Written questions by Morello.

What criteria he uses to assess improved access to NHS dental services in West Dorset constituency.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the West Dorset constituency, this is the NHS Dorset ICB.We are working with NHS England, the NHS Business Services Authority, and the ICBs to set out the requirements for monitoring and reporting progress against the 700,000 urgent appointments, which will enable us to identify where further support is needed. Data on the number of dentists recruited under the Golden Hello scheme is regularly collected by NHS England. As of 6 May 2025, in England, there were 66 dentists in post with a further 24 dentists who have been recruited but are yet to start in post under this scheme. A further 231 posts are currently being advertised.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure new homes in West Dorset constituency do not exceed local sewage treatment capacity.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 9948 on 23 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to incentivise the use of existing housing stock to help tackle low room occupancy rates.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to reduce low room occupancy rates in West Dorset constituency.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to make water companies statutory consultees in the planning system.

As the hon. Member is aware, the government does not plan to make water companies statutory consultees in the planning system.

Innovation and Technology, how much funding (a) in absolute terms and (b) as a proportion of all research funding his Department has provided for research into (i) climate change adaptation and (ii) resilience in the UK in each of the last five years.

Over 2020-2024 UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) invested at least £317 million into research focused on climate change adaption and resilience. This sits within UKRI’s ‘Building a Green Future’ portfolio, which is focused on R&D investment to accelerate the UK’s transition to a secure and prosperous green economy by 2050, totalling £3,948 million over 2020-2024. Total UKRI investment over this period totalled over £30bn. These investments are underpinned by further investments in environmental and social data and modelling, the talent pipeline and support for commercialisation. The most recent review of the Building a Green Future portfolio has been published here: https://www.ukri.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/UKRI-07102024-Building-a-Green-Future-UKRI-portfolio-review-2024.pdfDefra is the lead department for climate adaptation and also invests in a range of research on climate adaptation and resilience.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support older homeowners to downsize in West Dorset constituency.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of under-occupied homes on housing availability in West Dorset constituency.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to expand schemes to help encourage downsizing in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) rural areas.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the levels of under-occupied homes in West Dorset constituency.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of under-occupied homes on housing availability.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

What plans his Department has to increase support for learning disability services in West Dorset constituency.

Each integrated care board must have an executive lead for learning disability and autism. To make it easier for people with a learning disability and autistic people to use health services, there is work underway in NHS England to make sure that staff in health settings know if they need to make reasonable adjustments for people. This includes the development of a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag, which enables the recording of key information about a patient, including if a person is autistic or has a learning disability, and their reasonable adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.Under the Health and Care Act 2022, from 1 July 2022, Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This helps to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care. To support providers to meet the statutory training requirement, we have been rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, otherwise known as Oliver’s Training, to the health and adult social care workforce. A code of practice has been published to guide CQC registered providers on how to meet the statutory requirement for learning disability and autism training under the Health and Care Act 2022 which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oliver-mcgowan-code-of-practice

What discussions he has had with Dorset Integrated Care Board on (a) funding and (b) support for people with learning disabilities in West Dorset constituency.

The Government wants to better support disabled people, including those with a learning disability, to participate in society and access high quality care and support. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out the actions we are taking to move care from hospitals to communities and prevent sickness rather than treat it. These reforms will support improved life outcomes for people with a learning disability through more holistic, personalised support. Specific action is also being taken to roll out mandatory training on learning disability for health and social care staff.My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had specific discussions with the integrated care board (ICB) as described. NHS England typically direct relationships with ICBs.NHS Dorset has a Learning Disabilities budget of £99.18 million for 2025/2026. This budget covers the community services commissioned through their core contracts, non-contract activity, continuing healthcare commitments, support for individual patients, advocacy and support services, and some service development initiatives including the full implementation of a keyworker service.In addition, each ICB must have an executive lead for learning disability whose role includes: supporting the board in addressing health inequalities; supporting equal access to care across all health services; and improving overall health outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to strengthen enforcement of border checks to prevent illegal imports of products of animal origin following recent foot and mouth disease outbreaks in (a) Hungary and (b) surrounding countries.

