Written questions by Atkinson.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the causes of homelessness in Sunderland Central constituency.

Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out how we will tackle the root causes of homelessness across England, including a generational increase in new social and affordable homes backed by £39 billion investment and tackling poverty by scrapping the two-child limit to lift 450,000 children out of poverty.

If she can list the (a) Ministerial responsibilities and (b) the responsibilities and reporting arrangements of any relevant cross-departmental units in relation to drugs policy.

The Joint Combating Drugs Unit (JCDU) is responsible for driving and co-ordinating efforts across Government to tackle drugs, working in close partnership with six departments – the Home Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Education. JCDU comprises full-time civil servants who are seconded from key government departments.Each department is responsible for delivery of their programmes and projects. Progress is overseen by the lead departmental ministers but also reported to me as the lead drugs Minister, while a lead Permanent Secretary fulfils the role of senior responsible owner at official level.Illicit drug use affects the whole of society, and this Government is taking a collective response to deliver safer streets, improve health outcomes and contribute to opportunities and growth through reducing crime and saving lives.

What the average Crown Court waiting time is for sexual offences in England and (b) Northumbria Local Criminal Justice Board; and what steps he is taking to help reduce those waiting times.

Waiting time is the time that a defendant spends at the Crown Court before the main hearing starts (for example, the trial). The latest data to Q3 2025 shows that the median waiting time for sexual offences in England was 27 weeks and was 32 in the Northumbria Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB). The Government commissioned Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts and, after considering the recommendations made in the report, we have announced our intention to take forward a bold package of structural reforms designed to speed up justice for all victims, including victims of sexual offences. This financial year we also funded 111,250 Crown Court sitting days – an all-time high - so that more cases could be heard. We have also published our Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy - ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse’ - setting out the Government’s approach to tackling sexual and other offences perpetrated against women and girls. We are already acting by:Supporting victims with the largest ever investment of £550 million in victim support services over the next three years;Announcing a package of court measures to protect victims, particularly of sexual offences, from unnecessary and intrusive cross-examination about their personal lives.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of Network Rail and Northern Trains in the refurbishment of Sunderland station.

Network Rail has apologised for the frustration and inconvenience caused to the people of Sunderland. It has conducted an investigation of the issues raised, and I am aware that Northern is working with the honourable member to improve various aspects of the station.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) retention of DVSA employed driving test examiners and (b) pay of DVSA driving test examiners in comparison to the earnings of private sector driving instructors.

To aid retention and to encourage existing driving examiners (DE) to stay in role, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is making an exceptional payment of £5,000 to DEs and eligible roles (divided into two payments) over the next 12 months. By keeping more experienced driving examiners and bringing in new ones, DVSA will lose less testing capacity from the system, making more tests available for learner drivers. Examiner capacity is rising, with 1,542 FTE examiners now in post (the highest since 2021) as of December 2025. DEs are civil servants and as such, their salary is determined by the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. The guidance sets out the financial parameters Civil Service departments can use to determine pay awards for their staff. DVSA cannot act independently from this guidance. DVSA continues to look at different financial incentives to recruit examiners and, indeed, to offer to existing employees conducting tests. The attached excel spreadsheet shows the (a) average and (b) highest waiting time for driving test centres (DTC) in the North East of England, from the financial year 2015/16 to the financial year-to-date (YTD). Please note, that DVSA does not hold data for Elswick and South Shields DTCs beyond 2022/23, due to these centres closing.

What the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time was for a driving test in each of the the test centres in the North East region in each of the last ten years.

