Written questions by Burgon.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Mental Health Investment Standard (a) on meeting his Department's priorities and (b) in tackling historical disparities between mental and physical healthcare provision.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022. NHS England is also expected to confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the ability of Integrated Care Boards to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022. NHS England is also expected to confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

Whether his Department has had recent meetings with mental health experts on the effectiveness of the Mental Health Investment Standard.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022. NHS England is also expected to confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools are equipped to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities; and what additional (a) support, (b) resources and (c) training she is providing to improve (i) accessibility, (ii) inclusion and (iii) personalised learning in mainstream education.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. ​The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need. This includes strengthening accountability for inclusivity, including through Ofsted, and encouraging schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.High quality teaching is central to ensuring that all pupils, including those with SEND, are given the best possible opportunity to achieve in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers over the course of this parliament. To support all teachers, the department is implementing a range of teacher training reforms to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). The qualification will play a key role in improving outcomes for pupils with SEND, by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high quality, evidence-based training on how best to support children with SEND.The department is also providing almost £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. The department has also announced £740 million of high needs capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.

What steps he is taking to strengthen the Mental Health Investment Standard.

We remain committed to the Mental Health Investment Standard. All integrated care boards (ICBs) met the Standard for 2023/24 meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will set out expectations for mental health funding, including share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022. NHS England is also expected to confirm allocations of financial resources for 2025/26 to ICBs and issue its priorities and operational planning guidance for the NHS for 2025/26 shortly.As part of our discussions on mental health funding, the Department and NHS England have taken into consideration the ability of ICBs to meet Mental Health Investment Standard requirements, the role that it has played in delivering the Government’s priorities for mental health services and the progress made in achieving greater parity between mental and physical health services and reducing mental health inequalities.Ministers and officials hold discussions regularly with mental health partners on a range of issues, including the Mental Health Investment Standard.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people with (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism in inpatient units; and what progress she has made on implementing (i) community-based support and )ii) housing solutions to (A) prevent unnecessary admissions and (B) facilitate timely discharge in line with the Transforming Care Programme and Building the Right Support plan.

Through our proposed reforms to the Mental Health Act, we want to ensure people with a learning disability and autistic people get the support they need in the community, improve care, and prevent admission to hospitals. We will engage with expert stakeholders to inform implementation planning, including in respect of the development of strong community services.Investment has been provided each year to enable local areas to develop community intensive support teams, community forensic teams, and crisis response 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for people with a learning disability and autistic people.For 2024/25, NHS England has allocated £124 million of transformation funding for learning disability and autism services in local integrated care board areas. This funding includes money for local systems to reduce reliance on mental health inpatient settings.In addition, NHS England has a housing capital programme, with £13 million available in 2025/26, to support areas to develop housing to help reduce the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability in a mental health hospital setting.We are also providing an immediate in-year uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant of £86 million in 2024/25. This increase will fund approximately 7,800 additional home adaptations. This is on top of the £625 million paid to local authorities in May 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 14654 on Personal Independence Payment, what estimate her Department has made of the total amount lost to PIP fraud in financial year (a) 2020-21,

Estimates of the levels of fraud and error in the benefit system for the financial years requested can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK Please see the requested information in the attached document.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 19366 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, when she plans that waiting times for mandatory reconsideration processes will be back to December 2023

Mandatory Reconsideration clearances can fluctuate for many reasons, but we expect to recover the current backlog of cases by March 2025. The role of a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) decision maker is to make a robust decision, supported by the law and av...

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 19366 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, what role Mandatory Reconsideration Decision Makers have in reducing clearance times for mandatory reco

Mandatory Reconsideration clearances can fluctuate for many reasons, but we expect to recover the current backlog of cases by March 2025. The role of a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) decision maker is to make a robust decision, supported by the law and av...

What estimate she has made of the number of pensioners that will receive the full increase to the State Pension.

From April 2025, around 12.5 million people receiving either the basic or new State Pension will see it increased by 4.1%, in line with our commitment to the Triple Lock. Some people will receive an increase of 1.7% (in line with price inflation) on other...

Whether her Department plans to take steps to reduce the clearance time for mandatory reconsiderations of Personal Independence Payment decisions.

Whilst we aim to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey, Mandatory Reconsideration is a key element of the Department’s decision-making process. It offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additiona...

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the mandatory reconsideration process.

Whilst we aim to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey, Mandatory Reconsideration is a key element of the Department’s decision-making process. It offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additiona...

If she will ensure that every computer in a jobcentre is equipped with assistive technology.

Computers allocated to DWP staff in jobcentres are equipped with the suite of software that comes with the operating system, augmented by specialist software as determined through the reasonable adjustments process on an individual basis to meet the speci...

If she will take steps to ensure that disabled jobseekers can access the assistive technology they need to look for work.

As part of our reforms to jobcentres outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will explore how we can use assistive digital technology and modern premises design to support greater accessibility and inclusiveness. We will also ensure we offer a...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's reporting timelines on Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law in the Middle East.

On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). On the first day back after the summer recess the Foreign Secretary informed parliament that the Government had ...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has commissioned external legal advice on Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.

We continue to keep Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Gaza under review through a regular assessments process, informed by legal advice. Our judgment on Israel's IHL compliance remains as set out in the Foreign Secretary's s...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department next plans to publish an assessment of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.

We continue to keep Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Gaza under review through regular assessments. On 2 September, the Foreign Secretary announced to Parliament the suspension of certain UK export licences to Israel, for i...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the average time period in weeks is for his Department to undertake an assessment of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.

The FCDO keeps Israel's commitment, capability to comply and record of compliance with International Humanitarian Law in relation to the Gaza conflict under regular review. The assessments, which are supported by a detailed evidence-base and informed by l...

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle poverty for people on low incomes; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory duty to progressively reduce levels of

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 6 December to PQ17569 in relation to poverty and living standards.

What level her Department will raise the living standards of those struggling to meet their basic needs by 2030; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure a statutory commitment to a

We are committed to tackling poverty and raising living standards. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britai...