Written questions by Athwal.

What steps he is taking to undertake further research into the adverse health effects of ultra-processed foods.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is investing in research on the health impacts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). This includes a new research call launched in July 2024 on the health and health inequality impacts of interventions that effect consumption of UPFs.

What steps she is taking to help increase interagency working between (a) local authorities, (b) social services and the (c) police to help prevent crime.

The Government recognises the vital role that interagency working plays in helping to prevent crime. We have committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will embed partnership principles in a network of new Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships.Prevention Partnerships will drive local multi-agency partnership working, and encourage police, local authorities and other agencies to work in partnership to reduce a young person’s likelihood of becoming involved in crime. This will include effective information sharing between agencies and improved consistency in joined up-working.Driving down drug-related crime is another key prevention strand of our work. We ensure join-up at a local level through over 100 Combating Drugs Partnerships, which are multi-agency forums that bring together a range of partners at the local level including local authorities, health and police to address drug use and harms.

What steps she is taking to address period poverty in East London.

Nobody should have to miss out on education because of their period, which is why the department provides free period products to girls and women in their place of study, through the period products scheme. The scheme aims to remove periods as a barrier to accessing education, addresses pupils being unable to afford period products and aims to destigmatise menstruation.Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 87% of post-16 organisations in England have used the scheme to order period products.The department publishes statistics regarding the scheme’s operation, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) affordability and (b) accessibility of parental leave.

Government keeps the rates of benefits, state pension and statutory pay under review. Parental pay is reviewed annually at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. From April 2025, subject to parliamentary approval, the rate will increase by September 2024's CPI figure of 1.7%, from £184.03 to £187.18 per week Parental pay is only one element of the support available for parents. Depending on individual circumstances, additional financial support, for example, Universal Credit, Child Benefit and the Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available. The Government has committed to conduct a review of the whole parental leave system. This review will focus on ensuring that parental leave offers the best possible support to working families. Work is already underway on planning for its delivery.

What steps her Department is taking through Young Futures Hubs to help tackle violence against women and girls.

The government has set an ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. To achieve this, we plan to reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending and prevent abuse from happening altogether.This focus on prevention also sits at the heart of the Young Futures programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures prevention partnerships.Young Futures Hubs will be set up across the country, bringing together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling young people to thrive.Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will bring local partners together to intervene earlier to ensure that vulnerable children at risk of being drawn into a variety of crime types, including anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls, are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.Officials from across government, including the Department for Education, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice are working together using their various bodies of evidence of what works to shape Young Futures Hubs.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of palliative care services available (a) Redbridge and (b) Ilford South constituency.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs), including North East London ICB, which covers Redbridge and Ilford South, must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.We have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, by driving three shifts in the way health care is delivered. We will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan.I recently met with key palliative and end of life care, including hospice, stakeholders to discuss the long-term sustainability of palliative and end of life care, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, and £26 million revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the average time taken for visa applications to be processed for (a) adults and (b) children.

Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of endometriosis services in London.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the care received by those suffering from gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis. We have taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. In gynaecology, the plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home, and piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres.We encourage any woman or girl with symptoms of endometriosis to contact their general practitioner (GP). Women’s health hubs also have a key role in shifting care out of hospitals and reducing gynaecology waiting lists and are being rolled out across areas in London. For example, in North East London, there are women’s health hubs based in City and Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and in Redbridge. These can be accessed by all residents from across North East London including Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham as the model is developed further.NHS North East London has also developed clinical management guidelines to support National Health Service trusts and GPs across North East London caring for patients presenting with symptoms related to endometriosis. A new pathway for referring patients experiencing pelvic pain that could be endometriosis is being developed and run by clinicians specialising in the management of endometriosis in North East London.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of closing the gender pay gap for women in Ilford South constituency.

This Government is committed to transforming the lives of working women across the country, regardless of geographical location; this includes going further and faster to close the gender pay gap. Tackling the gender pay gap will put more money in women’s pockets and help deliver on our Plan for Change, increasing household income. Amongst a range of measures in the Employment Rights Bill which will support the lives of all working people, we are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures. These action plans will detail the effective steps employers are taking to improve gender equality in their workplace, and narrow their gaps.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that employers support women managing menopause.

