Written questions by Edwards.

What steps he is taking to improve access to community-based healthcare in Rochester and Strood constituency.

This government has made clear that one of the essential shifts to get the NHS back on its feet is from hospital to community. Our ambitions for neighbourhood health are one key area to enable this essential shift. Neighbourhood Health will improve access, by providing more joined up and personalised care closer to where people live. NHS Kent Community Care NHS Foundation Trust is one of 43 trailblazers and patients across Rochester and Strood are benefiting from diagnostic tests in the community at Medway Community Diagnostics Centre. We have committed to strengthening community health services through the Medium Term Planning Framework and this will be a key to delivering our ambitions for neighbourhood health and shifting more care from hospitals to the community.

What progress his Department has made on delivering the Defence Housing Strategy; what the total planned investment is for upgrading military accommodation; and how many service homes are expected to benefit in Rochester and Strood constituency.

We have begun the biggest transformation of Armed Forces housing in a generation. The Department is in the early stages of delivering the recommendations of the Defence Housing Strategy and we will publish our implementation plan in due course. The plan is funded by a £9 billion investment plan and will be delivered via a decade of renewal, driven by the new Defence Housing Service. We have already made rapid improvements by delivering our Consumer Charter commitments which we announced in April 2025 to drive immediate, tangible improvements to accommodation for Service families:We transformed 1,000 of the worst home in time for Christmas 2025, with more to be upgraded by Spring 2026.We modernised outdated policies, to give families greater freedoms to make home improvements, streamlined the processes for those wishing to run business from home, and removed the need to seek permission to have a pet. Until the recommendations in the Strategy have final implementation plans for every area of the country, some c47,000 homes, I regret we cannot confirm the future intent for military housing in each constituency.

What plans her Department has to establish service standards to improve the effectiveness of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS); and pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 77954 on Financial Ombudsman Service, when she expects to publish a response to the consultation on improving the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) sets itself performance targets in its annual Plans and Budgets publication. Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2025-26, as outlined in its annual Plans and Budget publication on 1 April 2025. In 2023-24, the FOS resolved over half of its cases within three months. The FOS regularly publishes data on its casework, including progress against its annual performance targets. The latest complaints data is available at https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/data-insight/our-insight and its Annual Reports and Accounts can be found at https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/who-we-are/governance-funding/annual-reports-accounts The government is considering the feedback received to its recent consultation on the FOS, and will publish a response soon.

Whether he plans to introduce a guest beer agreement in England.

My Honourable friend is a real champion of local breweries, especially Moot Brewery in Halling, which she visits regularly and knows produces excellent beer. The government fully recognises the importance of independent breweries and pubs, and we are committed to ensuring the beer and pub sector remains diverse, competitive and rooted in local communities. We have reviewed the beer market to assess any barriers facing small breweries, and I will announce the outcome in due course.

If she will give an update on her progress of appointment of an expert advisory group for the development of CCTV guidance for the early years sector.

The ‘Early years foundation stage’ statutory framework requires early years providers to have safeguarding policies that address the use of mobile phones, cameras, and other electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities. Decisions about installing and using CCTV are for individual providers, subject to safeguarding and data protection requirements.As part of the department’s ongoing review of safeguarding requirements in early years settings, an expert advisory panel will be appointed to inform sector guidance on the safe and effective use of digital devices and CCTV within safeguarding. This guidance will consider whether CCTV should be mandated and will set out best practice, technical advice and clear expectations.The department is working at pace to establish the expert advisory panel and ensure we have the most suitable experts and groups represented to ensure that the guidance is high quality and evidence informed. We will provide more details in the coming weeks.

With reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the potential costs of delivering compensation in line with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report on Women’s State Pension age communications; and what mechanisms for delivering that compensation he is considering.

As the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that the government give this full and proper consideration. Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that they should award financial redress. We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Rochester and Strood constituency.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.

With reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what information his Department holds on the reasons that the findings of the 2007 research report did not lead to a targeted public communications campaign to affected women.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate workforce capability to deliver (i) infrastructure and (ii) construction projects, in the context of recent cuts announced by the Construction Industry and Training Board to the availability of funding for skills development and training in the built environment sector.

On 23 March 2025, the Government announced a construction support package worth £625 million to address the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector. This investment forms a key part of our broader strategy to advance national infrastructure projects, achieve ambitious housing targets, and facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy. The changes announced by the Construction Industry and Training Board to its funding and grant system are intended to maximise the value for industry of the levy funding it receives from employers, in response to a significant increase in demand for its services over recent years. The changes prioritise training with the greatest level of impact on skills gaps, including maintaining support for apprenticeships.

How people will access professional careers advice within the new Jobs and Careers Service.

We are committed to continuing the delivery of high quality, impartial careers advice in the new Jobs and Careers Service through professionally qualified careers advisers and recognise that their expertise is essential to enabling the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. We will ensure that anyone will be able to access support, including through the channel that best meets their needs. In spring 2026, we will publish a report setting out more detail on how we will deliver the new Jobs and Careers Service. This report will bring together the evidence available and show how it has informed, and will continue to inform, the design and development of the new service. We will set out how we will focus on providing genuine, personalised employment support and careers advice, along with a clear outline of the support that people might expect to receive under the new service.

How many professionally qualified Level 6 and 7 careers advisers the National Careers Service employs; and how this number will change under the planned new Jobs and Careers Service.

Accurate information on the number of level 6 and 7 qualified careers advisers employed by the National Careers Service is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Following a Written Ministerial Statement made on 16th September 2025 (HCWS930), responsibility for adult skills in England transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The current National Careers Service contracts with the Department for Education (DfE) are due to expire on 30th September 2026 and adult careers advice will be brought in house to DWP from 1st October 2026. The implications of this change in service arrangements will be worked through carefully with the relevant organisations, and where the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) TUPE Regulations apply, they will be followed. Consequently, we will not know the number of level 6 and 7 advisers under the new Jobs and Careers Service until the process is complete and the new service starts.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 80707 on Hospitals: Special Educational Needs, if he will publish a breakdown by region of the over three million people who have completed the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism.

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure that their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. The Government is rolling out its preferred package, the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training (Oliver’s Training) on Learning Disability and Autism, to the health and adult social care workforce.Oliver’s Training is delivered in two tiers, depending on the level most appropriate for staff. Tier 1 is for general awareness and Tier 2 is a more detailed understanding of learning disability and autism. Each tier is comprised of an e-learning module and either a one-hour webinar, which is Tier 1, or a full-day in-person session, which is Tier 2, delivered alongside people with a learning disability and autistic people.Information about uptake of Oliver’s Training is collected locally by employers. Over three million people have completed the e-learning package, the first part of the training, which is the same for both tiers. More than 2,700 people have been trained to deliver the second, interactive part of the training nationwide.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to families whose relatives have died abroad in suspicious circumstances.

We recognise how heartbreaking it is for families in Britain when their loved ones die in suspicious circumstances overseas, and they are left desperate for support and for answers. When the worst happens, Foreign Office staff are available around the clock, with dedicated teams ready to help families navigate local legal systems, to advise on repatriation and connect them to professional support services But we know there is always room to improve this service, and my door is always open to members of this House to discuss specific cases on behalf of their constituents.

What steps he is taking to ensure that hospice contracts reflect (a) the cost of the services they provide and (b) the needs of their local populations.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations. The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. Additionally, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26.  I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26.  This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.

What general training all hospital and general practice staff are expected to receive in order to understand the needs of neuro-divergent and autistic patients; and what plans he has to improve the quality of such training in the future.

Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. This training will ensure staff can provide safe, informed care which caters for the needs of people with a learning disability and autistic people. The Oliver McGowan Code of Practice has been published to guide providers on how to meet the statutory requirement on learning disability and autism training under the Health and Care Act 2022. The Code became final on 6 September 2025. The Code sets out four standards which outline minimum training requirements including: expectations on training content at different levels; that training is co-produced and co-delivered with people with lived experience; and how training should be monitored and evaluated. The Code is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oliver-mcgowan-code-of-practice/the-oliver-mcgowan-draft-code-of-practice-on-statutory-learning-disability-and-autism-trainingWe are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism (Oliver’s Training) to the health and adult social care workforce, which is the government’s preferred training package. Over three million people have completed the first part of this training, which is freely available on the NHS elearning for health hub. A long-term independent evaluation conducted by the University of Leicester is underway to assess the delivery and impact of Oliver’s Training.

What assessment her Department has made of the causes of economic inactivity related to poor health.

There were 2.8m people who were economically inactive with long-term sickness as their main reason in the UK in April to June 2025.1 This group accounts for 30.7% of the total inactive population and is the most common reason given for inactivity; this percentage has increased by 5.6 percentage points since December to February 2020 but had been increasing since before the pandemic. The largest absolute increases have been for women, people with a long-term mental health condition and proportionately for people aged 18 to 34.2At present, there is no conclusive evidence on the causes of poor health related economic inactivity. A range of complex and interacting factors could be driving the rise in economic inactivity due to long-term sickness including NHS waiting lists3,4, long COVID5 and changes in the demographics6 and health of the population7,8,9. 1 A01: Summary of labour market statistics - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)2 The employment of disabled people 2024 - GOV.UK3 The impact of winter pressures on different population groups in Great Britain: NHS waiting lists - Office for National Statistics4 How much could reducing the NHS waiting list contribute to falling inactivity in our upside scenario? - Office for Budget Responsibility5 Self-reported long COVID and labour market outcomes, UK: 2022 - Office for National Statistics6 Population changes and economic inactivity trends, UK: 2019 to 2026 - Office for National Statistics7 Rising ill-health and economic inactivity because of long-term sickness, UK - Office for National Statistics8 Half a million more people are out of the labour force because of long-term sickness - Office for National Statistics9 What we know about the UK’s working-age health challenge - The Health Foundation

What steps her Department is taking to support older people to remain in work.

The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department is therefore committed to supporting older workers through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inclusion, flexibility, and progression. This includes promoting age-inclusive practices, supporting workplace health, policy and service reform and removing age related barriers to employment. The Department has also signed up to and actively promotes the Age-Friendly Employer Pledge, encouraging employers to adopt flexible working, age-positive hiring, and career development. Our Jobs and Careers service will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and help them progress in work or increase their earnings. The Jobs and Careers Service will incorporate principles of accessibility and inclusivity, acknowledging diverse support needs, including those of older individuals. The Government also acknowledges the key role employers play in helping older individuals to remain in the workforce, and the importance of embracing policies conducive to this support. In recognition of employer's vital role, we have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent ‘Keep Britain Working’ review. This review is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. This includes the perspectives of older people themselves, as well as input from organisations like the Centre for Ageing Better. Recommendations are expected in autumn 2025.

What steps he is taking to incentivise businesses to support the health of their workforce.

To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive and practical support to small and medium size businesses and employers across the UK. In recognition of employers’ vital role in workplace health, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have commissioned the Keep Britain Working independent review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, who is expected to produce a final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.

What steps he is taking to ensure SMEs can access (a) robust and (b) high-quality mental health training for staff.

To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive and practical support to small and medium size businesses and employers across the UK. In recognition of employers’ vital role in workplace health, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have commissioned the Keep Britain Working independent review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, who is expected to produce a final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.

Whether her Department has any plans to reopen Senior Mental Health Lead training grants.

The government has committed to expand coverage of mental health support teams (MHSTs) to cover every school, and one of the functions of an MHST is to support mental health leads to introduce or develop a whole school or college approach in their setting.Training grants for mental health leads in education settings were available from October 2021 until December 2024.Demand for training grants fell in the final months of the scheme and education staff surveys identified a different need, for practical resources. The department now provides a mental health lead resource hub, a targeted support toolkit for schools and colleges.There are no plans to re-open the scheme providing mental health lead training grants.