Written questions by Maskell.

What steps she is taking to end cross-border hiring practices by licensed taxis.

The Government keeps all policies under review and is aware of stakeholder concerns about the current legislative and regulatory framework for taxis and private hire vehicles. To increase consistency in standards, the Department for Transport issues guidance to all licensing authorities in England. The Government is considering how to improve the current regulatory position even further, whilst still enabling the sector to deliver safe and accessible services that meet a wide range of passenger needs.

What progress he has on the negotiations for a new NHS dentistry contract.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.We are continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients.

If she will take steps to introduce (a) enhanced and (b) consistent standards for taxi licensing across all local authorities.

The Government keeps all policies under review and is aware of stakeholder concerns about the current legislative and regulatory framework for taxis and private hire vehicles. To increase consistency in standards, the Department for Transport issues guidance to all licensing authorities in England. The Government is considering how to improve the current regulatory position even further, whilst still enabling the sector to deliver safe and accessible services that meet a wide range of passenger needs.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of capacity in (a) the ambulance service and (b) emergency departments on trends in the level of excess deaths in (i) York and (ii) the UK.

The method used by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Office for National Statistics, does not allow an assessment to be made of the potential influence of capacity in the ambulance service and emergency departments on estimates of excess deaths.

If he will take steps to introduce a ban on fast food outlets near schools.

As part of a consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, undertaken from 30 July to 24 September 2024, the Government sought views on how national planning policy could better support local authorities in promoting heathy communities and in tackling childhood obesity. Consultation responses are being considered and the Government will set out its plans in due course.

What steps she is taking to help encourage more people to become adopters of children in the care system.

The government is committed to working with Regional Adoption Agencies, groups of local authorities joining up to deliver adoption services, to ensure that children waiting to be adopted are placed with a loving family as quickly as possible. In 2024/25, the government supported Regional Adoption Agencies with £9 million to develop a wide range of high quality and innovative services. A key focus of their work includes action to reduce how long children wait to be adopted, with a particular focus on those children who statistically wait the longest: black and minority ethnic children; children with disabilities; sibling groups; and children aged over 4 years old. This work includes supporting regional and national adopter recruitment campaigns to attract prospective adopters from a wider range of communities and walks of life, alongside a series of innovative matching projects looking at how to improve decision making; increasing the ethnic diversity of adoption panels to better reflect the communities they serve; and regional and national activity days to increase matching by bringing approved adopters and children together in a safe environment.

What steps he is taking to help prevent alcohol use among children and young people.

Our mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever. Statutory guidance on relationships, sex, and health education requires all primary and secondary schools to ensure that pupils know the key facts and risks associated with alcohol use, as well as how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe.The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol, and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year. Further information is available at the following link:https://pshe-association.org.uk/drugeducationThe Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing awareness to young people, parents and concerned others. Information on alcohol and its harms is available on the Tank to FRANK website at, at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/alcohol

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding available for the provision of harm reduction programmes by alcohol and drug services.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning services to prevent, mitigate and treat alcohol and drug related health harm, based upon local need. The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local alcohol and drug treatment services to ensure those in need can access high quality help and support. Funding for treatment services is provided through the public health grant.In addition, local authorities have a further £267 million from the Department this year to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, alongside £105 million made jointly available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. This additional investment is improving the quality and capacity of alcohol and drug treatment services in England. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced updates to the fiscal framework and launched the next Spending Review, which will settle 2025-26 budgets in October 2024 and conclude the multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025.

If he will take steps to pilot the community delivery of secondary care services.

Some services traditionally delivered in secondary care, such as particular diagnostic tests, are already being delivered in the community. Services delivered in the community which can support reductions in acute care demand or hospital occupancy, for example virtual wards or urgent community response services, are monitored locally and nationally. There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of a range of community services in supporting better outcomes for patients, as well as reducing healthcare costs, and this will help inform the ambitious 10-Year Health Plan to reform the health service.The 10 Year Health Plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to build a National Health Service fit for the future: moving healthcare from hospital to the community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. This includes plans to move towards Neighbourhood Health Services, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier and shift care closer to peoples’ homes. It will be a key part of the response to the Darzi review.A core part of the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, including its approach to secondary care services, will be an extensive engagement exercise with the public, staff, and stakeholders, including the third sector. Further details on how to get involved will be set out in the coming weeks

Media and Sport, what progress she has made in establishing a network of youth hubs; and what steps she is taking to support existing youth provision to work with youth hubs.

This Government is committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential and we recognise the importance of early intervention to ensure young people can live safe and healthy lives.Fundamental to this is the delivery of the Young Futures Programme which will work to identify young people most at risk of being drawn into crime and other poor outcomes and create a network of Young Futures Hubs in communities across the country. We will work closely across government, with external partners and young people, to design and develop the proposals for Young Futures Hubs, in a cohesive and integrated way, ensuring they meet young people’s needs and build on existing provision and expertise. We will share more information in due course.More broadly, this government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving young people’s life chances and wellbeing. As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people in their area. This is funded through the Local Government Settlement which amounts to over £60 billion this year.

If she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol.

Under our Health Mission, this government is committed to prioritising public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives.We are continuing to work closely across government to better understand what can be done to address the drivers of alcohol-related harms.