The Government has introduced the Employment Rights Bill which [if passed] would require large employers with more than 250 employees to produce Menopause Action Plans on how they will support employees through the menopause. Alongside this we have committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. The Secretary of State has also appointed Mariella Frostrup as the Government’s independent Menopause Employment Ambassador. The Menopause Employment Ambassador will work closely with employers across the country to improve workplace support for women experiencing menopause.

Whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to designate misogyny as a hate crime.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.The Government is carefully considering how best to tackle hate crime. We will set out next steps in due course.

What steps he is taking to ensure the NHS Long Term Plan will focus on improving the respiratory health of people in (a) Redbridge, (b) Ilford South constituency and (c) England.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all help people manage their long-term conditions, including respiratory conditions, closer to home. Moving from sickness to prevention will help us reduce the causes of the biggest killers, and provide treatment earlier, rather than only intervening when conditions deteriorate.In advance of the 10-Year Health Plan, NHS England has established 13 respiratory clinical networks across the country. These have been vital in providing clinical leadership for respiratory services and supporting services in primary care, including restoring spirometry, which is one of the tests used to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis.As part of the work to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, we have launched a significant public engagement process and we would encourage all those with an interest in respiratory health care services to take part in that process, so that we can fully understand what is not working as well as it should and what the potential solutions are. More information on the process is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

What steps is she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people to (a) purchase and (b) use electric vehicles.

The Government will provide £120m of additional funding to extend the Plug-in Van Grant and the Plug in Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Grant next financial year. Grants for motorcycles, taxis, and trucks are currently available until at least the end of this financial year. All grants are kept under review to ensure the best value for taxpayer’s money. Zero emission vehicles will receive favourable Benefit in Kind tax rates until at least 2030. They are also exempt from vehicle excise duty (VED) until April 2025, after which electric vehicles will still have preferential first year rates of VED in comparison to the most polluting vehicles. The Government is committed to accelerating the rollout of charging infrastructure, to ensure electric vehicles are easy to use. There are currently over 74,000 publicly available charging devices and the Government has introduced the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 to improve consumer experience of charging infrastructure.

Whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of funding levels for research into the (a) detection and (b) treatment of heart diseases.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including the detection and treatment of cardiovascular and heart diseases.Over the past five financial years, from 2019/20 to 2023/24, the NIHR has invested £145.4 million on cardiovascular and heart diseases and stroke research directly through NIHR research programmes. Our wider investments in NIHR infrastructure, by strengthening specialist facilities, workforce, and support services to enable research in the health and care system, have enabled significant cardiovascular and heart diseases and stroke research funded by other funders to take place.

What steps she is taking to provide support to victims of sexual and domestic violence.

This Government has set out an ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade and will treat it as the national emergency that it is. We will deliver a cross-government, transformative approach, underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy published later this year. The Government has made several commitments to transform the criminal justice response to sexual offences. This includes embedding domestic abuse specialists into 999 control rooms as part of Raneem’s Law, rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, introducing free, independent legal advice for victims of adult rape and fast-tracking rape cases. The Ministry of Justice funds the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line, providing free, confidential emotional support for all victims of rape and sexual abuse aged 16 and over in England and Wales. We also understand the importance of specialist and ‘by and for’ services in providing support to victims of VAWG, including domestic abuse. The Home Office have already confirmed a number of grants for organisations delivering vital frontline support to victims. On 28th November 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a funding increase of £30 million, meaning a total investment of £160 million in the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation Grant in 2025/26. This will enable local authorities to invest in essential support for victims in safe accommodation.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department taking to make government digital services as accessible as possible, including for those without strong digital skills.

The Government wants to put digital inclusion at the heart of how we deliver better designed, time-saving public services, to ensure as many people as possible can access public services digitally. Our ambition is for everyone in the UK to have the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in our modern digital society, whatever their circumstances.On accessibility, there is a globally recognised standard for accessibility for Web Content, and though digital accessibility is an important part of designing an inclusive service, meeting the standards does not guarantee an inclusive service. We will be exploring how to extend the scope of the standards beyond central government into the wider public sector and looking at revising them to include inclusive service design.Promoting digital inclusion is a priority for this Government, and we will be working closely with key partners in charities, businesses and local authorities to make sure that no one is left without the tools to engage fully in society. We hope to announce more on this soon.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase participation in women’s sport in Ilford South.

