Written questions by Buckley.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to shared care arrangements for adults diagnosed with ADHD.

We are supporting a cross-sector taskforce that NHS England has established to look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD including timely access to services and support.General practitioners (GPs) are independent contractors that provide services for the National Health Service. The General Medical Council has published guidance on “Good practice in proposing, prescribing, providing and managing medicines and devices content”. This includes guidance on shared care arrangements between a specialist service and the patient’s GP to help GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities for any condition. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-practice-in-prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices/shared-careNHS clinicians need to be content that any prescriptions, or referrals for treatment, are clinically appropriate. All shared care arrangements are voluntary, so even where agreements are in place, practices can decline shared care requests on clinical and capacity grounds.If a shared care arrangement cannot be put in place after the treatment has been initiated, the responsibility for continued prescribing falls upon the specialist clinician; this applies to both NHS and private medical care.

What assessment he has made of waiting times for children’s mental health services, between the point of initial assessment and starting treatment.

No such assessment has been made, as the Mental Health Services Data Set does not collect data from ‘initial assessment to starting treatment’.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of HMRC online services for older people with limited forms of ID.

Users may gain access to HMRC online services by signing up for a Government Gateway account.A new Government Gateway account can be created with only an email address with no documentation required. The customer is provided with a unique username (Government Gateway ID) and is asked to create a password.This account will not have identity verification associated to it, so can only be used to access Government services which do not require identity proofing.Where a customer needs to access services requiring identity checking, additional Identity Verification steps are provided by Government Gateway, based on the identity information the customer has available to them.It is recognised that this can be difficult for some customers, particularly those with limited digital skills or limited documented identity sources.To prove their identity users will need their National Insurance number or postcode and can use any 2 of the following:• a valid UK passport• a UK photocard driving licence issued by the DVLA (or DVA in Northern Ireland)• details from a Self Assessment tax return if one was made• information held on their credit record if they have one From Spring 2025 onwards, HMRC will begin to migrate new and existing Government Gateway customers to GOV.UK One Login. This is the Government’s new strategic authentication and identity checking system, operated by the Government Digital Service in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is making it easier and faster for users to prove and reuse their identity to access the government services they need.Improving accessibility is at the heart of GOV.UK One Login; it offers multiple ways for people to prove who they are, including an in-person option, and a customer support centre to help users with lower digital skills.

How many sub-postmasters in the Group Litigation Order Compensation Scheme have (a) not received any compensation payments and (b) have received above the minimum payment of £75,000.

As of 31 January, the Department had received 408 completed claims from eligible GLO postmasters. 257 claimants have agreed full and final redress, of whom 153 accepted the £75,000 fixed offer. A further 229 individuals have received partial or interim redress payments, including people who have not yet submitted full claims.The government remains committed to issuing first offers in 90% of cases within 40 working days of receiving complete claims. The same target applies to offers which are challenged after 1 December 2024.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employers' National Insurance contributions on non-profit social care providers for under 65s.

The Government considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process. To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. Overall, core local government spending power is increasing by 6.8% in cash terms.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of provision of secondary school places in areas of high population density in Shrewsbury constituency.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools, and can work with any school in their local area, including academies and free schools. The funding is not ring-fenced, subject to the conditions set out in the published grant determination letter, nor is it time bound, meaning local authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities. Shropshire Council has been allocated just over £4.4 million to support the provision of new school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026. The department engages with councils on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, we support them to find solutions as quickly as possible. The department is aware that Shropshire Council are exploring local solutions to address localised secondary sufficiency challenges in Shrewsbury, including the potential for a new setting in the medium term.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of preventative impact of ear wax removal on the NHS for children presenting with hearing loss.

In line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, an adult or child may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A general practice could then consider referring the patient into audiology services. The patient's clinician is best placed to make this assessment. The NICE has published guidelines on hearing loss, and specifically on ear wax removal treatment, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng98/chapter/Recommendations#removing-earwax

How much additional funding her Department has allocated for special educational needs provision by Shropshire Council since the Autumn Budget 2024.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Shropshire Council is being allocated over £46 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), which is an increase of £3.8 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.1% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.In addition to the DSG, local authorities will also receive a separate core schools budget grant (CSBG) in the 2025/26 financial year. This CSBG continues the separate grants payable this year, which are to help special schools and alternative provision with the costs of teachers’ pay and pension increases and other staff pay increases. Individual local authorities’ allocations for 2025/26 will be published in due course.As also announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is receiving compensation in recognition of the increase in National Insurance contributions paid by schools and other state-funded SEND provision. That funding will be additional to the £1 billion increase in high needs funding through the DSG, and the separate CSBG referred to above, and the department will provide further information on the allocations as soon as possible.