Port health authorities and local authorities are responsible for checks on products of animal origin (POAO) at Border Control Posts (BCPs). Border Force is responsible for conducting checks to detect illegal imports of POAO outside BCPs. Following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Hungary, we advised BCP officials of the immediate suspension of imports from Hungary and Slovakia of untreated POAO from FMD susceptible animals. We also advised Border Force of the ban on personal imports of POAO from FMD susceptible species, from these two countries. Following the subsequent outbreak of FMD in Slovakia, we advised BCP officials of the immediate extension of the above restrictions to Austria. We also advised Border Force of the extension of the personal imports ban to Austria and subsequently to the European Economic Area, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland.

What assessment she has made of the level of risk of violence faced by children in West Dorset constituency.

The Government is determined to reduce violent crime in every area of the county including in West Dorset, and will continue to take action towards that goal through its Safer Streets Mission, and in particular its objective to halve crime over the coming decade.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) reduce the risk of violence to children in rural areas.

Keeping children safe is a top priority for this government. Statutory guidance, 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2023), is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from outside their home should receive a multi-agency safeguarding response to keep them safe. It is important to recognise threats may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community.From April 2025, £500 million is being made available to local authorities to roll out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection, including where harm is outside the home. Furthermore, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will strengthen multi-agency safeguarding arrangements so that opportunities to keep children safe are not missed.The government’s Young Futures programme will establish prevention partnerships which will identify those most at risk of violence and enable access to support. In the community, a new network of Young Futures Hubs is aimed at increasing access to opportunities for children and young people, improving mental health, and reducing vulnerability to violence and crime. Cross-government work to develop the programme is taking place with a large variety of stakeholders, including those who understand best practice in rural and urban areas.The department monitors a range of data related to children’s risk of violence, including education, social care and police national computer data. Our published dashboard allows local areas to understand factors in their area which result in vulnerability to crime and compare to their nearest statistical neighbours. This dashboard is available here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/childrens-social-care-and-offending/.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of existing border enforcement measures in preventing the illegal import of products of animal origin linked to foot and mouth disease risks.

Our assessments of the risk of foot and mouth disease incursions, which take account of disease prevention measures including the effectiveness of border controls in preventing illegal imports of products of animal origin, are available here.

Whether her Department plans to increase the level of support available to help schools meet the needs of pupils with learning disabilities in West Dorset constituency.

The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to the number of pupils in a school. In addition, eligible small, rural primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.Where the cost of additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, Dorset County Council is being allocated over £60 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £4.1 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.

What plans her Department has to allocate new funding to help schools improve support for pupils with learning disabilities.

The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to the number of pupils in a school. In addition, eligible small, rural primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.Where the cost of additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, Dorset County Council is being allocated over £60 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £4.1 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.

What discussions she has had with (a) local police and (b) police and crime commissioners on the (i) recording and (ii) sharing of peer-on-peer violence by children online.

We are working to enhance our understanding of how social media platforms are being used by gangs and violent offenders, and how online content translates to ‘real-world’ violence. We know from 2024 survey results published by the Youth Endowment Fund that 70% of young people had encountered real-world violence online in the past 12 months. The most frequently observed content was footage of fights involving young people.We are working with police and investing in targeted law enforcement capabilities to disrupt gangs and violent criminals operating online and to reduce the crime and harms they bring to our communities. The National Crime Agency is also working in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally to map and target key offenders operating online, including the darknet markets.We have also formed the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime which brings together campaign groups, charities, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation. This Coalition is working with the Government to help identify risks and design policy based on the best possible evidence. This will include considering the challenges and risks presented online.The Online Safety Act 2023 is a key mechanism to monitor and tackle illegal content online. It requires providers within the scope of the Act to implement measures to remove illegal content, including that related to inciting violence. If providers fail to abide by their duties under the Act, Ofcom, as the independent regulator, can now enforce against the illegal content duties and have already launched several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance with the regime.The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and is committed to ensuring it delivers the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment and tackle illegal content.