Written questions by Shannon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to improve food supply security across the UK.

The UK has a resilient food supply chain built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. Defra works with industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.

What steps he is taking to help reduce regional inequalities in health outcomes.

It is a priority for the Government to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths, with an ambitious commitment to halve the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions.We know that everyday life poses greater health risks to the most disadvantaged in society, and that the current model of care works least well for those who already experience disadvantage and are far more likely to have complex needs. To help tackle this, we will distribute National Health Service funding more equally locally, so it is better aligned with health need.Further to this, much of what determines health and wellbeing is influenced by factors other than health services. As a result, we are taking bold action across the Government on the social determinants of health to build a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer. Cross-Government activity includes the introduction of Awaab’s Law, ensuring landlords will have to fix significant damp and mould hazards, and legislating for a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities. We support the NHS’s CORE20PLUS5 approach which targets action to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the NHS. The approach focuses on improving the five clinical areas at most need of accelerated improvement, namely cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory, maternity, and mental health outcomes, in the poorest 20% of the population, along with other disadvantaged population groups identified at a local level. In addition, we know that the Carr-Hill formula, the United Kingdom’s formula for allocating core funding to general practices (GPs), is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that GPs serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.

What steps he is taking help improve addiction and mental health treatment.

We know that people with co-occurring substance use and mental health needs do not receive the integrated, person-centred care they require and deserve. The Department and NHS England have recently published the Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Delivery framework, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/co-occurring-mental-health-and-substance-use-delivery-framework.This framework commits the Department and NHS England to delivering several national actions to improve delivery of integrated, person-centred care across drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services. The framework also includes recommended actions on how the health system can also work together to improve outcomes for those with co-occurring needs.We also know that gambling can have a wide-ranging negative effect on health and inequalities and is associated with poor mental health and in severe cases suicide, as well as the knock-on impacts from gambling related debt. In April 2025, the statutory gambling levy came into effect to fund the research, prevention, and treatment of gambling-related harm across Great Britain. In its first year, the levy has raised nearly £120 million, with 50% allocated to gambling harms treatment activity across Great Britain. Lastly, rates of smoking continue to fall in the general population, although inequality remains, with higher rates of smoking in other groups such as people with a mental health condition or people in routine and manual work. Stop Smoking Services are effective in reaching high-prevalence groups. By targeting support in populations with greater need, we want to secure a smoke-free generation together, where no one is left behind.

How many children in England are epileptic.

The Department does not hold information on the number of children in England with epilepsy. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline cites evidence that epilepsy affects about 533,000 in England and Wales, 112,000 of which are children and young people.

What steps he is taking to ensure that child sex offenders are separated in prisons.

Safety in prisons is a key priority. We are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them. Safe prisons are vital to enable prisoners to engage in rehabilitative activities that reduce re-offending. Staff are trained to identify where a prisoner may be at risk, and to be able to take appropriate action in response.A number of reception prisons have specific units for people convicted of sexual offences. In addition to this, a number of other prisons have particular arrangements for vulnerable prisoners – a category which includes, but is not limited to, people convicted of sex offences.

What proportion of people being held in prisons in England and Wales have not been found guilty in a court.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the untried remand population in custody in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication. This data can be found in Population Table 1_Q_2 of OMSQ: Offender management statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many people with a learning disability have (i) entered and (ii) exited the prison population in each of the last ten years.

The information requested is not held within the Ministry of Justice.

What reasonable adjustments are in place for people with disabilities to access GPs without going through telephone services.

General practices (GP) are independent businesses contracted by the National Health Service to deliver essential services. As part of their contract, practices must provide online consultation tools. Online consultation tools are designed to accommodate a wide range of patient needs, including improving access to people with disabilities, making it easier for patients to book appointments, request prescriptions, and register remotely.Since 1 October, GPs now must offer online access during core hours, from 08:00 to 18:30, bringing online access in line with walk-in and access, to improve convenience and reduce phone queues.After a decade of declining satisfaction, patient experiences with contacting their GP have improved significantly. As of December 2025, 75.2% of patients report that they find it is easy to contact their GP, a 14.3% increase since July 2024, from 60.9% Our approach is not a one size fits all. The GP Contract is also clear that all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP. This means that patients should always have the option visiting their practice in person, or telephoning.

How many online child sexual abuse offences have been recorded in England and Wales in the last 3 years.

Online child sexual abuse offences are captured in police recorded crime via an online crime flag being applied to a series of offences deemed most likely to be child sexual abuse. This includes contact sexual offences and obscene publications offences which act as a proxy for indecent images of children (IIOC) offences. In April 2015, it became mandatory for all forces to return quarterly information on the number of crimes flagged as being committed online as part of the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). Since April 2024 this has been supported by the National Data Quality Improvement Service (NDQIS) which aims to improve the quality and consistency of flagging. Data released prior to 2024 are not directly comparable due to the move to NDQIS. The online crime flag refers to any crime committed either in full, or in part, through use of online methods or platforms. The online crime flag helps provide a national and local picture of how internet and digital communications technology are being used to commit crimes, and an understanding of the prominence of certain crimes that are happening online, compared to offline. An offence should be flagged where online methods or internet-based activities were used to facilitate the offence (e.g. through email, social media, websites, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, or smart devices). In April 2024, recording guidelines were amended to clarify that offences committed via SMS text messages or online-platform-enabled phone calls should also be flagged. These data are published quarterly via the Office for National Statistics (ONS), originally in ‘Other related tables’ and now in ‘Appendix tables’ as per links below. Child sexual offencesProportionObscene publications offencesProportionYear to September 2025 – Appendix Table C514,51523%32,19175%Year to September 2024 – Appendix table C513,98723%28,26971%Year to September 2023 – Other related tables, F1112,56820%26,02464%Note: Data across the year are not comparable due to continued improvements to the processing of online flags. The Government is committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation and is committed to taking robust action to better safeguard children, ensuring victims and survivors receive appropriate care and support and pursuing offenders and bringing them to justice.

