Written questions by Vickers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Indian counterpart on the recent attack on a Christian worship service in that country; and what steps her Department is taking to help protect religious minorities in India.

We continue to track these issues closely and engage wherever possible to promote religious freedom and tolerance. Our High Commission in New Delhi, along with our network of Deputy High Commissions, monitors the human rights situation closely. We also engage with civil society and faith leaders to support efforts to promote tolerance and respect between communities. We will continue in these efforts and keep the House updated as this work progresses.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2026 to Question 110360 on kidney diseases: dialysis machines, what steps is the government taking to remove variation in rates of home dialysis in paediatric dialysis centres.

NHS England is delivering a comprehensive programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of people with kidney disease, through its renal services transformation programme. This includes a specification for renal services which sets out the scope for the work of the renal clinical networks commissioned across England. The specification is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PRN231110-renal-clinical-network-specification-2023-.pdfThe goals of the specification include reducing variation across the renal care pathway by developing, agreeing and implementing standardised pathways of care, including dialysis and home therapy services for adult and paediatric services. The eight regional kidney networks in England, working with providers, will review service delivery across network against need and identify gaps and variation in services, gaps in overall provision, quality, geographical distribution, and deliver improvements to network services to address these issues.

What assessment his Department has made of levels of current capacity for in-centre dialysis services; and what plans his Department has to ensure that renal service capacity matches both current and projected patient need.

NHS England is delivering a comprehensive programme to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of people with kidney disease. In 2023, NHS England published a renal services transformation (RSTP) toolkit to support earlier identification of chronic kidney disease and more joined up services. The RSTP sets out that services, working in partnership with integrated care boards, should undertake capacity planning and activity monitoring to ensure service capacity matches demand requirements. These changes are intended to make it easier to deliver improvements along the whole patient pathway including earlier diagnosis and treatment, that can potentially prevent or delay the need for dialysis and transplant further downstream in the pathway. NHS England is also investing in home dialysis for children, supported by a robust network of nurses and clinicians who can move that care from hospital to home. This approach is working, with rates of home dialysis ranging from 64 % to 76% across the 10 National Health Service paediatric dialysis centres.

Whether HM Revenue and Customs has updated its assessment of the number of suicides linked to the loan charge since January 2023; and whether the Government plans to publish updated figures on a routine basis.

The Government promised to commission a new independent review of the loan charge and that is what it delivered. The purpose of the review was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The Government accepted all but one of the review’s recommendations and in a number of instances has decided to go further. Most notably, we decided to write off the first £5,000 of everyone’s liability, providing significant relief to those with the lowest liabilities who are more likely to have been lower earners and targeting support at those who most need it. Because of the decisions the Government has taken, around 30 percent of people within scope of the review could have their liabilities removed entirely. Most other individuals will see their liabilities reduced by at least half. HMRC are committed to supporting customers through this process and are working hard to give them certainty on their tax positions as quickly as possible. This includes a dedicated service to guide customers through the settlement process and provide extra support for those who need it. Anyone who is worried about a tax liability should get in touch with HMRC as soon as possible. HMRC can provide reasonable adjustments to meet an individual’s needs and is working with Samaritans to provide guidance to advisors and signposting taxpayers where needed to a dedicated Samaritans helpline. Any loss of life is a tragedy. The government and HMRC take the safeguarding of individuals and issues relating to loss of life extremely seriously. HMRC has a statutory obligation to refer incidences of death or serious injury of a customer, where there is an indication that HMRC contact may have directly or indirectly contributed to the event, to external oversight bodies. Since March 2019, HMRC has made eleven referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct where a taxpayer has sadly taken their life and had used a disguised remuneration scheme. HMRC does not currently have arrangements in place to routinely publish these figures.

What steps he is taking to ensure adequate support for people with mental health problems when they return to the workforce.

My department has a range of initiatives to ensure adequate support for individuals with mental health conditions when they return to work, including Access to Work. The Access to Work grant provides personalised support and workplace assessments, travel to work, support workers, and specialist aids and equipment. Access to Work also has the Mental Health Support Service which can provide up to nine months of non-clinical support for people who need additional help with their wellbeing while in employment. DWP has also developed the Support with Employee Health and Disability digital guidance for employers. This offers practical advice on supporting health and disability in the workplace. DWP continues to champion the Disability Confident Scheme which promotes employer good practice, as well as working with the occupational health sector to increase the proportion of the workforce supported by expert health services. WorkWell provides funding to 15 local areas in England to lead, design and deliver early intervention, low intensity, integrated work and health support, including for mental health. Participation in WorkWell is voluntary and includes people in and out of work, regardless of benefit entitlement. Additionally, the Employment Advisors in the NHS Talking Therapies service – jointly funded by DWP and Department for Health & Social Care - enables patients to access combined therapeutic treatment and employment support to help them to remain in, return to or find work as well as improve their mental health. The service co-locates employment advisors alongside therapists to offer support and advice to patients, whatever their employment or benefit status.

