Written questions by McDonald.

How many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody and are screened for brain injury within 24 hours are found to have an acquired brain injury.

The information requested is not held centrally. When children and young people between the ages of 14 and 17 years old enter the secure estate, they receive the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) reception assessment within two hours. This is an evidence-based assessment tool for use with under 18-year-olds, and includes questions on traumatic brain injury. The questions included in the assessment ask whether they have ever experienced any loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes and whether they have experienced repeated loss of consciousness on more than three occasions.The child or young person will receive a further neurodisability assessment within ten days of admission as part of the CHAT. This also includes questions on traumatic brain injury. Clinicians would then determine the need for any ongoing referral as necessary.Those over the age of 18 years old who are entering the adult estate receive the reception assessment within 24 hours. This includes questions on whether they have disabilities and specifically asks:whether they have had a head injury in the past few days, and asks them to provide details about this; andwhether they have been a victim of domestic abuse.Practitioners are then asked to record whether a head injury is apparent or not and whether there is a history of loss of consciousness. Practitioners will also assess the severity of any potential head injury and whether any treatment is needed.Within one week of entering the adult estate, a secondary assessment will be conducted. This includes questions about brain injury. As part of the secondary assessment, practitioners will:note the number of head injuries and number of losses of consciousness;note any memory or concentration impairments; andask if the patient has ever lost consciousness for more than 20 minutes, and asks them to provide details about this.It would then be the clinicians’ discretion as to whether to also carry out a validated acquired brain injury screening tool as required.

What guidance is available for prison officers for dealing with people entering custody found to have a previously acquired brain injury.

All incoming prisoners must be medically examined to determine whether they have any physical or mental health needs, in order to identify any follow-up action that is needed and to ensure it is taken. This includes making sure that anyone who needs to know about an individual prisoner’s healthcare requirements is properly informed.To improve support for neurodivergent prisoners, a new role, the Neurodiversity Support Manager (NSM), has been created and implemented across the Prison Service. NSMs are responsible for implementing a whole-prisons approach to neurodiversity, including Acquired Brain Injury. Their responsibilities include improving processes to identify and support prisoner needs, and ensuring neurodivergent prisoners can access education, skills, and work opportunities within the prison. They also provide training and guidance for prison staff to equip them better to support neurodivergent individuals in their prison.

Communities and Local Government, what data her Department holds on the outcomes of funding provided to combined mayoral authorities.

Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) manage a number of different funds including adult skills funding, transport funding and the Mayoral Investment Fund. These are monitored according to the Local Assurance Framework in each place. Combined Authorities are also subject to internal and external audit.From 2025/26, we will introduce Integrated Settlements, starting in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. Authorities will be monitored against a single outcomes framework that provides a structured approach to defining, measuring, and reporting on the MCAs’ performance on single settlement delivery during the SR period. The outcomes framework will be published by HMG and each of the MCAs. Government recognises the importance of evaluating devolution and we will set out more plans in White Paper.

What guidance is available for healthcare professionals in prisons for dealing with people entering custody found to have a previously acquired brain injury.

A range of evidence-based neurodevelopmental support and interventions are offered and delivered to people entering custody, according to individual needs. This includes, but is not limited to, interventions for traumatic brain injury.Headway’s Justice Programme delivers a range of projects and initiatives to raise awareness of the significant number of people in the criminal justice system with an acquired brain injury and their resultant needs, to advocate for change in policy and practice. Through its Justice Programme, Headway is delivering training in identifying the signs of brain injury to thousands of professionals working within the criminal justice system. It has developed Understanding Acquired Brain Injury guides for prison and probation staff.BrainKind provides bespoke training for professionals who support people experiencing homelessness, people in prison, and ex-offenders to raise awareness of the problems individuals can face if suffering from a brain injury, and the tools to support them. The aim of the training is to increase understanding of the impact a brain injury can have on people, to recognise the effects on behaviour, emotions, and social interaction, and to prepare front line service staff working directly with service users within the homelessness or criminal justice system to work with brain-injured individuals.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance in May 2023 on the assessment and early management of head injury. Whilst this guidance is not specific to the prison population, it can be used by healthcare professionals working in prisons.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to publish (a) metrics and (b) outcomes for the spending performance of combined mayoral authorities.

Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) manage a number of different funds including adult skills funding, transport funding and the Mayoral Investment Fund. These are monitored according to the Local Assurance Framework in each place. Combined Authorities are also subject to internal and external audit.From 2025/26, we will introduce Integrated Settlements, starting in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. Authorities will be monitored against a single outcomes framework that provides a structured approach to defining, measuring, and reporting on the MCAs’ performance on single settlement delivery during the SR period. The outcomes framework will be published by HMG and each of the MCAs. Government recognises the importance of evaluating devolution and we will set out more plans in White Paper.

What data his Department collects on the safety outcomes of people in prison who are screened as having a previously acquired brain injury.

The data requested is not held centrally.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to require combined mayoral authorities to publish evaluation reports on individual funding programmes in a standardised format.

Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) manage a number of different funds including adult skills funding, transport funding and the Mayoral Investment Fund. These are monitored according to the Local Assurance Framework in each place. Combined Authorities are also subject to internal and external audit.From 2025/26, we will introduce Integrated Settlements, starting in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. Authorities will be monitored against a single outcomes framework that provides a structured approach to defining, measuring, and reporting on the MCAs’ performance on single settlement delivery during the SR period. The outcomes framework will be published by HMG and each of the MCAs. Government recognises the importance of evaluating devolution and we will set out more plans in White Paper.

What data his Department collects on the health outcomes of people in prison who are screened as having a previously acquired brain injury.

The data requested is not held centrally.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on the supply of aid to Gaza of the decision by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to pause delivery of aid to Gaza via Kerem Shalom.

The situation for humanitarian actors in Gaza is untenable. The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remains the backbone of the humanitarian response, which is why the Government announced an additional £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza on 2 December. It is hugely concerning that UNRWA has been forced to pause aid deliveries through its main crossing point at Kerem Shalom because of safety concerns. The World Food Programme, for which we also announced £6m of UK assistance on 2 December, reports that barely any food has entered northern Gaza for over 50 days. This is unacceptable. We continue to press Israel to end its aid restrictions and ensure the UN and humanitarian partners can work safely and effectively. This was reiterated in the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. I raised these issue's with Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the capability of the UN World Food Programme to deliver food aid to Gaza.

The situation for humanitarian actors in Gaza is untenable. The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remains the backbone of the humanitarian response, which is why the Government announced an additional £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza on 2 December. It is hugely concerning that UNRWA has been forced to pause aid deliveries through its main crossing point at Kerem Shalom because of safety concerns. The World Food Programme, for which we also announced £6m of UK assistance on 2 December, reports that barely any food has entered northern Gaza for over 50 days. This is unacceptable. We continue to press Israel to end its aid restrictions and ensure the UN and humanitarian partners can work safely and effectively. This was reiterated in the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. I raised these issue's with Deputy Foreign Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for the UK government’s support for the UN’s UNRWA mission in Gaza, of the approval by the Israeli Knesset of legislation regarding Israel’s relations with UNRWA on 28 October 2024.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed serious concern at the UNRWA bills passed by Israel's Knesset. This legislation risks making UNRWA's essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister of State for Development urged Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Haskel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations. I raised this issue with Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December. We continue to work with our international partners to press Israel also to take the necessary steps to ensure safe and effective humanitarian delivery in Gaza, including through the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. The Development Minister underlined the UK's support for UNRWA by announcing, on 2 December, £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure the necessary conditions for (a) safe and (b) effective humanitarian operations by UNRWA in Gaza.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have expressed serious concern at the UNRWA bills passed by Israel's Knesset. This legislation risks making UNRWA's essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank. During her recent visit to the region, the Minister of State for Development urged Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Haskel to ensure that UNRWA can continue its vital operations. I raised this issue with Minister Haskel on 05 December and met with Mr Philippe Lazzarini, the UN's Commissioner-General of UNWRA in Doha on 08 December. We continue to work with our international partners to press Israel also to take the necessary steps to ensure safe and effective humanitarian delivery in Gaza, including through the Foreign Secretary's recent joint letter, with French and German counterparts, to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar. The Development Minister underlined the UK's support for UNRWA by announcing, on 2 December, £7 million of UK assistance to UNRWA's Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to take steps with his international counterparts to review Israel's access to the F-35 Global Supply Chain pool.

The F-35 programme remains under constant review by the F-35 Partner Nations. As set out in the Secretary of State for Business and Trade's statement of 2 September, it is not currently possible for the UK to suspend licensing of F-35 components for use by Israel without prejudicing the entire global F-35 programme, including its broader strategic role in NATO and Western support to Ukraine. Therefore, as announced to Parliament in his statement of 2 September, the Foreign Secretary advised, and the Secretary of State for Business and Trade agreed, that to ensure international peace and security it was necessary to take the specific measure of excluding exports to the F-35 programme from the scope of the suspension, but this exclusion should not in principle apply to licences for F-35 components which could be identified as going to Israel. Departing from the Strategic Export Licencing Criteria (SELC) to exclude F-35 licences from the scope of the suspension decision is consistent with HMG's published policy, which states that the application of the SELC is "without prejudice to the application to specific cases of specific measures as may be announced to Parliament from time to time".

How many individuals were seen by an NHS dentist in the (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Stockton-on-Tees local authority area in each year since 2010.

