Written questions by Shannon.

What guidance his Department provides on when a mental capacity review should be carried out on a patient.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect and empower people who lack the mental capacity to make a decision themselves. It says that every person must be presumed to have capacity to make the decision in question unless it is established otherwise, and sets out a two-stage test to establish if a person can make specific decisions regarding their care and treatment. Capacity assessments are done locally, and data is not collated or held centrally on how many assessments are carried out.The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is a procedure prescribed in law under the MCA when a person who lacks mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment is being deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital in order to keep them safe from harm. DoLS assessments data is collated and published, the most recent data available is for 2023/24.In 2023/24 there were 323,870 DoLS applications completed, 145,945 fully assessed, 15,270 closed partially assessed, 162,655 closed without assessments, and 123,790 not completed at year end.The MCA code of practice gives guidance to people who work with, or care for, people who can’t make decisions for themselves, including when a mental capacity assessment should be carried out, and by whom. Government is clear that professionals applying the MCA are expected to keep up to date with guidance and caselaw, and to correctly use the principles within the act.In October 2025 we announced our intention to run a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice to consult on Liberty Protection Safeguards and an updated draft of the Code of Practice in 2026.

If he will take legislative steps through the Sentencing Bill to toughen fines and sentences for people convicted of the assault of retail workers.

The Sentencing Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026 and is therefore not open to further amendment. However, the Government is taking additional steps to strengthen protections for retail workers through the Crime and Policing Bill. It is unacceptable that violence and abuse towards retail workers continues to rise. That is why, through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. This bespoke offence will send a clear signal to perpetrators that assaults on retail workers are unacceptable and won’t go unpunished. The Crime and Policing Bill also ensures that all shop theft is treated with the seriousness it deserves by repealing section 22A of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, so low value shop theft (of £200 or less) is no longer treated separately as a summary-only offence, but can instead be prosecuted as general theft, which carries a higher maximum penalty. Together, these measures further reinforce the Government’s commitment to tackling violence, abuse and criminality affecting retail staff.

How many mental capacity assessments have been carried out on patients in each of the last five years.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect and empower people who lack the mental capacity to make a decision themselves. It says that every person must be presumed to have capacity to make the decision in question unless it is established otherwise, and sets out a two-stage test to establish if a person can make specific decisions regarding their care and treatment. Capacity assessments are done locally, and data is not collated or held centrally on how many assessments are carried out.The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is a procedure prescribed in law under the MCA when a person who lacks mental capacity to consent to their care or treatment is being deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital in order to keep them safe from harm. DoLS assessments data is collated and published, the most recent data available is for 2023/24.In 2023/24 there were 323,870 DoLS applications completed, 145,945 fully assessed, 15,270 closed partially assessed, 162,655 closed without assessments, and 123,790 not completed at year end.The MCA code of practice gives guidance to people who work with, or care for, people who can’t make decisions for themselves, including when a mental capacity assessment should be carried out, and by whom. Government is clear that professionals applying the MCA are expected to keep up to date with guidance and caselaw, and to correctly use the principles within the act.In October 2025 we announced our intention to run a joint consultation with the Ministry of Justice to consult on Liberty Protection Safeguards and an updated draft of the Code of Practice in 2026.

What discussions her Department has had with EU counterparts on EU regulations preventing the use of red diesel to power private leisure boats in the context of the maritime tourism industry.

Officials in my department regularly speak to EU counterparts on a range of issues. Private Pleasure Craft (PPC)) across the UK incur the full duty rate on fuel used for propulsion (52.95 pence per litre (ppl)) and the rebated rate (10.18 ppl) for non-propulsion use. PPC that refuel in Great Britain can use red diesel provided they pay a top up to reflect the difference in duty between the red diesel rate and the full duty rate to cover their propulsion use. PPC in Northern Ireland are not permitted to refuel with red diesel, but a relief scheme is in place to cover diesel used for non-propulsion purposes (e.g. heating and lighting the boat).

What steps he is taking to increase the number of blood donations.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England and is delivering initiatives to increase blood donations. These include:increasing awareness of donation through high-profile year-round campaigns including National Blood Week and World Blood Donor Day alongside the use of social media such as TikTok to reach additional audiences;using direct marketing, including phone calls, emails, and text messages, to encourage previous donors to book appointments and attend local sessions;increasing appointment availability and targeting communities where specific blood types are most needed through initiatives such as the Community Grants Programme, with further information available at the following link:https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/how-you-can-help/get-involved/community-grants-programme/; andincreasing the number of successful donation appointments by: improving pre-donation haemoglobin (Hb) testing, with low‑Hb deferral rates having fallen since the full rollout of new testing in September 2025; implementing a pilot translation service to reduce language‑related deferrals; and enhancing vein-identification training using ethnicity-specific training arms to help staff recognise vein characteristics across different skin tones and body.

What recent steps he has taken to digitise patients’ medical records.

