Written questions by Beavers.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure access to services for disabled people with assistance dogs.

The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses and service providers understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.This Government supports Guide Dogs UK’s ‘Open Doors’ campaign which aims to achieve the fullest possible access for owners of guide dogs and assistance dogs and has met Guide Dogs UK several times over the last 18 months. I have also met with other MPs and continued discussions with stakeholders on how to improve access to public spaces for disabled people with assistance dogs. This Government will continue to reinforce the message that assistance dogs should be allowed access to businesses and services, except in the most exceptional circumstances.

How many people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) other progressive neurological conditions received Access to Work support in 2024-25 by provision type.

Although the Department collects information on the medical condition(s) of Access to Work customers, readily available primary medical condition categories do not allow for the disaggregation of people with multiple sclerosis or other progressive neurological conditions. Where this information is recorded it may be stored as descriptive free-text and extracting it would require manual review of individual records therefore incurring a disproportionate cost. Statistics on the number of people in receipt of payment for Access to Work by readily available primary medical condition categories are published annually in Table PAY03a-d of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation in women’s football.

The Government is determined to drive participation opportunities for women and girls across sport, including football. The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme will invest £85 million in 2026/27, with 30% of priority slots reserved for women’s and girls’ teams. We will also continue to use the Women’s Football Taskforce to deliver tangible change for women and girls from grassroots to elite level.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a cross-government alcohol strategy.

The Government recognises that alcohol-related harm has wide ranging impacts across health, crime, productivity, and communities.Commitments to addressing harms from alcohol feature in several of the Government's current strategies and plans. The National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan outlines crucial steps to help people make healthier choices about alcohol, including making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information. This was reemphasised in the National Cancer Plan. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and announced the pilot of a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men. To support better outcomes for people experiencing harmful drinking, the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment were published in November 2025.The Government keeps the evidence on alcohol-related harm and the effectiveness of different policy approaches under review, and continues to consider how cross-Government action can best support improvements in population health and reduce health inequalities.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to cease updates to fatty liver disease data on Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Fingertips profiles on trends in the level of those diseases.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) ceased to update non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) hospital admissions rates and premature deaths, in people aged under 75 years old, on the Fingertips profiles in December 2025. These only measure the most serious, and a small proportion of cases of the disease, and did not relate directly to the disease prevalence, level of disease, within the population.These are not accurate measures of NAFLD within the population, a condition that is linked to obesity and which can be prevented and treated at early stages with healthy lifestyle changes. The latest reported data for England showed that 345 deaths due to NAFLD in 2023 and 3,126 hospital admissions in 2022/23. There is no data measuring the prevalence of NAFLD.The decision to cease updates occurred after a process that examined data usage, potential duplication, and relative impact of the indicator on disease prevention and monitoring.We concluded that the cessation of publication of these indicators would have limited impact on our efforts to monitor trends on the level of these diseases within the population.Alternative data sources to monitor the population risk of this condition include measures of obesity, physical activity, and nutrition which continue to be published by OHID.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that digital projects, such as OneLogin, are accessible for deaf people and people with hearing loss who use his Department's services.

DWP is committed to providing accessible digital services for all our customers in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Within this legislation DWP is working to ensure that services conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA. DWP is continuing to onboard some services to the Government Digital Services One Login programme. The accessibility statement for this service is available at: https://signin.account.gov.uk/accessibiliity-statement For deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL), DWP has published a 5-year plan to improve BSL services. This includes reviewing digital channels and platforms to improve accessibility for BSL users. DWP is committed to providing suitable methods of communication for customers who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. The Video Relay Service allows DWP to communicate with customers via a BSL interpreter using a video connection. DWP also has a dedicated DWPSign channel containing many BSL videos on benefits and services. All published video and audio content has closed captions or a transcript.

How his Department is using data to inform proposals for reform of Access to Work.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation. In addition, available administrative data and management information will be utilised in shaping any proposals. We have recently concluded (November) the Access to Work Collaboration Committees, in which we engaged with a range of stakeholders, including DPO representatives and lived experience users, to provide discussion, experience, and challenge to the design of the future Access to Work Scheme.

How many users of Access to Work who receive funding for British Sign Language interpreters have had their awards expire before their renewal is processed.

We do not hold this information in a way that can be extracted. Identifying such cases would require a manual review of individual awards, which would incur disproportionate cost. Please find the Official statistics on payments and approvals which are published annually and can be accessed here: Access to Work statistics - GOV.UK

How many people who use Access to Work for the provision of British Sign Language interpretation receive funding for an additional condition to difficulty in hearing.