The following table shows the number of unique adult patients seen by a National Health Service dentist in the Middlesborough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas, in the 24 months to June, each year from 2013 to 2024:YearStockton-on-TeesMiddlesborough201390,84370,962201489,49970,394201588,27970,055201688,39273,350201787,80373,490201886,58973,100201985,85956,729202081,50752,893202174,71844,770202269,79738,516202375,80542,998202473,48345,287Source: figures prior to 2019 were published by NHS Digital, and are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statisticsNote: the figures from the two different data sources are not directly comparable, and caution should be taken when comparing pre and post 2019 figures.The following table shows the number of unique child patients seen by an NHS dentist in the Middlesborough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas, in the 12 months to June, each year from 2013 to 2024:YearStockton-on-TeesMiddlesborough201333,10525,002201432,61125,312201532,64825,720201628,00622,755201728,48122,608201828,75422,673201926,85917,892202025,41315,617202117,1318,166202224,04413,579202325,66716,231202427,28817,520Source: figures prior to 2019 were published by NHS Digital, and are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statisticsNote: the figures from the two different data sources are not directly comparable, and caution should be taken when comparing pre and post 2019 figures.In addition, the attached tables show the number of courses of treatment delivered by an NHS dentist in the Middlesborough and Stockton-on-Tees local authorities, respectively, broken down by band, from 2013/14 to 2023/24.We do not hold local authority level data for the number of adults and children seen prior to 2013, or for the courses of treatment prior to 2013/14. The most recent data has been published by NHS Business Services Authority, and is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324

How many individuals were registered with an NHS dentist in the (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Stockton-on-Tees local authority area in each year since 2010.

The information requested is not held centrally. Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. NHS dentists are required to keep their NHS.UK website profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. Further information is available at the following link: www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist

How many courses of dental treatment were delivered by an NHS dentist in the (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Stockton-on-Tees local authority area in each year since 2010 by treatment band.

The following table shows the number of unique adult patients seen by a National Health Service dentist in the Middlesborough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas, in the 24 months to June, each year from 2013 to 2024:YearStockton-on-TeesMiddlesborough201390,84370,962201489,49970,394201588,27970,055201688,39273,350201787,80373,490201886,58973,100201985,85956,729202081,50752,893202174,71844,770202269,79738,516202375,80542,998202473,48345,287Source: figures prior to 2019 were published by NHS Digital, and are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statisticsNote: the figures from the two different data sources are not directly comparable, and caution should be taken when comparing pre and post 2019 figures.The following table shows the number of unique child patients seen by an NHS dentist in the Middlesborough and Stockton-on-Tees local authority areas, in the 12 months to June, each year from 2013 to 2024:YearStockton-on-TeesMiddlesborough201333,10525,002201432,61125,312201532,64825,720201628,00622,755201728,48122,608201828,75422,673201926,85917,892202025,41315,617202117,1318,166202224,04413,579202325,66716,231202427,28817,520Source: figures prior to 2019 were published by NHS Digital, and are available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statisticsNote: the figures from the two different data sources are not directly comparable, and caution should be taken when comparing pre and post 2019 figures.In addition, the attached tables show the number of courses of treatment delivered by an NHS dentist in the Middlesborough and Stockton-on-Tees local authorities, respectively, broken down by band, from 2013/14 to 2023/24.We do not hold local authority level data for the number of adults and children seen prior to 2013, or for the courses of treatment prior to 2013/14. The most recent data has been published by NHS Business Services Authority, and is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324

What the population per NHS dentist was in each (a) integrated care board and (b) local authority area in England in each year since 2010.

Data on the population per National Health Service dentist in each integrated care board for the years 2019 to 2024 is published on the NHS Business Services Authority website, and is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324Data prior to 2019 was published by NHS Digital, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statisticsWe do not hold data for the population per NHS dentist in each local authority area in England, each year since 2010.

How many registered dentists were serving NHS patients in the (a) Middlesbrough and (b) Stockton-on-Tees local authority area in each year since 2010.

We do not hold data on the number of dentists who have delivered some National Health Service treatment each year at a local authority level. We have therefore provided data on the number of dentists who delivered NHS care in the Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), which is the ICB for both local authorities. The following table shows the number of dentists who delivered some NHS dental care each year in the Northeast and North Cumbria ICB, from 2011/12 to 2023/24:YearTotal Registered dentists2011/121,4002012/131,4202013/141,5312014/151,5182015/161,5232016/171,7132017/181,7232018/191,7602019/201,4912020/211,4182021/221,4262022/231,3872023/241,349Source: the figures from 2019 to 2024 are published by the NHS Business Services Authority, and the figures prior to 2019 were published by NHS Digital, and both are available, respectively, at the following two links: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324 https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statisticsNote: the figures from the two different data sources are not directly comparable, and caution should be taken when comparing pre and post 2019 figures.

What the registration rate per NHS dentist was in each (a) integrated care board and (b) local authority area in England in each year since 2010.

The information requested is not held centrally. Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. NHS dentists are required to keep their NHS.UK website profiles up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. Further information is available at the following link: www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of health services for women.

Women’s health is a priority for this government. We are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy and aligning our work on women’s health with the forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan.Work continues to improve health outcomes for women, including the £25 million women’s health hubs pilot, new NICE guidance on endometriosis and menopause and extending the Baby Loss Certificate service.