To aid retention and to encourage existing driving examiners (DE) to stay in role, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is making an exceptional payment of £5,000 to DEs and eligible roles (divided into two payments) over the next 12 months. By keeping more experienced driving examiners and bringing in new ones, DVSA will lose less testing capacity from the system, making more tests available for learner drivers. Examiner capacity is rising, with 1,542 FTE examiners now in post (the highest since 2021) as of December 2025. DEs are civil servants and as such, their salary is determined by the Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance. The guidance sets out the financial parameters Civil Service departments can use to determine pay awards for their staff. DVSA cannot act independently from this guidance. DVSA continues to look at different financial incentives to recruit examiners and, indeed, to offer to existing employees conducting tests. The attached excel spreadsheet shows the (a) average and (b) highest waiting time for driving test centres (DTC) in the North East of England, from the financial year 2015/16 to the financial year-to-date (YTD). Please note, that DVSA does not hold data for Elswick and South Shields DTCs beyond 2022/23, due to these centres closing.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) receives core funding from the Home Office.In 2025/26 HMICFRS is receiving £28m to enable it to carry out its statutory functions. Additional in-year funding is provided if there is a requirement for extra inspections that are commissioned and are not part of the agreed inspection programme.As part of Home Office’s work to allocate its Spending Review settlement for the period 2026/27 to 2028/29 work has been undertaken to assess the required level of funding allocated to all areas of Home Office activity including HMICFRS.

What assessment his Department has made of the suitability of the current upper age limits for former members of the Armed Forces seeking to join the Reserve Forces, in the context of the Government's plan to expand reserve forces recruitment.

Alongside delivering the Strategic Defence Review recommendations aimed at re-energising our relationship with, and increasing the strength of our Reserve Forces, we continue to review the policies and legislation which shape the Reserves landscape. This includes the terms and conditions of service for all elements of our Reserve Forces. The age limits for joining the Reserve Forces are, together with all employment polices, regularly reviewed to ensure they meet the demands of the Services and are determined by the branches and trades of each Service. As well as the Services reviewing their policies, the Ministry of Defence also annually reviews the overarching policies for the Reserve Forces. This is to ensure that we are making the most of the unique skills offered, we attract and retain the personnel needed to deliver Defence outputs and, as much as possible, reflect wider societal norms such as upper age limits which have recently been reviewed across all the Services resulting in retirement ages being raised to align more closely with society.

What the average waiting time is for a driving test in (a) Sunderland and (b) neighbouring test centres; and how many additional driving examiners have been recruited to test centres in the North East since May 2025.

The table below shows the current average waiting time in weeks and the number of tests available at Sunderland, Gateshead, Gosforth and Durham driving test centres (DTC) as of 24 November 2025. Driving test centre (DTC)  Average car practical driving test waiting time (Oct 2025)  Booked tests (as of 24th Nov 2025)Tests available in 24 week booking window (as of 24th Nov 2025) Sunderland24 weeks479558Gateshead24 weeks3200121Gosforth24 weeks4003171Durham23 weeks3560168Great Britain (National) 21.9 weeks 635,93827,872 The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is continuing with recruitment campaigns across the country to provide as many tests as possible. A full-time driving examiner (DE) can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.Since May 2025, DVSA has recruited two new entrant examiners for Sunderland, two new entrants for Gateshead, one new entrant for Gosforth, and one new entrant for Durham. There are also two new entrants undertaking training who are earmarked for Gosforth. From DVSA’s most recent recruitment campaign, DVSA advertised for further examiner positions for DTCs in the area and is starting to make employment offers, with the hope to have further new entrants in post early in 2026, after all pre-employment checks and training have been successfully completed. DVSA will also be advertising for further examiner positions in the next recruitment campaign, scheduled to launch next month.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS neighbourhood mental health service pilot sites; and how learning from those sites will be used to inform his Department's future policy on mental health services.

The six National Health Service neighbourhood mental health centres currently being piloted will bring together a range of community mental health services under one roof, including crisis services and short-stay beds. People with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder will be able to walk in without an appointment if they need mental health support, as well as advice on employment, housing, or volunteering, delivered by a multi-disciplinary team. The pilot sites will allow us to test the extent of the benefits this model will realise in this country, but we still expect it to be an improvement as it has demonstrated positive outcomes and efficiencies in other health systems across the globe. While the evaluation of the six pilots will not be available until next year, evidence from comparable international models shows an association with positive outcomes such as reduced admissions and length of stay.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing method of production labelling to (a) the economy and (b) farm incomes.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Manchester Rusholme, Afzal Khan, on 20 October 2025, PQ UIN 78472.

