Written questions by Davies.

With reference to RNIB's report entitled In my way: navigating pedestrian journeys with sight loss, published on 4 September 2025, whether she plans to standardise street environment regulations for (a) design, (b) maintenance and (c) enforcement.

The design and maintenance of local roads is the responsibility of local authorities who are bound by the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. It is for them to ensure streets are designed and maintained in a way that takes account of the needs of everyone. Enforcement of matters relating to local streets is for the local authority or the police, depending on the nature of the offence.The Department does not set design standards for local roads but provides a legislative and good practice framework. The Department has produced a range of good practice guidance to help them in this, particularly “Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure”. This is available atwww.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestriansI regularly meet with accessibility stakeholders, including RNIB, to discuss a range of issues and will continue to do so.

Communities and Local Government, what long-term plans he has to (a) maintain and (b) expand urban green spaces.

The government is firmly committed to both maintain and expanding parks and urban green spaces, they are an essential part of local social infrastructure which supports more connected, stronger communities. Regarding the maintenance of urban green spaces, the MHCLG-owned Green Flag Award sets the national quality standard for parks and green spaces, the scheme aims to meet the needs of the communities they serve and has helped to transform thousands of parks and green spaces across the country. The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that strategic policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places and make sufficient provision for the conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including green infrastructure. We will use our bold Pride in Place strategy which sets out how we will deliver up to £5 billion over ten years to up to 350 neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation bolstering a wide range of community assets, including urban green spaces. The strategy is a significant step change in how we support urban communities and their green spaces.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help restore plantations on ancient woodland sites.

Defra supports private landowners and land managers to restore Plantations on Ancient Woodland (PAWS) with a dedicated supplement in Countryside Stewardship. Defra is also continuing support to Forestry England to restore PAWS on the public forest estate. Forestry England manages around one-third of all PAWS. Today, a quarter of those sites have been restored. Forestry England is now working to double the pace of restoration, supported for the first time this year by direct Defra funding.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on restoring 280,000 hectares of peatland by 2050.

Restoration activity is delivered through agri-environment schemes and the Nature for Climate Fund. This fund has secured the restoration of approximately 28,000 hectares of peatlands. In the last restoration season (24/25), 5,606 hectares were restored.

Food and Rural Affairs, how the UK Forestry Standard is being enforced in (a) public and (b) private woodland creation.

The UK Forestry Standard is the technical standard for sustainable forest management across the UK and defines the government requirements for forestry in the UK. When taking decisions on regulatory or grant applications from private landowners, the Forestry Commission assesses all proposals to ensure that they are in line with the UK Forestry Standard. Similarly, Forestry England woodlands are UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) certified by an independent auditor. The UKWAS is based on the UKFS.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that newly created woodlands are (a) ecologically diverse and (b) climate-resilient.

Both the Woodland Creation Planning Grant and England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) enables landowners to design woodlands that fit with their own and Government objectives for woodland creation. EWCO includes maintenance grants for 15 years to ensure successful establishment. The England Woodland Creation Offer has additional contributions for woodlands designed to enhance nature recovery. The Ecological Site Classification tool ensures that the choice of species will be resilient to future climatic conditions of the site. The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) ensures that a new woodland should have no more than 65% of the site planted with 1 species, to ensure a resilient mix. Elements of EWCO (Nature Recovery Additional Contributions) encourage a diverse use of predominately native tree species beyond UKFS requirements.

What proportion of the country has access to the national lung cancer screening programme.

The National Health Service will build on its recent successes, including roll-out of the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates. Funding for national lung screening is set by NHS England and the timescale for full implementation of the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme will be specified in due course.The NHS is currently rolling out the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme to people with a history of smoking. The public health functions agreement between NHS England and the Department sets out that the Lung Cancer Screening Programme has a target to invite 50% of the eligible population by the end of March 2026.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable powered two wheelers to use bus lanes in each region in England.

The Government remains committed to supporting efforts to improve the safety of road users but has no plans to bring forward legislation to allow motorcycles and other powered two wheelers to access bus lanes by default. Decisions on this matter are for local highway authorities to make on a case-by-case basis.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the capacity in the whole genome sequencing programme for the treatment of less survivable cancers.

Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) as directed by the National Genomic Test Directory (NGTD), which includes tests for over 7,000 rare diseases with an associated genetic cause and over 200 cancer clinical indications, including both whole genome sequencing (WGS) and non-WGS testing. The NGTD sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested and the method that should be used.WGS is available on the NGTD for all paediatric and central nervous system tumours where there is a clear, clinical question and where results have expected utility/impact. WGS for all other adult solid tumours, including less survivable cancers, can be performed where there is a clinical need and where results are likely to change clinical management.

Whether the Financial Inclusion Strategy will introduce auto-enrolment for savings.

The Financial Inclusion Strategy will be published later this year and will seek to tackle a range of barriers which prevent individuals from accessing the financial services and products they need. The Government has convened a Financial Inclusion Committee to inform the development of the strategy. The Committee has met three times, and a summary of those meetings is available on GOV.UK. Savings has been one of the areas of focus for the Committee. As part of this work the FCA have recently published a statement on payroll savings, which gives employers and savings providers the clarity and reassurance that workplace savings schemes can be successfully set up and implemented to comply with current rules and legislation.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the vulnerabilities of powered two wheelers are considered in road (a) design and (b) maintenance practices.

Local authorities are responsible for setting design standards for their roads and for considering the needs of different road users, including vulnerable road users, when making changes to their roads. To support local authorities, my Department has published good practice in various documents including the Manual for Streets, Local Transport Notes and Traffic Advisory Leaflets, and has endorsed the Institute of Highway Engineers’ guidelines on designing for motorcycling. It also recognises vulnerable road users in the 2025 Highway Code. In addition to these publications, just last month, my Department also launched its review of another publication, the Well-Managed Highways Infrastructure Code of Practice, which provides highways management advice and best practice. That review will consider a range of road design and maintenance needs, including for powered two wheelers. We aim to have the entire Code of Practice updated by November 2026 and to release updated sections before then as they become available.

Whether her Department plans to publish a strategy to help tackle motorcycle theft.

This Government is determined to drive down vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, to ensure the strongest response possible to this damaging crime. We do not currently plan to publish a specific strategy on motorcycle theft.The Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group is represented on the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, to ensure police, motorcycle groups and Government can work together to reduce these thefts. The National Vehicle Crime Working Group includes a network of vehicle crime specialists, involving every police force in England and Wales, to ensure forces can share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime.

What guidance her Department has issued to local education authorities to support school pupils with (a) endometriosis and (b) other (i) menstrual and (ii) reproductive health concerns.

Pupils learn the facts about menstrual and reproductive health as part of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). This includes fertility, the potential impact of lifestyle on fertility for men and women, and the menopause. In July 2025 the department updated the RSHE statutory guidance to provide specific examples of period problems, including pre-menstrual syndrome; heavy menstrual bleeding; endometriosis; and polycystic ovary syndrome, to ensure pupils understand when to seek help from healthcare professionals. The new curriculum comes into force from September 2026. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.The Period Product Scheme, which launched in 2020, provides free period products to girls and women in schools and colleges in England from years 5 to 13. The scheme aims to remove periods as a barrier to accessing education and to support menstrual health.

What steps he is taking to improve GP (a) training in and (b) awareness of (i) endometriosis and (ii) women’s health issues in general.

General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for ensuring that their own clinical knowledge, including on endometriosis and women’s health issues in general, remains up-to-date, and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners, and must meet the standards set by the GMC.The GMC has introduced the Medical Licensing Assessment to encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. The content map for this assessment includes several topics relating to women’s health including menstrual problems, endometriosis, menopause and urinary incontinence. This will encourage a better understanding of common women’s health problems among all doctors as they start their careers in the UK. Endometriosis is also included in the core curriculum for trainee GPs, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists.In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated their guideline on endometriosis which makes firmer recommendations for healthcare professionals on referral and investigations for women with suspected diagnosis. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73

What steps he is taking to improve access to (a) mental health and (b) pain management support for people with endometriosis.

Long wait times are a feature of a system in desperate need of change. On mental health, we are already responding by delivering new, innovative models of care in the community, including piloting six neighbourhood adult mental health centres, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis and inpatient care.We are also recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to ensure people can access treatment and support earlier with 6,700 of these having been recruited since July 2024. We are prioritising expansions of Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes, supporting those with mild to moderate mental illness through earlier intervention.Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the research delivery arm of the Department, funds a range of research to support women’s health conditions, including endometriosis. Funding has been awarded to studies seeking to improve outcomes for women with endometriosis by better understanding the condition, enabling earlier diagnosis, and evaluating current and emerging treatment options. This includes research on mental health and pain management support for people with endometriosis.

