Written questions by Sewards.

What steps his department is taking to improve (i) support, and (ii) access to treatments, for people with (a) Multiple System Atrophy, and (b) Parkinson’s.

At the national level, there are several initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with Parkinson’s and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), including the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care for neurology services, to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with Parkinson’s and MSA. NICE has also published guidelines on Parkinson’s disease, namely NG71, covering the diagnosis and management in people aged 18 years old and over. Under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is working to improve access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs across all rare conditions such as MSA. In February 2025, we published the fourth England action plan reporting on progress.

What assessment his Department have made on the impact of participation in (a) gyms, (b) swimming pools, and (c) leisure centres on men’s (i) mental and (ii) physical health.

The Government knows that addressing physical inactivity and getting people moving more is important for improving health outcomes, well-being, reducing demand on the National Health Service, and supporting economic growth.Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out our ambition to break down barriers and take a cross-sector approach to building movement back into everyday lives. This requires a collective effort and there is an important role for the leisure and fitness sector through providing facilities and opportunities to get people active and reap the associated health benefits.On 19 November, to coincide with International Men’s Day, we published England’s first ever Men’s Health Strategy. The strategy includes actions to improve access to healthcare, provide the right support to enable men to make healthier choices, develop healthy living and working conditions, foster strong social, community, and family networks, address societal norms, and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men. The strategy recognises the importance of meeting men where they are and includes investment in community-based health and suicide prevention programmes and a new partnership with the Premier League to ensure men know where to go for mental health support.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for children and young people accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

We know too many children and young people are waiting too long for mental health support, and through our Plan for Change, we’re determined to give children and young people the best start in life. The Government is expanding access to mental health support teams in all schools and colleges to reach all pupils by 2029, ensuring that every pupil has access to early support services. This expansion will ensure that up to 900,000 more children and young people will have access to support from trained education mental health practitioners in 2025/26. More widely, we are, rolling out young futures hubs. The Government’s first 50 young futures hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health. We have also committed to hiring 8,500 more mental health staff to reduce waiting times. Thus far, we have hired almost 7,000 extra mental health workers since July 2024.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure early intervention for pupils with special educational needs.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Leeds South West and Morley, to the answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 86204.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of powers available to local authorities to (a) maintain and (b) intervene on land where ownership is (i) unknown and (ii) unregistered.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) are responsible for registering the ownership of land. Approximately 11% of land in England and Wales remains unregistered. My Department is working with HMLR to widen and deepen transparency of land ownership and control.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in identifying ownership of land that has remained unregistered since 1974.

HM Land Registry (HMLR) are responsible for registering the ownership of land. Approximately 11% of land in England and Wales remains unregistered. My Department is working with HMLR to widen and deepen transparency of land ownership and control.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people in full-time employment who have caring responsibilities can access GP appointments.

The Department is expanding capacity in general practice which will help deliver more appointments to patients, ensuring everyone, including those in full-time employment and with caring responsibilities, can access care.General practitioner (GP) core hours are between 8am and 6:30pm Monday to Friday, extending beyond the usual working day and usual school day to allow easier access for those in employment, or with caring responsibilities.In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of over 2,000 additional GPs into primary care networks (PCNs) across England, helping to increase appointment availability. In addition, practices are now required to provide access to online services throughout core operating hours, reducing the 8am scramble and increasing flexibility for patients.PCNs must also offer appointments outside of core hours, including on weekends, which can be more convenient for people in full-time employment, or with caring responsibilities.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services for (a) carers and (b) frontline care workers.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a National Health Service dentist including for carers and front-line workers. We have asked integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission extra urgent dental appointments from 1 April 2025.ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August 2025. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to expand access to smear tests.

NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, from 16 June 2025 to 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening. In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. Further information on the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/ NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. From January 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer human papillomavirus self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months or more, following routine invitation.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing levels of access to hormone replacement therapy treatment on the NHS.

While menopause is a natural part of a woman’s life course, we recognise that menopause symptoms can be wide-ranging and debilitating, affecting a woman’s physical and mental health.Women should not have to suffer in silence and any woman concerned about menopause symptoms should seek advice from their general practitioner or other healthcare professional. It is important that women are provided with accurate information and are able to make informed choices about their care, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT).HRT is the main treatment for menopause symptoms, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that for most women it is safe and effective. In November 2024, NICE published their updated guideline which recommends more treatment choices for menopause symptoms. NICE guidelines are not mandatory, but healthcare professionals are expected to take NICE guidance fully into account in their prescribing decisions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of British nationals located on the India-Pakistan border.