£1.9 billion has been invested to ensure all National Health Service trusts achieve baseline digital capability, and 95% of trusts will have implemented or upgraded their Electronic Patient Record system (EPR) by March 2026, with the remainder planning to implement after this.Recent areas for focus have been EPR optimisation, working to improve functionality, efficiency and usability, and a new tiger team service in the Frontline Digitisation Support offer for 2025/26, which is available to provide trusts with rapid on-site support at critical points of their EPR journey. The team’s work will also inform practical guidance to help other trusts deploy successfully and realise the benefits of digitisation.NHS England is continuing to conduct digital maturity assessments to support local systems and trusts to prioritise and plan local digital investment.

What steps she has taken since July 2024 to (i) expand childcare provision and (ii) help tackle the affordability of childcare costs for working families.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only. The government began a phased expansion of funded childcare in 2024, introducing 15 hours of funded childcare for eligible working parents of two-year-olds in April 2024 and extending this entitlement to children aged from nine months to three years in September 2024. This expansion grew further in September 2025, when eligible working parents of children from nine months to school age were given access to 30 hours of government-funded childcare per week, saving families using their full entitlement up to £7,500 per eligible child per year. As a result, the department expects to provide over £9.5 billion in 2026/27 for the early years entitlements, more than doubling annual public investment in the sector compared with 2023/24. The School-based Nursery Programme is a £400 million capital investment to deliver on the department’s commitment to create tens of thousands of places in school-based nurseries, helping more families access funded childcare and giving children the best start in life. We awarded £37 million of capital funding to 300 schools to create up to 6,000 nursery places, helping parents access affordable, quality childcare where it is needed. Schools were invited to bid for up to £150,000 capital funding from a £45 million pot, with an increased focus on supporting families from disadvantaged areas to access early years provision. We will announce successful projects for this phase in the spring.

What recent steps he has taken to provide a 24/7 thrombectomy service.

NHS England is working to increase the size of the workforce trained to deliver thrombectomy so that 24/7 access is available across England by April 2026.To achieve this NHS England is working with the General Medical Council in approving a credential to support neuroradiologists to conduct thrombectomy and increase the number of thrombectomies that can be delivered.In addition, NHS England’s National Medical Director and National Clinical Director for Stroke has supported comprehensive stroke centers in England to improve quality and reduce variation in thrombectomy delivery.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the integration of (a) shared maintenance hubs, (b) fleet management, and (c) scheduling for (i) health and (ii) education services.

The Government has recently announced its commitments to the rollout of new Neighbourhood Health Centres, with further information available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-to-double-down-on-drive-to-cut-nhs-waiting-times-and-rollout-of-new-neighbourhood-health-centresThrough this programme, there will likely be opportunities under the NHS Act 2006 for NHS England to work with local authorities to deliver joint developments alongside One Public Estate. Schemes will likely include the refurbishment and redevelopment of existing public assets, and such projects may provide a particular focus in areas of deprivation, where the National Health Service can act as an anchor tenant.Furthermore, we are currently finalising the Department’s approach to its Public and Private Finance Partnership model for neighbourhood health centres, which could also act as a catalyst for projects and joint working across public bodies.

How many schools have evacuation chairs for pupils, staff and visitors with mobility impairments.

I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 5 January 2026 to Question 100857.

What steps he is taking to improve levels of employment for people with disabilities.

Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity. The Northern Ireland Executive received consequential funding in the usual way. Disabled people and people with health conditions can face a wide range of unique, yet intersecting barriers, relating to not just their health, but their employment and circumstance (Work aspirations and support needs of health and disability customers: Final findings report - GOV.UK). We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. We are also rolling out Connect to Work, our supported employment programme for anyone who is disabled, and has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work. We set out our plan for the Pathways to Work Guarantee in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and we are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support. The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan states our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work. In Northern Ireland, health, skills, careers and employment support are transferred matters. My officials work closely with those in the Northern Ireland Executive, sharing best practice on providing employment support to disabled people.

What progress she has made to help support the end to violence against women and girls, including what steps she took during the 6 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in 2025.

On 18th December 2025, this government published the ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse; a cross-cutting strategy’, setting out our whole-system approach to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.We have already begun implementing measures, such as rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, embedding domestic abuse specialists in police control rooms through Raneem’s Law, establishing a new National Policing Centre for VAWG and Public Protection with £13.1 million of funding, and appointing Richard Wright KC to lead the Stalking Legislation Review ensuring the criminal law on stalking is fit for purpose. This is alongside the work done by Ministers during the Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25th November to 10th December 2025, to meet with and support a range of stakeholders and events.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of specialist arterial vascular consultants.

We set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England that over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts, with a focus on specialties where there is greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.The Government is committed to training the staff we need, including doctors, to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed services set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

Whether she has had any discussions with relevant stakeholders on lowering the VAT rate on hot takeaway foods.

