Written questions by MacCleary.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) prevent heart disease and stroke, (b) prioritise timely NHS heart care and (c) accelerate research into future treatments and cures.

We are committed to ensuring that fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, such as heart disease, which includes cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and stroke.The NHS Health Check, England’s flagship CVD prevention programme, engages over 1.3 million people each year and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks or strokes. To improve access and engagement to this life saving check, we are developing a digital NHS Health Check, a service which people can use at home to understand and act on their CVD risk, providing people with a more flexible, accessible, and convenient service. We are also piloting a new programme to deliver more than 130,000 lifesaving heart health checks in workplaces across the country.The NHS Long Term Plan (NHS LTP) is committed to improving the care and outcomes for people with CVD through enhanced diagnostic support in the community, better personalised planning, and increased access to disease-specific rehabilitation. NHS England’s stroke priorities include rapid diagnosis and increased access to time-dependent acute stroke care, as well as facilitating ambulance service use of pre-hospital telemedicine, and supporting access to the use of artificial intelligence decision support tools for brain imaging.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU on the number of seasonal agricultural workers in each of the countries of the UK.

The Government keeps the Seasonal Worker route under close ongoing review and is carefully considering the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Seasonal Worker route and will announce a detailed response in due course.The Home Office and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) monitor the scheme closely to ensure they are operating in the best interests of the UK when it comes to future recruitment. This Government recognises and values the important contribution workers from overseas make to our economy and public services throughout the UK. Legal migration must be controlled and managed through a fair system.

If she will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of existing youth mobility schemes on economic growth in each (a) country of the UK and (b) year since 2010.

The Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) provides valuable cultural exchange opportunities for young people aged 18-30 (or 18-35 for some nationalities) to experience life in another country for up to two or three years, and to make lifelong ties and friendships overseas.Each YMS is subject to a bilateral, reciprocal arrangement designed to offer cultural exchange. It is therefore not designed, nor intended, to be a route for economic growth or to address any specific labour shortages, although individuals participating in the scheme are able to work if they wish to do so.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) support and (b) expand (i) mentoring and (ii) wellbeing schemes for young people in (A) schools and (B) local communities.

Helping children and young people to both achieve and thrive, including through work on mentoring and supporting wellbeing, is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity – one of the five missions of this government.The department is investing £17 million across two mentoring projects that will support the school attendance of at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice shared with schools and local authorities nationally. The first project is set to conclude this academic year, while the second, larger pilot will continue until 2028.To support mental health and wellbeing, the government has also committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school in England.The department has also launched a targeted mental wellbeing support toolkit to further help schools select the most effective targeted support options. This covers a range of evidence-based interventions, including mentoring, which we recognise can be a useful component of a whole school approach to wellbeing.The government is committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made early progress towards this, including announcing that up to 750 early adopters will be delivering these new breakfast clubs by April 2025. Breakfast clubs offer much more than just food. They can serve as a welcoming space for children, providing valuable opportunities for them to play, learn, and socialise at the beginning of the school day.Across government, we are also supporting a variety of other schemes with a focus on mentoring and wellbeing for young people in wider communities.Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to help improve the way that children and young people can access opportunities and support in their local communities, in doing so, promoting their development, improving mental health, and preventing young people being drawn into crime. Expertise has been brought together from across government departments to deliver on this manifesto commitment, and the government will be engaging with national and local partners, local communities and children and young people to co-design and explore options for the design and delivery of the hubs.There are currently around 65 locally funded early support hubs in England open to those aged 11 to 25. These are open to anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive NHS support. This means children and young people experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to in their community when their problems first emerge without the need for a referral. Early support hubs also offer advice on wider issues which may affect a young person’s mental health, including careers advice, educational support or support with their financial circumstances. In 2024/25, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is also running a Shared Outcomes Fund project, backed by £8 million, to boost and evaluate the impact of 24 existing early support hubs.In the wider healthcare system, DHSC will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.Supporting mentoring in wider communities, Youth Futures Foundation receives funding through the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is led by industry and backed by the government, for their ‘Building Futures’ programme with the Football Beyond Borders as their year 1 partner, which will enable thousands of vulnerable young people to access crucial mentoring support.

If she will take steps to reduce the number of people waiting for enhanced DBS checks to be processed by Sussex Police Force.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Sussex Police are operationally independent. The prompt completion of enhanced DBS checks is an important part of the safeguarding system, and I understand that several measures have already been introduced to reduce application turnaround times at Sussex Police.These include the DBS funding additional staff to manage increases in volumes of checks referred to Sussex Police, whilst also funding overtime at the force to minimise the impact while new staff are recruited and trained. Further support is provided through the implementation of training groups and buddies to progress staff through training stages more effectively, the funding of a dedicated training/assessor, and assistance from other forces where appropriate.The DBS is closely monitoring the performance of Sussex Police and will continue to implement support wherever possible to ensure delays are minimised.

What steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for driving tests in (a) rural areas and (b) urban areas.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at all driving test centres (DTC), include the recruitment of new driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from DEs. DVSA also continues to deploy DEs from areas with lower waiting times into those where waiting times are longer.

When he plans to launch the consultation on technical issues for the renewable liquid heating fuel obligation under Section 159 of the Energy Act 2023; and what steps he is taking to support rural households using oil for heating to transition to (a) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (b) other lower-carbon alternatives.

As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions. Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of RLHFs, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.

If she will ensure that all teachers are trained to support students with Special Educational Needs.

I refer the hon. Member for Lewes to the answer of 29 October 2024 to Question 10604.

If she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of increasing the purchase price limit under the help-to-buy ISA scheme in line with average house price increases.

