Written questions by Rosindell.

If his Department will take steps to improve blood cancer (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) outcomes in Romford constituency.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England, including in the Romford constituency.The Department is committing to this by improving waiting times for cancer treatment, starting by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, to support faster diagnosis and access to treatment. In addition, NHS England has implemented non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations thereof, that can indicate several different cancers. This includes leukaemia, which can present non-specific symptoms, such as unexpected weight loss and night sweats. From our national evaluation, blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of Lord O'Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and ensuring that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to NHS patients, including those with blood cancer. Most recently, in response to the findings of Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS, the Department has launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS.In September this year, NHS England announced a new targeted treatment, quizartinib, to be prescribed to newly diagnosed patients with a specific type of leukaemia, boosting their chance of remission and long-term survival, made available through the NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund, which fast-tracks new innovative cancer treatments into standard care. This followed a previous announcement in August, announcing the new treatment, Zanubrutini, for those with marginal zone lymphoma, which could halt the progression of their cancer and provide an alternative to further rounds of chemotherapy.

Whether she plans to make the signing of the seafarers charter by maritime operators compulsory.

The Government is committed to strengthening workers’ rights at sea, and has tabled an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill to give Ministers powers to create a legally-binding Seafarers’ Charter that will protect and improve seafarer working conditions.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of innovative blood cancer treatments in Romford constituency.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancer, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes for all patients across England, including in the Romford constituency.The Department is committing to this by improving waiting times for cancer treatment, starting by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, to support faster diagnosis and access to treatment. In addition, NHS England has implemented non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations thereof, that can indicate several different cancers. This includes leukaemia, which can present non-specific symptoms, such as unexpected weight loss and night sweats. From our national evaluation, blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of Lord O'Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and ensuring that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to NHS patients, including those with blood cancer. Most recently, in response to the findings of Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS, the Department has launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS.In September this year, NHS England announced a new targeted treatment, quizartinib, to be prescribed to newly diagnosed patients with a specific type of leukaemia, boosting their chance of remission and long-term survival, made available through the NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund, which fast-tracks new innovative cancer treatments into standard care. This followed a previous announcement in August, announcing the new treatment, Zanubrutini, for those with marginal zone lymphoma, which could halt the progression of their cancer and provide an alternative to further rounds of chemotherapy.

What steps she has taken to work with local authorities to support the early years sector in Romford constituency.

This government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity and that starts by ensuring every child has the best start in life. High-quality early education and childcare is essential to supporting this.By 2027/28, this government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours helping working families with their childcare costs. We have committed to ensuring that 30 hours of government-funded childcare is available for eligible working parents of children aged 9 months to the time they start school, by September 2025. This is the largest expansion of funded childcare ever and will remove barriers to work for nearly half a million parents with a child under 3 in England. ​The Romford constituency is within the area covered by Havering local authority, who, under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2. The department worked closely with Havering local authority as they delivered the first two stages of the early entitlement expansion, and we continue to engage with them regularly as they prepare for September 2025. Currently no local authorities are reporting that eligible children are unable to access early years places. If through our support, Havering local authority report any sufficiency challenges, we will where possible support them with any specific requirements. We have a delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, in place to support local authorities and providers to deliver the early years expansion. Finally, on top of over £8 billion through the core funding rates, we are providing an additional £75 million grant for 2025/26 to support the sector in this pivotal year as they grow the places and the workforce needed to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025. We know how important the details of funding arrangements are to local authorities and providers and so we will provide further details on how this grant will work as soon as possible.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of funding for the Combined Cadet Force Association on its operation in the London Borough of Havering.

This Government’s commitment to supporting the school-based Combined Cadet Force and the Cadet Expansion Programme in schools remains unchanged. Therefore, we continue to invest £3.6 million per year in the programme so that more young people can enjoy the benefits of the cadet experience. In light of this, I have also directed that a review be undertaken to ascertain how we can deliver more cadet activity, and to do more for our cadets, both in schools and in wider communities.

What steps he is taking to reduce barriers to accessing drug treatment faced by women.

The Department is focused on supporting local areas to deliver high quality drug and alcohol treatment services, including better meeting the needs of women and vulnerable groups. Current work in relation to women and vulnerable groups includes: providing targeted support to local areas; enhancing data tools to better inform local needs assessments; supporting workforce development; and implementation of the Commissioning Quality Standard and the sharing of good practice. The quality standard provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas and includes a requirement that local authority commissioning partnerships include services that reflect their local populations and work with underrepresented groups, as identified in their local needs assessment, such as people from minority ethnic groups and women. Further information on the Commissioning Quality Standard is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-servicesIn addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. This funding will help improve women’s access to treatment, removing barriers they face and ensuring the care they receive is tailored to their needs.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, updated 24 September 2024, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that design codes reflect local circumstances.

The government’s recent consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework makes clear the importance of achieving well-designed places and how this can be achieved holistically through local design policies, design codes and guidance.A clear framework exists through policy and guidance to support local planning authorities deliver well-designed places and to enable them to work together with the communities they serve to ensure the development of new homes responds to the positive and distinctive context and characteristics of an area. This can be through policies in the local plan, masterplans, guidance and design codes that are locally led.Our continued commitment to well-designed homes and places is further supported through proposed updates to the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code in Spring 2025.

Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to support listed places of worship.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports listed places of worship, including Church of England buildings. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which will be funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the Church of England in maintaining its built heritage.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports listed places of worship, including Church of England buildings. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which will be funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system, updated 24 September 2024, whether she plans to use architects to help utilise complex brownfield sites for development.

I refer the hon member to the answer to Question UIN 16502 on 5 December 2024.

When his Department will announce future funding for drug treatment services beyond 2025.

We understand the importance of funding certainty for informing local system’s operational decision making and future planning. We are engaging with commissioners and providers on this. Future funding for drug treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly. The Department of Health and Social Care will write directly to each local authority soon to set out indicative allocations for 2025/26, which will still be subject to Departmental and HM Treasury’s approvals, and so final allocations could vary. My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also made clear that the Government will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025. In future, we anticipate that Spending Reviews will be set every two years to cover a three-year period, including a one-year overlap with the previous Spending Review, helping build in greater certainty and stability over public finances. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extreme weather events on critical infrastructure assets in the next five years.

The government is committed to working closely with Critical National Infrastructure operators to ensure resilience and preparedness. Extreme weather events pose a serious risk to UK resilience, reflected in their inclusion in the National Risk Register. They are included in the Third National Adaptation Programme, which sets out government action to respond to impacts arising from climate change. These products consider risks over a 2-5 year timeframe and enable relevant bodies to undertake proportionate planning.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Institution of Civil Engineers’ policy position statement on evolving the UK strategic infrastructure planning system, published on 12 July 2021, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of the ICE's recommendations on publishing a national policy statement for infrastructure.

The government is committed to improving National Policy Statements and in the July speech, the Chancellor announced an immediate 12-month review of National Policy Statements. To build on the review, we will legislate, through the Planning Infrastructure Bill, to mandate the updating of National Policy Statements every five years.Longer term, Government is developing a 10-year Infrastructure Strategy and establishing the National Infrastructure Strategy and Transformation Agency, which will play a crucial role in shaping the future of national infrastructure.

If he will commission an inquiry into the safety of taking (a) mifepristone and (b) misoprostol at home to terminate a pregnancy.

The Government has no plans to commission an inquiry into the safety of taking mifepristone and misoprostol at home to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion is a safe procedure for which major complications are rare, at all pregnancy gestations. Data does not show an increase in abortion complications following the introduction of home use of mifepristone and misoprostol for early medical abortion.

When she plans to publish the 10-year National Infrastructure Strategy; and whether she plans to adopt the recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Assessment, published on 18 October 2023.

The government will publish a 10-year infrastructure strategy next spring alongside the 2025 Spending Review. This will set out the government’s long-term plans for infrastructure and address the recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission’s Second National Infrastructure Assessment.

What her planned timetable is for the creation of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.

The government will introduce the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA), which will combine the functions of the NIC and IPA and bring oversight of strategy and delivery under one roof. NISTA will be operational by spring 2025 and will implement the government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy in conjunction with industry, while driving more effective delivery of infrastructure across the country.

Whether he has taken steps to reduce the number of pregnancies terminated beyond 24 weeks.

No steps have been taken to reduce the number of pregnancies terminated beyond 24 weeks gestation.Abortion in England and Wales is governed by the Abortion Act 1967, which defines the criteria under which terminations can take place. Under the act, termination of pregnancies beyond 24 weeks is only permitted in limited circumstances. Before a termination can proceed, there is a legal requirement for two doctors to certify that in their opinion, which must be formed in good faith, at least one of the grounds for abortion as set out in the act are met, and these must be the same grounds.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reversing whether the decision to allow women to take (a) mifepristone and (b) misoprostol at home to terminate a pregnancy.

The Government has no plans to assess the potential merits of reversing the decision to allow women to take mifepristone and misoprostol at home to terminate a pregnancy. Abortion in England and Wales is governed by the Abortion Act 1967, which defines the criteria under which terminations can take place. Under the act, women have access to regulated and National Health Service funded abortion services, which now includes taking both abortion pills at home, up to a 10-week gestation.As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance. It would be for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he has taken to help protect national infrastructure assets from climate change.

The Department is supporting the third National Adaptation Programme 3 (NAP3) and climate change initiatives by working with various agencies to protect infrastructure from climate hazards. NAP3 runs from 2023 to 2028 and sets out how government will respond to the risks identified in our third Climate Change Risk Assessment. NAP3 includes a dedicated chapter on managing the risks to infrastructure services. The Government is committed to further strengthening the nation’s resilience, including in our approach to managing climate risks to the UK.

Innovation and Technology, how much funding from Project Gigabit has been allocated to Romford constituency.

Project Gigabit funding is not allocated at a constituency or regional level. Instead, it is targeted at premises across the UK that need it most, specifically those outside of suppliers' commercial plans. According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 94% of premises in the Romford constituency can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection. This is above the UK average of 85%. We anticipate that the majority of the remaining premises in urban areas such as Romford will receive a gigabit-capable connection through the commercial market, without the need for Project Gigabit subsidy. However, funding will continue to be allocated where it is needed.