Written questions by Spencer.

With reference to his Answer of Question 108286 on Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust: ADHD and Autism, what steps he is taking to help support Surrey and Borders to meet their diagnostic targets for the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children.

In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance intends to help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for those referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also set out what support should be available before an assessment and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these. NHS England established an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support. The final report was published on 6 November 2025, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.Building on the work of the Independent ADHD Taskforce, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on the 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. The review will inform our approach so that people with ADHD and autistic people have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.

If he will review the cost of travel for all families of children with health conditions requiring repeated attendance at specialist centres.

The Government has committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever and recognises the challenges families of children needing regular specialist care can face. On 3 February 2026, Government announced a £10 million financial support package for families of children and young people with cancer to cover travel costs to and from appointments.In addition to this support package, there are two established National Health Service funded travel schemes for patients, or their parents/guardians.The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme is part of the NHS Low Income Scheme. It provides financial support to all patients, or their parents/guardians, that meet the established means-tested criteria. This includes children with health conditions requiring repeated attendance at specialist centres. Further information on the means-tested criteria is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/healthcare-travel-costs-scheme-htcs/The NHS also provides funded transport to eligible patients under the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) scheme. Patients, including children, with health conditions requiring repeated attendance at specialist centres may be eligible for NEPTS provision under these criteria. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on the River Thames Scheme; what her planned timetable is for that scheme; and what the (a) current and (b) projected expenditure is for that scheme, in the context of the project’s mid-project review.

Significant progress has been made in preparing for The River Thames Scheme to undergo Statutory Consultation to inform the application of a Development Consent Order (DCO). The mid-project review, initiated by Project Sponsors: The Environment Agency (EA) and Surrey County Council, is ensuring the scheme design is optimised before finalising the DCO. In addition, the Sponsors commissioned the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) to independently assess the readiness of the project and sponsoring organisations to deliver the project. The cost of the development work up to this point has been £104 million. The EA will be bringing forward an updated business case this Summer, which will set out the revised timetable to submit the DCO, an updated cost assessment, and any revised arrangement for delivery of the scheme. Subject to approval of this business case, the next stage in progressing the project is to secure the DCO.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available for families of individuals with substance misuse and addiction.

From this year, all drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with over £13.45 billion allocated across three years, including £3.4 billion ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services according to local need and can use this funding to support the families of individuals with a drug and/or alcohol treatment need.The Department has published guidance specifically for adult treatment, and children and family services on how to effectively work together to support families affected by addiction. This is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parents-with-alcohol-and-drug-problems-support-resources/parents-with-alcohol-and-drug-problems-guidance-for-adult-treatment-and-children-and-family-services

What role the UK is playing in NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic programme.

The UK plays a leading role in NATO DIANA, hosting DIANA’s European Regional Office in London, where NATO staff develop defence innovation challenge programmes. The UK also provides an accelerator and five Test Centres to DIANA’s network. 27 UK start-ups are participating in DIANA’s 2026 Challenge programmes, the highest number of any nation in the Alliance.

What discussions he has had with Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust on meeting national targets on Autism and ADHD assessments in children.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions on a wide range of matters, including with trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs).The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to neurodevelopmental assessments.Through the Medium-term planning framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for autism and ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to issue national guidance on the application of sustainable drainage systems.

The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). In December 2024, we made changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to support increased delivery of Sustainable Drainage Systems.The department is now consulting on a revised National Planning Policy Framework – including for flood risk and Sustainable Drainage Systems – and, separately, on proposals to increase adoption of shared amenities, with planned guidance to ensure lifetime maintenance.In June 2025, the Government introduced new national standards. (opens in a new tab)Better delivery of SuDS may be achieved by continuing to improve the current planning policy-based approach and looking at ways of improving the approach to adoption and maintenance, rather than commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on this matter will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to be brought into force in England.

The Government is strongly committed to improving the implementation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). In December 2024, we made changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to support increased delivery of Sustainable Drainage Systems.The department is now consulting on a revised National Planning Policy Framework – including for flood risk and Sustainable Drainage Systems – and, separately, on proposals to increase adoption of shared amenities, with planned guidance to ensure lifetime maintenance.In June 2025, the Government introduced new national standards. (opens in a new tab)Better delivery of SuDS may be achieved by continuing to improve the current planning policy-based approach and looking at ways of improving the approach to adoption and maintenance, rather than commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on this matter will be made in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to increase the level of funding and resources for local authorities for the purpose of regulating and approving Sustainable Drainage Systems.

The Government is committed to improving the implementation of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). As part of this commitment, we will consider local authority funding for regulating and approving SuDS.

When he plans to respond to correspondence dated (a) 29 September 2025, (b) 28 October 2025 and (c) 2 December 2025 from the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge, case reference BS35015 and MC2025/93558.

The Department has responded to the correspondence in question on Tuesday 13th January 2026.

Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with AI companies on the potential risks of the provision of advice by AI programmes that would otherwise be provided by a regulated individual or entity.