Although the Department collects information on the medical condition(s) of Access to Work customers and the types of support they are awarded and claim payment for, we are unable to link awarded support elements to specific medical conditions without manually examining individual case notes. It would therefore incur a disproportionate cost to identify what support, if any, customers receiving a ‘BSL Interpreter’ have been awarded in relation to medical conditions other than ‘Difficulty in hearing’.

How many people received funding through an Access to Work grant to purchase hearing aids in the last 12 months.

Although the Department holds information on the specific types of support for which Access to Work payments are made, data which would allow payments for ‘hearing aids’ to be identified is not readily available. The data is recorded as descriptive free-text information and extracting it would require manual review of individual records, incurring disproportionate cost. Statistics on the number of people receiving Access to Work payments by readily available element and support worker categories are published annually in Table PAY02 of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many users of Access to Work received funding for a British Sign Language interpreter in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what was the average cost per person of those awards.

Statistics on the number of people in receipt of payment for Access to Work support and average annual payments per person, by support worker type which includes a category for ‘BSL Interpreter’ are published in tables PAY02 and AVG02 of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK. Table 1 summarises these figures: Table 1. Number of customers in receipt of payment and average annual payment received per customer for ‘BSL Interpreter between financial years 2020/21 and 2024/25 Financial YearNumber of customers in receipt of payment for a ‘BSL Interpreter’Average annual payment per customer for ‘BSL Interpreter’ (£ nominal)Average annual payment per customer for ‘BSL Interpreter’ (£ 2024/25 prices)2020/212,81012,70014,9002021/222,89015,20017,9002022/232,94016,60018,3002023/243,17017,20017,9002024/253,21018,20018,200 NotesNumbers of people have been rounded to nearest 10 and average annual payments to nearest £100.Real terms expenditure removes the effect of inflation to make year-on-year comparisons more informative, these figures are quoted in 2024/25 prices

What steps NHS England is taking, working with manufacturers of breakthrough treatments for fatty liver disease, to prepare the NHS to deliver such treatments as quickly as possible to eligible patients once approved.

Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE aims wherever possible to issue draft guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund drugs recommended by NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.NICE is currently evaluating potential new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in anticipation of the medicines being granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with guidance expected later this year. NHS England is actively preparing to support the potential introduction of new treatments for MASH, including fatty liver disease with fibrosis, alongside the ongoing NICE appraisal process.The Department and NHS England will continue to work to ensure that, once approved, effective new treatments for fatty liver disease are introduced in a way that is fair, affordable, and which protects the wider NHS, while ensuring that patients with the greatest clinical need are able to benefit as quickly as possible.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that constituents who are partnered with trained assistance dogs can access public spaces.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

If he will commission a review of the (a) clarity and (b) consistency of legislation relating to disabled people with assistance dogs.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory definition for assistance dogs.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of thermal energy storage within heat networks on the (a) need for grid reinforcement and (b) operation of the electricity system.

The Department has not yet made a full quantitative assessment of the flexibility benefits of thermal energy storage within heat networks. The electricity distribution network benefits of heat networks has been estimated at between £5 to 7bn in avoided costs, and external research suggests that flexibility would significantly increase this amount. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan establishes our high ambition to increase flexible capacity on the grid, including 10-12 GW in short-duration consumer-led flexibility by 2030. Our Clean Flexibility Roadmap ensures that heat networks and thermal energy storage will contribute to this.

What targeted interventions he plans to introduce to reduce the effects of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in areas with high levels of deprivation.

Liver disease is a broad term for several conditions affecting the liver and pancreas and the Government is taking decisive action to tackle ill health and shift the focus on diseases such as liver disease from treatment to prevention.The most prevalent cause of liver-related ill health and death is alcohol-related liver disease. From 2026/27, all alcohol and drug treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with ringfenced funding in which Blackpool Council will receive £4,554,578 in 2026/27 and indicative totals of £4,647,350 and £4,737,845 for 2027/28 and 2028/29 respectively. The Department has also published the United Kingdom’s first clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which include guidance on early identification of liver disease and treating alcohol dependence in people with liver disease. To help people make healthier choices about alcohol we are making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information.Locally, Blackpool Teaching Hospital’s Liver Service has recently achieved micro‑elimination of hepatitis C, with all drug and alcohol services across Lancashire now declared micro‑eliminated. The region’s Liver Health Check Team supports earlier detection of liver disease by referring at‑risk individuals, including those with high body mass index, diabetes, or high alcohol consumption for community fibroscans available in general practices (GPs), community venues, and via mobile units.NHS England’s liver transformation programme focusses on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease and has developed a data pack for regional commissioners using the Department’s Fingertips data to support this. It is for commissioners in integrated care boards to determine how best to use this information as part of local commissioning decisions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is assessing new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the broader term for fat buildup of the liver, which metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) falls under. This includes resmetirom and semaglutide. Outputs and recommendations are expected to be published mid-2026.As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are improving diets, reducing physical inactivity, and creating healthier environments so that fewer people reach the point of needing treatment for diseases such as MASH. This includes updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink, requiring all large food businesses to report against standardised metrics on the healthiness of food sales and getting millions moving more through our national movement campaign.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle health inequalities in liver disease in Blackpool.

