Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of green social proscribing on levels of mental health and wellbeing.

The Government recognises the health and wellbeing benefits of outdoor access and will continue to champion these benefits, which the Green Social Prescribing programme has evidenced. Phase 1 of the Green Social Prescribing programme ran until March 2023 and was very successful, achieving around 8,500 referrals and demonstrating statistically significant improvements in participants mental health. As in the first phase of the programme, there will be an evaluation report developed for Phase 2 of the programme, which ran from April 2024 until March 2025. We expect to publish the phase 2 report in early 2026.

Media and Sport, when the primary school library rollout will begin as part of the government's commitment to ensure every primary school in England has a library by the end of this parliament.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has responsibility for the Dormant Assets Scheme, which is providing funding to support the primary school library commitment, previously announced by the Chancellor. Through the Scheme, £132.5 million has been allocated to increasing disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability over the long term. This includes a commitment to ensuring that every primary school in England has a library space by the end of this Parliament. The Government is working with The National Lottery Community Fund to co-design the programme and develop more of the specifics around its delivery. Further details will be announced in due course, including expected timelines.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of people who be unable to access NHS services after the move from analogue to digital.

The shift from analogue to digital services is not intended to entirely replace traditional access methods. Practices are required to maintain phone and in-person services for those who cannot or prefer not to use digital options.NHS Online will give patients more choice in how and when patients access specialist care. Digital services will always be optional and only offered when it is clinically appropriate and works for the patient. We’re working closely with community and patient groups to ensure inclusion is built into every stage of development. The experience of patients and how they access, understand, and feel about their care is central to the design and delivery of NHS Online.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that households that have no (a) mobile and (b) broadband internet are not excluded from accessing (i) government services and (ii) benefits.

Digital inclusion is a priority for this government and in February 2025, we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan. One of the actions in the plan is ensuring accessible digital public services. As part of this industry partners have committed to provide free mobile data to individuals in need and support community hubs to provide free Wi-Fi. In addition, households in receipt of means-tested benefits can access social tariffs for broadband and mobile services from a wide range of providers.

With reference to the Written Statement of 5 November 2025 on Keep Britain Working Review: Government Response, HCWS1020, whether the Vanguard phase will include involvement with representative trade unions.

Following publication of Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working review report on 5 November, we welcome his findings and recommendations. Employers have a vital role, and we are committed to working alongside employees and employers to 'Keep Britain Working’, reforming the system and shifting our focus from welfare to work, skills, and opportunities. Trade Unions fed into the review throughout and we plan to continue engagement with them and other representative groups through the implementation of the Vanguard Phase. We are pleased that Sir Charlie has agreed to continue this work in partnership with DWP, DBT and DHSC. We are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work. Over 70 businesses and 6 regions, giving access to their employer networks, have already expressed an interest to be involved and support the next stage of the review.

How she plans to support disabled students following the implementation of changes to Disabled Students' Allowance funding.

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) continues to be available to help disabled students with the additional costs that they may face in higher education as a result of their disability. DSA can fund a range of support, including specialist equipment, non-medical help (human support such as specialist one-to-one study skills support or British Sign Language interpreters), and additional disability-related travel and accommodation costs.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing dairy-free alternatives as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme.

Plant-based drinks are currently not covered by the legislation on the Nursery Milk Scheme, which only allows reimbursement to be made for cow’s milk and infant formula based on cow’s milk.The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the Committee on Toxicity published an assessment on plant-based drinks in July 2025. This assessment made a number of recommendations to the Government and industry about plant-based drinks which may be considered suitable for children in terms of fortification and sweetening.The Government does not currently have plans to provide dairy-free alternatives as part of the Nursery Milk Scheme. However, the Department is considering the Committee’s recommendations.

When the Minister for Disability plans to meet (a) the British Assistive Technology Association and (b) other disability sector organisations.

I regularly meet with disability sector organisations, details of meetings are published here: DWP ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) blind and (b) partially sighted voters can exercise their right to secret ballot in (i) local and (ii) general elections.

The Government is committed to ensuring blind and partially sighted voters can vote independently. The Government convenes the Accessibility of Elections Working Group to provide a forum and impetus for development amongst organisations with an interest in supporting disabled people to engage in the democratic process. The Elections Act 2022 requires Returning Officers to provide tailored support and equipment at polling stations, and the Government continues to work closely with stakeholder organisations, such as RNIB, Mencap, and the Electoral Commission to promote innovation, improve guidance, and raise awareness of the support available.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department considered providing low interest loans to councils in the context of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

My Department did explore providing low interest loans to councils but having carefully considered the fiscal implications we reluctantly arrived at the conclusion that the scheme would be for Private Registered Providers only.As part of our commitment to reinvigorating council housebuilding, we have confirmed a number of other measures designed to support delivery of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme by councils. Full details can be found in my 7 November letter to local council leaders which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether he considered including a target for council housing in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

As set out in detail in the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November 2025 (which can be found on gov.uk here), the new programme is designed to be flexible to support the greater diversity of supply needed and does not adopt the previous approach of setting numerical targets for particular types of homes.

