Written questions by Bishop.

What steps she is taking to help tackle retail crime.

In the last year of the previous government shoplifting soared to a twenty-year high, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.This Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shop theft of goods under £200. This will remove any perception that offenders will escape punishment.We will also introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.As set out in the Autumn budget 2024, we will provide law enforcement with over £7 million over the next three financial years to help support police in tackling retail crime.I remain committed to regular engagement with both the retail sector and policing through the Retail Crime Forum, to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement, which had its inaugural meeting at the end of 2024.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the NHS sight test fee; and if he will take steps to increase that fee.

The level of the National Health Service sight test fee is considered annually and takes into account discussions with the Optical Fee Negotiating Committee, consideration of patient access to sight testing services, which continue to be widely available, and affordability for the NHS.

Innovation and Technology, what progress has been made on the rollout of the shared rural network in the Forest of Dean constituency.

There have already been improvements via the Shared Rural Network in the Forest of Dean since the programme began in 2020. I have raised my concerns about the reporting of mobile connectivity with Ofcom, but according to Ofcom’s Connected Nations reports, 4G coverage from all four mobile network operators has risen from 73% to 85% and 99% of the constituency now has 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator, up from 97% in 2020.

If she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the impact of music in shops on people with sensory sensitivities.

The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. This is 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. This is an anticipatory duty, meaning providers should not wait to be asked before acting, but should expect that some of their customers will be disabled and require adaptations. The Government welcomes steps some retailers are taking to introduce sensory friendly hours for customers who may find busy or loud shopping environments overwhelming. Encouragingly, many establishments are already adopting practices like offering "quiet hours" or optimising acoustics for a more welcoming atmosphere. The National Autistic Society has produced guidance for businesses on how this can be implemented: Autism Hour guidance (including tips for social distancing).pdf

What funding mechanisms she is considering to support primary schools in (a) installing and (b) maintaining library facilities.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Forest of Dean to the answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21170.

With reference to the Police Federation's press release entitled Pensions update from the Police Federation of England and Wales, published on 3 December 2024, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the irregularities in pension eligibility between the (a) legacy pension system and the (b) CARE pension scheme 2015.

There are many differences between the 2015 CARE police pension scheme and the legacy police pension schemes, including the age at which benefits can normally be drawn. The main public service pension schemes – including the police pension schemes – were reformed following the recommendations of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission.The 2015 scheme offers valuable pensions, improves affordability and sustainability, and is fairer to lower and middle earners. It is backed by the taxpayer, index-linked, and offers guaranteed benefits on retirement.There are also valuable protections for the benefits that members have accrued in their legacy schemes, including the point at which they can draw benefits.

What steps she is taking to encourage reading for pleasure by (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Forest of Dean to the answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 19139.

Whether she plans to roll out automatic number plate recognition cameras in (a) Forest of Dean and (b) other rural constituencies.

The National ANPR infrastructure is governed by national standards which are available here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-anpr-standards. Prior to the deployment of ANPR cameras an assessment must identify a need, which could include the impact on local crime, community confidence, serious organised crime, or national security.Police Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies are responsible for ensuring additional static ANPR cameras within their area are appropriate in line with national standards and the Data Protection Act. The Home Office has no plan to alter this arrangement.

What steps he is taking to ensure more (a) reliable and (b) timely delivery of first-class mail in rural areas.

The government is committed to a sustainable universal service for users throughout the UK, including those in remote and rural areas. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) cases where first-class mail sent from (i) the Forest of Dean and (ii) other rural constituencies fails to arrive in a timely manner and (b) other delays in the postal system.

The government is committed to a sustainable universal service for users throughout the UK, including those in remote and rural areas. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of SEND funding allocations on children in kinship care.

The department recognises the importance of children in kinship care getting the support they need to thrive in school. Where children have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the department would expect them to receive appropriate support from their school and, for those with complex SEND, also from the relevant local authority.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion.In addition, since September 2024, the role of virtual school heads (VSH) has been expanded to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school.The department anticipates all children in kinship arrangements, which is estimated to be over 130,000, will benefit from the adaptation of the strategic VSH role.This could include ensuring different kinds of kinship arrangements are visible in training for schools and working with education settings to strengthen how they address barriers to educational progress for kinship children.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on acute hospital bed usage of universal access to Fracture Liaison Services.

The Government and NHS England support the clinical case for services which help to prevent fragility fractures and support the patients who sustain them. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.Impacts will be assessed, including on acute hospital bed usage, taking into consideration the evidence gathered from the 60 services already in operation in England.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on health outcomes of universal access to Fracture Liaison Services.

