Written questions by Cooper.

What discussions his Department has had with the Health and Safety Executive on the effectiveness of artificial intelligence-led safety systems in reducing workplace fatalities in the (a) construction and (b) logistics sectors; and if he will make a statement on the development of industry protocols for these systems.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has undertaken research into how businesses are adopting AI and its implications for workplace health and safety. This research has examined the use of AI in developing health and safety provisions across a wide range of sectors, including construction and logistics. HSE is working with industry partners to develop benchmarks that enable best use of AI in workplaces. It is also contributing toward the development of international standards for AI interaction with machinery and functional safety.

What progress has been made on the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023; and what steps she is taking to support rural businesses in (a) Mid Cheshire constituency, (b) Cheshire and (c) England in deploying (i) advanced Human Form Recognition systems and (ii) AI-enhanced security systems to combat the theft of (A) high-value agricultural machinery and (B) fuel.

The Government is committed to the implementation of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which will introduce measures to make it harder for criminals to steal and re‑sell high‑value machinery and equipment. The Home Office has completed a Call for Evidence to inform delivery and is working closely with industry, policing and other partners to develop the necessary secondary legislation, which will be introduced in Parliament as time allows.To support rural businesses the Government is strengthening the policing response to acquisitive crime through improved neighbourhood policing, specialist national capability and legislative tools to support enforcement. This includes continuing to fund the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit, which work with forces to tackle organised machinery and fuel theft.The deployment of specific security technologies is an operational matter for policing and business. Police reforms and wider crime prevention measures are intended to ensure that forces have the capability and flexibility to work with rural communities and businesses to tackle theft, such as agricultural machinery and fuel, that affect rural locations.

What estimate he has made of the number of dietitians required to adequately support obesity, diabetes and malnutrition services in community healthcare settings in England.

The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the 10 Year Workforce Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups. The plan will be published in spring 2026.As of January 2026, there are 5,624 full time equivalent (FTE) dietitians in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is 220 (4.1%) more than last year, 1,040 (22.7%) than 2021, and 2,321 (70.3%) more than in 2010.

Which professional groups are currently included in NHS clinical pathways for patients prescribed weight loss medications; and what guidance his Department has issued on clinical oversight for those pathways.

Weight loss medicines are available through National Health Service specialist weight management services and, from June 2025 tirzepatide, brand name Mounjaro, is being made available in primary care through a phased approach. In specialist services, patients receive wraparound care from a multidisciplinary team providing nutritional, psychological, and medical support, tailored to individual need. In primary care, clinical oversight is provided by general practitioners and other prescribing healthcare professionals, with behavioural support delivered through locally commissioned services or via the national Healthier You: NHS Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing service. NHS England does not routinely hold information on the specific professional groups included in local clinical pathways. National guidance to support prescribing and clinical oversight includes: the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Technology Appraisal 1026 Tirzepatide for managing overweight and obesity;NICE’s Practical guide to using medicines to manage overweight and obesity; andNHS England’s interim commissioning guidance. Integrated care boards are responsible for ensuring robust clinical governance of these pathways.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the adoption of (a) advanced safety technology and (b) Human Form Recognition systems on agricultural machinery to reduce the number of serious injuries and fatalities involving (i) farm workers and (ii) members of the public.

Through the Farming Innovation Programme, the Government is providing £50 million as part the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) fund to support on farm trials and adoption of the latest agricultural equipment. This can support farmer-led, smaller-scale innovation grants to trial and test new equipment and methods such as new advanced safety technologies aimed at reducing on-farm accidents.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of agricultural machinery accidents on the rural economy; and if she will consider including AI-driven safety equipment within the scope of future Farming Equipment and Technology Fund grants.

The Government recognises the importance of reducing agricultural machinery accidents, no specific assessment has been made on its impact on the rural economy. As announced, FETF 2026 is intended to be the final round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund. The Government wishes to build on what has worked well across all its grant schemes with the aim of bringing the strongest elements together from 2027. As part of this work, it will look at the specific types of equipment and technology that could be included, including consideration of the role of AI-driven safety equipment.

What the timetable is for lifting HS2 safeguarding directions affecting the Mid Cheshire constituency.

Following the Northern Growth Strategy announcement in January, we are carefully considering our options regarding the HS2 safeguarding direction affecting the Mid-Cheshire constituency and will set out further details in due course.

What steps he is taking to improve the (a) completeness and (b) quality of data collected on waiting times to access adult community eating disorder services.

Adult eating disorders are covered by the overall adult waiting time metrics developed through the Clinically Led Review of Standards. Work to implement adult community mental health time-based metrics therefore also applies to adult community eating disorder services. To improve completeness and quality of data submitted to the Mental Health Services Dataset (MHSDS), the Adult Mental Health team has developed SNOMED CT clinical coding guidance and national reference sets to support accurate recording of assessments, interventions, medications, and waiting time clock stops. Online training modules have been published to support providers with MHSDS submissions, with further pathway-specific modules and clinical descriptor guidance in development, alongside planned educational sessions for 2026/27. The national Data Collections Service provides proactive one-to-one data quality support to providers, and an experimental access and waiting times dashboard is available on NHS Futures. In addition, NHS England publishes data quality information on all MHSDS submissions and contacts providers monthly to address identified issues. Together, these measures are intended to strengthen the completeness and accuracy of waiting time data for adult community eating disorder services.

Whether he plans to commission national training to support the workforce delivering Children and Young People’s Eating Disorder Services.