What (a) training and (b) support will be given to (i) teachers and (ii) education staff to support the delivery of stronger literacy in schools.

The government has committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new training from January 2026. This training should reach 75% of secondary schools this academic year.Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will also introduce new frameworks on primary oracy and combined secondary oracy, reading and writing.Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people, and adults.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has held discussions with Natural England on their Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security strategy.

Natural England worked closely with Defra and other stakeholders in development of their new strategy entitled 'Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security', which has been shared and discussed with Ministers. The strategic outcomes and approaches described in the strategy align with Defra and Government priorities.

What steps he is taking to help reduce veteran homelessness in Poole constituency.

This is a Government that will always stand up for those who serve our country.This Government is fully committed to ensuring that all veterans, including those living in Poole, have access to the support they need on housing. That is why we have committed an additional £12 million to ensure the continuation of the Reducing Veteran Homelessness programme. Op FORTITUDE will also be extended, putting the service that has already housed over 1,000 veterans on a sustainable footing. These programmes will deliver three years of support services across the UK for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness, fulfilling the Prime Minister's pledge that homes will be there for heroes. Organisations across the UK have been eligible to apply for funding under the Veterans' Capital Housing Fund. This funding is used to refurbish or build new social and affordable accommodation for veterans. Funding from this programme has included two grants to Bournemouth War Memorial Homes totalling £560,000.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of membership of the ECHR.

The UK is already a High Contracting Party of the ECHR and has been since it entered into force in 1953.

What steps his Department is taking to support (a) pubs, (b) restaurants and (c) other food outlets in Poole constituency.

The Government recognises the vital role that pubs, restaurants and other food outlets play in local communities and the economy, including in the Poole constituency.In April, we launched a Taskforce to review premises licensing and develop a more balanced system that safeguards communities while supporting responsible businesses. These reforms form part of the Small Business Strategy, which is designed to tackle late payments, improve access to finance and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.We are also creating a fairer business rates system, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. We continue to work closely with the sector through the Hospitality Sector Council to address challenges.

Food and Rural Affairs, what measures are in place to enable those parts of the country with a surplus of water to redistribute it to those areas in need.

Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure supply of water for customers, efficiently and economically and set out how they plan to continue to supply water to their customers through statutory Water Resources Management Plans (WRMPs). These plans set out how each company will continue to meet this duty and manage water supply and demand sustainably for at least the next 25 years. Transferring water from areas of surplus, or from new water supply infrastructure, may contribute to a more optimal overall solution, delivering best value for society. Water company Water Resources Management Plans published in 2024/25, propose a number of larger inter-company transfers and many internal and external transfers. The Environment Agency has published a summary of the water company plans: A review of England’s revised draft regional and water resources management plans - GOV.UK.

If he will take steps to ensure that NHS bank shifts are paid at the same rate as contracted overtime.

National Health Service bank contracts are local contracts, the terms of which the employer has discretion over. The expectation is that the terms offered via a bank contract are agreed in partnership between employers and trade unions via local negotiating committees.Overtime payments for substantive staff on national contracts in England can only be paid to individuals once they have worked more than 37.5 hours per week, for Agenda for Change staff, or 40 hours per week for medical staff.Where an additional agreement exists between staff and their employing organisation on the payment of any additional hours, including hours worked in excess of 37.5 or 40 hours per week, for example via a bank contract, then this is considered a local matter.

What discussions his Department is having with relevant stakeholders on supporting small and medium sized businesses to provide apprenticeship schemes in Poole constituency.

The government facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across England through nine regional networks. These networks provide buddying and mentoring support to small and medium sized businesses to help them recruit and train apprentices, often for the first time. The South-East AAN network is actively engaging small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the region including in Poole. In addition, through Skills England, the government is simplifying the skills system and strengthening support for SMEs. Skills England provides the single, authoritative view of skills needs, working with employers, training providers and local leaders to ensure training reflects real labour-market demand. Skills England’s regions teams work with Employer Representative Bodies through Local Skills Improvement Plans. In Poole, this is led by the Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry, covering Bournemouth, Christchurch and the wider Dorset area. To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England maintains regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It also has a dedicated SME sponsor on its board and an executive team actively engaging SMEs across the country, ensuring smaller firms have a strong voice in shaping the skills system.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to create a Young Futures Hub for young people in Poole constituency.

As set out by the Prime Minister, on 15th July, the Government will open 50 Young Futures Hubs over the next four years. 8 Early Adopter Local Authorities, in areas of high knife crime and/or antisocial behaviour, will establish the first Young Futures Hubs. The 8 locations will be announced shortly. Locations for wider rollout have not yet been confirmed.