Written questions by Charters.

What steps the Government is taking to encourage civil servants to serve as reservists in the Armed Forces.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation

What steps she is taking to ensure safeguarding standards and accountability are applied consistently across all types of schools.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps she is taking to ensure that primary schools offer a broad range of after school clubs.

The government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people across England can access a variety of enrichment opportunities at school, including after school clubs, as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. A new Enrichment Framework will be published this academic year. It will set out benchmarks to help schools and colleges plan high-quality enrichment more strategically, with case studies and signposting to tools and resources. The framework will support schools to provide accessible and inclusive enrichment opportunities to those less likely to participate, such as pupils on free school meals.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the Student Loans Company is operationally effective.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps he is taking to ensure that commissioning policies for bilateral cochlear implants for adults take account of individuals who experienced inadequate access to cochlear implantation during childhood.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps he is taking to ensure equitable access to cochlear implant services across England.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps she is taking to encourage more zebra crossings near primary schools.

The Department does not set mandatory criteria for the installation of zebra crossings. Local authorities are best placed to decide whether a zebra crossing is appropriate, including outside primary schools, taking into account local traffic conditions, vehicle speeds and patterns of pedestrian movement. The Department provides national good practice guidance in Chapter 6 of the Traffic Signs Manual, which includes advice on the assessment and design of pedestrian crossings. This is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manualChapter 6 is guidance and it is for authorities to consider how to apply it to their own roads.

What steps she is taking to ensure that road safety measures in the vicinity of primary schools are given a priority status within (a) national transport policy and (b) guidance to local authorities.

Road safety around schools is a priority for the Government, particularly the safety of children travelling to and from school.Protection for children is not limited to the immediate school frontage; national transport policy focuses on improving safety along the whole journeys commonly made by children and young people, including routes to school. This approach includes the use of 20 mph limits where appropriate, alongside safer crossing facilities, traffic calming measures, School Streets schemes, enforcement, and school travel planning. The Government supports delivery of these measures through national funding, including £7.3 billion of capital funding for local highway maintenance between 2026–27 and 2029–30, which local authorities can use to maintain and improve their road networks, including roads in the vicinity of schools. Active Travel England (ATE) encourages authorities to consider a range of walking and cycling schemes to deal with local needs, including active travel to school. The Department for Transport and ATE have developed and published specific guidance on how to develop an effective School Streets scheme. School Streets can improve the experiences of a school’s pupils, staff, visitors, and neighbours alike at peak school arrival and departure times.

How her Department ensures effective oversight where safeguarding concerns are raised about independent schools.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

What steps she is taking to confirm Sports Premium funding for 2026-27.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for York Outer to the answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 115304.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of propranolol in pharmacies; and what steps he is taking to ensure supply.

The Department is aware of supply issues affecting propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram modified release (MR) capsules due to ongoing manufacturing issues which are expected to last until at least July 2026.The Department is working with all suppliers to help resolve the issues and improve supplies, including asking that they source stock from other markets. We have also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed imports of propranolol 80 milligram and 160 milligram MR capsules. We have engaged with National Health Service specialist clinicians and issued comprehensive guidance on how to manage patients during this time and to advise on available alternative preparations.The Department continues to work with the supply chain teams and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to mitigate the situation and ensure supplies are available for patients as soon as possible.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving access to the Longitudinal Education Outcomes dataset.

The department recognises the value of the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset in supporting high‑quality research and evidence‑based policymaking. LEO already underpins a wide range of official statistics and analytical publications, and independent researchers can access the underlying data securely through the Office for National Statistics Secure Research Service.The department works with its partners to improve user experience, streamline access processes, and to expand support materials to assist third party use of LEO data.A further five years of funding to develop LEO access has recently been confirmed for this purpose along with the largest ever increase of funding to the development of LEO.Improvements must balance the potential merits with our obligations to safeguard personal data and the public’s trust. We keep arrangements for data access under regular review to ensure they remain proportionate, secure and in line with data protection requirements.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of support available to low‑income families whose children require prolonged inpatient neonatal and paediatric care.

The Government is committed to tackling child poverty and to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty was published on 5 December 2025 and set out a goal to reduce and alleviate the impact of child poverty, with urgent action to improve the lives of children in deepest poverty.We recognise the significant financial and practical pressures faced by low-income families when a child with a long-term condition requires hospital care. To support eligible low-income families with the costs associated with repeated or prolonged hospital stays, the NHS Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme provides support with the cost of travelling to hospital appointments.In addition, many hospitals work with charitable partners, such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, to provide free or low-cost accommodation close to specialist children’s hospitals, helping parents stay near their child during treatment.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve the affordability of childcare.

