Written questions by Athwal.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to reform the leasehold system.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of GP provision in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Ilford South constituency; and what steps he is taking to improve patient access.

Ilford South sits within the North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB). Since June 2018, there has been an increase of 45 full-time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) in the ICB; in the London region, there has been an increase of 411 FTE GPs; and across England there has been an increase of 4,636 FTE GPs.In January 2025, an estimated 1.1 million appointments were delivered in the North East London ICB, an increase of 3.75% from January 2024. In the London region, there was a 2.64% increase over the same period, and across England there was a 1.76% increase.We are uplifting the 2025/26 GP contract by £889 million, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. This will help to increase capacity in the system so patients can access the care they need. Alongside this increase in funding, the contract contains measures to improve access to services, continuity of care and GP recruitment.

What steps his Department is taking to help prevent childhood obesity.

The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we have announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose.  We are also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.

Whether he plans to make clean air a public health priority.

Improving the environment where we live, work, and play is critical to support everyone to live longer healthier lives. We know that air pollution is one of the greatest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom and so tackling it plays a crucial role in the shift from treatment to prevention of ill health.Leading our Health Mission, the Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government on ways to reduce the health harms of air pollution, including with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to support their plans for cleaner air.

What steps her Department is taking encourage the take-up of STEM subjects at further education level.

Developing the skills of young people, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a critical enabler for the government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth.To support young people with careers information, advice and guidance, the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), backed by over £30 million of government funding in 2024/25, coordinates a national network of careers hubs which now includes 95% of secondary schools and colleges.The network includes 400 leading employers and around 4,000 business volunteers, including many representing STEM occupations. Our careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks, includes a clear expectation that all 11 to 18 year-olds should have at least one meaningful interaction with employers per year. This should include an encounter with a STEM employer or workplace, or a careers event focused on STEM, before year 11.The CEC has also worked in partnership with employers and multi-academy trusts to co-design curriculum resources linking a range of careers to specific curriculum points across all national curriculum subjects, including STEM subjects. This helps students to understand how STEM subjects are the pathways to certain careers.The government’s Skills for Careers website brings greater coherence to the careers offer. This provides a single platform to access information about skills training options and careers, illustrating pathways to STEM occupations, including via further education.The department is also setting up Skills England to bring together central government and regional and local organisations, businesses, training providers and unions, to help meet the skills needs of the next decade, aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy.This will be underpinned by Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) that support our aim to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs.We also continue to support learners who wish to have a career in STEM through our technical education offer. This includes making available:T Levels in STEM subjects, including in engineering, science, digital and media. Thousands of young people have succeeded on T Levels and progressed to university, employment or apprenticeships.Over 350 employer-designed apprenticeship standards in STEM subjects.Higher Technical Qualifications in STEM occupations, for example a foundation degree in Biomedical Sciences, HNC in Electronic Systems or HND in Space Technologies.

How much funding his Department plans to provide for community mental health hubs in London in each of the next three financial years.

Thus far, government funding to support Early Support Hubs from 2024/25 has allowed hubs to expand their current service offer to reach at least 12,000 additional young people.The Department has confirmed a one-year contract to support and evaluate these hubs, helping to lay the foundations of the mental health offer for young people, including through expanding the workforce, introducing Young Futures Hubs, and rolling out Mental Health Support teams to more schools.This new funding for 2025/26 will enable Early Support Hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported. Funding decisions for 2026/27 are subject to future Spending Reviews.

What discussions she has had with (a) employers and (b) further education providers to help ensure the post-16 curriculum is aligned with the future needs of the UK workforce.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is looking at ensuring all 16 to 19-year-olds have access to rigorous and high-value qualifications and training, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in the changing workplace.The Review has consulted employers and further education (FE) providers through events and meetings and has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.The Review Group has now published its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. The interim report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.The government will consider any changes it wishes to make to the curriculum, assessment and qualifications whilst the Review is conducted, and will respond to the final recommendations in autumn 2025.The government has engaged extensively with stakeholders, including employers, FE providers, and their representative bodies, through its Review of Qualifications Reform and the establishment of Skills England. Employers and education providers have strongly supported aligning technical qualifications with occupational standards. They also welcome Skills England’s role in uniting businesses, training providers, unions, and both national and local government to assess the UK’s evolving workforce needs. This collaborative approach will help ensure that post-16 education and training remain aligned with current and future labour market demands.Our recent apprenticeship reforms, which give businesses more flexibility to adapt to real training needs, have shown that we are committed to listening to what businesses and providers need to grow the workforce in support of our Plan for Change. The government is committed to continuing to listen as we work to drive further improvements to how qualifications and the wider skills system can supply the UK workforce with the skills it needs. This will include ongoing engagement work with FE providers, employers, and other skills system stakeholders on the development of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy, Technical Excellence Colleges, and the role of Skills England and the Growth and Skills Offer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure areas with higher levels of deprivation receive adequate funding.

The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government in England, which is a cash-terms increase of 6.8% in Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The most relatively deprived areas of England will receive 23% more per dwelling in Settlement funding than the least deprived areas.The government is directly accounting for deprivation in the way it allocates funding, such as through the new one-off ‘Recovery Grant’, worth £600 million. The Recovery Grant will start to correct the unfairness of the current system by putting councils in the areas with greater need and demand for services on a more stable footing. This will lay the foundations for more fundamental funding reform, including an updated assessment of need, from 2026/27.

What assessment he has made on the potential merits of a total ban on the advertising of unhealthy food across all media.

