Written questions by Snowden.

What support is available through the NHS for patients with postural tachycardia syndrome requiring (a) ongoing management and (b) rehabilitation.

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029.Additionally, the shifts outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan will free up hospital-based consultants’ time by shifting care from hospitals to communities, utilising digital technology to reduce administrative burdens, and promoting prevention to reduce the onset and severity of conditions that lead to hospital admissions. This includes expanding community-based services, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, developing integrated neighbourhood health teams, and investing in digital tools and data. These shifts will allow specialists to focus on more complex cases of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), enabling earlier identification and management, and improved patient outcomes.The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has supported a broad portfolio of research into long COVID, including understanding the links between long COVID and PoTS. The £3.35 million LOng COvid Multidisciplinary consortium: Optimising Treatments and servIces acrOss the NHS, or LOCOMOTION, study confirmed that people with long COVID are more likely than others to have orthostatic intolerance, and that these problems are relatively common.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73120 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data Protection, how many people whose cases may have been affected have (a) been identified and (b) been notified and (c) have yet to be contacted.

His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has expanded its checks using new digital tools to analyse the full period affected – covering around 700,000 cases – to determine whether any were impacted and to what extent. Based on the first phase of this additional assurance work, which reviewed a sample of 455 potentially affected cases, one has been found to be missing a document where the judge has confirmed it could have affected the case outcome. The parties involved have been contacted directly and offered the opportunity to request that the decision be set aside and the case reheard. As the assurance work continues, HMCTS will contact any additional parties whose case outcomes may have been affected.The CEO of HMCTS will write to the Justice Select Committee once the assurance process concludes, setting out the total number of affected cases, parties contacted, and outcome of any follow-up action.The Department remains committed to transparency and to safeguarding the integrity of judicial decision-making. Since the response provided on 22 September 2025, the Ministry of Justice has been conducting an internal assessment of the HMCTS Core Case Data issue.

Communities and Local Government, whether he will consider introducing a statutory duty for local planning authorities to provide technical assistance to groups preparing neighbourhood plans.

Neighbourhood Plans which have passed referenda have statutory weight and form part of the development plan. The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider doing so is in their best interests. Neighbourhood planning groups have received over £71 million since 2013. This support has created a network of planners and groups who have the skills and expertise to prepare neighbourhood plans and to help other communities to do so. Local planning authorities have an existing duty under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to provide advice and assistance to neighbourhood planning groups. They can also, at their discretion taking into account their constituents’ needs and priorities, provide funding in support of neighbourhood plan preparation. As of the end of September 2025, the department was aware of c.1850 made neighbourhood plans in England. The Department is aware of 23 neighbourhood plans which have been adopted in Lancashire since 2015, of which 2 were in the Fylde constituency.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the potential impact of its Passive Infrastructure Access pricing model on the economic viability of rural gigabit-capable broadband network builds.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.For this reason, while my officials are engaging with Ofcom on this issue, the Department has not made any specific assessment of the merits of introducing fiscal incentives to reduce how much rural operators pay for PIA.My officials are regularly engaging with Ofcom to ensure that we have the right regulatory environment in place to promote competition and investment in the fibre roll-out.

Whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people convicted of causing death by dangerous driving who have been charged with subsequent motoring offences.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including death by dangerous driving in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.It is not possible to identify those convicted of dangerous driving who go on to be charged with a subsequent motoring offence without exceeding the disproportionate cost limit. This is because we would need to examine the court records for all those convicted of dangerous driving.

Whether his Department has commissioned research on the incidence of postural tachycardia syndrome in patients with long covid.

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029.Additionally, the shifts outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan will free up hospital-based consultants’ time by shifting care from hospitals to communities, utilising digital technology to reduce administrative burdens, and promoting prevention to reduce the onset and severity of conditions that lead to hospital admissions. This includes expanding community-based services, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, developing integrated neighbourhood health teams, and investing in digital tools and data. These shifts will allow specialists to focus on more complex cases of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), enabling earlier identification and management, and improved patient outcomes.The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has supported a broad portfolio of research into long COVID, including understanding the links between long COVID and PoTS. The £3.35 million LOng COvid Multidisciplinary consortium: Optimising Treatments and servIces acrOss the NHS, or LOCOMOTION, study confirmed that people with long COVID are more likely than others to have orthostatic intolerance, and that these problems are relatively common.

What criteria were used by his Department to select the chosen sites for the Great British Energy solar scheme.

