Written questions by Jarvis.

What steps he is taking to improve child vaccination uptakes rates.

We are committed to improving vaccination uptake rates to fully protect children and the public from preventable diseases. It is vitally important that everyone has their recommended vaccinations, as they are the best way to help protect yourself and your family from these viruses that can cause serious harm.The NHS Vaccination Strategy outlines the steps that we will take to improve uptake of our childhood vaccination programmes through investing in the digital infrastructure and data systems for vaccination programmes, delegating commissioning of services to integrated care boards (ICBs), and exploring new ways of using workforce and delivery networks to administer vaccinations that meet the needs of local communities. The strategy is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-vaccination-strategy/In line with the strategy and with the Government’s commitment, children will receive vital vaccines more easily thanks to a new trial using health visitors to administer childhood immunisations. The initiative, outlined in our urgent and emergency improvement plan, will test having health visiting teams deliver flu vaccinations and other jabs to eligible children, making protection more accessible for underserved families across selected areas.We are also updating the vaccination schedule from 1 January 2026 to offer the second dose of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at eighteen months old to give young children the best protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Any children who have missed this second dose of MMR can have it at their pre-school vaccinations, at the same time as their 4 in 1 booster. This change is expected to improve MMR vaccine uptake, as has been demonstrated in a number of London boroughs where this change has already been made, and better uptake will reduce the likelihood of measles outbreaks. This is in addition to schedule changes from 1 July 2025 to move the second dose of meningococcal B vaccination to 12 weeks of age to provide earlier protection.To raise awareness of potential vaccination benefits and increase awareness of the programmes, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides a comprehensive suite of resources, including information leaflets in multiple languages and accessible formats. UKHSA also provides comprehensive clinical guidance, including e-learning programmes and training, for healthcare professionals. These are available in print form and for download at the following link:https://www.healthpublications.gov.uk/ArticleSearch.htmlUKHSA also undertakes regular surveys of parents and adolescents to understand how their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety, and disease severity influence their vaccine uptake decision-making. This information enables the resources to be revised and updated to meet the needs of those accessing vaccination services. Data on vaccination uptake is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake

What steps she is taking to help ensure that disabled students entering higher education receive (a) timely and (b) appropriate support from Student Finance England.

The department and the Student Loans Company (SLC) are committed to ensuring that disabled students domiciled in England and entering higher education receive timely and appropriate support through the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).Eligible students undergo a Study Needs Assessment (SNA), which identifies their individual needs. These are then compiled into a Needs Assessment Report and are submitted to SLC for approval, helping to ensure that students receive the right support efficiently, and enabling them to access higher education with confidence and the resources they need to succeed.In previous years, approximately 40% of DSA applications are submitted at the start of the academic year. However, this year, SLC has worked with UCAS to encourage earlier applications. This has resulted in a higher volume of submissions ahead of the 2025/26 academic year. To manage this, SLC has increased resourcing to improve processing times and ensure students receive funding promptly.Additionally, SLC’s suppliers, Capita and Study Tech, have recruited more Needs Assessors to offer flexible assessment scheduling. SLC continues to monitor demand and capacity throughout the academic cycle to maintain effective support for students.Current processing times for DSA and other applications can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sfe-current-application-timescales.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will (a) continue and (b) improve the Chalk Stream Restoration Strategy.

Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works. Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector. Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of dental surgery closures in Hampshire since July 2024.

The National Health Service contracts with independent dental providers, to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. This means that providers can terminate their contracts within the required terms of the contract, including a notice period. NHS England and the integrated care boards across England work together to ensure that patients who are affected by closures of NHS dental practices will continue to have access to the dental care they need.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of patients previously without access to NHS dental care being able to register with an NHS dentist since July 2024.

Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements.We are aware of the challenges in accessing an NHS dentist and we are committed to tackling dental access for patients. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

If he will take steps to clarify the new guidance sent to the Horizon Shortfall scheme by his Department on cases where a shortfall has previously not been identified; and what his planned timeline is for the new process to address these cases being available to claimants.

