Written questions by Conlon.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help leaseholders with (a) service charges and (b) managing agents in Beckenham and Penge constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to healthcare services for children with cerebral palsy.

We want a society where every person, including those with a long-term condition such as cerebral palsy, receives high-quality, compassionate continuity of care, with their families and carers supported. We will change the NHS so that it becomes not just a sickness service, but able to prevent ill health in the first place. This will help us be better prepared for the change in nature of disease and allow our services to focus more on the management of chronic, long-term conditions like cerebral palsy. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance on care and support for children and young people with cerebral palsy, to support healthcare professionals and commissioners. The guidance recommends service providers develop clear pathways that allow patients with cerebral palsy access to multi-disciplinary teams, specialist neurology services and regular reviews of their clinical and functional needs.  More information on the guidance is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng62 NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme aims to improve care for people with neurological conditions, including those with cerebral palsy, by reducing variation and delivering care more equitably across the country. Most services for people with cerebral palsy are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, which are best placed to make decisions according to local need. Nevertheless, at a national level, the Government is working closely with NHS England to continue to improve services for people with neurological conditions, including those with cerebral palsy.

Whether the child poverty strategy will include specific measures to help tackle child poverty amongst (a) disabled and (b) other groups that are most affected.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is Co-Chair, is considering all children across the United Kingdom as it develops the child poverty strategy. We recognise different groups of children, including disabled children, have distinct challenges. The causes of child poverty are deep-rooted, with solutions that go beyond government, and the Taskforce is exploring all available levers in response. The strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. The terms of reference for the Child Poverty Taskforce were published on 14 August 2024 and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-poverty-taskforce-terms-of-reference.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve support for children with cerebral palsy in education settings.

This government is committed to strengthening the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system for all children and young people, including those with cerebral palsy, to ensure they receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department will be improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and colleges, as well as ensuring special settings cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need. This includes strengthening accountability for inclusivity, including through Ofsted, and encouraging schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.High-quality teaching in schools is central to ensuring that all pupils are given the best possible opportunity to achieve. The department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers over the course of this Parliament. To support all teachers, the department is implementing a range of teacher training reforms to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with cerebral palsy.The department is providing almost £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. The department has also announced £740 million of high needs capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.The department has also introduced a new mandatory leadership level qualification to enhance the training of special educational needs co-ordinators in mainstream schools.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including in his 10 Year Plan offering young people pre-participation cardiac screening within the community.

No assessment has been made on the potential merits of including community pre-participation cardiac screening into the 10-year plan.This is because the UK National Screening Committee does not recommend offering screening for sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old. Research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use in young people without symptoms. Individuals with the condition may receive a negative test result, a false negative, giving them false reassurance.Furthermore, individuals who do not have the condition may receive a positive test result, a false positive, which can lead to unnecessary tests, treatments, and caution against exercise, which itself is harmful.

What steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help support kinship carers in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) other areas.

The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children and the role of local authorities to support them.​The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting children to settle into a new home with relatives or for activities to support their wellbeing, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. This trial will help us make decisions about future national rollout. The department will share further detail on the process for selecting the local authorities taking part in the programme in due course.The government recently published updated guidance for local authorities, the Kinship Care statutory guidance. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and their carers.​The department also appointed the first National Kinship Care Ambassador, who will work alongside local authorities to help improve their kinship practice and local policies, and ensure they are following national guidance. As well as providing bespoke support to some local authority teams, they will share learning nationally so that more local authorities can benefit from evidence of best practice.

What steps her Department has taken to increase the availability of peer support groups in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) other areas.

As part of the department’s measures to champion kinship care, the government has extended 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.The department is also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access.

What her planned timetable is for the introduction of the trial kinship carer allowance.

​​​​The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children and the role of local authorities to support them.​​The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting children to settle into a new home with relatives, or for activities to support their wellbeing, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.The programme will begin in 2025 and decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation. The department will share further detail on the timetable and delivery of the programme in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) to raise awareness of (i) pregnancy and (ii) baby loss and (b) improve bereavement care for (A) mothers and (B) families impacted.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive safe, compassionate, and personalised care, particularly when things go wrong. In February 2024, the Department launched the Baby Loss Certificate service. This service is a non-statutory, voluntary scheme to enable those who have experienced any pregnancy loss to record and receive a certificate to provide recognition of their loss, if they wish to do so.To support the reduction of preventable baby loss, all trusts are implementing the third version of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with detailed guidance and a package of interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth.Many trusts have specialist bereavement midwives, who are trained to care for and support parents and families who have suffered the loss of their baby. All trusts are now signed up to The National Bereavement Care Pathway, which acts as a set of standards and guidance that trusts should follow when a patient has suffered a baby loss.Paid Parental Bereavement Leave was introduced in 2020. This entitlement is available to parents who lose a child under 18 years old, including where a baby is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy.In May 2024, NHS England published a new national policy framework to provide all National Health Service staff who suffer a miscarriage with up to 10 days additional paid leave. Women who experience a miscarriage in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy are offered up to 10 days paid leave, and their partners are offered up to five. The new guidance supports NHS employees and provides managers and colleagues with advice on how to support people affected by baby loss, including ensuring that staff who return from work after their pregnancy loss are offered occupational health support, including referrals to specialist services at their trust, or specialist miscarriage and baby loss charities and organisations.

What steps she is taking to protect (a) people with dementia and Alzheimer's and (b) other vulnerable people from (i) financial abuse, (ii) fraud and (iii) scammers.