The safety of British nationals will always be our priority. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) continues to monitor developments closely and is ready to support British nationals 24/7. Any British nationals in the region should follow the FCDO's travel advice for the country they are in, along with the advice of the local authorities. That travel advice is currently against travel to areas close to the Line of Control and international border.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent dangerous car racing.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government and a key part of the Safer Streets Mission.On 25 February 2025, the Crime and Policing Bill was introduced to Parliament. The Bill includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour, including dangerous street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. This will strengthen the law and send a clear message that antisocial street racing will not be tolerated. Excess speed is a major cause of death and serious injury on our roads and anyone who breaks the speed limit should expect to face sanctions.

If he will take steps to ensure that London weighted salaries for civil servants only apply to employees that live in London.

Decisions on pay, including London weighting, are delegated to individual departments for grades below the Senior Civil Service (SCS). The SCS pay framework is managed centrally and only operates a national pay range.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility packaging taxation will ensure that the cost of recycling is passed to manufacturers.

Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) implements the polluter-pays principle by obligating brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste.

Whether she plans to introduce measures to help tackle (a) profit shifting and (b) other corporation tax avoidance methods used by multinational corporations.

The UK is tackling profit shifting and multinational tax avoidance through measures including Corporate Interest Restriction, Country by Country Reporting, and the Global Minimum Tax. The most recent Finance Bill, introduced by this Government, put legislation in place to ensure the Global Minimum Tax operates effectively.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing Council Housing tenants to sell their property to buyers other than their Local Authority if they are still within the 10 year purchase period.

Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10 year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another social landlord in the area. This is known as the right of first refusal. The market value must be agreed between the parties or, if they are unable to agree, will be determined by the District Valuer. If an offer has not been accepted within 8 weeks, the tenant is free to sell the property to anyone on the open market. The government has no plans to change existing policy on the right of first refusal.

If his Department will have discussions with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on the potential merits of reducing or removing the annual registration fee for nurses.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The UK's model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government. All registered health and social care professions in the UK pay an annual registration fee to their regulatory body. Being funded by registrant fees enables the NMC to maintain its independence, allowing it to take action if it identifies risks to patient safety or the public’s confidence in the profession.The Government expects the NMC to run its operations efficiently and keep registration fees as low as possible in order to limit the financial impact on registrants. The Government has no current plans to discuss with the NMC the potential merits of reducing or removing the annual registration fee for nurses.

Whether her Department plans to make it an offence for non-electric vehicles to park in an electric vehicle charging space.

Parking enforcement on local highways is a local authority matter. Local authorities can use traffic regulation orders to designate and enforce electric vehicle (EV) only bays. For private land, enforcement falls to the landowner.

Whether her Department plans to (a) continue to fund the Music and Dance Scheme and (b) ensure that all Centres for Advanced Training continue to operate.

The department will inform Music and Dance Scheme providers about funding for the 2025/26 academic year following the conclusion of the spending review in the spring.

Whether her Department is taking steps to reduce private car ownership and improve the connectivity of public transport.

This Government recognises the importance of improving public transport to ensure that people have greater choice around how they travel and has recently confirmed its commitment to phasing out new cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines from 2030. The Government have set out an ambitious programme of reform to help improve bus services and grow usage across the country. The Bus Services (No.2) Bill, introduced on 17 December, puts power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them. In the Autumn Budget, the Government also confirmed investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services and keep bus fares affordable. The Government have also set out plans to create a unified and simplified railway that places train operations under public ownership and control, putting passengers first and rebuilding trust. The Railways Bill, which will be introduced later this session, will enable the biggest overhaul of the rail sector in a generation. Alongside this, the Prime Minister has announced more funding to deliver the largest rail investment in the North in decades. As part of our commitment to local transport, we have uplifted City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding in 2025-26 by £200m, helping to improve the local transport in our largest city regions and drive growth and productivity across the country. This brings local transport spending for Metro Mayors in 2025-26 to £1.3bn. Also at the Autumn Budget, we allocated over £650m funding for local transport outside of our city regions to improve connectivity and support local growth in our smaller cities, towns, villages and rural areas in England outside London. The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published later this year and will focus on how transport should be designed, built, and operated to better serve the people who use it, connecting people to housing, jobs and public services.