NHS England already has comprehensive eating disorder training in place for staff across mental and physical health services, including those delivering Children and Young People’s Eating Disorder Services (CYP ED). This covers both awareness-raising and specialist up-skilling, with e-learning and simulation training available to doctors, general practitioners and primary care clinicians, nurses across all four branches, acute hospital staff, dietitians, and pharmacy teams. Following the 2017 Ombudsman report Ignoring the Alarms, NHS England worked with Beat and the Royal College of Psychiatrists to strengthen training on the safe medical management of eating disorders, which remains available. More recently, NHS England has commissioned further specialist training to support the CYP ED workforce, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Eating Disorders Credential, family-based therapies, cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders, and training on Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Together, this national programme of training ensures that the workforce is better equipped to identify risk early and provide safe, effective, evidence-based care for children and young people wherever they present.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of converting short-term tenancies into periodic tenancies on the number of tenancies required to make anniversary calculations for Stamp Duty Land Tax.

Tenant wellbeing is central to the government’s recent Renters’ Rights Act, which will transform the experience of private renting, and give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer. We are aware that the Act, which abolishes fixed-term tenancies, may bring these tenancies into the SDLT regime. We will act to ensure that no one will be brought into paying SDLT as a result of the Renters’ Rights Act. We will update the House with more detail shortly.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to bring forward sanctions relating to human rights violations and abuses in Eritrea.

The UK Government consistently considers the full range of policy tools at our disposal to protect human rights and deter violations of international humanitarian law. It is the UK's long-standing policy not to comment on potential sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their effectiveness.

Media and Sport, whether she has (a) made an assessment of the current classification of deaf sport within UK sporting-funding frameworks, (b) what consideration her Department has given to the disparity in funding provided to Deaflympic athletes compared with Paralympic athletes, and (c) what steps she is taking to ensure that deaf athletes are not systematically overlooked in future funding decisions.

The Government is dedicated to making sport across the country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people. Sport England are exploring a series of talent pilots for deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore issues around accessibility and suggest potential solutions. Sport England has also awarded UK Deaf Sport £150,000 to fund a specialist Talent Inclusion post to further the work of the pilots. The Government, through the UK Sport grant, supports Olympic and Paralympic success. Beyond this the Government does not provide additional funding to performance sport, in line with our approach to a great many other areas of individual sporting performance.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of the duties of the Canal and River Trust to maintain the River Weaver Navigation for navigation purposes in terms of (a) draught and (b) the furthest distance upstream required to meet the duty.

It is the responsibility of organisations with statutory duties, including the Canal and River Trust, to ensure compliance with them. Maintaining the River Weaver for navigation is an operational matter for the Trust, and it’s important the Government respects the Trust’s operational independence.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access to multidisciplinary rehabilitation services for people with functional neurological disorder across Integrated Care Boards (a) in general and (b) for people under 18.

The National Institute for Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders, including acquired brain injury, was published in October 2025 and with the code NG252, includes functional neurological disorder within its scope. The guideline, which covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms, recommends a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation. The guideline emphasises the need for personalised care plans that address physical, cognitive, and psychological needs.We expect integrated care boards to take NICE guidelines fully into account when designing and commissioning services to meet the needs of their local populations. NICE guidelines represent authoritative, evidence-based recommendations on best practice, including clinical and cost-effectiveness considerations. This approach ensures consistency, quality, and equity in service provision across the National Health Service. The guideline is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng252

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for publishing the cross-government homelessness strategy.

We will publish our cross-Government homelessness strategy later this year.

Whether she has had discussions with Manchester Airport on the level of that airport's (a) drop-off and (b) pick-up charges.

Most airports in the UK are managed and operated as private businesses, and the provision and charging of car parking at airports (including drop-off and pick-up charges) is a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business to manage and justify.However, DfT expects car parking at airports, such as Manchester, to be managed appropriately and consumers treated fairly.

What fiscal steps her Department is taking to utilise the (a) protection and (b) restoration of nature to increase trends in the level of green economic growth.

The Government recognises that nature makes an important contribution to green economic growth and is taking action to invest in our natural assets. The Government is investing in sustainable farming and nature recovery, both boosting productivity and supporting food and economic security. To help deliver its environmental ambitions, the Government is also seeking to create the conditions to mobilise additional private finance into nature, including by driving the development of high-integrity nature markets for the UK.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of nature depletion on trends in the level of GDP growth.

The Treasury continues to make progress and explore ways to strengthen processes for assessing the climate and environmental impacts of fiscal decisions and improve the Green Book in line with emerging evidence and best practice. The Government is investing in sustainable farming and nature recovery, both boosting productivity and supporting food and economic security.

Food and Rural Affairs, what fiscal steps her Department is taking to support the 30by30 target.

The UK Government is committed to protecting 30% of land and sea in the UK by 2030 (30by30). Delivering 30by30 on land in England means ensuring that our most important and wildlife-rich habitats are benefiting from effective, long-term conservation and management. We will publish our 30by30 Action Plan in due course, showing the concrete and targeted action we will take to make progress on 30by30 on land in England.Similarly at sea we are focusing on ensuring England’s 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering 40% of English waters, are effectively managed.The Government has committed to the largest investment into nature in history, with over £7 billion directed into nature’s recovery over the parliament until 2028/29. This investment will make a significant contribution to the Environment Act targets and 30by30, including improving the quality of water, air, and spaces for wildlife so biodiversity can thrive.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for covid-19 vaccinations to groups not included in the vaccination programme.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.The focus of the JCVI advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.On 13 November 2024, JCVI published advice on who should be offered vaccination in autumn 2025. On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to the following groups:adults aged 75 years and over;residents in care homes for older adults;individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book).The Government has no plans to change eligibility for autumn 2025. It has accepted the JCVI advice for this campaign in full. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.