Written questions by Davies.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making vision rehabilitation specialists a regulated profession.

We do not currently have plans to regulate vision rehabilitation specialists.

What steps he has taken to improve awareness of the hereditary risk of pancreatic cancer.

NHS England is taking steps to deliver a range of interventions to improve awareness of the hereditary risk of pancreatic cancer. This includes providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer. Through local Cancer Alliances, NHS England is working to spread knowledge across NHS providers about hereditary pancreatic cancer risks.NHS England is working with Pancreatic Cancer UK to develop a public-facing Family History Checker, which enables people, and their families affected by pancreatic cancer, to self-assess if they have inherited risk. People identified at risk are referred directly to European Registry of Hereditary Pancreatic Diseases research trail, which aims to understand inherited conditions of the pancreas. Referrals to the trail can be made by any healthcare professional across all health sectors, or by individuals via self-referral.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) Gavi and (b) the Global Fund on the adequacy of their funding.

On 12 September, I [Minister for Development] met with the CEO of Gavi to discuss Gavi's recent Investment Case launch and replenishment timings. FCDO hosted the annual strategic dialogue with the Global Fund on 17 September, which focused on the UK's priorities ahead of the eighth replenishment.The UK is working with the international community to coordinate efforts and ensure sustainable resources for all upcoming global health replenishments; including for Gavi, the World Health Organization, and the Global Fund. Effective coordination across the Global Health Initiatives will be needed to deliver for the global health challenges ahead.

What steps his Department is taking to improve prostate cancer (a) screening and (b) awareness in Colne Valley constituency.

Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees. This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm men, as some of them would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects.NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms, address barriers to acting on them to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms as well as encouraging ‘body awareness’ to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to work with (a) community organisations and (b) mental health services to support the creation of networks for men experiencing loneliness.

Chronic loneliness (feeling lonely often or always) can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or background, although some groups, such as young people aged 16-25, are known to be at a higher risk. The government’s current work to tackle loneliness supports organisations working with a diverse range of groups at risk of chronic loneliness to take action. This includes delivering the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, a grant fund designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England.We also support a range of organisations through the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online platform for professionals working to reduce loneliness, and provide advice on loneliness through the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign’s advice pages.The government is committed to continuing to tackle loneliness and to support people to connect with others. We will continue to engage with a wide range of organisations, including community organisations and health providers, as part of this work.

What his planned timetable is for implementing the proposed changes to (a) vision rehabilitation services and (b) professional recognition.

We do not currently have plans to regulate Vision Rehabilitation Specialists. The Care Act guidance advises that local authorities should consider securing specialist qualified rehabilitation and assessment provision, whether in-house, or contracted through a third party, to ensure that the needs of people with sight loss are correctly identified and their independence maximised.

What steps he plans to take to improve the integration of services between secondary and social care settings to ensure a seamless route into vision rehabilitation.

The Department understands the importance of having effective rehabilitation services available when people need them to help them recover and return to their day-to-day activities and regain their quality of life.People who have sight loss to the degree they are certified as blind or partially sighted will receive a certificate of visual impairment (CVI). With the patient’s permission the CVI form is shared with a person’s local authority to help facilitate access to social care support. In accordance with the Care and support statutory guidance, local authorities should offer to carry out a needs assessment with a view to providing a care and support plan aimed at meeting any identified needs. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidanceStatutory integrated care systems are partnerships of organisations which come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services. An integrated approach to person-centred care can enable a seamless route for patients coming out of hospital into social care. This helps to make sure people get the right support from health and social care services to return home as soon as possible, including patients requiring vision rehabilitation.

If he will take steps to ensure that vision rehabilitation services are subject to the same (a) regulation and (b) monitoring as other adult social care services.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England have a legal duty to support people with sight loss to develop practical skills and strategies to maintain independence.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is now assessing how local authorities are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. These assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, facilitating the sharing of good practice and helping us to target support where it is most needed. This will also facilitate the development of national standards as part of our steps towards creating a National Care Service.Therefore, although CQC is not currently required to assess vision rehabilitation services as regulated activities under Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, do form part of CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice or an area for improvement.Our new Client Level Data collection requires local authorities to collect person-level information covering most of their activity under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. Information on visual impairments is voluntary at this stage, but this will be kept under review.

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to increase collaboration between local councils and fire services to help tackle moorland fires.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government works closely with Local Resilience Forums, which include local councils and fire and rescue services to support local collaboration and preparation for a wide range of the resilience risks including fires.