What assessment he has made of (a) the accuracy of officially reported numbers of opioid related deaths and (b) the potential implications for his policies.

The Department is aware of several limitations that apply to drug-related death statistics. These include the limitation that figures reported for specific substances are undercounts as it is not always possible to determine which drugs were involved from information provided on death certificates. This is a limitation the Office for National Statistics acknowledges in their drug poisoning statistical publications. However, drug related deaths where the specific substances involved have not been recorded are still included within overall counts of drug poisonings, which the Department also monitors. Furthermore, it is clear from the deaths where sufficient information is known that opioids are involved in a substantial majority of drug-related deaths in England. This understanding underpins our policy decisions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with international partners to help tackle irregular migration to the UK.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are taking on the serious, hard work needed to tackle the global problem of irregular migration. We are getting ready to return the first set of small boat arrivals under our groundbreaking returns deal with France. We have signed a landmark agreement with Iraq to tackle illegal migration at source, and we have introduced the world’s first sanctions regime to target the people smuggling gangs and dismantle their funding and networks. Since coming to office, we’ve removed over 35,000 people with no right to be here, up 13 per cent year on year.

Whether he plans to routinely publish waiting time data for community adult mental health services.

Waiting time data for community adult mental health services is already routinely published. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting time metrics for referrals to community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication, to help services target the longest waits. The latest information on wait times is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-talking-therapies-monthly-statistics-including-employment-advisors

What recent progress his Department has made on the rollout of Naloxone supply network coordinators.

Naloxone is a lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, including for highly potent synthetic opioids which are growing in prevalence in the United Kingdom. It is more important than ever to increase access to naloxone products, which will save lives.The Department recently amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to further expand access to naloxone. The legislation will mean more services and professionals are able to supply this medication, which in turn means easier access to it for people at risk, and for their loved ones. This legislation came into force in early December 2024.Route one of the legislation increased the number of services and professionals specified in regulations who can provide ‘take home naloxone’. However, not all services and professions have an agreed statutory definition across the four nations of the UK. As such, route two of the legislation set up the legal framework, which includes supply network coordinators, for the creation of a registration service for services and professions who fall outside of the definitions listed in route one to apply and to be able to provide take home naloxone. The Government is continuing to work with the devolved administrations and front-line services to explore the set-up and delivery of this registration service and to help deliver wider access to naloxone for all who need it.The Department has also recently published the guidance, Supplying take home naloxone without a prescription, that sets out essential practical information such as who can supply naloxone, the products available, how to use naloxone and other basic lifesaving tools, and the training required. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supplying-take-home-naloxone-without-a-prescription

What steps his Department is taking to help support people to (a) stay active and (b) live longer in (i) Sunderland Central constituency and (ii) other areas.

The Government and the National Health Service recognise that prevention will always be better and cheaper than a cure, and that supporting the country to be physically active is important in helping people live longer, healthier lives.The Department of Health and Social Care co-funds the Primary School PE and Sport Premium with the Department for Education, and the School Games Organiser Network with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, both of which enable schools across the country to support children to have fun and move more through physical education, sport, play, and other forms of physical activity. Building healthy habits early on, in and out of school, is essential to helping children thrive, develop, and stay healthy.The NHS Better Health Campaign promotes ways for adults, families, and children to move more, and signposts to digital support like Couch to 5k and the NHS Active 10 walking app, an accessible way of building movement into everyday life. The NHS, together with local authorities, also promotes and provides services to support people in building movement into their lives, for instance through exercise on referral and social prescribing.As part of their place expansion approach, Sport England will be meeting with the Sunderland City Council later this summer to discuss working with them on tackling inactivity and participation inequalities through a whole system, place-based approach.