What steps she is taking to provide support for SMEs for occupational health programmes.

The Government is committed to supporting people with their employment journey. Expert-led impartial advice, and interventions such as occupational health, can help employers provide appropriate and timely work-based support to manage their employees’ health conditions, and also support business productivity. The Joint Work and Health Directorate’s Occupational Health reform programme has focused on increasing access and uptake of occupational health. This has included a £1m fund for innovation that focussed on increasing access to and capacity in Occupation Health. The fund has encouraged the development of new models of Occupational Health tailored to the self-employed and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a better use of technology. Phase 1 was launched in January 2023 and projects finished January 24. Phase 2 launched in December 2023 with a further a £1.5m fund. Projects went live 1 April 2024 and completed in March 2025. The Department for Work and Pensions additionally offers support to SMEs through a number of programmes, such as the Disability Confident Scheme, which provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to employ those with a disability or health condition and a digital information service for (Support with Employee Health and Disability), which provides tailored guidance on supporting employees in common workplace scenarios involving health and disability. Employers, including SMEs, can also refer to WorkWell pilots which went live from October 2024 in 15 areas across England. Available to people both in and out of work, it provides low intensity holistic support for health-related barriers to employment, and a single joined up gateway to existing local work and health service provision. Upon publication of our Get Britain Working White Paper, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent Keep Britain Working Review as a part of the plan to Get Britain Working again. In recognition of the vital role of businesses of all sizes, Sir Charlie Mayfield is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions.

What recent progress his Department has made on the Small Business Command Paper.

We launched ‘Backing Your Business – our plan for small and medium-sized enterprises’ on 31 July. It is a long-term strategy focussing on five areas:Fixing the Fundamentals by tackling late payments and cutting regulatory burdensUnlocking Access to FinanceBacking the Everyday Economy by revitalising our high streetsFuture-Proofing SMEs with support for digital adoptionOpening Up Opportunities through export support, public procurement reform, and a new Business Growth ServiceThis strategy, together with the Industrial Strategy, is just the start of our commitment to work hand-in-hand with SMEs to drive growth.

What steps she is taking to ensure adequate (a) training and (b) guidance for PIP assessors on (i) arthritis and (ii) other chronic, fluctuating health conditions.

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment evaluates how an individual’s condition affects their ability to live independently, rather than focusing solely on the nature or severity of their condition. The assessment considers whether a person can carry out specific activities safely, reliably, repeatedly, and within a reasonable time frame. The process should not assess individuals based on their ‘best days’; instead, it is intended to consider the overall impact of a condition over time, specifically considering functional limitations that occur on more than 50% of days within a given period All health professionals (HPs) are fully qualified in their health discipline and have passed strict recruitment and experience criteria. They are also required to be registered with the appropriate regulatory body. The department authorises HPs to conduct assessments only after suppliers demonstrate that the HP has successfully completed a department approved training and appraisal programme. This process confirms that HPs possess a sound understanding of the clinical aspects and likely functional effects of a broad range of health conditions. As of September 2024, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) took over responsibility for the Core Training and Guidance Material (CTGM) used within the Health Assessment Advisory Service (HAAS). This material is provided by DWP to HAAS assessment suppliers, who are required to incorporate all relevant CTGM content related to specific conditions and assessment policies into their final training products. DWP has provided suppliers with specific CTGM on rheumatoid arthritis, alongside a broader suite of training materials covering a range of long-term, fluctuating health conditions. These contain clinical and functional information relevant to the condition and is quality assured to ensure its accuracy from both a clinical and policy perspective.

What steps she is taking to support people with musculoskeletal conditions to (a) find and (b) remain in work.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030 and a total of £2.2 billion by over four years. Our £2.2bn Pathways to Work investment brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals, including people with musculoskeletal conditions, to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, and WorkWell.We also recognise that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan, ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to take a decision on the UK’s contribution to the Global Fund’s 8th replenishment.

The UK's pledge to the Global Fund's Eighth Replenishment will be determined later in the year following the conclusion of the process to set multi-year Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding allocations.