Written questions by Norris.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed expansion of free school meals on levels of child poverty in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026.It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 3,500 children in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency will be eligible for FSM from September 2026.Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure adequate funding for the repair of council housing stock North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).

What steps her Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to key reforms to ensure people feel safe on our streets and in their communities, including reducing shop theft.We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime.We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.

Communities and Local Government, what recent progress her Department has made on reform of the leasehold system.

The government took swift action in the early months of the Parliament to implement provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 relating to rent charge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners.On 31 October 2024, the government commenced further building safety measures.On 31 January 2025, provisions to remove the two-year qualifying rule in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.On 3 March 2025, the right to manage provisions (expanding access, reforming its costs, and voting rights) came into force and we published the Commonhold White Paper, which is a crucial first step in ensuring commonhold becomes the default tenure for flats.On 4 July 2025, we published a consultation on Strengthening Leaseholder Protections for charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. It can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation seeks views on how to implement the relevant measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, and includes proposals to extend aspects of it to social housing tenants.We will publish an ambitious draft Leasehold and Commonhold reform Bill later this year.For an overview of the government’s approach to leasehold and commonhold reform, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Food and Rural Affairs, how many reports of incidents of flooding have been made in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency in the last five years.

The Environment Agency (EA) have records of 43 reports of flooding in the North East Somerset and Hanham Constituency over the last 5 years. However, property flooding is often underreported for many reasons, and this number only includes incidents of flooding that have been reported to the EA.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed expansion of free school meals on pupil behaviour in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. The department has now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.In North East Somerset and Hanham, 2,008 pupils are currently eligible for FSM. Following the expansion of FSM to all on Universal Credit from September 2026, the department expects approximately 3,500 children to be eligible based on data from the Department for Work and Pensions. Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

What steps he is taking to speed up diagnosis and treatment for people living with dementia in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Government wants a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data and to enable targeted support where needed.We have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool to help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, and is available at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-toolTo prepare for any potential new treatments, NHS England is working closely with regulators to ensure that arrangements are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatments as soon as possible.The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide that joined-up care.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed expansion of free school meals on student attainment in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. The department has now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.In North East Somerset and Hanham, 2,008 pupils are currently eligible for FSM. Following the expansion of FSM to all on Universal Credit from September 2026, the department expects approximately 3,500 children to be eligible based on data from the Department for Work and Pensions. Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

What steps he is tacking to support community pharmacies in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Government recognises that pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system and is grateful to pharmacy teams across the country, including in North-East Somerset and Hanham, for their hard work, professionalism, and dedication in supporting patients in their communities, and for delivering a wide range of National Health Services.For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.There is also additional funding available, for example for pharmacies delivering Pharmacy First consultations and flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. The Pharmacy Access Scheme provides additional funding to support pharmacies in areas where there are fewer.This year, we will take forward legislation to enable all pharmacies to benefit from the efficiencies of hub and spoke dispensing and enable greater use of the skill mix in pharmacy teams to free up pharmacists to spend more time with patients.

What steps she is taking to support young people into employment, education or training in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

As part of our plan to Get Britain Working, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England which began mobilising the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in April 2025.We are taking steps to support young people with youth pilots in Bath and Youth Job Clubs in Taunton. ‘Youth Curriculum’ sessions have been operational in Bath since October 2024, which provide tailored support including CV support, interview prep, mock interviews with Work Coaches and job matching. The sessions are targeted at our customers who are not in employment, education or training, who typically have lower engagement. Attendance has been excellent, at just under 90%.We have a Youth Guarantee Trailblazer in the West of England, which supports young people in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency aged 18-21 to access employment education and training. There is one pilot programme of support focusing on young people with special educational needs, and another on improving access to opportunities and support from more rural areas. All participants will access 1:1 coaching and support, work placement opportunities, and free bus travel to support their pathway to employment.In addition, DWP continues to provide young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by Work Coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities working alongside partners.

What recent steps she has take to encourage people who are eligible to apply for pension credit.

The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign. The campaign included adverts on television, radio, social media such as Facebook and Instagram, on YouTube, on advertising screens, including on GP and Post Office screens as well as in the press.This drive has successfully boosted applications. The latest applications and awards statistics were published on 29 May and are available at: Pension Credit applications and awards: May 2025.(opens in a new tab) The statistics show that the Department received over 285,000 applications since 29 July 2024 and made almost 60,000 extra awards on the comparable period the previous year.Since February, the Department has also been writing to all pensioners who make a new claim for Housing Benefit and who appear to be entitled to Pension Credit – directly targeting this group and encouraging them to make a claim.The campaign is currently live on social media, radio and in print, with further promotional activity planned for this year.