How many sub-postmasters who were part of the Group Litigation Order Compensation Scheme have received their compensation payments in full.

Of the 555 postmasters who were part of the Group Litigation Order (GLO), 63 had convictions thus their route to redress is either through the Overturned Convictions Scheme or Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme. That leaves 492 postmasters eligible for the GLO scheme. As of 3 January, the Department had received 370 completed claims from these individuals. It has made 346 offers, of which 243 have been accepted, with 237 claims paid in full. The Department expects to pay substantial redress to the great majority of GLO postmasters by 31 March.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding he has allocated to flood resilience projects this financial year; and how much of that funding is dedicated to flood risk mitigation for communities in high-risk flood zones.

Investment in flood risk management schemes takes place where the risk is highest, wherever it is across the country. Each scheme is carefully considered to where it will benefit the most people and property. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences.

Communities and Local Government, what the average waiting time was between completion of a development in areas at risk of flooding and installation of flood defences pledged at planning stage since 2019; and how many developments built since in areas at risk of flooding do not have flood defences.

The department does not hold the requested information.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to take steps to require developers to complete flood defences committed to at planning stage in areas at risk of flooding within a mandated time period.

National planning policy is clear that where development is necessary in areas at risk of flooding, the development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere.Local planning authorities should consider the use of conditions or planning obligations to make development acceptable, which may include flood mitigation works, and have powers to take enforcement action against any breach of planning requirements.Enforcement is at the discretion of local planning authorities. It is for them to decide when and how they use their powers depending on the particular circumstances of each case.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of new homes built to high standards of environmental resilience; and what proportion of housebuilding projects are meeting those standards.

Building sustainable homes for the future is a key goal of this Government. Future standards next year will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and ensures they are fit for a net zero future.The Future Homes Standard consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024, and a government response has not yet been issued. We fully support the need for low carbon homes, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes Standard consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.In addition, in 2021, Part O of the Building Regulations was introduced to mitigate the risk of overheating in new homes. All new homes must now be designed to minimise the amount of unwanted heat.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Executive Summary of his Department's policy paper entitled Flood and coastal erosion risk management: An investment plan for 2021 to 2027, published on 29 July 2021, what steps his Department is taking to support the implementation of flood defence projects; and whether he expects all projects to be delivered on time.

We have inherited a floods investment programme which is behind schedule due to the impacts of inflation, the covid pandemic and skills and labour shortages. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. We will also launch a consultation of the existing floods funding formula to ensure that we get the greatest impact from our funding, with the new approach expected to be brought in from April 2026. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be agreed by the Environment Agency over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require imported eggs to meet the UK's animal welfare standards.

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we ...

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that measures to improve the management of long-term conditions are included within the NHS 10 year plan.

The number of individuals living with long term conditions is expected to rise significantly over the next decade. Currently, the National Health Service operates a model focused on treating acute episodes, organised around fragmented services rather than...

Whether his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of NHS targets for incentivising improvement in patient experience.

The Government is committed to putting patients first, ensuring that they are seen on time, and that they have the best possible experience while they wait for care. Although no specific assessment has been made of the adequacy of National Health Service ...

Whether his Department will take steps to establish a cross-departmental long-term conditions taskforce to help (a) improve care for those with long-term conditions and (b) people back into work.

The Government wants a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition, and their families and carers, receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care. We will change the National Health Service so that it becomes not just a...

What steps his Department is taking to help improve data collection on the (a) prevalence and (b) impact on (i) public health and (ii) the NHS of long-term health conditions.

The Government wants a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition, and their families and carers, receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care. We will change the National Health Service so that it becomes not just a...

What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of healthcare inequalities in kidney disease.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups. We are dedicated to ensuring that people live well for longer and spend less time in il...