Written questions by Minns.

Whether the Child Poverty Taskforce plans to (a) assess the (i) extent and (ii) potential impact on children of and (b) make recommendations on tackling hygiene poverty.

The Taskforce recognises families' access to essentials, including hygiene essentials, as a fundamental aspect of child poverty. Addressing acute poverty, including access to essentials, is a core focus of the work to develop through the child poverty strategy. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the clinical trial at Mount Sinai Health System, New York, published on 2 October 2024, on treating invasive bladder cancer which avoids removal of the bladder.

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the policy implications following this clinical trial. The adoption of new treatments into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and commissioner decisions.The recommended treatment plan for muscle-invasive bladder cancer depends on how far the cancer has spread. All hospitals use multidisciplinary teams to treat bladder cancer. These are teams of specialists that work together to make decisions about the best way to proceed with treatment.

What steps she is taking to improve support for kinship carers.

This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play. This government also appreciates that kinship carers often take on this role at a time in their lives when they are least expecting to raise a family.We have recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting a child to settle into a new home with relatives, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years, so they can focus on schooling and building friendships.The government also recently announced the appointment of the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador. The Ambassador advocates for kinship children and their carers and works directly with local authorities to help them improve services, whilst sharing good practice across areas.The department has recently published the updated guidance for local authorities, the Kinship Care statutory guidance, which is available on GOV.UK at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.This government is also extending the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, available for all kinship carers to access, where they can come together to share stories, exchange advice and support each other. We are also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access.I am determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this. This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship families.

What assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of extending the Borders Railway line from Tweedbank to Carlisle.

The UK Government is committed to working with local partners in the Borders to boost economic growth, in line with our growth mission. The project referred to sits within the Borderlands Growth Deal. Local partners are submitting proposals for a reset to the Deal for review by late autumn, which will set out revised plans to ensure the programme has the greatest possible economic impact.

With reference to his Department's response to the Coroner report on the death of Corporal Joshua Hoole, dated 27 January 2020, when the common tri-service suite of reporting and investigation forms was completed; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new processes.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has overhauled safety policy beginning in 2020 to provide clear direction that all suspected or confirmed heat illness cases must be reported, and to improve the quality of reporting safety occurrences. The MOD is now moving to a single safety occurrence reporting system known as MySafety. Individual Defence organisations’ safety occurrence reporting procedures instructs their personnel on ‘how’ to report safety occurrences and the Commanders Guide to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 375 Chapter 41 (Heat Illness Prevention) specifies ‘what’ minimum data is required for reporting heat illness cases, for example: the time, location, Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading, Met Office weather forecast, type of activity being undertaken, and a description of the illness or injury. The MOD has also developed and implemented heat illness prevention training that must be completed by all military personnel at the earliest opportunity (for example in Phase 1 training for new entrants) to reinforce the heat illness prevention policy, including reporting, that is set out in JSP 375 Chapter 41. While work was undertaken in 2020 to move to a more common set of reporting and investigation forms, several individual Defence organisations continue to use separate reporting systems to report incidents of suspected or confirmed heat illness including exertional heat illness. The Army and UK Strat Com have already adopted MySafety as a unified reporting system. The remaining Front Line Commands are expected to follow suit by April 2025. MySafety has already seen an increase in reporting numbers and quality, but the full benefits will not be realised until Full Operating Capability is reached in October 2025.

If he will list the (a) date and (b) place of every coroner's inquest that established heat as a cause of death for service personnel since 2013.

From 1 January 2013 to 13 October 2024, three UK Armed Forces personnel tragically died from heat related causes confirmed by a Coroner and listed on the death certificates. All three deaths occurred in July 2013. The inquest for all three deaths began on 26 June 2015 at Solihull Council, Civic Suite, Council House, Solihull, West Midlands.

How many and what proportion of service personnel failed their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.