Schools were selected by the Department for Education (DfE), primarily clustered in three areas of deprivation, with at least ten schools in each region to ensure geographical spread. Selection was based on criteria including levels of deprivation, available roof space, and location. Each cluster includes a further education college working with appointed contractors to promote careers in renewables and support workforce growth. NHS sites were selected following an open invitation from NHS England for Trusts to submit expressions of interest. Projects were prioritised based on delivery confidence and expected economic and environmental impact. These are being managed through the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

What estimate he has made of the number of military families who will be affected by the Forces First approach in each of the next three years.

The Forces First approach will mean more Service personnel have access to the high-quality homes and home-ownership opportunities they deserve and will form part of the upcoming Defence Housing Strategy. This approach will be applied by agreement with local authorities and development partners on a site-by-site basis, so it is not possible to currently estimate the number of military families who will benefit in future years. A trailblazer for this approach is already underway at Ministry of Defence (MOD) Feltham in South-West London, where the MOD, the London Borough of Hounslow and the Greater London Authority have agreed to adopt a Forces First approach as part of a groundbreaking partnership to develop the site. Once vacated, this new development alone is expected to deliver hundreds of homes and jobs.

What estimate she has made of the total value of funds likely to be recovered through the Voluntary repayment of Covid-19 funding scheme by 31 December 2025.

This government is leaving no stone unturned to investigate and recover public funds lost to fraud and error during the pandemic - getting back what is owed to the British people. At the recommendation of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner, the government launched the Voluntary Repayment Scheme on September 12th. The scheme is one element in a wider package of measures recommended by the Commissioner and will provide crucial learnings for his final report. The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) has not made an estimate of the value of funds likely to be recovered. The scheme is subject to uncertainty due to its novel nature, the time elapsed since the pandemic, and the time it takes for departments to report recovery success back to the PSFA. However, the PSFA will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the scheme’s impact once it’s concluded. The scheme will continue to provide individuals who received money from COVID-19 support schemes which they did not need or were not eligible for, an opportunity to repay until December 2025, before the introduction of new investigatory powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

If he will set how the Public Sector Fraud Authority is working with local authorities to prevent fraud at the local level.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) works closely with local authorities to prevent fraud through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which is one of the PSFA’s key data and analytics services. The NFI specialises in data matching, which involves comparing sets of data electronically, such as the council tax records of an authority, against other records held by the same or another authority, to see to what extent they match. The NFI is vital in tackling fraud in local authority spending. This includes the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone. It also has a strong record of delivering outcomes for local authorities. To date, the NFI has detected, prevented and recovered over £3bn in fraud and error. The NFI is collaborating closely with local authorities to tackle fraud in other areas of local spending. For example, the introduction of the Legislative Reform (Disclosure of Adult Social Care Data) Order 2025, will once again ensure that fraud in adult social care spending can be identified and investigated by local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure that local communities are consulted the type of shops permitted on high streets.

We want local people to work together to create thriving high streets. Through our Pride in Place Programme we are investing up to £5bn and giving communities more say over the make-up of their high streets. Alongside this, we have announced other tools such as a community right to buy to help communities take ownership of valued high street buildings, such as shops and pubs. We have also introduced High Street Rental Auctions to bring persistent vacant units back into use. Councils are required to consult on the high street designation and have the power to exclude certain uses at auction.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) take-up of the covid-19 vaccine for eligible people in the latest period for which data is available.

Vaccine availability is monitored as part of standard operational practice across the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and the devolved administrations. The UKHSA collects and analyses data from the vaccination programmes to understand the impact, effectiveness, and any inequalities.The UKHSA has procured COVID-19 vaccines for the upcoming season in line with uptake forecasts received from all four nations of the United Kingdom. Based on procured volumes, it is expected that there is sufficient COVID-19 vaccine available for those eligible to receive a vaccine across the current autumn and winter campaigns. People aged 75 years old and over, those in older adult care homes, and those aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed are eligible.During the spring 2025 campaign, 60% of those aged 75 years old or over received the COVID-19 vaccine, as did 24.5% of those aged under 75 years old who also have a suppressed immune system. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-seasonIt is too early in the autumn 2025 campaign to provide coverage data.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect swans.

In England all wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including Swans. This makes it an offence to kill, injure or take wild birds and to take or damage their eggs and nests.Defra supports the valuable work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and is a principal funder. The unit helps to prevent and detect wildlife crime (including crimes against swans) by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis, and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations.

What criteria his Department is using to evaluate (a) effectiveness and (b) value in the new NHS medical technology procurement model.

