Written questions by Furniss.

Representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, on what dates, and in what form, have IPSA asked hon. Members to provide information about (a) the volume of casework being undertaken by their offices and (b) any other such data referred to at the SCIPSA oral evidence session which took place on 4 March 2026.

IPSA regularly engages and communicates with both Members and Members’ staff through informal and formal channels.IPSA has discussed the need for information and evidence relating to casework volumes and other pressures experienced by offices, including through regular informal engagement with proxies and office managers, as well as via account manager liaison with offices. For instance, as part of IPSA’s consultation ahead of 2026-27 budget decisions, IPSA encouraged office managers to provide data on casework volumes at a Members’ Office Managers’ meeting on 22 October 2025. A written follow-up with this request was also distributed. IPSA’s consultation on staffing was open from 6 October until 31 October 2025. In total, IPSA received over 440 responses. Of those, 60 responses referred to casework. The regular engagement IPSA has with offices is an invaluable opportunity in which IPSA is able to informally seek and receive feedback, outside, or as part, of formal consultation cycles. IPSA has listened to the feedback received in the wake of the announcement of 2026-27 staffing funding and will be setting up a joint working group with House services that will aim to assess the evidence of need and agree a practical, deliverable plan to accelerate efforts to help MPs manage workloads and secure value for money beyond the additional funding provided, reporting back to the Speaker in four months’ time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support a peaceful political settlement in Yemen.

The UK remains committed to working towards lasting peace and prosperity for the Yemeni people. We continue to support the work of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and use our role as penholder for Yemen at the UN Security Council to galvanise international support and advance progress towards an inclusive political settlement.We also continue to urge the international community to respond to the rapidly deteriorating levels of food security in Yemen. The UK is currently the largest donor to the UN-led Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, delivering £139 million in aid through the UN and other agencies in 2025/26, including dedicated support to enable those organisations to carry out their work.

Whether the Government plans to increase the purchase limit for properties outside of London when using a Help to Buy ISA.

This Government is committed to helping first time buyers own their own home and will do this by building 1.5 million more homes.The Government keeps savings policy under review, any changes of this kind would be made at a relevant fiscal event.

What steps her Department has to help bring awareness to the National Year of Reading.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change during 2026 and beyond.​It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.The department is raising awareness of the National Year of Reading in schools through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust and promotion via the English Hubs network.For libraries, The Reading Agency are providing public libraries with resources, toolkits and print and digital materials to activate the National Year of Reading.Schools, alternative provision settings and all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to www.goallin.org.uk to receive regular updates on the National Year of Reading.

What steps her Department has taken to help bring awareness to the National Year of Reading within schools and alternative provision settings.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change during 2026 and beyond.​It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.The department is raising awareness of the National Year of Reading in schools through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust and promotion via the English Hubs network.For libraries, The Reading Agency are providing public libraries with resources, toolkits and print and digital materials to activate the National Year of Reading.Schools, alternative provision settings and all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to www.goallin.org.uk to receive regular updates on the National Year of Reading.

Whether the review into the Carr-Hill formula accounts for GP translation service costs.

The review of the general practice (GP) funding formula, the Carr-Hill formula, is being conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The purpose of the review is to ensure that funding for GPs is distributed equitably and is targeted towards areas that need it most.The review has commenced and will draw on a range of evidence and advice from experts. Implementation of any new funding approach will be subject to ministerial decision, in the context of the available funding and our commitment to substantively reform the General Medical Services Contract within this Parliament.Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of translation services.

What assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist. In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools. At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes. We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

What steps her Department plans to take to improve a) universal, b) targeted and c) specialist speech, language and communication support.

On 23 February, we published the ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper, alongside a ‘SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First’ consultation. We announced an investment of over £40 million to increase support available from speech and language therapists and educational psychologists, including for those with speech, language and communication needs.We are providing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to universal and targeted support from key services, including speech and language therapists.The government is investing £200 million to give all staff in schools, colleges and nurseries the training needed to better support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream settings.We are extending the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.We are continuing to invest in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, which significantly impacts oral language and early literacy, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.​

What steps she is taking to help tackle unequal access to medical treatment.

Our 10 Year Health Plan outlines a long-term vision to reform the NHS and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it. The Government has published league tables which increase transparency and accountability enabling the NHS to tackle the postcode lottery and deliver better care for patients.

Whether NHS England has made an estimate of the number and proportion of women diagnosed with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who receive timely treatment compared to men.

The following table shows the count of elective hospital admissions where there was a primary diagnosis of 'aortic stenosis', by patient gender, as well as the median duration from the receipt of referral by the hospital to admission for 2022/23 to 2024/25:YearGenderTotal admissionsNumber of admissions with a valid waiting timeMedian time to admission (days)2022/23Male6,0725,193482022/23Female3,6003,073442023/24Male6,1265,364472023/24Female3,6953,259462024/25Male6,6155,822432024/25Female4,1053,62342Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of delayed access to specialist heart valve treatment has on (a) avoidable unscheduled hospitalisations, (b) deaths on waiting lists and (c) other patient outcomes.