The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport. We want to break down the barriers that exist and prevent women and girls from being active including but not limited to kit, facilities, time and cost. This Girl Can, which recently celebrated its ten year anniversary, is an inspiring campaign that has promoted women’s sport, challenged prejudice and made clear that sport is for everyone.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Separately, as a government, we are investing £123 million in inclusive grassroots sport facilities that will support more women and girls to take part in the sports that they love.In the last financial year, 2023-24, Sport England awarded over £75,000 to Ilford South constituency.

Whether he has made an assessment of the link between life expectancy and trends in the level of poverty.

Health inequalities in the United Kingdom are stark, with life expectancy differing dramatically between and within communities. People living in the most deprived areas are likely to die earlier and spend more years in ill health than those living in the least deprived areas.We are taking a cross-Government mission-led approach to tackle the root causes of health inequalities, including addressing the social determinants of health, which include housing, poverty, fair opportunities, and education.

What assessment he has made of the potential correlation between the number of fast food outlets opening and recent trends in the level of obesity in Ilford South constituency.

The Department has not made an assessment of the potential correlation between the number of fast food outlets opening and recent trends in the level of obesity in the Ilford South constituency. However, children living in the most deprived areas see five times more fast food outlets on their high streets and are also over twice as likely to be living with obesity compared with the least deprived areas The food environment can influence dietary choices. Meals eaten outside of the home tend to be associated with higher calories, and portion sizes tend to be bigger. In addition, people who eat more food from the out of home sector tend to have a poorer quality diet and a higher weight for height. The food environment is an important modifiable determinant of dietary behaviour and obesity, and the revised National Planning Policy Framework for local government published last December gives stronger, clearer powers to block new fast food outlets near schools and where young people congregate The Department publishes breakdowns of child and adult obesity prevalence and the number of fast food outlets per 100,000 population at a local authority level. Information is not available for Ilford South, but it is available for the London Borough of Redbridge, which includes Ilford South. In 2024, Redbridge had 127 fast food outlets per 100,000 population, which is an increase from 69.9 per 100,000 in 2017, as per the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ (OHID) 2025 Public Health Profiles. The following table shows the obesity prevalence in the London Borough of Redbridge, from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) academic year 2006/07 to 2023/24:NCMP academic yearObesity prevalence for children in Reception, from age four to five years oldObesity prevalence for children in Year 6, from age 10 to 11 years old2006/0710.6%20.4%2007/0811.3%20.9%2008/0911.3%21.3%2009/1011.8%21.3%2010/1112.0%23.5%2011/1211.4%23.6%2012/1310.1%21.5%2013/1410.4%22.9%2014/1510.8%23.3%2015/169.8%23.5%2016/1711.6%23.7%2017/1811.4%25.0%2018/199.9%24.1%2019/2011.2%25.0%2020/21No dataNo data2021/2211.5%27.9%2022/239.9%26.7%2023/248.9%24.6%Source: National Child Measurement Programme.In addition, the following table shows adult, those aged 18 years old and over, obesity prevalence in the London Borough of Redbridge, from 2015/16 to 2022/23:YearAdult obesity prevalence2015/1618.1%2016/1720.4%2017/1820.9%2018/1923.9%2019/2018.3%2020/2122.6%2021/2224.1%2022/2325.3%Source: Active Lives adult survey, OHID analysis of data from Sport England.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the difference in diabetes rates amongst the (a) white and (b) BAME population in Ilford South constituency.

NHS England has given £3 million of funding 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 an 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.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 is aware that standard approaches to diabetes prevention and care can miss high risk individuals or be less effective for those who do not fit the demographic profile that these interventions were originally designed for. Redbridge Place Partnership, near Ilford, is an example of the local National Health Service taking a culturally sensitive and tailored approach to improve outreach in communities that have historically shown lower engagement with mainstream health services.Redbridge Place is collaborating with system-wide partners, including the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector, to identify South Asian residents and other high-risk groups vulnerable to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and renal conditions. The aim is to reduce risk factors and ensure early intervention through optimised care pathways and national prevention programmes by improving access, integrating community engagement, and creating culturally sensitive health promotion strategies that reduce the diabetes gap.