, including by shortening average Category 2 response times to 18 minutes. This is being supported by practical actions, including reducing avoidable ambulance dispatches and conveyances and ambulance handover delays.The measures being taken are already improving ambulance response times, including in North East Hampshire. The latest National Health Service performance figures for the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, which serves North East Hampshire, show that in October, Category 2 incidents were responded to in 31 minutes 54 seconds on average, over six minutes faster than the same period last year.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Electronic Travel Authorisation on European business representatives attending trade events and conferences in the UK.

ETAs have been introduced to strengthen the security of our border. They also make travel easier by further digitising our immigration and borders system, ensuring millions of visitors, including business travellers, enjoy a seamless experience. The department does not hold data on numbers of visitors attending trade events and conferences.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance wait times for Category 2 calls to the national target of 18 minutes.

The Government recognises that in recent years ambulance performance has not met the high standards patients should expect.In October, NHS England published the Medium Term Planning Framework which sets out ambitious targets to improve core urgent and emergency care performance to constitutional standards, including by shortening average Category 2 response times to 18 minutes. This is being supported by practical actions, including reducing avoidable ambulance dispatches and conveyances and ambulance handover delays.The measures being taken are already improving ambulance response times, including in North East Hampshire. The latest National Health Service performance figures for the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, which serves North East Hampshire, show that in October, Category 2 incidents were responded to in 31 minutes 54 seconds on average, over six minutes faster than the same period last year.

Media and Sport, what assessments her Department has made of the potential impact that access to youth services and after-school clubs has on levels of vandalism and antisocial behaviour among under-18s in North East Hampshire.

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government.DCMS-funded statistical analysis shows that a year after a drop in local authority expenditure on youth services, areas see increased incidences of some types of antisocial behaviour.We are co-producing a National Youth Strategy which will set out a new long-term vision for young people, and an action plan for delivering this. We aim to publish the Strategy later this year.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of measures to deter antisocial behaviour among young people in rural areas, such as North East Hampshire.

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.Under the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities, both urban and rural, and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary will receive £5,187,776 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.In addition, the Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary will be in receipt of £1,454,452.Following on from the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, the Home Secretary has announced a “Winter of Action” in which police forces across England and Wales will again partner with local businesses, councils and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour and other local issues that matter most to their communities.