Written questions by Shannon.

What data her Department holds on the number of police misconduct investigations held in England in the last 12 months.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police complaints, conduct matters and misconduct proceedings (including cases and allegations) on an annual basis in the ‘Police misconduct, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-misconduct-statistics.The latest information covers cases finalised in year ending 31 March 2023.This statistical release is also accompanied by open data tables which include information on misconduct proceedings:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-misconduct-open-data-tablesData for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 is due for publication in late 2024 to early 2025.

What steps he is taking to improve the quality of (a) hospital, (b) specialist centre and (c) other NHS buildings.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, providing high-quality health and social care for those in need. This means providing strategic, value for money investments into capital schemes that improve the quality of hospitals, specialist centres, and other NHS buildings.Integrated care boards and trusts have been allocated £4.2 billion this year to prioritise for local capital schemes that maintain and improve their NHS estate. An additional £3.9 billion is being provided through national programmes that aim to modernise and transform the NHS estate, facilitating digital improvements, and providing funding for new urgent care centres and mental health facilities. Decisions regarding future investment in the NHS are subject to the upcoming Spending Review, where the short and long-term needs of the NHS estate will be assessed.

What steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of police response times.

Chief Constables are responsible for determining the allocation of resources for operational policing and managing their response times, in line with the priorities set out by their Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) regularly inspect forces’ response to the public as a part of their Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspections. As a part of this, they examine whether forces provide an appropriate response to incidents.As highlighted in their ‘Getting a Grip’ report on police performance, HMICFRS found wide-ranging issues with the recording of data on attendance times at incidents. The NPCC are exploring options for a standardised measurement of police response in light of recommendations in HMICFRS's ‘Getting a Grip’ report, and the Home Office are supporting them with this work.The Home Secretary has been clear that she wants the Home Office to play a greater role in setting performance measures and monitoring and driving system performance in the police. Plans will be set out for this in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of effectiveness of the Government’s procurement strategy for (a) health and (b) social care.

The role of the Department’s Commercial Directorate is to provide the Department and wider health system with the appropriate commercial strategy, leadership, insight, and advice to enable delivery of the Government’s Health Mission, consistently maximising value for money. The directorate is responsible for oversight and assurance of procurement activity in the Health Family, including Arms Length Bodies like NHS England and The UK Health Security Agency, which encompasses approval of high-value or high-risk business cases.The directorate is also responsible for ensuring that procurement policy is aligned to Cabinet Office requirements, and that Health Family commercial compliance and performance is continually assessed for improvement against the Government’s Commercial Functional Standards, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-commercial-functionThe directorate sets an annual commercial savings target against contracts the Department awards and manages. For 2023/24, the directorate has delivered £44.6 million worth of commercial savings and benefits through procurement and contract management activity within the Department.

What recent assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) efficiency of the Border Force fleet.

We always seek to ensure the adequacy and efficiency of the Border Force fleet. Working with key law enforcement partners, Border Force Maritime Command supports border security in the maritime arena. Domain awareness and the effective deployment of maritime assets to a variety of tasks is achieved in conjunction with the Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC). The efficacy of these operations is reviewed by senior Border Force staff on a monthly basis.

What data his Department holds on the number of nurses employed in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) England.

The Office for National Statistics has recently produced an article on the data available to compare healthcare workforces across the United Kingdom. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthcaresystem/articles/thehealthcareworkforceacrosstheuk/2024To estimate the level of the healthcare workforce across the UK, the report details a range of potential sources, including the Office for National Statistic’s published estimates of employment by occupation sector, based on the Annual Population Survey and the Labour Force Survey.The latest data from the Annual Population Survey and the Labour Force Survey, based on the survey period April 2023 to March 2024, estimates there are 610,200 employed registered nursing professionals in England and 31,500 in Northern Ireland. As this covers registered nursing professionals, it will also include registered midwives. It covers nurses employed in any sector, so will include those working in National Health Service trusts, general practices, social care, charitable bodies, as well as private provision.These estimates are based on a sample of the population, which means any cross-UK comparisons using this data should be done with an understanding of the potential limitations. Notably, the estimates are impacted by sampling variability across the UK, and there may be bias if certain households cannot be reached, or from respondent error. For Northern Ireland, the impact of small sample sizes means that estimates for specific occupations, such as registered nurses, have greater levels of uncertainty and are not suitable for interpreting differences between the countries of the UK.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of a NATO-first defence strategy on the shipbuilding supply chain.

All decisions on Defence strategy, encompassing our relationship with NATO, are fully assessed to ensure UK defence requirements are met, including the shipbuilding supply chain. The National Shipbuilding Office works with colleagues across Government and industry to promote growth and resilience across the entire UK shipbuilding sector to enable it to meet our NATO commitments and, where possible, seize opportunities presented by working closely with allies.

What steps he is taking to support manufacturing in the UK.

This government wants to drive manufacturing growth. Manufacturing makes an important contribution to private capital, R&D, and exports, which leads to higher productivity, more investment and more jobs.Building on existing support to industry, government will introduce a new Industrial Strategy to drive long-term sustainable, inclusive and secure growth - through securing investment into crucial sectors of the economy.As announced in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper published on 14 October, advanced manufacturing has been selected as one of eight growth-driving sectors. The Strategy will also look at support for subsectors which provide critical inputs and infrastructure to these sectors.

With reference to the Written Statement on Procurement Act 2023 Update of 12 September 2024, HCWS90, what the changes to the National Procurement Policy Statement are that entail the delay in implementation of the Procurement Act 2023.