What steps he is taking to ensure that men can access timely support for their mental health.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach and access to timely mental health care, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App. These services are available to men. The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published in 2023, identifies middle aged men as a priority group for targeted and tailored support at a national level. On 19 November 2025, to coincide with International Men’s Health Day, we published the Men’s Health Strategy. The strategy includes tangible 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 and address societal norms. It also considers how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems affecting men of all ages, which include mental health and suicide prevention, respiratory illness, prostate cancer, and heart disease. Through the Men’s Health Strategy, we are launching a groundbreaking partnership with the Premier League to tackle male suicide and improve mental health literacy, by embedding health messaging into the matchday experience. We also announced the Suicide Prevention Support Pathfinders programme for middle-aged men. This program will invest up to £3.6 million over three years in areas of England where middle-aged men are at most risk taking their own lives and will tackle the barriers that they face in seeking support.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of adopting a preventative approach to mental health; and what steps he is taking to support such an approach.

The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services. We want to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation, prevent people from developing mental health problems, and improve the lives of people living with a mental health condition. This includes providing mental health support teams in schools and colleges, improving assertive outreach, investing in mental health emergency departments, and increasing access to evidence-based digital interventions. Additionally, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities Regional Public Health team work closely with local councils to become signatories to the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health. This includes developing local plans to improve mental wellbeing across the life course and to reduce inequalities in mental health, working with partners across the health and care system, as well as schools and employers. The Government has also recently launched an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. This review will seek to identify opportunities to provide different models of support and pathways, within and beyond the National Health Service, that promote prevention and early intervention.

What plans he has to support newborn screening laboratories to commence screening for spinal muscular atrophy once an interim decision is published.

On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). A recommendation by the UK NSC on newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is expected following the conclusion of an in-service evaluation (ISE), which is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a screening programme for SMA.The UK NSC recommended an ISE of newborn blood spot screening for SMA in National Health Services in 2023. Since then, SMA Newborn Screening ISE Partnership Board was set up to plan and develop work to shape the ISE. This includes planning for newborn laboratories to be able to screen blood spot samples for SMA.The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Health Technology Assessment Programme is running a tender process to appoint researchers for the ISE which is a necessary step before the ISE can be rolled out.

What steps he is taking to ensure that newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy is commenced immediately.

On all aspects of population and targeted screening, Ministers are advised by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). A recommendation by the UK NSC on newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is expected following the conclusion of an in-service evaluation (ISE), which is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a screening programme for SMA.The UK NSC recommended an ISE of newborn blood spot screening for SMA in National Health Services in 2023. Since then, SMA Newborn Screening ISE Partnership Board was set up to plan and develop work to shape the ISE. This includes planning for newborn laboratories to be able to screen blood spot samples for SMA.The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s Health Technology Assessment Programme is running a tender process to appoint researchers for the ISE which is a necessary step before the ISE can be rolled out.

What plans he has to strengthen statutory guidance on the legal duty to commission palliative care services in the Health and Care Act 2022.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services, available within the ICB catchment. There are no current plans to update the statutory guidance.The ICBs are expected to follow the statutory guidance in exercising their functions and must pay due regard to it in the planning, commissioning, and delivery of palliative care and end of life care services.Additionally, NHS England has a legal duty to annually assess the performance of each ICB in respect of each financial year and to publish a summary of its findings. This assessment must assess how well the ICB has discharged its functions.

What progress his Department has made on improving the (a) access, (b) quality and (c) sustainability of palliative and end of life care.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.  The statutory guidance states that ICBs, including the Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB, the Surrey Heartlands ICB, and the Frimley ICB, must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations.NHS England has also developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, including the ability to filter the available information, such as by deprivation or ethnicity, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.The Department and NHS England are currently working at pace to develop plans on how best to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.Additionally, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department has invested £3 million in a Policy Research Unit in Palliative and End of Life Care. This unit is building the evidence base on palliative care and end of life care, with a specific focus on inequalities.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of suicide prevention training provided to fire and rescue staff.