How many and what proportion of people that applied for Pension Credit in each of the last five years were in receipt of Universal Credit at the time of their application in Colne Valley constituency.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a specific Action Plan for (a) cancers of the (i) brain, (ii) liver, (iii) lung, (iv) stomach, (v) oesophagus and (vi) pancreas and (b) other less survivable cancers.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the National Health Service, and the need to improve cancer waiting time performance and cancer survival. The report will inform the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS, including further detail on how we will improve outcomes for cancer, including less survivable cancers.The Government’s Health Mission aims to reduce lives lost to the biggest killers, including cancer, and we recognise the importance of tackling less survivable cancers as part of that Mission.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the sharing of best practice at the (a) Peak District and (b) South Pennines fire operation groups on moorland fires.

Fire Operation Groups (FOGs) and similar networks across the country play a vital role in mitigating, preventing and responding to the risks and realities of wildfire. The government applauds the work they do. Defra supports the promotion of shared learning and professional development through its membership of established forums and networks.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) raise awareness of and (b) tackle stigma associated with (i) loneliness and (ii) mental health challenges among men.

Raising awareness of loneliness across society and reducing the associated stigma for all groups at risk of loneliness, including men, is a core part of the Government’s current approach to tackling loneliness. This includes providing loneliness advice as part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign.The Department for Culture, Media and Support is also supporting organisations which can play a role in reducing loneliness stigma amongst men through the tackling loneliness hub, an online platform that connects professionals from across sectors working to reduce loneliness.Men with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health so that men can be confident of accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will modernise the Mental Health Act and we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays, provide faster treatment and help ease pressure on busy mental health services.We have committed to tackling suicide as one of the biggest killers of men and, as part of this, the new mental health workers will be specially trained to support people at risk of suicide.We will also continue to work with the wide range of voluntary community and social enterprise organisations such as Men’s Sheds, ANDYSMANCLUB and the Campaign Against Living Miserably which play such an important role in supporting men at risk of mental ill health and suicide.

If he will take steps to (a) collect and (b) analyse data on cancer in the over 70s as part of the National Cancer audit.

The NHS England Cancer Programme commissions clinical cancer audits, which provide timely evidence for cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, increase the consistency of access to treatments, and help stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. Rather than a single audit, NHS England commissions ten audits, by tumour type, and are unaware of any intention to commission an audit into those over 70 years old.For all patients in England, the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service provides near-real time, comprehensive, quality-assured data covering the entire cancer pathway. The service collects data about all 500,000 patients diagnosed with cancer in England each year, and produces a variety of reports and publications using cancer registration data.

Whether she plans to deliver a sustainable childcare model that enables more women to access (a) education and (b) work opportunities.

It is this government’s ambition for all families to have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, thereby improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent.Through the student loans company, the department offers a specific Childcare Grant (CCG) to support students with the costs of childcare whilst they are in study. The CCG offers support of up to 85% of childcare costs where both parents are students, the student is a lone parent, or the student-parent’s partner is on a low income. Students are also eligible for universal 15 hours childcare, which is available to all two, three and four year olds, regardless of family circumstances and/or income.The government has committed to continue to roll out the expanded childcare entitlements for eligible working parents of children aged from nine months. The department is also growing the provision of wraparound before and after school provision of childcare for primary school children.In addition to the entitlements, parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare. Parents can check what childcare support they are entitled to via the Childcare Choices website.The government is committed to delivering a modern childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, providing every child with a firm foundation which sets them up for life, ensuring parents are able to work the jobs and hours they choose and effectively breaking down the barriers to opportunity for every family.

What plans he has to deliver a national health inequalities strategy.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups. We are dedicated to ensuring that people live well for longer, spending less time in ill health, regardless of where they are born or their financial circumstances.Our health mission in England will focus on addressing the social determinants of health, with the goal of halving the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.We will work across the Government to address the root causes of health inequalities, including barriers to access to health and care services. We will prioritise prevention, shift more care into the community, and intervene earlier in life to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history.

Whether he is taking steps to reinstate the National Cancer Equality Initiative to examine inequalities in cancer care.

There are currently no plans to reinstate the National Cancer Equality Initiative. Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to reducing inequalities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.We recognise there are particular challenges for a number of different populations, particularly for people living in the most deprived areas of the country. As part of our wider strategy on early diagnosis, we are directly targeting our activity at areas we know will make a difference. This includes awareness raising campaigns such as the NHS Help Us, Help You campaign, to increase awareness of cancer symptoms and encourage people to get checked.