Written questions by Williams.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure the health and care needs of young people with SEND in Stoke-on-Trent North and Kidsgrove are identified and met in a timely and effective manner.

The Government has published ambitious special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, supporting the treatment to prevention shift in the 10-Year Health Plan and its focus on early intervention, to prevent needs escalating. Close partnership working at all levels is crucial to delivering these reforms and transforming outcomes for children and young people with SEND.The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board works closely with the Staffordshire County Council, which Kidsgrove is in, and the Stoke-on-Trent City Council, alongside the National Health Service, and education and voluntary sector partners, to meet the wide range of assessed health and care needs of children and young people with SEND.The system partnership continues to prioritise SEND and is working collaboratively to improve access, capacity, and the timeliness of support across the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB. This includes working closely with providers to understand pressures within existing services and current waiting times, targeted work to instigate improvements in specific services, and developing more effective joint commissioning across health, education, and local authorities, particularly in relation to speech and language therapy services.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists entitled A Profession Under Pressure, published on 16 July 2025.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist’s report, ‘A Profession under Pressure’, identified a series of recommendations to help address retention issues in the Speech and Language Therapist workforce.The report identifies issues around work-life balance, professional development, wellbeing and burnout. This Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure that we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff and has set out this commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan.We will publish a 10-Year Workforce Plan later this year setting out how we will ensure staff are better treated, with better training and more fulfilling roles.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across bo...

What steps his Department is taking to tackle infant mortality rates in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.

The Government is working closely with NHS England to reduce infant mortality, while training thousands more midwives to better support women throughout their pregnancy and beyond.Infant mortality remains a complex multifactorial public health issue and i...

How the Mental Health Bill will improve mental wellbeing in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) other areas with high rates of socioeconomic deprivation.

The Mental Health Bill announced in the King’s Speech will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the modern world. The bill will amend the act, which applies to England and Wales, and sets out t...