My Department is working with the Post Office to develop a way to fairly assess claims where there is no record of a Horizon Shortfall. Recognising the challenges postmasters may face in providing evidence, Post Office is further investigating its branch files as quickly as possible.Fixed sum payments will be made as quickly as possible when evidence of shortfalls is found. Where further information is required, Post Office will ask individuals for further information.Claimants opting for a full assessment will have their case considered on the basis of the evidence available.

What steps he is taking to help increase public awareness of (a) frailty of and (b) fall prevention among people aged 65 and over.

The National Health Service website has public information and advice on fall prevention. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s (CSP) Get up and go – a guide to staying steady is a 32-page guide for the public and patients on how to prevent falls, and was produced by Saga in partnership with the CSP and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.To help healthcare systems support people living with frailty, NHS England has developed a RightCare frailty toolkit. The RightCare toolkit aims to support systems to understand the priorities in frailty care and the key actions to take. It provides a way to assess and benchmark current systems, in order to find opportunities for improvement.NHS England’s Falls and Fragility Fractures RightCare Pathway defines the core components of an optimal service for people who have suffered from a fall or who are at risk of falls and fragility fractures. It recommends that the commissioners responsible for falls and fragility fractures for their population should work across the system to ensure that schemes to deliver the higher value interventions are in place.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also recently published guidance in April 2025 on the assessment and prevention of falls in older people and in people aged 50 years old and over who are at higher risk. The guidance aims to reduce the risk and incidence of falls, and the associated distress, pain, injury, loss of confidence, loss of independence, and mortality.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of not awarding marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar for exams in subjects other than English.

I refer the hon. Member for Eastleigh to the answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57812.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national dyslexia strategy.

I refer the hon. Member for Eastleigh to the answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57810.

With reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain, published on 5 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to disability benefits on people with multiple sclerosis.

No separate assessment has been made.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I am leading, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

What steps he is taking to help improve the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of staff in the NHS cancer workforce.

Recruitment to National Health Service roles is managed locally by trusts and systems. However, NHS England is taking a range of actions to support the recruitment and retention of staff in the NHS cancer workforce.To grow the workforce, NHS England has been expanding specialty training places in key cancer professions, including histopathology, clinical radiology, and gastroenterology. Targeted national campaigns and outreach activities, for example in clinical oncology, also promote cancer career pathways, with a focus on increasing applications.To improve retention, NHS England is investing in structured career development and education support. The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme provides a nationally agreed framework for capability, career development, and education for nurses, allied health professionals, and the support workforce working in cancer care.

What plans he has to include (a) community equipment services and (b) the timely provision of community care equipment in the NHS 10-Year Plan.

The Government will deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, creating a truly modern health service designed to meet the changing needs of our changing population. Moving care from hospitals into the community and putting the building blocks in place to enable this to happen will be at the heart of the 10-Year Health Plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect blue carbon ecosystems.

In England, we have established a comprehensive network of 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), including 3 Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), which cover most of our saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. While blue carbon habitats may not always be an explicitly designated feature, MPA protection may still yield benefits. HPMAs were designated to protect the entire marine ecosystem within each site, including areas of habitat considered important for the long-term storage of carbon. Our focus is now on ensuring these MPAs are effectively protected to allow the designated features to achieve favourable condition and meet HPMA conservation objectives to recover to a natural state. We have recently announced our latest proposals to manage damaging fishing activity in 42 MPAs, covering 30,000 km2 of English waters. Defra set up the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership in partnership with DESNZ and the Devolved Administrations to address evidence gaps around these important habitats, to support effective protection and restoration. The Environment Agency are leading the Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative to reverse centuries of decline in key estuarine and coastal habitats. By 2043, ReMeMaRe aims to restore 15% of saltmarsh and seagrass extent in England, along with functional oyster reef habitats in 15% of suitable water bodies.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote (a) human rights and (b) justice in (i) fragile and (ii) conflict-affected states.

The UK is committed to promoting and advancing human rights and the rule of law internationally, securing accountability for those responsible for atrocity crimes, and protecting those most at risk in situations of conflict and crisis. This includes protecting civilians, refugees, internally displaced persons, and humanitarian workers.Lord Collins, as the Prime Minister's Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, has committed to drive international action to support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and end impunity. Through UK aid, we support justice by building the capacity of national judicial systems, deploying experts and supporting access to justice for victims.