The Department is developing Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance to improve the National Health Service’s consistency in the procurement of medical technology in England, shifting the focus from buying the cheapest to considering wider factors to ensure that taxpayer money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff, and the environment.Procurement decisions will be based on a minimum of 60% weighting from five value domains, including the mandated minimum 10% on Social Value. The remaining 40% is a maximum weighting for Whole Life Cost. The guidance includes the choice of 21 questions across the five value domains. For example, where improvement to hospital productivity is assessed, real world evidence on the impact to the length of stay, procedure time, and/or readmission rates will be required.The following 13 NHS trusts, covered by nine procurement teams, are piloting the guidance before national rollout across the NHS in England in early 2026:the Birmingham and Solihull Procurement Collaborative, which itself comprises of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust; the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; and the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust;the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust;the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust;the North Bristol NHS Trust;the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; andthe University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Which 13 NHS Trusts have been selected to pilot the value-based procurement guidance.

The Department is developing Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance to improve the National Health Service’s consistency in the procurement of medical technology in England, shifting the focus from buying the cheapest to considering wider factors to ensure that taxpayer money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff, and the environment.Procurement decisions will be based on a minimum of 60% weighting from five value domains, including the mandated minimum 10% on Social Value. The remaining 40% is a maximum weighting for Whole Life Cost. The guidance includes the choice of 21 questions across the five value domains. For example, where improvement to hospital productivity is assessed, real world evidence on the impact to the length of stay, procedure time, and/or readmission rates will be required.The following 13 NHS trusts, covered by nine procurement teams, are piloting the guidance before national rollout across the NHS in England in early 2026:the Birmingham and Solihull Procurement Collaborative, which itself comprises of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust; the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; and the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust;the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust;the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust;the North Bristol NHS Trust;the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; andthe University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Innovation and Technology, what the estimated annual cost per user is of maintaining the digital ID system.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year. The eventual total cost and savings will depend on the design, build and delivery of the system, matters which will be included in the consultation. We expect the programme to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of the new digital ID system, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer.

How many primary schools in (a) Lancashire and (b) Fylde constituency do not have access to a library in the latest period for which data is available.

It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that the department allocates. Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on the number of school libraries.We welcome the work of the Libraries for Primaries campaign and others, who work to support children’s reading. On 29 September, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, committed over £10 million in funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament. Funding for this scheme will come from £132.5 million of dormant assets unlocked to support young people to access opportunities. The government will set out further details of the scheme in due course.

What recent discussions he has had with representatives of he Lobular Moonshot project.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care met with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot project on 14 July 2025. Department officials again met with representatives on 29 July 2025, where it was determined that the most pressing research priorities were in discovery science, which sits within the Medical Research Council’s remit. On 18 September researchers involved with the Lobular Moonshot Project met with the Medical Research Council. The Department has also recently exchanged written correspondence with representatives of the Lobular Moonshot project.Both the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research have committed to continuing to work with the Lobular Moonshot Campaign team to support the development of fundable research proposals in this area and help drive our collective ambition to increase the understanding and effective management of this disease.

Communities and Local Government, how many neighbourhood plans have been formally adopted in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Fylde constituency since 2015.

Neighbourhood Plans which have passed referenda have statutory weight and form part of the development plan. The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider doing so is in their best interests. Neighbourhood planning groups have received over £71 million since 2013. This support has created a network of planners and groups who have the skills and expertise to prepare neighbourhood plans and to help other communities to do so. Local planning authorities have an existing duty under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to provide advice and assistance to neighbourhood planning groups. They can also, at their discretion taking into account their constituents’ needs and priorities, provide funding in support of neighbourhood plan preparation. As of the end of September 2025, the department was aware of c.1850 made neighbourhood plans in England. The Department is aware of 23 neighbourhood plans which have been adopted in Lancashire since 2015, of which 2 were in the Fylde constituency.

Communities and Local Government, what (a) support and (b) resources his Department has provided to (i) parish and (ii) town councils to help support the preparation of neighbourhood plans.

Neighbourhood Plans which have passed referenda have statutory weight and form part of the development plan. The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider doing so is in their best interests. Neighbourhood planning groups have received over £71 million since 2013. This support has created a network of planners and groups who have the skills and expertise to prepare neighbourhood plans and to help other communities to do so. Local planning authorities have an existing duty under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to provide advice and assistance to neighbourhood planning groups. They can also, at their discretion taking into account their constituents’ needs and priorities, provide funding in support of neighbourhood plan preparation. As of the end of September 2025, the department was aware of c.1850 made neighbourhood plans in England. The Department is aware of 23 neighbourhood plans which have been adopted in Lancashire since 2015, of which 2 were in the Fylde constituency.