The impact of fraud extends beyond financial losses. It is important that victims of fraud receive the critical support that they are rightly entitled to.Improving support for victims is a key part of the Fraud Strategy and the replacement of Action Fraud over the course of 2025 will improve the service victims receive.All 43 police forces in England and Wales have now also rolled out the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit service to ensure victims receive tailored support. Furthermore, we are supporting National Trading Standards in the rollout of their Multi Agency Approach to Fraud, bringing together local services to improve support to the most vulnerable victims.Through the Fraud Strategy we also continue to tackle the ways in which vulnerable people might be targeted by fraudsters. We are working with Ofcom to stop malicious number spoofing and prevent mass texting services from abuse by fraudsters.Under our Telecommunications Charter, the industry has introduced firewalls that detect and stop scam texts from reaching customers. Finally, we legislated to require the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to introduce mandatory reimbursement for APP scams, ensuring more victims get their money back.

What steps she is taking to tackle (a) financial scams and (b) fraud nationally.

This Government is committed to working with law enforcement, civil society and industry to better protect the public and businesses from this appalling crime.We have committed to completing the outstanding commitments of the Fraud Strategy set out by the previous government and are determined to do more. We will be working closely with partners to develop our new, expanded strategy over the coming months. Details of our approach will be set out in due course.In the meantime, the Government brought together key partners across law enforcement, industry and victim groups at the Joint Fraud Taskforce last month, launching an Insurance Fraud Charter with key insurance firms to reduce insurance fraud.In parallel, we have taken steps to ensure a new corporate criminal liability offence of Failure to Prevent Fraud comes into effect next year and played a central role in the adoption of the first ever UN resolution on fraud, which will strengthen the international response.

What steps he is taking to improve dementia care and support for (a) patients and (b) families post-diagnosis in (i) England and (ii) Beckenham and Penge constituency.

NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia, and central to this is the provision of personalised care and support planning for post diagnostic support.The Department has produced guidance on what to expect from health and care services following a dementia diagnosis, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/after-a-diagnosis-of-dementia-what-to-expect-from-health-and-care-services/after-diagnosis-of-dementia-what-to-expect-from-health-and-care-servicesThere has been a longstanding priority in the London Borough of Bromley, including Beckenham and Penge, to ensure fast and effective dementia diagnostic services, as well as a strong community support offer which is provided by the Bromley Dementia Support Hub and MindCare Dementia respite service. These services are delivered through a partnership of National Health Service and voluntary sector partners to ensure that there is a tailored offer of support for those who need it.The Bromley Dementia Support Hub, together with the MindCare Dementia Service provided by South-East London Mind, and in partnership with the Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, Bromley Well, and Age UK Bromley and Greenwich, offers a range of support services and stimulating activities both in-person and online for people living with dementia, and their friends and family carers.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to end rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents (a) nationally and (b) in Beckenham and Penge constituency.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will prohibit rental bidding practices.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to maternal mental health services.

People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve or need, which is why we will fix the system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, and that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on hospitals.NHS England’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services commits to offering all women a personalised care and support plan, considering physical health, mental health, and social complexities, with an updated risk assessment at every contact.Specialist perinatal mental health services are available in all 42 integrated care system (ICS) areas of England. Maternal mental health services are available in 40 of the 42 ICS areas in England, and the last two are being supported by NHS England to ensure they are up and running as soon as possible. There are currently 19 Mother and Baby Units across England, with 153 operational beds.

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for children with (a) autism and (b) SEND in mainstream settings in Beckenham and Penge constituency.

For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high quality teaching and effective allocation of resources, regardless of whether they have a diagnosis. The department is strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice in mainstream settings. We have recently commissioned evidence reviews from Newcastle University and University College London. These reviews will help to drive inclusive practices by highlighting what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people, aged 0 to 25, with different types of needs.In November 2023, the department announced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme. PINS brings together Integrated Care Boards, local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children and their families and enable an inclusive school environment. PINS employs specialists from both health and education workforces into 10% of mainstream primary school settings, which equates to around 1680 schools. The programme is being evaluated and the learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children. The department also holds and funds the Universal SEND Services contract, which brings together SEND-specific continuous professional development and support for the school and further education workforce. The programme aims to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those with autism. As part of the contract, the Autism Education Trust (AET) provide a range of training and support for staff on autism. Since the contract began in May 2022, over 185,000 professionals have received training from AET training partners.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on tackling illegal water pollution in rivers (a) nationally and (b) in Beckenham and Penge constituency.

In July, we announced swift action to begin resetting the water sector, including ringfencing vital funding for infrastructure investment and placing customers and the environment at the heart of water company objectives. In September, the Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers. Furthermore, on 23 October, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system, to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. The Environment Agency regulates discharges to water using environmental permits and investigates pollution incidents, nationally and in the Beckenham and Penge constituency. Regulators will take action when illegality is identified, in line with their enforcement and sanctions policies.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to work with Community Land Trusts in providing affordable housing as part of the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme.

Community Land Trusts can apply to our delivery partners Homes England and the Greater London Authority for funding through the Affordable Housing Programme. If the development includes low cost rented tenures, they will also need to be a registered provider of social housing to receive funding or work in partnership with a registered provider.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help tackle climate change.

The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary focused on action on climate and nature at the UN General Assembly and with Commonwealth leaders at CHOGM. We will send a strong delegation to COP29, including the new the UK Special Representative for Climate.We are seizing the opportunity of this year's three COPs on biodiversity, climate and desertification, to drive international progress with partners. This will include building a Global Clean Power Alliance, taking our mission to make the UK a Clean Energy Superpower to the international stage, and pushing for an ambitious new climate finance goal at COP29.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to introduce regulatory reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework to help deliver affordable homes in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) England.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to deliver affordable housing through the Affordable Homes Programme in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) England.

I refer my Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.