Ministers and officials receive representations on a variety of VAT issues. The Government engages regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including businesses and representative bodies, to inform the policy development process. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the standard rate of 20 per cent applies to most goods and services. VAT is forecast to raise around £180 billion in 2025-26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and decisions on VAT rates are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.

Innovation and Technology, what progress she has made on the digitalisation of Government services.

In January, we published A roadmap for modern digital government, which brings together many of the most important digitisation initiatives across the public sector, including work to digitise key health services through the NHS App, expand Making Tax Digital, and develop a streamlined digital border and immigration system. Joining up public services is at the heart of this roadmap, which aims to make interactions with government simpler, faster, and more personal.However, we have already made significant progress in expanding digital pathways and transforming public services.Since its launch in July 2025, the GOV.UK app has been downloaded 360,000 times. Additionally, GOV.UK One Login is steadily growing: 15 million people have verified their identity, allowing them to access 122 government services, with more being added regularly. Through the GOV.UK Wallet, we’ve rolled out Digital Veteran Cards, providing nearly two million veterans with phone-based proof of status, and mobile driving licences are currently in development.The government is also exploring ways to transform delivery with AI, such as through the Prime Minister’s AI Exemplars, a suite of AI-enabled tools used to save time and increase productivity by digitising processes across education, health, probation, and planning services.Alongside the roadmap, we launched CustomerFirst, a new unit designed to drive end-to-end service transformation and improve the customer offering across government. It is already partnering with the DVLA, helping them to radically rethink how they handle millions of customer interactions each year across motoring services.

What guidance she has issued to (a) Health and Social Care Trusts and (b) fostering service providers on the treatment of foster care allowances in the assessment of Universal Credit; and what steps she is taking to ensure that potential foster carers are given full information to make an informed decision on becoming a carer.

Fostering is a devolved issue. Guidance to Health and Social Care Trusts is a matter for the devolved Northern Irish government.The department funds Fosterline, which provides guidance on Universal Credit to fostering services and to prospective and current foster carers in England.In England, the government sets the National Minimum Allowance to cover carers’ day‑to‑day caring costs. Fostering income is disregarded when determining eligibility for Universal Credit.During discussions with a Department for Work & Pensions work coach, foster carer support can be tailored by recording that they are an approved foster carer and looking after children.English fostering standards make clear that carers should receive clear information about the financial support they will receive before they start looking after a child. The department has also launched a call for evidence which included questions on financial transparency, to improve the understanding and consistency of financial support that is available to foster carers.

Whether he plans to review the regulation of the private tutoring sector.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The government is committed to safeguarding children across all education settings, including out-of-school settings such as private tutoring.Last year, the government launched a call for evidence on safeguarding in out-of-school settings, aiming to better understand current sector safeguarding practices and invited views on approaches for further strengthening safeguarding, including regulation.The department is currently analysing responses, with support from independent external analysts, given the significance of the issue.The department also intends to undertake further engagement, including focus groups with parents and small providers and sector roundtables with safeguarding experts and sector representatives, before issuing a full response in due course.​

What steps he is taking to (a) rationalise, (b) co-locate and (c) better utilise buildings across the wider public sector.

The Government Property Strategy is driving a shift towards a smaller, better, and greener public estate. Significant progress has been made in consolidating the public estate. By disposing of unneeded assets, the Government has generated over £2 billion in capital receipts since 2022.Programmes like One Public Estate are successfully unlocking potential across England by enabling co-location, releasing land for housing, and improving local public services. Since 2013, this work has helped transform places, supporting the release of land for over 54,000 homes, the creation of over 93,000 jobs, and delivering £211 million in running cost savings. Programmes to improve estate efficiency also operate in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, under the direction of the devolved administrations.Co-location is also a key feature of the Government office estate, with multi-department hubs now operating across the UK. This initiative, alongside the Places for Growth drive to move roles to cities and regions, has allowed the Government - through the Plan for London - to commit to leaving 11 expensive London locations, saving taxpayers £94 million by 2032. Beyond the office estate, OPE also facilitates co-location of services, for example the Middlesborough Live Well hub which brings together public health services with employment, education, housing and welfare support.The Government Property Strategy also focuses on ensuring the efficient use of the wider public estate. Full details on the performance and utilisation of the estate are presented to the House annually in the State of the Estate report.

To detail the average waiting time for gynaecological surgery, in each of the last five years, broken down by Health and Social Care Trust.

The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold waiting list data for health and social care trusts of Northern Ireland. Health policy is largely devolved, and this data is therefore held by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland.In England, waiting list data for all specialities, including gynaecology services and median waiting times, is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/This data does not provide a breakdown of waiting times for appointments and surgery, as waiting times are measured from referral to first definitive treatment, a decision not to treat, or when a patient has decided to refuse treatment.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a statutory code of practice for private parking operators.

This government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector. In accordance with the Private Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, the government has recently consulted on its proposals for a new code of practice for private parking operators to follow. The consultation closed on 26 September and the government will respond in due course. This code will better protect and support motorists whilst balancing the legitimate needs of private parking operators.