We regularly meet with industry stakeholders, including AI firms, on potential risks that AI poses to businesses and the public.There are a range of existing rules that already apply to AI systems to address risks, with the UK’s expert regulators empowered to apply rules in their own areas of competence. The government will act where these laws are not enough to ensure safe use.

What steps he is taking to improve timescales for cases in the Court of Protection.

HMCTS is working to increase overall system capacity to reduce processing times. Measures taken include a targeted action plan to allocate additional administrative resources in response to higher demand, as well as training and upskilling new staff. Additional judicial sitting days have been added to support performance improvement. HMCTS is also working on improvements to the new case management system, to help reduce overall end-to-end processing times.

Innovation and Technology what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill on the EU’s data adequacy decisions in relation to the UK.

The CSR Bill updates the UK’s cyber resilience framework set out in the NIS Regulations 2018 and does not impact the UK's key data protection legislation. It includes a range of measures that affect the Information Commission in its capacity as a NIS regulator, but not its capacity as the UK data protection authority.The European Commission’s draft decision from 24 June 2025 on UK adequacy concludes that the UK continues to provide an essentially equivalent level of data protection. The government does not consider there to be specific developments that pose substantive risks to the EU adequacy decisions being renewed by the EU’s deadline for adoption of 27 December 2025.DSIT consulted with the Information Commission during the development of the Bill in accordance with its obligations under Article 36(4) of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the role of British embassies in encouraging overseas voter registration since January 2024.

We encourage all British nationals to register as overseas voters if they move or live abroad. British Nationals abroad can contact their local Embassy or High Commission for more information.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 92210 on Internet: Outages, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill on disruption to government services during the Cloudflare outage.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recognises the importance of robust protections for the services essential to our society and economy. That is why we introduced the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill (CSRB) on 12 November - by enhancing protections for the most important digital services, Government services that rely on them will also benefit.As the digital centre of government, DSIT also recognises that a step change in cyber and digital resilience is required across the government sector. However, we do not need to wait for legislation to take action.We are acting in parallel with the approach of the CSRB through our mandate to set robust cyber security standards across government organisations. Government services have been subject to the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Assessment Framework since 2022, which promotes resilience against both cyber attacks and the types of system failure that we saw with the Cloudflare outage.Despite this progress, we are not complacent. DSIT will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan, which will lay out a detailed programme of work with clear expectations, targets, and milestones to enhance Government's cyber and digital resilience.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the level of resource required to a) repair and b) maintain essential river assets, including weirs and sluice gates, on the River Thames.

The 195 sets of weirs and sluices that exist along the 217km of non-tidal Thames are owned and operated by the Environment Agency (EA) and are regularly inspected to assess their condition, operational effectiveness, and safety. Critical parts of the weirs and sluices are replaced throughout their lifetime as part of the EA’s maintenance programme, to ensure they continue to provide effective water level management. Future investment need is considered as part of each Spending Review. Navigation locks have a similar inspection and maintenance regime, and their wider investment need also forms part of the Spending Review process.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the capacity of (a) sectoral regulators and (b) the NCSC to process and respond to cyber incident reports as a result of the expanded reporting requirements in the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill.

Officials have worked closely with regulators and the NCSC in developing the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill and will continue to do so throughout its parliamentary passage and implementation planning. The NCSC already leads the UK’s response to cyber incidents by triaging reports, supporting affected organisations and coordinating government action during major incidents. In the year preceding, September 2025, NCSC received 1,727 incident tips, 429 of which required direct support. The Bill will expand the type of incidents reported to regulators and the NCSC, strengthening understanding of the threat landscape and improving national cyber-defences. The Bill will also bolster regulator resources by reforming cost recovery. Currently, regulators are constrained – for example, they cannot recover the cost of enforcement. The Bill will enable regulators to fully recover their costs and utilise flexible, sector-appropriate charging mechanisms, ensuring they are properly equipped to meet their duties.

What assessment his Department has made of the impact of the introduction of Indicative Activity Plans limiting neurodiverse assessments through Right to Choose providers on waiting lists for neurodevelopmental assessments in Runnymede and Weybridge.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to autism and ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism and ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. NHS England has continued to support services to identify challenges and how they might overcome these.  NHS England also established an ADHD taskforce to better understand the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing timely and equitable access to services and support. We are pleased that the final report was published on 6 November, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.

What measures his Department is taking to mitigate any potential increase in waiting times for neurodiverse assessments in Runnymede and Weybridge as a result of the recent ICB decision to pause assessments through the Right to Choose with the provider Psicon.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to autism and ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism and ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. NHS England has continued to support services to identify challenges and how they might overcome these.  NHS England also established an ADHD taskforce to better understand the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing timely and equitable access to services and support. We are pleased that the final report was published on 6 November, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of financial pressures in local government on the delivery of effective planning enforcement.

Local planning authorities have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance. It is for authorities to decide how and when they use their powers depending on the circumstances of each case. It is also for local planning authorities to ensure they have the resources in place to carry out their planning enforcement function effectively. For a summary of the steps the government is taking to support capacity and capability within local planning authorities, including within their enforcement teams, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 67508 on 14 July 2025.