It is important that the new procurement regime commences with a statutory National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) aligned to the Government’s strategic priorities. The new NPPS will set out a mission-led procurement regime which meets the challenge of applying the full potential of public procurement to deliver value for money, economic growth and social value. The NPPS will be informed by stakeholder engagement taking place over the coming months.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to help Ukraine join NATO.

At the Washington Summit in July, the UK and other NATO Allies agreed measures to enhance NATO's support to Ukraine as it advances on its irreversible path to NATO membership. NATO will be stronger with Ukraine as a member. The UK will continue to play a leading role in supporting Ukraine, including on interoperability and reforms. In the meantime, the UK and our Allies are stepping up support for Ukraine's immediate and long-term self-defence.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding for the construction of the North South Interconnector.

Energy policy and funding for infrastructure in Northern Ireland are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. Additional funding for this joint infrastructure project is ultimately a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government.

How many people are in receipt of a sickness benefit.

People ‘in receipt of a sickness benefits’ have been assumed to be those in the main phase of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Universal Credit (UC) Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups. The Department regularly publishes Benefit Combination statistics on Stat-Xplore and these were extended in February 2024 to include additional information for those on ESA and the UC Health Journey, so can now be used to provide the information, from quarter ending May 2019 to the end of the latest quarter, February 2024. The figures can be obtained from the ‘Benefit Combinations - Data from May 2019 for England and Wales’ and ‘Benefit Combinations – Data from May 2019 for Scotland’ datasets using the ‘Additional Claim Details’ options. The ‘ESA Phase of Claim’ and ‘UC Health Journey’ options should be used to identify quarterly totals for ESA Support Group (SG), ESA Work-related Activity Group (WRAG), Universal Credit Limited Capability to Work (LCW) and Limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) groups, alongside Totals for those ‘Not on ESA’ and ‘Not on UC or UC Health Journey’. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. Using the Benefit Combinations data on Stat-Xplore and the assumptions above, there are 3,043,410 working age claimants of ESA (SG or WRAG) or UC Health (LCW or LCWRA) within GB, at Feb-24. Notes:Total is rounded to 10.A person can claim both ESA and be on the UC health caseload and these claimants would be counted in each separate caseload in the published data on Stat-Xplore. Benefit Combinations data on Stat-Xplore allows these 'Dual claims' to be identified and only counted once in the above.

What assessment she has has made of the adequacy of student accommodation provision.

Education is a devolved matter, and this response outlines the information for England only.Student accommodation is a busy part of the housing market. As universities and landlords are private, autonomous bodies, the government has no role in the provision of student accommodation, nor a remit to intervene in how it is allocated.The department recognises the concerns that many students have about the availability and cost of their accommodation. We expect universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are affordable, fair, clear and promote the interests of students.All student landlords must be registered with a local authority or belong to one of the three government-sponsored Accommodation Codes of Practice. Since 2006, these have protected the interests of students to ensure standards are maintained and disputes are resolved promptly.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the child vaccination rate for (a) MMR and (b) other dangerous diseases.

In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England and the Department and wider health system partners at the national regional and local levels to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisations and catch-up children who missed out.Increasing uptake of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in order to achieve the World Health Organization target of 95% uptake by the time children reach five years old is a key priority for the National Health Service and a clear commitment in its Long Term Plan, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/The first UKHSA Childhood Immunisation communication campaign, encouraging parents to ensure their child’s vaccinations were up to date, ran from 4 March until mid-April 2024. The current campaign is running from 26 August until 4 October 2024. To raise awareness of potential vaccination benefits and increase awareness of the programmes, UKHSA also provides a comprehensive suite of public facing resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats, including easy read, BSL and braille, and provides comprehensive clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals.

How many children have been given a meningococcal vaccine in the last 12 months.

The UK Health Security Agency measures the coverage of vaccines against meningococcal disease. The latest figures for Cover of Vaccination Evaluated Rapidly (COVER) are for the period from April 2023 to March 2024, and meningitis ACWY (MenACWY) vaccination figures cover the period from September 2023 to August 2024.The 2023 to 2024 annual published COVER figures at 12 months, given between eight weeks and 16 weeks, for the meningitis B vaccine are 62,0552 out of 68,1961 babies, or 91.0%. The 2023 to 2024 annual published COVER figures at two years, given at 12 months, for the haemophilus influenzae type B and meningitis C vaccine is 64,7263 out of 72,6395 babies, or 89.1%. The 2023 to 2024 annual published COVER figures at two years, given at 12 months, for the meningitis B vaccination booster is 63,7955 out of 72,6395 babies, or 87.8%. A total of 34,4062 out of 72,5289, or 47.4%, of 14-year-olds, those born between 1 September 2009 to 31 August 2010, had received the MenACWY vaccine during the 2023 to 2024 academic year. Information on the coverage of vaccines against meningococcal disease is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2023-24

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) reduce and (b) prevent the use of ketamine by (i) people under the age of 25 and (ii) other people.

The Department takes seriously the threat of ketamine and other drugs to our young people, and is working with partners across the Government to respond to existing and new drug threats and to reduce and prevent the health harms. We know that drug treatment is protective, and the number of places in treatment for people who use drugs other than opiates is being increased by 30,000.The Government has a drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness for young people and parents. Information on ketamine and the danger of its misuse is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/ketamineThe Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) is developing a briefing on ketamine for local areas, many of which are already mobilising in response to local need. The OHID also commissions drug education materials to be used by schools in personal, social, health, and economic education.

How many illegal drugs have been seized in the last 12 months.

The Home Office latest published data on drug seizures made by the Police and Border Force for England and Wales can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2023.The latest published statistics show that police forces and Border Force made a total of 191,623 drug seizures in England and Wales in the year ending March 2023.Border Force also release quarterly transparency data which include drug seizures. The latest available data are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2024