Written questions by Carling.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of challenges of accessing mental health provision in rural communities.

Waiting lists for those wanting to access mental health provisions are too high across England, in areas with fewer mental health services and including those in rural communities. People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve or need, which is why we will fix the system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health and that people can be confident of accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also introduce access to a specialist mental health professional in every school. In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to commission care to meet the needs of their local population.

What role rural digital connectivity will have in the industrial strategy.

As set out in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, access to fast, secure, and reliable digital connectivity is essential to enabling economic growth and to reap the transformational productivity benefits of digitalisation and the adoption of AI. Improvements in infrastructure, including digital infrastructure, will be foundational to success across our growth-driving sectors and to addressing place-specific constraints to growth across the country.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent changes to Meta guidelines on hateful conduct which allow Facebook users to refer to LGBT+ people as mentally ill.

The government is aware of the changes Meta has made to its guidelines. This change does not affect the strong protections the Online Safety Act will bring in for UK users online. The Act will oblige all social media companies to remove illegal content and content harmful to children and will give adult users more control over the type of content they see, including that which is hateful or abusive.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the minimum age of mammograms for breast cancer checks.

We currently do not screen those younger than 50 years old for breast cancer due to the lower risk of women under this age developing breast cancer, and the fact that women below 50 years old tend to have denser breast tissue, which reduces the ability of getting an accurate mammogram. It may also increase the risk of overtreatment and distress for women who do not have breast cancer, but who would be subject to invasive and painful medical treatments and diagnostic tests.United Kingdom guidelines recommend that women with a moderate or high risk of breast cancer, because of their family history, should start having screening mammograms every year in their forties. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the management of people with a family history of breast cancer was introduced in 2004, and has changed over time. The current version of this guidance is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg164There is a large trial, Age Extension, which is exploring whether an additional screen before 50 years old would meet the UK National Screening Committee’s criteria. Results are expected in 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle irresponsible pet ownership.

Defra is working hand in hand with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership, make sure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and that the full force of the law is applied.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to prevent imports of animals with harmful mutilations.

The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Dr Danny Chambers MP. The Bill will give the Government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to Great Britain’s pet market. We will use these powers to prohibit the bringing into Great Britain of dogs and cats with non-exempted mutilations such as cropping ears, docking tails and declawing. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the breeding of (a) cats and (b) dogs with exaggerated characteristics.

Under The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, licensed dog breeders and pet sellers, who breed and sell puppies and kittens, must meet and maintain strict license conditions designed to protect their animals from pain, suffering, injury and illness. Licensed dog breeders are prohibited from breeding dogs if it can be reasonably expected that on the basis of their genotype, phenotype or health, this would lead to welfare problems for the mother or the puppies. Defra provides a national communications campaign (Petfished) to help consumers to make well-informed choices. The campaign’s step-by-step guide on buying a dog includes a reminder to ensure that the dog’s physical features have minimal adverse impacts on their physical well-being and welfare.

Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made on improving access to pet friendly properties in the (a) social and (b) private rented sectors.

The government wants to ensure more tenants can experience the benefits of pet ownership – including the benefits to mental and physical health. Many social landlords set out their pet policies in their tenancy agreements and will allow tenants to keep pets where it is appropriate to do so. Consideration is given to whether the pets can be well looked after and any adverse effects on the lives of neighbours and those living nearby. We encourage all social landlords to adopt similar policies. The circumstances in which pets may be kept is, however, for social landlords to determine locally, taking account of the views of their tenants.The Renters’ Rights Bill will give private tenants the right to request a pet and ensure that landlords cannot unreasonably withhold consent. Landlords will be required to respond to any requests by a tenant to keep a pet within 28 days, instead of the 42 that had been proposed by the previous Government. Tenants will also be able to challenge unfair decisions by either going to the courts or the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2024 to Question 10824 on Instagram: Politics and Government, if he will ask Ofcom to investigate Instagram's limiting of political content.

The Online Safety Act has safeguards for freedom of expression and will give platforms that cross a certain threshold (known as ‘Category 1’ services under the framework) specific duties to safeguard news journalism and content of democratic importance. Ofcom will be able to review providers’ compliance with these duties when they come into effect. As an independent regulator, any investigations and enforcement decisions are a matter for Ofcom.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent steps taken by Instagram to limit political content on levels of democratic engagement; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's polices.

The Government recognises the influence major online platforms can have on public discourse. This is why the Online Safety Act gives platforms over a designated threshold (known as ‘Category 1 services’) new duties to protect journalism and other content of democratic importance on their services. These duties are designed to safeguard pluralism in online debate and ensure that platforms in scope treat democratic content consistently and transparently.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure egg-based products imported into the UK are from hens kept to welfare standards equivalent to those required in the UK.

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to promote the highest food production standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of importing food produced to lower animal welfare standards than those required domestically on the UK farming sector.

The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. The Government recognises farmers’ concerns about imports produced using methods not permitted in the UK. We have been clear that we will use our Trade Strategy to promote the highest food production standards.