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of delayed access to specialist heart valve disease (HVD) treatment on avoidable unscheduled hospitalisations, deaths on waiting lists, or other patient outcomes.Cutting waiting times, including for cardiology services, is a key priority for the Government. The cardiology waiting list decreased from 412,164 in September 2024 to 393,400 in September 2025, although this data includes estimates for missing data.Cardiology is a priority specialty for significant transformation, as outlined in the Elective Reform Plan. The ambition is, where possible and clinically appropriate, to increase specialist care closer to home, and outside of hospitals so that hospital capacity is freed up, enabling patients' timely access to care, as well as improving outcomes.NHS England has committed to optimising pathways of care for patients with HVD, including earlier detection and improved treatment pathways. To achieve this, the NHS England Cardiac Programme has established an expert advisory group and carried out work including, in 2024/25, providing targeted funding for pathway improvement projects. These included projects that focussed on improving referral processes and local diagnostic pathway provision, as well as fast-tracking patients on valve disease pathways.To accelerate progress towards the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease modern service framework in 2026.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure greater provision of British Sign Language across the NHS.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local population, which includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to support patients in the community.All National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment or sensory loss, including people using BSL.On 30 June 2025, a revised AIS was published. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using these services.I also recently attended and spoke at a parliamentary event highlighting the BSL Advisory Board health and social care report and we will be considering its findings.

What steps the Disability Unit is taking to embed deaf awareness across Government services.

The Disability Unit within Cabinet Office has responsibility for the British Sign Language (BSL) Act 2022, which has created a greater recognition and understanding of BSL and deaf awareness. The Act requires the government to report on what departments listed in the Act have done to promote or facilitate the use of British Sign Language in their communications with the public, and the third BSL report was published in July 2025. In addition to overall reporting, each ministerial department has produced a 5 year BSL Plan, published alongside the third BSL report. Within these plans, many government departments have committed to including deaf awareness training for their staff and affiliated public bodies. The Cabinet Office has also committed to raise awareness of BSL and the BSL Act 2022 across the Civil Service to support other departments to deliver their BSL commitments. Following the passage of the BSL Act, the BSL Advisory board was created to advise the Government on key issues impacting the Deaf community in their everyday life. The Board will continue to work with the BSL Advisory Board, Deaf people and their representative organisations, and with Ministers across government, including the Lead Ministers for Disability.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the switch from analogue to digital health services is inclusive of people whose first language is British Sign Language.

The Government has set out a commitment to make the NHS App British Sign Language accessible in the 10-Year Health Plan, which covers the period to 2035.

What (a) training and (b) support will be provided to (i) teachers and (ii) other education staff as part of the new curriculum to support the delivery of increased levels of literacy in schools.

High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that there is more emphasis on speaking, listening and drama, alongside creating a new primary oracy framework and a new combined secondary oracy, reading and writing framework to support its implementation.The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new reading training from January 2026.Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. More information is available at www.goallin.org.uk.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure councils implement the requirements of the Care Act 2014 on Individual Service Funds.

Under the Care Act 2014, everyone whose needs are met by the local authority (LA) must receive a personal budget as part of the care and support plan. The budget sets out how much of the cost of care will be met by the LA and how much will be met by the adult.Individual Service Funds (ISFs) are one of the ways in which the personal budget can be deployed. It allows for a third-party provider to hold and manage the budget on behalf of the individual.Guidance on ISFs is set out in the Care and Support Statutory (CASS) Guidance, issued under the Care Act 2014. The CASS guidance sets out that LAs should offer ISFs where possible and provide clear information on how they work. Where an ISF arrangement is not available locally, the LA should explore arrangements to develop this offer and should be receptive to requests to create arrangements with specified providers.In addition, and supported by the Department, Think Local Act Personal has produced guidance for LAs on ISFs, which can be found on their website, at the following link:https://thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/resources/individual-service-funds-isfs-and-contracting-for-flexible-support/The Care Quality Commission is assessing how well LAs in England are delivering adult social care by looking at how they are performing against their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. The assessments identify LAs strengths and areas for improvement, facilitating the sharing of good practice and helping us to target support where it is most needed.The Department has not had discussions with LAs specifically on the effectiveness of the implementation of ISFs under the Care Act 2014.

Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for the primary school library rollout.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is providing funding to support the primary school library commitment, previously announced by the Chancellor.Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. This includes a commitment to ensuring that every primary school in England has a library space by the end of this Parliament.The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including expected timelines.

What steps she is taking as part of the new curriculum to develop a culture of reading for pleasure in schools.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits.That is why we are launching the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. It aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that we give every child rock solid foundations in oracy, reading and writing, and an improved key stage 3 that re-engages pupils and prevents their learning from stagnating.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of delayed access to specialist heart valve treatment on (a) avoidable unscheduled hospitalisations, (b) deaths on the waiting lists, and (c) other patient outcomes.

The Department has not made any specific assessment of the impact of delayed heart valve treatment on avoidable unscheduled hospitalisations, deaths on the waiting lists, and other patient outcomes.It is unacceptable that so many patients have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. We have wasted no time in getting to work cutting National Health Service waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care. We promised change, and we’ve delivered early with a reduction in the list of over 206,000 since the Government came into office. Specifically, the waiting list for cardiology services has reduced by over 25,000 in that time.Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. This marks a vital first step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment by March 2029.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure earlier (a) detection and (b) treatment of heart valve disease is prioritised within NHS long-term planning.

In line with the goals of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has already undertaken measures to improve the early detection of heart valve disease (HVD). These include:commissioning the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society to develop a new referral form to support the investigation of HVD; andestablishing an Expert Advisory Group on HVD with the aim of ensuring excellence in care whilst exploring ways to improve HVD management nationwide.In 2025, NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme published new and revised cardiology pathways to support evidence-based, efficient, and consistent care across primary and secondary settings, including for aortic stenosis for patients with severe symptomatic heart valve disease.