What recent assessment he has made on reducing waiting times for mental health treatment services in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Waiting times for those referred to mental health services are too high all across England, including in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. Too many people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We are committed to improving mental health care for people with a range of mental health conditions, and to shifting the focus from treatment to prevention as we make the National Health Service fit for the future. In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil the Government’s commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health staff, to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, by the end of the Parliament, and will expand mental health support teams in schools in England to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30.We are also keen to learn from models like Open Mental Health in Somerset, that bring together different organisations to offer access to mental health support. Our reforms to the Mental Health Act will give patients a greater say in their care and will ensure that people get the appropriate and compassionate mental health support they need.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Health and Safety Executive report entitled, Agency Opinion on the Annex 15 Dossier on the Proposal for a Restriction, published in December 2024, when his Department will publish its response.

Defra has received HSE’s final opinion on a proposed UK REACH Restriction on lead in ammunition and we are assessing their proposals. Given the need to work through the detail of HSE’s proposal a decision is expected in the summer due course. This decision will be taken with the consent of the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve survival rates for (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other cancers in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Improving survival rates for all cancers, including pancreatic cancer, is a priority for the Government. As the first step to ensuring faster diagnosis and treatment, we have delivered an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week.NHS England is providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at high-risk to identify lesions before they develop into cancer. NHS England is additionally creating pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms and is increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients across the country, including North East Somerset and Hanham, as well as speeding up diagnosis and treatment. It will aim to ensure that patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bring this country’s cancer survival rates, including for those with pancreatic cancer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help mitigate flood risks in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

As a category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act the Environment Agency has supported Bath and North East Somerset Council at various events to develop resilient communities in North East Somerset and Hanham. As a responding agency, the Environment Agency (EA) has been involved with protecting residents from various weather events such as Storm Bert in 2024. This included operation of ea assets, warning and informing residents and coordinating responses and recovery with their professional partners. The ea is working to create a River Avon vision with partners for the Netham to Twerton Corridor to support the Government’s sustainable growth agenda and enable the restoration of nature and resilient communities faced with flooding and climate change. The EA has a successful programme of Property Flood Resilience (PFR) for isolated properties at risk of flooding. In North East Somerset and Hanham installation of PFR at properties in Swinford, Hanham and Chew Magna has been completed. In addition, the EA has an ongoing project to understand flood risk in the Siston and Warmley catchment. As part of their asset management role, they have just completed urgent tunnel lining repairs to the Siston flood relief tunnel.

Whether she has made an estimate of the number of people who will take part in the Youth Experience Scheme in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The details of any scheme will be subject to negotiation. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped and time-limited, and have been clear that it will need to be in line with our existing youth mobility schemes. Any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help support first time buyers in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership. This government is determined to change that, ensuring that young families and hardworking renters can buy a home of their own. Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to improve housing affordability which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament. In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, in July, the government will launch a new, permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme which will help to support and sustain availability of low deposit mortgage products, helping prospective buyers with a deposit as small as 5% to own a home.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Spending Review 2025 on NHS waiting lists in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

No formal assessment has been made of the potential impact of the 2025 Spending Review on National Health Service waiting lists in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.The 2025 Spending Review, announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 2025, prioritises health with record investment in the health and social care system. Until 2028/29, the Government is providing £29 billion for more day-to-day funding in real terms compared to 2023/24, along with the largest ever health capital budget, with a £2.3 billion real terms increase in capital spending over the Spending Review period, until 2029/30.This funding will support delivery of our commitment that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029, including in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed balanced youth experience scheme on young people in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The details of any scheme will be subject to negotiation. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped and time-limited, and have been clear that it will need to be in line with our existing youth mobility schemes. Any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

What steps she is taking to (a) encourage and (b) support local communities which host clean power projects.

DESNZ and Great British Energy are developing the Local Power Plan, designed to accelerate the local and community energy sector in support of the Clean Power Mission. On 21 May we published a working paper on community benefits and shared ownership of low carbon energy infrastructure. Developers of low carbon energy generation and storage infrastructure would be required to contribute to funds, which can be used to support the local community. Plans are in place for households within 500 metres of new or significantly upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure to get up to £2,500 off their electricity bills over 10 years.