The requested information is provided in the following tables: Royal Navy Year AwardedFailedFail rate20159824%20161,4395%20171,5045%20181,6826%20191,4505%20201,5237%20211,4127%20221,8888%20231,9609%20241,0835% Table Notes: Data prior to 2015 is incomplete and has been excluded.Year awarded represents the year the competence was awarded to the employee.Data for 2024 is up to 21 October 2024. Army Year AwardedFailedFail rate20136712%20147582%20151,1723%20161,2273%20171,2113%20181,2753%20191,2694%20209283%20211,0703%20221,2183%20231,1703%20247102% Table Notes: Year awarded represents the year the competence was awarded to the employee.Data for 2024 is up to 18 October 2024. Royal Air Force Year AwardedFailedFail rate20168543.8%20171,3605.5%20181,6246.5%20191,4886%20209006.9%20212,2669%20222,1998.7%20231,6876.9%20241,3206.7% Table Notes: Data prior to 2016 is incomplete and has been excluded.Year awarded represents the year the competence was awarded to the employee.Data for 2024 is up to 18 October 2024.

If he will list every date on which the Health and Safety Executive issued his Department a notification of contravention since 2013.

Health and Safety Notices of Contravention (NOC) can be issued to any organisation within Defence at a local level and this information is not held centrally by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes details of NOC it has issued to organisations including the MOD on its website which can be found at this link - Notices found - Enforcement notices public (hse.gov.uk).Furthermore, it may be helpful to provide a list of Crown Censures which are served on the department by the HSE for a more serious breach of health and safety law if the HSE deems that, but for Crown immunity, there would have been sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.The MOD and Reserve Forces and Cadet Associations have received the following Crown Censures since 2013:- DateOrganisation25/01/2013Army02/03/2015Army31/03/2016Joint Forces Command29/09/2016Army09/02/2018Navy03/03/2017Defence Equipment & Support02/09/2020Navy28/09/2020Joint Forces Command14/12/2020East Midlands Reserve Forces & Cadets Association05/05/2022MOD11/07/2022Navy08/05/2024Army03/10/2024Army

How many annual fitness tests were cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded (a) one (b) two and (c) three hours before the start time in each year since 2013.

The Ministry of Defence does not hold any information of annual fitness tests being cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded because this information is not recorded.

What improvements have been made to (a) how and (b) what data is reported for heat illness cases following the inquest into the death of Corporal Joshua Hoole in 2019.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has overhauled safety policy beginning in 2020 to provide clear direction that all suspected or confirmed heat illness cases must be reported, and to improve the quality of reporting safety occurrences. The MOD is now moving to a single safety occurrence reporting system known as MySafety. Individual Defence organisations’ safety occurrence reporting procedures instructs their personnel on ‘how’ to report safety occurrences and the Commanders Guide to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 375 Chapter 41 (Heat Illness Prevention) specifies ‘what’ minimum data is required for reporting heat illness cases, for example: the time, location, Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer reading, Met Office weather forecast, type of activity being undertaken, and a description of the illness or injury. The MOD has also developed and implemented heat illness prevention training that must be completed by all military personnel at the earliest opportunity (for example in Phase 1 training for new entrants) to reinforce the heat illness prevention policy, including reporting, that is set out in JSP 375 Chapter 41. While work was undertaken in 2020 to move to a more common set of reporting and investigation forms, several individual Defence organisations continue to use separate reporting systems to report incidents of suspected or confirmed heat illness including exertional heat illness. The Army and UK Strat Com have already adopted MySafety as a unified reporting system. The remaining Front Line Commands are expected to follow suit by April 2025. MySafety has already seen an increase in reporting numbers and quality, but the full benefits will not be realised until Full Operating Capability is reached in October 2025.

How many service personnel died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.

Since 2013, two Army personnel have sadly died whilst undertaking the combat fitness test element of the annual fitness test. No other personnel have died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test during this period.

How many people were unable to achieve a successful set of mammograms because (a) they were unable to hold the required position for sufficient time and (b) the mammogram machine was not accessible to wheelchair users in each of the last five years.

NHS England does not hold this information centrally. However, NHS England is fully committed to modernising the breast screening programme and removing barriers to accessing screening.