We want all children, regardless of background, to have access to high quality early education and childcare. This allows parents to work and supports children’s development as they grow, getting them ready for school and beyond.Through our Best Start in Life strategy we will improve access to early years education and childcare.It is important that government childcare entitlements remain accessible and affordable for families. Earlier this year we updated the existing statutory guidance for local authorities to clarify the section on additional charges and to support transparency and consistency for parents and providers.Local authorities also have duties under section 7 of the 2006 Act and under the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 to ensure free childcare is available to eligible children in their area (for either 30 or 15 hours per week over 38 weeks per year depending on the entitlement). To do this, local authorities have the key role of managing their local markets to ensure they meet the needs of parents.In 2025/26 alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27 and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. On top of this, we have provided further supplementary funding of £75 million for the Early Years Expansion Grant to help providers meet their local demand. The EYNFFs target funding to local authorities where it is needed most, reflecting the relative needs of the children and costs of delivering provision in that area.We increased core funding rates for 2025 to 2026. This increase ensured funding for the entitlement’s forecasts of average earnings and inflation and also reflected the National Living Wage announced at the 2024 Autumn Budget.In addition to childcare entitlements, the Universal Credit childcare offer supports claimants with the costs of childcare, no matter how many hours they work. Claimants may be able to claim up to 85% of eligible childcare costs, for children aged up until the 31 August after their 16th birthday, if they are eligible for Universal Credit and are usually in paid work or starting a job in the next month. Claimants may also be eligible for help with certain costs of childcare if they are on sick leave, or maternity, paternity or adoption leave.Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities and has the same income criteria as 30 hours government-funded childcare.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 on Northern Ireland.

The defence of the United Kingdom is always the first duty of any Government.As part of our defence industrial strategy, we will invest £250m across five regions for Defence Growth Deals - including one in Northern Ireland which already boasts a booming defence sector - and it looks like it will only get stronger in 2026.

What steps his Department is taking to improve patient safety for people with learning disabilities.

The Government is committed to advancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture across the National Health Service. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will usher in a new era of transparency, a rigorous focus on high-quality care for all and a renewed emphasis on patient and staff voice. The Patient Safety Incident Reporting Framework (PSIRF) is a patient safety approach within the NHS covering all patient groups, including people with a learning disability. It sets standards for how organisations should meaningfully and compassionately engage with those affected by safety events and guides organisations on responding effectively for learning and improvement. PSIRF emphasises the importance of considering inequalities when setting priorities and supports consideration of inequalities throughout the learning response process. Where a person has a learning disability, integrated care boards can also utilise the findings from a Learning from Lives and Deaths Review to understand how services can be improved across their local system to reduce health inequalities for people with a learning disability and autistic people in their area. Additionally, a range of wider action is being taken to improve patient safety for people with a learning disability and autistic people. This includes:The Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation programme has been co-produced with key stakeholders from across systems and aims to improve the quality of care in mental health impatient settings. We are also rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism across the health and adult social care workforce. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care.

What steps he is taking to improve patient safety for people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism.

The Government is taking a range of actions to improve patient safety for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.We are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism across the health and adult social care workforce. This will help to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care.NHS England’s Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Inpatient Quality Transformation Programme works to tackle the root causes of unsafe and poor-quality inpatient care, supporting the cultural changes needed to create environments where people can flourish.The Mental Health Bill, which is currently in Parliament, will limit the scope to detain people with a learning disability and autistic people in mental health hospitals. and put existing NHS England policies on a statutory footing to improve community support. There is funding in integrated care board baselines during 2025/26 to improve community support provision and reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people, in line with the NHS Operational Planning Guidance.More widely, the Government is committed to advancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture across the National Health Service. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will usher in a new era of transparency, a rigorous focus on high-quality care for all and a renewed emphasis on patient and staff voice.

With reference to the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, what steps his Department is taking to support dispensing general practices.

We recognise that the services of dispensing practices play an important role in meeting the needs of rural communities, by ensuring patients receive their medicines promptly and conveniently.Every year, the Department and NHS England consult with the British Medical Association (BMA) regarding the services general practices will provide, and the funding they will receive in return for these services. This includes the services, and relevant remuneration, of dispensing practices.We have committed to substantive General Practice (GP) contract reform within this Parliament following acceptance of the 2025/26 contract by the England General Practitioners Committee of the BMA. As part of this, we expect to consider a breadth of topics, including dispensing practices.On 3 July 2025, we published the 10-Year Health Plan, which announced the plan to introduce two new contracts, for neighbourhood providers and multi-neighbourhood providers, which will encourage GPs to work over larger geographies. We will begin to make these new contracts available in 2026, and more details will be provided in due course.

With reference to p.15 of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, what his Department's timetable is for publishing further details on the national maternity and neonatal taskforce; and whether that taskforce will focus on multiple pregnancies.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will be chaired by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and will take forward the recommendations from the independent investigation into maternity and neonatal care to develop a national plan to drive improvements.The taskforce will be made up of a breadth of independent clinical and international expertise, including those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health, as well as family and staff representatives, charities and campaigners.Once the independent investigation is underway, my Rt. Hon. Friend will work with families and external partners to set up the taskforce including its terms of reference and membership. These will be published in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to improve technological innovation in Yorkshire and the Humber region.

This Government is committed to supporting technological innovation across the UK.That is why we have earmarked at least £30 million for each of West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire through our new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund. This will empower local leaders to grow high-potential innovation clusters and unlock their innovation potential.This builds on UKRI’s wider investment in the Yorkshire and the Humber region which totals almost £1 billion active projects.