No such assessment has been made. However, we are implementing restrictions on the advertising of less healthy food or drink products on television and online from October 2025. This includes a 9pm watershed on television and a 24-hour restriction on paid-for advertising of these products online. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from United Kingdom children’s diets per year and reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000. We continue to review evidence of the impacts on children of advertising for less healthy food and drink products and will consider where further action is needed.

What steps she is taking to help end discrimination against ethnic minority people.

This government is clear that someone’s race or ethnicity should never be a barrier to success. We are taking a number of steps across government to address race inequalities through our mission-based programme of reform and our Plan for Change. As set out in the King’s Speech last July, we are committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. We have been discussing our proposals with trades unions, employers and their representative bodies and others andhave published today a consultation on our proposals. These measures will be part of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with local authorities to help tackle fly-tipping.

Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights local communities and the environment. Local authorities have enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping, including fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, and prosecution action which can lead to significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers and we are also taking steps so that we may develop further guidance to support local authorities to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers. We committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment, and other actions to tackle fly-tipping, in due course. In the meantime, Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on human rights in Pakistan.

Promoting human rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Pakistani Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister, during my visit to Pakistan in November 2024. Our High Commission in Islamabad also regularly raises human rights issues, including minority rights, with the Pakistani authorities at the highest levels. For example, on 3 March 2025, our High Commissioner in Islamabad raised the rights of the Ahmadi community in a meeting with Prime Minister Sharif. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in accordance with international standards.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve the provision of (a) physical banks and (b) banking hubs in Ilford South constituency.

Banking has changed significantly in recent years with many customers benefiting from the ease and convenience of remote banking. However, the Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to constituents and businesses in Ilford South and across the UK and is committed to championing sufficient access for all. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 200 hubs have been announced so far, and over 100 are already open. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 granted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the responsibility and powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Under the FCA’s regime, LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network, is responsible for undertaking access to cash assessments. When a cash access facility such as a bank branch closes, or if LINK receives a request directly from a community, LINK assesses a community’s access to cash needs and can recommend a new service, such as a banking hub. Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.

If he will take steps to ban fast food outlets near schools.

On 12 December 2024, the Government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework for local government. As part of this, local authorities were given the stronger, clearer powers they have told us they need to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate, unless the location is in a designated town centre.The framework also indicates that applications should also be refused where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social behaviour.

What steps he is taking to help reduce obesity rates amongst children under the age of 16 in East London.

The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government, and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on the National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.The Government has already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on TV and online from 1 October 2025, announced changes to the planning framework for fast food outlets near schools and is committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old.We are also working collaboratively across Government to deliver a resilient food system that promotes health and food security. The Food Strategy will work to provide healthier, more easily accessible food to help people live longer, healthier lives.Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities regional teams work closely with local partners including local authorities and the NHS to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and tackle obesity. In London, there is Every Child a Healthier Weight Delivery Plan. This helps to drive partnership action on healthy weight across the NHS, local and regional government and wider partners. More information is available at the following link:https://www.adph.org.uk/networks/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Every-Child-a-Healthier-Weight-Delivery-Plan-ECAHW-Final090523.pdf

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of paramedics in England.

In November 2024, there were 20,243 full time equivalent paramedics employed across the 10 National Health Service ambulance services in England, representing 1,518 or 8.1% more than a year ago and 4,131 or 25.6% more than five years ago. In summer 2025, we will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade. We will ensure the NHS has the right people, in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the care patients need when they need it.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the release of Jagtar Singh Johal.

The UK Government is committed to pushing the Government of India for faster progress to resolve Jagtar Singh Johal's case. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr Johal's case with his Indian counterpart on several occasions, most recently on 5 March. The Prime Minister raised Mr Johal's case with Prime Minister Modi on 18 November 2024 and raised it with the Indian External Affairs Minister on 4 March, during his visit to the UK.

What steps he is taking to help reduce the need for imported electricity in the UK.

The Government’s Clean Power 2030 action plan details the Government's strategy to protect people from increased energy bills caused by volatile global gas markets and accelerate our pathway towards greater energy independence through the deployment of clean energy. Importing cheaper electricity during peak times reduces the need to turn on carbon-intensive domestic generation and enhances security of supply by providing access to a more diverse generation pool that complements our domestic energy mix.

What steps he is taking to help tackle the levels of diabetes among (a) Black and (b) South Asian people.

NHS England has established a focused engagement campaign, using social media and more traditional approaches, to raise awareness and boost uptake from these groups as part of its approach to address the poorer outcomes for those of south Asian and black ethnicity.NHS England has provided funding of £3 million to systems to provide clinical leadership to ensure that clinical diabetes metrics, such as the eight key diabetes care processes and treatment targets, are reviewed at integrated care board level and unwarranted variation identified. A resource hub of materials has been set up on Future NHS, including examples of innovation and best practice for improvement of care process delivery, and achievement of treatment targets.

What recent steps he has taken to support high street businesses in Ilford South constituency.

Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. We are delivering across government to create better conditions for high street businesses to thrive.We have heard businesses’ concerns about the impact of anti-social behaviour in town centres, including in Ilford South. Last month, we introduced the Crime and Policing Bill, which will scrap the effective immunity for low-value shoplifting and do more to protect retail workers from assault. We are also introducing High Street Rental Auction powers for local authorities and over 100 Banking Hubs have now opened - providing essential banking services for businesses and high street users.Last year the Business Secretary announced a new Business Growth Service which will make it easier and quicker for businesses across the UK to get the help, support and advice they need to grow and thrive. Our Small Business Strategy, to be published later this year, will set out this Government’s plan for further supporting small businesses across key areas, including on the high street.