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.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a new European Youth Mobility scheme.

The UK currently operates 13 bilateral Youth Mobility Scheme arrangements, which allow young people aged 18-30 (18-35 for some nationals), to live, work and study in the UK for up to two years, with some nationals eligible to apply for a third year. Each country is subject to an annual quota, based on a yearly review of outbound UK participants of the scheme.The European Commission has not approached the UK to consider a new European Youth Mobility Scheme. We will look at proposals on a range of issues, but we will not return to free movement and our focus is on reducing net migration after it rose to record highs.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding discussions with the EU on introducing a UK-EU youth mobility scheme.

The Prime Minister and the president of the European Commission met in Brussels on 2 October and agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and the UK, putting it on a more solid, stable footing. We are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people. We are not going to give a running commentary on negotiations. We will obviously look at EU proposals on a range of issues, but we will not return to freedom of movement.

How many vacancies were advertised in the NHS in each year since 2010.

The Department does not hold the information requested. NHS England publishes a compendium of NHS Vacancy Statistics each quarter. Whilst none of the data published is the exact number of vacancies advertised in the National Health Service, the information does currently provide three measures of the level of vacancies in the NHS. Detailed information on the definition of collected data and the available timeseries, along with the measure’s strengths and weaknesses, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-surveyThe earliest data within this collection is from 2016, and no data is held prior to this period. Due to the complex nature of how NHS vacancy data is defined and collected, all data sources should be treated with a degree of caution.

Innovation and Technology, how much the UK received through the Horizon Europe programme in each year from 2010 to 2024; and what estimate he has made of that figure after the implementation of Framework Programme 10.

Horizon Europe runs from 2021 to 2027. Data on UK receipts from the Framework Programmes between 2010 and 2020 is available via the EU’s Horizon Dashboard.The UK associated to Horizon Europe in January 2024, and with a small number of exceptions, UK organisations have not received any funding from prior to association. UK participation between 2021 and 2023 was funded by the UK Guarantee, and the funding data is available on the UK Research and Innovation website. As 2024 data becomes available, this will be published via the Dashboard.Framework Programme 10 is still being developed by the EU.

Innovation and Technology, what information his Department holds on how much universities received in research and development funding from the EU in each year from 2010 to 2024.

DSIT does not hold this information. That information is held by the European Commission and available on the Horizon Dashboard for the period between 2010 and 2020.The UK associated to Horizon Europe in January 2024, and with a small number of exceptions, UK organisations have not received any funding prior to association. UK participation in Horizon Europe between 2021 and 2023 was funded by the UK Horizon Guarantee, and the funding data is available on the UK Research and Innovation website.As 2024 data becomes available, this will be published via the European Commission’s dashboard.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department has taken to help reduce mobile phone roaming fees for people travelling in Europe since the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

The guarantee of surcharge-free roaming with the EU ceased at the end of the Brexit Transition Period. Against this background, my Department, in close coordination with the Department for Business and Trade, is considering the Government’s approach to the issue of roaming fees for people travelling in Europe to ensure we deliver the best outcomes to promote competition and protect consumers.

How many EU-born staff were working in the NHS in each year since 2010.

The Department does not collect data on where staff working in the National Health Service were born. However, NHS England publishes quarterly data on the number of staff split by nationality in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. The following table shows the number of staff working in the NHS in England with nationalities from the European Union, each September from 2010 until June 2024, the most recent data point available:DateHeadcount of staffSeptember 201030,032September 201132,259September 201234,418September 201338,334September 201445,066September 201552,808September 201659,796September 201761,974September 201863,484September 201965,741September 202068,919September 202170,056September 202271,174September 202374,969June 202477,289All staff within NHS trusts and commissioning bodies provide a self-reported nationality which is recorded on the Electronic Staff Record system. This may reflect an individual’s cultural heritage rather than their country of birth, with some individuals choosing not to specify it.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the EU's Entry/Exit System on UK travellers.

The Government engages with the European Commission on a range of border issues, including the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). The system is expected to increase processing times at Schengen Area border crossing points, and the Government therefore continues to work with EU Member States, industry and operators to understand the possible impacts and support their plans to mitigate disruption for travellers and businesses. To support this, I have been having regular meetings with other HMG Ministers to progress cross-government efforts for EES, including communications to the travelling public. However, implementation of EES is a matter for the EU and EU Member States.

Innovation and Technology, if he will hold discussions with mobile phone operators on trends in the level of roaming fees since the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

The guarantee of surcharge-free roaming with the EU ceased at the end of the Brexit Transition Period. Against this background, my Department, in close coordination with the Department for Business and Trade, is considering the Government’s approach to the issue of roaming fees for people travelling in Europe to ensure we deliver the best outcomes to promote competition and protect consumers.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support people who let short-term furnished holiday properties.

We are introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets in England. Our aim is to reap the benefits of a thriving tourist economy whilst protecting the spirit and fabric of communities, including by giving local authorities valuable data on short-term lets in their area to help address housing impacts through the scheme.The registration scheme will work to create a level playing field across the guest accommodations sector and ensure short-term lets are set to the same standards as more traditional accommodations such as hotels and B&Bs.The scheme will support operators of short-term lets by boosting the reputation of England’s guest accommodation sector and attracting more visitors by giving visible assurance we have a high-quality, safe guest accommodation offer.

What discussions she has had with HSBC on pension clawback policy; and if she will make representations to HSBC on reviewing that policy.

No discussions on this subject have taken place with HSBC. The design of a pension offered as part of an employer’s reward package is a matter for that employer, provided that it meets the relevant legal requirements.