What steps she is taking to promote take-up of Attendance Allowance.

Attendance Allowance provides support for those with care needs in England and Wales, regardless of income and capital. It also gives rise to an additional disability amount in Pension Credit for those on low incomes. Some advisory organisations and local authorities therefore encourage people with care needs to make a claim to Attendance Allowance ahead of a claim to Pension Credit. Information and advice about entitlement to Attendance Allowance is available from a range of outlets including Jobcentre Plus offices, DWP and other helplines, GOV.UK and other online services, local authorities, public libraries, health clinics, doctors' surgeries, health visitors, and third party organisations such as Citizen’s Advice, Age UK, Age Cymru and Macmillan Cancer Support.

What the average time is for her Department to respond to Mandatory Reconsideration requests.

The median mandatory reconsideration (MR) clearance times have been provided for Universal Credit (UC), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessment (WCA) benefit decisions. To provide information across all other DWP administered benefits would incur disproportionate cost. Median clearance times have been provided as the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases. Universal Credit The median clearance time for UC MRs cleared in the 2024/25 financial year was 33 calendar days. Notes: Each UC claim can have more than one reconsideration registered against it. The above includes all MR decisions (excluding withdrawn and cancelled).The UC MR clearance times are based on the clearance times from the date the MR was registered to the date the MR was cleared.This data on UC MR clearance times is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.Definition of median: The median time is the middle value if you were to order all the times within the distribution from lowest value to highest value. Personal Independence Payment PIP MR clearance times are published at Personal Independence Payment statistics - GOV.UK. They can be found by accessing the latest release and opening the excel tables. Tables 4A – 4Biii contain information on PIP MR clearance times. Employment Support AllowanceESA WCA MR clearance times are available on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. They can be found by going through “ESA Work Capability Assessments”, “Mandatory Reconsideration – Clearances” “Table 4 – Median Clearance Times by Date of Decision”.

If she will exempt people with cystic fibrosis from proposed changes to disability benefits.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out a broad package of reforms to health and disability benefits and employment support. We have committed to putting on the face of the Bill strong protections for the most vulnerable. We will protect the income of all people subject to the Special Rules for End of Life (those with less than 12 months to live) and people who meet the severe conditions criteria (SCC) by providing them with the higher rate of LCWRA (Limited capability for work and work-related activity) in line with existing customers. Additionally, people with severe conditions - a health condition or disability which is lifelong, often progressive and incurable - and who are at the end of life will not be reassessed. We are basing our protections on these criteria, rather than on specific conditions, because the functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals. The support a person might need and their ability to work can vary for different people with the same condition. Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected, while supporting those who can work to do so. As such, those who have a higher level of functional need in at least one activity - who are unable to complete activities at all, or who require more help from others to complete them – will still receive PIP.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has produced an impact assessment on the potential impact of reductions in UK Official Development Assistance spending on international programmes that support women and girls.

The UK remains committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work. We recognise that supporting women and girls is essential for development and we will continue to do so by using our voice to be a champion for women and girls across the world; working with women's organisations, particularly local organisations; and mainstreaming gender equality to put women and girls at the heart of everything we do.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is focused on ensuring that every pound is spent in the most impactful way. Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes. Equality Impact Assessments - which consider impacts on women and girls - are an essential part of how we make decisions on ODA allocations. We intend to publish final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts this summer.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting lists for audiology assessments.

NHS England is supporting provider organisations and integrated care boards, who are the commissioners of audiology services, to improve performance and reduce waiting lists. This includes capital investment to upgrade audiology facilities in National Health Service trusts, expanding audiology testing capacity via community diagnostic centres, and direct support through a national audiology improvement collaborative.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in employer National Insurance contributions on (a) levels of staff costs for homecare providers and (b) the delivery of social care services.

The Government assessed the impact of the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process. This assessment took account of a range of factors that could affect the delivery of social care services, including changes to employer National Insurance Contributions.To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government has made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26. There is also an extra £502 million of support for local authorities in England to manage the impact of changes to employer National Insurance Contributions announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.In addition, the Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.