What steps she is taking to identify good practice in interagency working between local authorities, the police and the voluntary sector in tackling anti-social behaviour.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. We will put thousands of neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities. and crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.The Government recognises that effective multi-agency working is crucial to reducing anti-social behaviour and ensuring safer communities. We will continue to work with police, local authorities and the voluntary sector to identify and share best practice.

What steps she is taking to help tackle longer waiting times for adoption experienced by (a) disabled children, (b) Black, Asian and ethnic minority children, (c) older children and (d) children with other protected characteristics.

The government is committed to working with Regional Adoption Agencies, groups of local authorities joining up to deliver adoption services, to ensure that children waiting to be adopted are placed with a loving family as quickly as possible. In 2024/25, the government supported Regional Adoption Agencies with £9 million to develop a wide range of high quality and innovative services. A key focus of their work includes action to reduce how long children wait to be adopted, with a particular focus on those children who statistically wait the longest: black and minority ethnic children; children with disabilities; sibling groups; and children aged over 4 years old. This work includes supporting regional and national adopter recruitment campaigns to attract prospective adopters from a wider range of communities and walks of life, alongside a series of innovative matching projects looking at how to improve decision making; increasing the ethnic diversity of adoption panels to better reflect the communities they serve; and regional and national activity days to increase matching by bringing approved adopters and children together in a safe environment.

What steps he is taking to monitor the effectiveness of services being delivered in the community instead of in secondary care;, and how he plans to take account of such monitoring in his response to the Darzi Review.

Some services traditionally delivered in secondary care, such as particular diagnostic tests, are already being delivered in the community. Services delivered in the community which can support reductions in acute care demand or hospital occupancy, for example virtual wards or urgent community response services, are monitored locally and nationally. There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of a range of community services in supporting better outcomes for patients, as well as reducing healthcare costs, and this will help inform the ambitious 10-Year Health Plan to reform the health service.The 10 Year Health Plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to build a National Health Service fit for the future: moving healthcare from hospital to the community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. This includes plans to move towards Neighbourhood Health Services, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier and shift care closer to peoples’ homes. It will be a key part of the response to the Darzi review.A core part of the development of the 10-Year Health Plan, including its approach to secondary care services, will be an extensive engagement exercise with the public, staff, and stakeholders, including the third sector. Further details on how to get involved will be set out in the coming weeks

What steps she is taking to help increase the number of people available to foster children in the care system.

This government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This includes delivering ten regional fostering recruitment and retention hubs, covering 64% of local authorities in England. The hubs will transform the way people who are interested in fostering are supported and rollout the Mockingbird programme, which offers peer-support to foster carers and the children in their care. The department is also funding ‘Fosterlink’, a new support service for local authority fostering services not in the regional programme. This identifies areas for improvement and creates a national network to share best practice.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that annual increases in fees paid by leaseholders to management are capped in line with inflation.

The level of service charge that leaseholders pay depends on many factors, including the terms of a lease, and the age and condition of a building. As a result, the cost of repairs, maintenance of common areas, and management fees vary considerably. Placing a cap on service charge increases would not only be complex but could prove detrimental to the interests of leaseholders, including those who have collectively enfranchised, by preventing sufficient funds being raised to manage and maintain their buildings effectively. As such, the Government have no plans to implement one.By law variable service charges must be reasonable and, where costs relate to works or services, the works or services must be of a reasonable standard. Should leaseholders wish to contest the reasonableness of their service charges they may make an application to the appropriate tribunal.The Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including those designed to increase service charge transparency and to rebalance the legal costs regime and remove barriers for leaseholders to challenge their landlord.

How much funding he plans to provide for community mental health hubs in the next three financial years.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.Investment in NHS community services for children and adults is subject to the outcome of future spending reviews.

If he will implement a strategy to reduce levels of (a) diabetes and (b) complications as a result of diabetes.

The Department has no current plans to publish a written strategy on the prevalence of, and complications arising from, diabetes. However, we are taking important steps to prevent type 2 diabetes and to improve care for people living with diabetes. The NHS Health Check identifies people at risk of diabetes and refers them into behaviour change interventions such as weight management and the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (DPP), to reduce their risk of developing the condition. For those living with type 2 diabetes, there is the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme and the highly effective Pathways to Remission programme.The recovery and delivery of routine diabetes care following the pandemic is a key priority for the NHS England Diabetes Programme, and rates of routine care delivery are now almost back to the pre-pandemic level.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of local Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments.

We are committed to expanding the role of community pharmacies. We want to develop and better utilise the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to improve access to care in local communities and address inequalities.That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. In preparation, NHS England is piloting the use of prescribing by community pharmacists in a range of pathways that will enable them to play an increasing role in delivering clinical services in primary care.Local authorities’ health and wellbeing boards (HWBs) have a statutory duty to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments (PNAs) every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served, and to keep these assessments up to date until the next assessment is produced. The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 outline minimum statutory requirements for PNAs, and an information pack was published in October 2021 to support HWBs in meeting their duty.Whilst PNAs inform integrated care board commissioning and decisions on applications by new contractors wishing to provide NHS pharmaceutical services in the local area, contractors can also apply to open a new pharmacy if they can demonstrate that they will meet a need that was not foreseen by the PNA.

If he will place more mental health services in primary care.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we will make sure mental health care is delivered in the community wherever possible, so that more people are prevented from needing to go into hospital, through new models of care and support available for those who are struggling.