The health and wellbeing of firefighters is of the utmost importance. The Government recognises the risks that firefighters face and is grateful to them for their bravery. As the employer of fire and rescue service personnel, Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) are ultimately responsible for the health and wellbeing of firefighters. The government-issued National Framework directs that all FRAs should have a people strategy which sets out the mental and physical health and wellbeing support available to firefighters. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) supports good mental health in fire and rescue services as one aspect of its Health and Wellbeing Framework. They are currently consulting on a suicide prevention tool kit for the fire and rescue service workforce, supported through the NFCC grant provided by Government. National organisations such as the Fire Fighters Charity and Mind also offer valuable support to individuals and services. Their resources can assist FRAs in developing local approaches to managing mental health risks and promoting the wellbeing of their workforce. The health and wellbeing support provided by Fire and Rescue Services is considered by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services in the course of their inspections.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support available to fire and rescue services who attend callouts to attempted suicides.

The health and wellbeing of firefighters is of the utmost importance. The Government recognises the risks that firefighters face and is grateful to them for their bravery. As the employer of fire and rescue service personnel, Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) are ultimately responsible for the health and wellbeing of firefighters. The government-issued National Framework directs that all FRAs should have a people strategy which sets out the mental and physical health and wellbeing support available to firefighters. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) supports good mental health in fire and rescue services as one aspect of its Health and Wellbeing Framework. They are currently consulting on a suicide prevention tool kit for the fire and rescue service workforce, supported through the NFCC grant provided by Government. National organisations such as the Fire Fighters Charity and Mind also offer valuable support to individuals and services. Their resources can assist FRAs in developing local approaches to managing mental health risks and promoting the wellbeing of their workforce. The health and wellbeing support provided by Fire and Rescue Services is considered by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services in the course of their inspections.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of callouts police attend to (a) attempted suicides and (b) suicides in progress.

The Home Office does not collect data from police on calls about suicidal ideation or where an apparent suicide is in progress and has no current plans to do so.The College of Policing sets the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and the Mental Health APP which has guidance on suicide prevention and bereavement response.Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the suicide prevention training provided to ambulance staff.

The mental health of all National Health Service staff is a high priority, including ambulance staff as responders to emergency incidents. At a national level ambulance staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health wellbeing support, including trauma and addiction. Additionally, ambulance trusts and the Association of Ambulance Trust Chief Executives have worked closely with NHS England to develop an ambulance sector specific suicide prevention pathway to provide immediate, 24/7 support for staff experiencing suicidal ideation.Significant work is also underway to strengthen the quality and consistency of suicide training across the health system. NHS England published Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Management, to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. Further information on this guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the suicide prevention training provided to police staff.

The Home Office does not collect data from police on calls about suicidal ideation or where an apparent suicide is in progress and has no current plans to do so.The College of Policing sets the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and the Mental Health APP which has guidance on suicide prevention and bereavement response.Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available to police who attend callouts to attempted suicides.

The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority and that those who have faced suicide-related incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving.We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service, which has developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces. The Service has also introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff.Chief Constables have a responsibility to manage their workforce effectively and this includes ensuring appropriate training provision for all officers and staff and ensuring their wellbeing.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support available to ambulance staff who attend traumatic callouts.

The mental health of all National Health Service staff is a high priority, including ambulance staff as responders to emergency incidents. At a national level ambulance staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health wellbeing support, including trauma and addiction. Additionally, ambulance trusts and the Association of Ambulance Trust Chief Executives have worked closely with NHS England to develop an ambulance sector specific suicide prevention pathway to provide immediate, 24/7 support for staff experiencing suicidal ideation.Significant work is also underway to strengthen the quality and consistency of suicide training across the health system. NHS England published Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Management, to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. Further information on this guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of attempted suicides attended by ambulance staff.

The Department has made no such assessment and there are currently no plans to collect this data centrally.

Whether his Department plans to expand the range of clinicians able to deliver migraine treatment, in the context of proposals to shift from hospital to community care within the 10 Year Plan for Health.

At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with migraine, including those in Lincolnshire, such as the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit. The GIRFT programme published a National Speciality Report, which makes several recommendations in relation to improving recognition and diagnosis of migraine by general practitioners. Additionally, the RightCare Toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraine, including those in Lincolnshire, which includes correct identification and diagnosis of headache disorders. The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed two e-learning modules about migraine and cluster headaches, which aim to raise awareness amongst primary care clinicians about the different types of migraine and their associated symptoms, and how to differentiate. 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 for those with migraine. There are a number of policies outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan which have the potential to have a very positive impact on care for patients with migraine. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of technology will all support people to manage their long-term conditions, including migraine, closer to home. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS App will be enhanced to allow patients to manage appointments, medications, and view or create their own care plans. Patients will be able to manage their care in one place, giving them direct access and preference over the services they need. The My Medicines section will enable patients to manage their prescriptions, and the My Health section will enable patients to monitor their symptoms and bring all their data into one place. Patients will be able to self-refer to services where clinically appropriate through the My Specialist section on the NHS App. This will accelerate their access to treatment and support.