Written questions by Maguire.

If his Department will implement civilian harm tracking for explosive ordnance-related incidents in military operations.

The UK has robust targeting policies, practices and processes to ensure that all military operations are conducted in full compliance with our legal obligations and in a manner that reflects the UK’s clear commitment to the protection of civilians. UK forces observe all practicable precautions, conducting rigorous assessments before and after striking a target. The Ministry of Defence analyses all UK military activity, investigating any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian harm.The UK are proud signatories of the 2022 Political Declaration on use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas and are party to Protocol Five of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.Our existing practices are some of the most robust and transparent globally and are kept under close review, including for the potential impact of new methods and technologies.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the discharge process for patients in Surrey who are medically fit to leave hospital.

The Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 identifies reducing delays in hospital discharge as a key priority. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/Hospitals are expected to eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, to work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days, and to profile discharges by pathway to support local planning. In addition to this, we published a new policy framework on 30 January 2025 for the £9 billion Better Care Fund policy framework 2025 to 2026, which requires the National Health Service and local authorities to jointly agree local goals for reducing discharge delays. Further information on the Better Care Fund policy framework 2025 to 2026 is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-care-fund-policy-framework-2025-to-2026We are working with trusts, integrated care systems, and local authorities to share and embed best practice and to help them to use performance data more effectively to address their discharge delays. The Local Government Association has published a range of guidance documents and high impact change models to support improvements to hospital flow and discharge processes, which can be found at the following link:https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/partners-care-and-health/better-care-fund-support-programme-2025-26Officials held a call on 18 July 2025 with the Epsom and St. Helier Trust regarding the trust’s discharge challenges and proposed actions to improve the situation.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of creating a permanent and protected ICB role for the appointed Women’s Health Champion in every Integrated Care System.

Integrated care boards are responsible for the planning, commissioning, and delivery of women’s health services, including oversight of the dedicated Women’s Health Champion role.The network of women’s health champions brings together senior leaders in women’s health from integrated care systems and local authorities to share best practice to improve women’s health outcomes across the life course and reduce health inequalities. The role is a voluntary commitment, and the Government has no plans to change this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a global programme supporting civilian victims of landmines.

The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure annual statutory reviews for people in care are undertaken.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must keep care and support plans under review, respond to reasonable requests for review, and update plans when circumstances change, involving the individual drawing on care and support, and their carer, if applicable, throughout.Local authorities should establish systems that allow the proportionate monitoring of both care and support plans to ensure that needs are continuing to be met. In the absence of any request of a review, or any indication that circumstances may have changed, the local authority should conduct a periodic review of the plan. It is the expectation that local authorities should conduct a review of the plan no later than every 12 months after the plan is first agreed or last reviewed.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how local authorities in England are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including how local authorities assess the needs of individuals who draw on care and support. The assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for improvement, facilitating the sharing of good practice and helping us to target support where it is most needed. If the CQC identifies that a local authority has failed or is failing to discharge its duties under the Care Act to an acceptable standard, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has powers to intervene. Reports are made available on the CQC’s website, at the following link:www.cqc.org.uk/care-services/local-authority-assessment-reports

What assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the Adult Oral Health survey published on 9 December 2025.

The Adult Oral Health Survey 2023 provides the first picture of adult oral health in England for more than a decade. It provides further evidence of the need for dental contract reform.We are taking forward significant changes to the National Health Service dental contract. The reforms will prioritise patients with urgent dental needs and those requiring complex treatments, and will come in from April 2026. We are committed to fundamental reform of the NHS dental contract by the end of this Parliament, with a focus on improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly.The Government is also focussed on prevention of poor dental health through our supervised toothbrushing programme to reach up to 600,000 children in the 20% most deprived areas of England, and by expanding community water fluoridation to the North East of England. This intervention will reach an additional 1.6 million people and will reduce tooth decay and inequalities in dental health, particularly in children and vulnerable adults.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what conversations she has had with her international counterparts on (a) the impact of global aid cuts to humanitarian aid and (b) the impact those cuts will have on landmine disposal.

The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department will undertake a review of its explosive ordinance policies.

The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of reducing humanitarian aid funding in Africa on landmine disposal.

The UK Government's Global Mine Action Programme has been funding clearance and risk education for over a decade, including in Africa, protecting lives and livelihoods, and supporting our broader humanitarian and development goals. In addition, the Foreign Secretary recently announced a further £4 million in funding for the United Nations Mine Action Service to help clear the estimated 7,500 tonnes of unexploded munitions which have been preventing the safe passage of aid into Gaza. Future allocations to demining activity will be announced in the usual way in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a mandatory care marker for care workers on their GP record.

The Department has not undertaken a formal assessment of introducing a mandatory care marker for those employed as care workers on general practice records. Any request for new coding would need to consider the purpose and proportionality of the introduction for employed care staff, and the impact on general practice.There are existing SNOMED, the structured clinical vocabulary for use in an electronic health record, and clinical term codes which can be used to indicate a person’s unpaid caring role on their health record.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of adults with tooth decay.

