Written questions by Hodgson.

What discussions she has had with the (a) British Transport Police and (b) National Police Chiefs Council on levels of violence against women and girls on trains.

The department and ministers are in regular contact with the British Transport Police (BTP), who are a member of the National Police Chiefs Council, regarding their commitment to tackling VAWG offences on the rail network. The Force are a key partner in supporting the Government’s mission to take back our streets which includes a commitment to halve VAWG offences in the next decade.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding the Holiday Activities and Food programme to all (a) families in receipt of Universal Credit and (b) children and young people living in areas of high multiple deprivation.

The holiday activities and food programme (HAF) supports disadvantaged children and their families during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefiting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme guidance sets out that: “While the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of free school meals (FSM), local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision”.

Whether she plans to expand free school meal eligibility as part of the work of the child poverty strategy.

The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start in life. To support this, a new Ministerial taskforce has been set up to develop a Child Poverty Strategy. The taskforce will consider a range of policies, assessing what will have the greatest impact in driving down rates of child poverty. As with all policies, the government keeps the approach to free school meals under review.

Media and Sport, whether she has plans to meet with representatives of faith communities to discuss the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on freedom of religious practice in England and Wales.

On the 22nd of January, I was pleased to announce that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme would continue from March 2025 to March 2026 with a budget of £23m. Further details can be found in this Written Statement.Both myself and my officials have met with a range of stakeholders since July 2024 and discussed as part of those meetings the future and impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The Department also received and responded to a large number of correspondence on the scheme including from representatives from faith communities sharing their views.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the frequency of sunburn in children and young people under 18.

The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on sun protection. This advice is available publicly on the NHS.UK website, which is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-sun-safety/It includes guidance on the extra care that should be taken for babies and children.

How much his Department has spent on skin cancer awareness campaigns in each of the last three financial years .

The Department continues to advise patients to follow National Health Service guidance on reducing the risk of skin cancer. This advice is available publicly on the National Health Service website, at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/melanoma-skin-cancer/ The Department is not taking any additional steps, currently or within the last three years, to specifically fund skin cancer awareness campaigns.NHS England run Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address the 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.

Whether the NHS 10-year-plan will include measures to address excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

We have committed to develop a 10-year plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. The engagement process has been launched, and as we work to develop and finalise the plan, I would encourage those concerned about excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation to engage with that process so we can identify what the potential solutions are. Further information is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce mandatory food waste reporting urgently.

In our manifesto, the Government committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. The Secretary of State has convened a Small Ministerial Group on Circular Economy and a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts across government, industry, academia, and civil society has been established to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. Preventing food waste will be a key part of this work and we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy to evaluate what interventions may be needed as we develop the strategy.

What information his Department holds on the number of people who developed secondary breast cancer after completing the 10-year recommended hormone therapy in the latest period for which data is available.

The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England. The NDRS does not hold data on the number of people who developed secondary breast cancer after completing the 10-year recommended hormone therapy. Further information on the NDRS is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs

What information his Department holds on whether there are ongoing trials to assess whether continuing hormone therapy indefinitely after a primary breast cancer diagnosis would prevent this cohort of patients from going on to develop secondary breast cancer.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.5 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24. Cancer is a major area of NIHR spend, reflecting its high priority. The NIHR has commissioned three current studies relevant to this issue, specifically:Improving outcomeS for Women diagnosed with early breast cancer through adhErence to adjuvant Endocrine Therapy (SWEET);Medication brand changes in hormone therapy for breast cancer. A community pharmacy intervention development to improve patients’ adherence and quality of life. ENABLE; andPOSNOC - POsitive Sentinel NOde: adjuvant therapy alone versus adjuvant therapy plus Clearance or axillary radiotherapy: A randomised controlled trial of axillary treatment in women with early stage breast cancer who have metastases in one or two sentinel nodes. The NIHR's Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) are networks of experts that work collaboratively between the National Health Service and internationally renowned universities. They facilitate early-stage experimental medicine research and support the translation of scientific discoveries. The BRCs are currently supporting a further two relevant studies:Supporting Women With Adherence To Hormone Therapy Following Breast Cancer; andUnirad: Randomized, Double-blind, Multicentre Phase Iii Trial Evaluating The Safety And Benefit Of Adding Everolimus To Adjuvant Hormone Therapy In Women With Poor Prognosis, Er+ And Her2- Primary Breast Cancer Who Remain Free Of Disease After At Least 1 Year Of Adjuvant Hormone Therapy. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cancer. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What recent estimate he has made of the number of cases of late diagnoses of bowel cancer in emergency NHS settings; and what steps he is taking to reduce this number.