What steps he is taking to ensure vulnerable children in care are given the best start in life.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Reforming children’s social care is essential to ensuring vulnerable children have the best start in life. We are shifting the system toward early, preventative support so more families can stay safely together.Our plans will help children remain with their families wherever possible, increase support for kinship carers and foster families and improve outcomes for children in care and care leavers, including through the rollout of the Staying Close programme. We will also fix the care market to reduce profiteering and put children’s needs first, alongside strengthening multi‑agency approaches to keep children safe.Backed by £2.4 billion over the next three years, national reforms to Family Help, Multi‑Agency Child Protection and Family Group Decision Making will be delivered through the Families First Partnership programme, with local authorities deciding how best to use these resources to support vulnerable children in care. A further £1.5 billion will improve access to affordable early education, raise early years quality and strengthen family services.

If he will take steps to ensure additional funding for community pharmacies to meet demand.

Funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework increased to £3.073 billion for 2025/2026. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.The 2026/27 national community pharmacy funding arrangements will be subject to consultation with Community Pharmacy England, which will commence shortly.

How many life sentences have been handed out to people under the age of 16 in the last five years.

Between year ending September 2021 and year ending September 2025, 10 defendants aged under 16 have been given a life sentence. This is a further breakdown of published sentencing outcomes data released routinely as part of the Accredited Official Statistics series Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly which is available here: Criminal Justice Statistics.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist doctors and nurses for headaches.

The Department has not made an assessment of the adequacy of the number of specialist doctors and nurses for headaches employed in the National Health Service in England.Patients presenting with headaches may be treated through multiple points of contact across primary, urgent, and secondary care, with input from different clinical teams depending on symptoms and severity.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on NHS Dentist provision.

I regularly engage with the Northern Ireland Executive on the importance of delivering good quality, accessible healthcare in Northern Ireland. As Health and Social Care, including dental services, is a devolved matter, the Northern Ireland Department of Health (DoH) is responsible for these services.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms have experienced TB outbreaks in the last 12 months.

In the 12 months to September 2025, the number of new TB herd incidents was as follows: England2,307Wales595Scotland29 New herd incidents are the number of herds which were previously Officially TB Free but either had cattle that reacted to an official TB test or had a tuberculous animal disclosed by routine meat inspection at slaughter, during the period shown. In Northern Ireland, the number of new reactor herds in the 12 months to September 2025 was as follows: Northern Ireland2,281 In Northern Ireland, new reactor herds refer to the number of herds during the period shown that were previously Officially TB Free but have had cattle that tested positive to the tuberculin skin test.

How many prisoners were released without accommodation in each of the last five years.

The information requested can be found in Table 3 of the “Housed on Release from Custody Tables” in the Offender Accommodation Outcomes statistical publication at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-accommodation-outcomes-update-to-march-2025.We are committed to ensuring that robust pre-release plans are created for those leaving custody, so that accommodation needs are identified early and the right support is put in place. Dedicated Pre-Release Teams in prisons work closely with individuals to identify immediate needs, co-ordinate referrals to relevant services, and support continuity between custody and the community.In the National Plan to End Homelessness, the Government has committed to reduce the proportion of people released homeless from prison by 50% by the end of this parliament. 50 prison-based Strategic Housing Specialists across England and Wales work with probation teams and Local Authorities to enable a multi-agency approach to securing housing before release, including by establishing pre-release accommodation panels with appropriate local authorities. We are also investing in integrating digital community accommodation services to make it easier to identify and match individuals to the right housing-related support at the right time.

What steps he is taking to improve dementia care in hospitals.

We want a society where every person with dementia, and their families and carers, receive high-quality, compassionate care, from diagnosis through to end of life.That is why the Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with dementia.We have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and will help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The tool can be found at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-toolWe will also deliver the first ever Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, which is expected this year.The Frailty and Dementia Modern Service Framework will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, it will set national standards for dementia care and redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding provision for the police.

The 2026–27 final police funding settlement provides up to £21.0 billion for the policing system in England and Wales.This is an increase of up to £1.3 billion compared with the 2025–26 settlement, representing a 6.7% cash increase and a 4.4% real terms increase. Total funding to police forces will be up to £18.4 billion, an increase of up to £796 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. This equates to a 4.5% cash increase and a 2.3% real terms increase in funding.

How many assessments for Personal Independence Payment were carried out by Capita by telephone in 2025.

Capita delivers Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in the Midlands and Wales, and on behalf of the Department for Communities (DfC) in Northern Ireland. Information relating to the Midlands and Wales is not currently published by DWP; however, we intend to include this data in a future statistical release. If your query concerns Northern Ireland, responsibility for this information rests with the DfC. This data is not held by DWP.

What steps he is taking to improve fire safety in healthcare settings.

The National Health Service has unique fire safety issues given the nature of its services and the patients it treats. These issues and related risks are analysed with risk reduction measures such as specific technical guidance updates and technical bulletins based on this data being developed and published where appropriate. Professional networking ensures that best practice is shared with the NHS via professional organisations such as National Fire Chiefs Council, the National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers, and the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management.This specific fire safety guidance is provided to the NHS in the Health Technical Memorandum 05 generally referred to as Firecode. This guidance is being revised to fully reflect recent changes in legislation, technology, and policy, and is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/fire-safety-in-the-nhs-health-technical-memorandum-05-03/