The Government is proceeding with the reforms to the National Health Service dental contract. These will be introduced from April 2026 so that patients with gum disease or tooth decay will be better able to get long-term treatment through new clinical treatment pathways. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reformsWe are also committed to fundamental reform of the NHS dental contract by the end of this Parliament, with a focus on improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly.Sugar consumption is the main cause of tooth decay. We are taking measures to reduce sugar consumption, which will have a positive effect on improving children’s oral health. Following the Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) consultation, we will reduce the current lower threshold at which the SDIL applies from five grams of total sugar per 100 millilitres to 4.5 grams of total sugar per 100 millilitres and will remove the current exemption for milk-based drinks.We are expanding community water fluoridation to the North East of England. This intervention is expected to reach an additional 1.6 million people and will reduce tooth decay and inequalities in dental health.We have published guidance on how dental health professionals can improve the oral and general health of their patients, including preventative interventions. This can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-better-oral-health-an-evidence-based-toolkit-for-preventionGuidance for local service commissioners on better oral health of vulnerable older people is also available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-better-oral-health-for-vulnerable-older-people

What the budget for NHS dentistry is for 2026.

The 2026/27 dental ringfenced budget for NHS dentistry is £4.2 billion. For 2026/27, the budget for dental checks in Special Educational Settings (SES) is being included within the dental ringfenced budget. This was previously included within the wider Pharmacy, Ophthalmic, Dental (POD) budget but was not ringfenced with other dental spend.NHS England has now published the Medium-Term Planning Framework for delivering change together 2026/27 to 2028/29, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/medium-term-planning-framework-delivering-change-together-2026-27-to-2028-29/In addition, information on allocations for 2026/27 to 2027/28 is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2026-27-to-2027-28/NHS organisations are now in the process of developing their operational plans that will detail how they will meet the standards set out in the Medium-Term Planning Framework.A separate schedule has been issued setting out the 2026/27 to 2028/29 Integrated Care Board (ICB) POD allocations. The utilisation of ICB POD allocations is subject to a ringfence on budgets for dental services. More information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/icb-other-primary-care-allocations-2026-27-to-2028-29-v2.pdf

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

No such specific assessment has been made. 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.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 2025 Key Stage 2 SATs results for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities; and what steps are being taken to help reduce disparities in attainment.

This government is focused on securing an excellent education for every child and young person to enable them to achieve and thrive.Following the government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review report, we are working on development of a reformed curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, ensuring those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) leave school with the skills and knowledge they need.Our English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, and our Reading Ambition for All programme will improve outcomes for children in primary who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND. We are also expanding Continuing Professional Development for primary and secondary teachers to strengthen reading instruction for all pupils.We know some children face real challenges in maths. That’s why we’re supporting schools through our national Maths hubs, helping teachers deliver effective, inclusive lessons.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the primary assessment system on pupil wellbeing, including for pupils with SEND.

Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel published their final report last month, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.The report made some recommendations to improve the system, including revising the key stage 2 writing assessments and teacher frameworks to support fluent writing. The report also recommended exploring options for increasing inclusivity in assessments where they may not be as accessible for certain groups of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, particularly for the phonics screening checks and the multiplication tables check. The government has accepted these recommendations and the Standards and Testing Agency is now working on their implementation.

What consideration her Department has given to alternative models of primary assessment.

Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel published their final report last month, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.The report made some recommendations to improve the system, including revising the key stage 2 writing assessments and teacher frameworks to support fluent writing. The report also recommended exploring options for increasing inclusivity in assessments where they may not be as accessible for certain groups of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, particularly for the phonics screening checks and the multiplication tables check. The government has accepted these recommendations and the Standards and Testing Agency is now working on their implementation.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward proposals for a national safeguarding framework for historic burial grounds linked to former (a) psychiatric and (b) Poor Law institutions.

The Government recognises the sensitivities surrounding burial grounds linked to former psychiatric institutions, including Horton Cemetery, and is committed to upholding the dignity of these sites and the memory of those interred within them.The Law Commission is currently reviewing burial legislation, including the legal framework for the management of burial grounds, as part of its Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods project (Burial, cremation, and new funerary methods – Law Commission).The project includes an assessment of the existing legal safeguards for burial and disinterment, the options for improved regulation and oversight of burial sites taking into account their nature and context, and potential reforms to ensure appropriate protection for private burial grounds.The Government welcomes the Law Commission’s consideration of these issues and will respond in due course to its report, which is expected to be published in early 2026.

If he will place a moratorium on the granting of exhumation licences for former asylum cemeteries, including Horton Cemetery, until a review of historic and cultural importance has been undertaken.

The Government recognises the sensitivities surrounding burial grounds linked to former psychiatric institutions, including Horton Cemetery, and is committed to upholding the dignity of these sites and the memory of those interred within them.All applications for exhumation are assessed individually and require consents from next of kin, the owner of any related exclusive right of burial and the burial authority to ensure that respect for the deceased person is balanced with a legitimate request from the family or burial authority. A general ban would remove this balance and prevent valid cases from being considered. All applications undergo rigorous scrutiny, and disturbing remains without authority is a criminal offence.The Law Commission is currently reviewing burial legislation, including the legal provision for exhumation, as part of its Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods project (Burial, cremation, and new funerary methods – Law Commission). Its report on this issue is expected to be published in early 2026, and the Government will respond in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing a national memorial to commemorate the lives of people buried in former psychiatric hospital cemeteries, including Horton Cemetery.

No such assessments have been made.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the dereliction of former asylum cemeteries on stigma surrounding mental ill health.

No such assessments have been made.