Liver disease is a broad term for several conditions affecting the liver and pancreas and the Government is taking decisive action to tackle ill health and shift the focus on diseases such as liver disease from treatment to prevention.The most prevalent cause of liver-related ill health and death is alcohol-related liver disease. From 2026/27, all alcohol and drug treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with ringfenced funding in which Blackpool Council will receive £4,554,578 in 2026/27 and indicative totals of £4,647,350 and £4,737,845 for 2027/28 and 2028/29 respectively. The Department has also published the United Kingdom’s first clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which include guidance on early identification of liver disease and treating alcohol dependence in people with liver disease. To help people make healthier choices about alcohol we are making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information.Locally, Blackpool Teaching Hospital’s Liver Service has recently achieved micro‑elimination of hepatitis C, with all drug and alcohol services across Lancashire now declared micro‑eliminated. The region’s Liver Health Check Team supports earlier detection of liver disease by referring at‑risk individuals, including those with high body mass index, diabetes, or high alcohol consumption for community fibroscans available in general practices (GPs), community venues, and via mobile units.NHS England’s liver transformation programme focusses on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease and has developed a data pack for regional commissioners using the Department’s Fingertips data to support this. It is for commissioners in integrated care boards to determine how best to use this information as part of local commissioning decisions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is assessing new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the broader term for fat buildup of the liver, which metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) falls under. This includes resmetirom and semaglutide. Outputs and recommendations are expected to be published mid-2026.As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are improving diets, reducing physical inactivity, and creating healthier environments so that fewer people reach the point of needing treatment for diseases such as MASH. This includes updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink, requiring all large food businesses to report against standardised metrics on the healthiness of food sales and getting millions moving more through our national movement campaign.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 February to Question 110590 on Breast Cancer: Screening, whether the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry will include women assessed as being at moderate or high risk of breast cancer who do not have an identified genetic mutation.

The National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry already includes some women who do not have an identified genetic mutation. National cancer registration data collects high-quality data in the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry on women at very high risk of breast cancer according to The Surveillance of women at very high risk of developing breast cancer guidelines, which are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breast-screening-higher-risk-women-surveillance-protocols/protocols-for-surveillance-of-women-at-higher-risk-of-developing-breast-cancer As well as women at high risk of breast cancer who have an identified genetic mutation, the registry collects data on ‘risk-equivalent’ women who have a strong family history of breast cancer, but who have not undertaken a definitive genetic test and therefore do not have an identified genetic mutation. Their eligibility criteria can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breast-screening-higher-risk-women-surveillance-protocols/tests-and-frequency-of-testing-for-women-at-very-high-risk--2#women-who-are-risk-equivalent-but-genetic-cause-not-identifiedWomen from the breast cancer after radiotherapy dataset, or BARD, are also included. These women have received radiotherapy to the chest area involving breast tissue for the treatment of lymphoma between the ages of 10 and 35 years old. They are identified by linking national cancer registration data to the national Radiotherapy Dataset within National Disease Registration Service, as both are nationally mandated datasets.

How many people were waiting for decisions on Access to Work scheme claims as of (a) February 2026, (b) October 2025 and (c) April 2025.

The number of Access to Work applications has risen significantly. We are committed to reducing waiting times. We also prioritise applications from customers who are due to start work within the next four weeks, as well as renewals for existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of the programme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation. As of the 1st of February 2026, there were 66,218 applications awaiting a decision.As of the 1st of October 2025, please refer to the answer given on 22 October 2025 to Question UIN 80759. As of the 1st of April 2025, please refer to the answer given on 10 June 2025 to Question UIN 56299. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.