How many mobile breast screening units have wheelchair accessible mammogram machines.

NHS England does not centrally hold the numbers of static and mobile screening units, or those that have wheelchair accessible X-ray machines. However, NHS England is fully committed to modernising the breast screening programme and removing barriers to accessing screening.

How many breast screening centres in England are (a) static sites and (b) mobile units.

NHS England does not centrally hold the numbers of static and mobile screening units, or those that have wheelchair accessible X-ray machines. However, NHS England is fully committed to modernising the breast screening programme and removing barriers to accessing screening.

How many static breast screening centres have wheelchair accessible mammogram machines.

NHS England does not centrally hold the numbers of static and mobile screening units, or those that have wheelchair accessible X-ray machines. However, NHS England is fully committed to modernising the breast screening programme and removing barriers to accessing screening.

What assessment she has made of whether floating bus stops are compatible with Rule H1 of the Highway Code.

The Department is fully aware of the concerns raised by some groups, particularly visually impaired people, over the use of floating bus stops and is working with Active Travel England on ways to address these concerns. It is a complex issue and we are carefully considering a wide range of options in developing next steps. The Hierarchy of Road Users is a well-established concept which ensures that those road users who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to other road users. It is for local authorities to ensure any infrastructure they place is developed with this in mind. The Department engages regularly with a wide range of stakeholders. The Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee provides advice on disability transport issues in their role as a statutory advisory body, including advice on buses and local transport.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the accessibility of bus services outside of London and combined authority areas for (a) wheelchair users, (b) people who are blind or visually impaired and (c) people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The government wants everyone to have access to public transport and is committed to improving services so they are more inclusive and enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. On October 1st, the first phase of Public Service Vehicle Accessible Information Regulations came into force, meaning that local services will provide audible and visible information on stops, destination and diversions by 2026. The government has set out an action plan for improving the bus network, based on giving local leaders the tools they need to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities they serve. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will also introduce a new Buses Bill later in this parliamentary session which will help bring to an end the postcode lottery of bus services by giving local leaders the freedom to take decisions to deliver their local transport priorities and ensure networks meet the needs of the communities who rely on them. As part of this legislation we will be looking at what measures could address accessibility barriers to support disabled passengers to use bus services.

Whether his Department has had recent discussions with disability organisations on the potential merits of introducing a moratorium on floating bus stops.

The Department is fully aware of the concerns raised by some groups, particularly visually impaired people, over the use of floating bus stops and is working with Active Travel England on ways to address these concerns. It is a complex issue and we are carefully considering a wide range of options in developing next steps. The Hierarchy of Road Users is a well-established concept which ensures that those road users who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to other road users. It is for local authorities to ensure any infrastructure they place is developed with this in mind. The Department engages regularly with a wide range of stakeholders. The Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee provides advice on disability transport issues in their role as a statutory advisory body, including advice on buses and local transport.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of average waiting times for driving tests on the economy.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) knows that car practical driving test waiting times remain high and understands the impact this is having on learner drivers.DVSA does not record, or hold, information about candidates whose driving licence is a requirement of their current, or potential, employment.DVSA’s main priority is to uphold road safety standards as it reduces car practical driving test waiting times.

What assessment he has of made of (a) the adequacy of the process and (b) potential barriers for the adoption of roads in new housing estates by Local Authorities.

The Department has published comprehensive guidance, last updated in August 2022, to help local authorities make informed decisions about how new and existing roads can be adopted by highway authorities so that they become maintainable at public expense, pursuant to the 1980 Highways Act (as amended). The guidance should also be of interest to planning authorities, local highway authorities, developers, people living in private streets, and people planning to purchase property. Once adopted, a road remains publicly maintainable by the highway authority, so it is right that roads are constructed by the developer to an appropriate standard. The biggest potential barrier is roads that have not been completed to the appropriate standard required by the highway authority for adoption. It is important that developers submit details that are in accordance with both the approved highway layout (from the planning application) and technical specifications in relation to the construction of the roads. Until that time all the required maintenance and safety issues are the responsibility of the developer or owner.