The Government and NHS England support the clinical case for services which help to prevent fragility fractures and support the patients who sustain them. According to the Fracture Liaison Service Database 2022, at least 60 trusts in England had access to a Fracture Liaison Service. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is committed to rolling out fracture liaison services across every part of the country by 2030.Costs and benefits will be assessed, taking into consideration the evidence gathered from the 60 services already in operation in England.

Whether she plans to (a) renew the and (b) extend eligibility for kinship families to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

We will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate the department’s budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the adoption and special guardianship support fund are being made as part of these discussions.An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for Pupil Premium Plus to (a) children who have not been looked after and (b) other children in kinship care.

The department is providing over £2.9 billion of pupil premium funding in 2024/25 to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England.The criteria for pupil premium eligibility are:Pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals or who have been eligible in the past six years.Pupils who have been adopted from care or have left care.Children who are looked after by the local authority.The portion of funding for looked after children and previously looked after children is often referred to as pupil premium plus and these pupils attract funding at a higher rate.Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils and schools do not have to spend this funding so that it solely benefits pupils who meet the funding criteria. Schools can direct spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils such as, for example, on high-quality teaching.The department will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that support is targeted at those who most need it.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) staffing shortages and (b) infrastructure problems in hospitals in Gloucestershire.

Information on local plans to tackle staff shortages is not collected centrally by the Department. National Health Service organisations are responsible for their own recruitment, and develop their own workforce plans based on service needs.At a national level, we are committed to training the staff the NHS needs and will work closely with partners in education to do this. NHS England continues to lead a range of initiatives to boost the retention of existing staff and ensure the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits.Repairing and rebuilding our hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan. That is why my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that health capital spending is set to increase to £13.6 billion in 2025/26, representing record levels of capital investment into healthcare.This includes over £1 billion to continue to tackle dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and make inroads into the backlog of critical maintenance, repairs, and upgrades across the NHS estate.

What steps he is taking to improve access to (a) treatment and (b) support services for people with arthritis; and what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the condition.

Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making. As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England, Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data and metrics and referral pathways to wider support services. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week during our first year in Government, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. The Government announced £1.5 billion of new capital investment in the Autumn Budget, including investment for new diagnostic scanners and surgical hubs. This investment in scanners will build capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests as they come online. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and in the provision of services for people living with arthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, with both pieces of guidance available, respectively, at the following two links: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100 https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226 The Department funds research into MSK conditions, including arthritis, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Through this route, the Department spent approximately £26.3 million on MSK research in 2023/24, and £79.2 million since 2019/20. In particular, the Leeds Biomedical Research Centre aims to improve treatment for osteoarthritis. The NIHR, in collaboration with Versus Arthritis, also funds a dedicated UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration, aligning investment in MSK translational research and creating a United Kingdom-wide ambition and focus to drive cutting edge research and improve outcomes for patients. In order to improve awareness and understanding of arthritis amongst primary care professionals, including general practitioners, the Royal College of General Practitioners has produced an e-learning module on inflammatory arthritis, in partnership with the British Society of Rheumatology.

What steps he is taking to protect pubs in (a) Forest of Dean constituency and (b) other rural communities.

Pubs and hospitality businesses, including those in rural areas and Forest of Dean, are at the heart of our communities and are vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper which will be published later this year.Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

What steps his Department is taking to fund research into potential treatments for brain tumours to help (a) extend life expectancy and (b) alleviate suffering.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department of Health and care invests over £1.5 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23.In the five years between 2018/19 and 2022/23, the NIHR directly invested £11.3 million in research projects and programmes focused on brain tumours. In addition, our wider investments in NIHR research infrastructure, including facilities, services and the research workforce, are estimated to be £31.5 million, between 2018/19 and 2022/23, and have enabled 227 brain cancer research studies to take place in the same period. In total, NIHR investments have enabled 8,500 people to participate in potentially life-changing research in the National Health Service over this time.In September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients, and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What steps she is taking to ensure that planned reforms to the disability benefit system ensure security and support for seriously ill and disabled people.

This government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today. The system must also work to reduce poverty for disabled people and those with health conditions and support disabled people to live independently. We want to engage with disabled people, and others with expertise and experience on these issues, to consider how to address these challenges and build a better system. We are working to develop proposals for reform and will set them out for consultation and engagement in a Green Paper in spring 2025. This government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals with disabled people and representative organisations.