No recent estimate has been made. Data is only available up to 2020 from the National Disease Registration Service. The data for the year 2020 highlights that 24.4% of bowel cancer patients were diagnosed through emergency presentation.It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including bowel cancer, as early and as quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, to improve outcomes. The Department is committing to this by improving waiting times for cancer diagnosis and treatment, starting by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, to support faster diagnosis and access to treatment.The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme currently invites people aged 56 to 74 years old for screening every two years. However, this age cohort is increasing to those aged 50 to 74 years old by 2025, which may reduce the number of late diagnoses.Furthermore, NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptom and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. This campaign urged people to take up the offer of bowel screening when invited.

When he expects the retrospective audit of all pelvic floor surgery completed between 2006 and 2011 to be published by NHS England.

The Department accepted the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s recommendation to undertake a selective retrospective audit of a defined cohort of women who have undergone mesh procedures. NHS Digital, now NHS England, has audited all pelvic floor surgeries completed between 2006 and 2011 to generate a historical baseline of outcomes by procedure type, and to support further research and analysis. This audit was conducted using initial procedures, and re-operations and follow up procedures recorded within Hospital Episode Statistics data. The results are currently undergoing peer review and will be published by NHS England at the earliest opportunity.

What steps he is taking to resolve the data challenges encountered in the NHS audit from 2006-2011 of the retrospective audit of pelvic mesh.

The Department accepted the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review’s recommendation to undertake a selective retrospective audit of a defined cohort of women who have undergone mesh procedures. NHS Digital, now NHS England, has audited all pelvic floor surgeries completed between 2006 and 2011 to generate a historical baseline of outcomes by procedure type, and to support further research and analysis. This audit was conducted using initial procedures, and re-operations and follow up procedures recorded within Hospital Episode Statistics data.The results are currently undergoing peer review and will be published by NHS England at the earliest opportunity. NHS England expects to be able to notify users of a date for the publication via their publications calendar. Subject to peer review, the publication is expected to include information around data quality.

What steps he is taking to raise awareness of the average waiting time of 13 years for a diagnosis of coeliac disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment, and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.No formal assessment has been made of the impact of diagnostic delays on the long-term health of patients with undiagnosed coeliac disease, but the Government does recognise that patients, including those with coeliac disease. have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need.The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals, and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.The National Health Service website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated.https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/

What assessment he has made of the impact of diagnostic delays on the long-term health of patients with undiagnosed coeliac disease; and what steps he is taking to reduce those delays.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment, and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.No formal assessment has been made of the impact of diagnostic delays on the long-term health of patients with undiagnosed coeliac disease, but the Government does recognise that patients, including those with coeliac disease. have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need.The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals, and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.The National Health Service website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated.https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/

What steps he is taking to improve access to initial diagnostic blood tests for coeliac disease in primary care settings.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has guidance on the recognition, assessment, and management of coeliac disease, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng20The guidance outlines a number of symptoms which are suggestive of coeliac disease and suggests that any person with these symptoms should be offered serological testing for coeliac disease. The guidance also states that first-degree relatives of people with coeliac disease should also be offered serological testing.No formal assessment has been made of the impact of diagnostic delays on the long-term health of patients with undiagnosed coeliac disease, but the Government does recognise that patients, including those with coeliac disease. have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need.The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for coeliac disease. As a first step to achieving this, following the Budget, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.The Royal College of General Practitioners has an e-learning module on the diagnosis and management of coeliac disease and its immunological comorbidities, which is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the symptoms of coeliac disease amongst general practitioners and primary care professionals, and support early diagnosis. The e-learning module highlights that untreated coeliac disease can have important consequences, including small bowel lymphoma and osteoporosis.The National Health Service website is also a key awareness tool and contains useful information for the public about coeliac disease, its symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated.https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coeliac-disease/

With reference to paragraph 69 of the House of Lords Preterm Birth Committee report entitled Preterm Birth: reducing risks and improving lives, HL 30, published on 14 November 2024, if his Department will revise the national maternity safety ambition to reduce the (a) incidence and (b) impact of pre-term births.

We welcome the House of Lords’ Preterm Birth Committee’s report focused on reducing risks and improving lives. We thank all the individuals and organisations that gave evidence to the Inquiry, and the committee members for their detailed examination of the issues and evidence in drawing their conclusions. We will respond to the report and the recommendations in the new year.The National Maternity Safety Ambition will end in 2025. We are currently looking carefully at what comes beyond this ambition, to ensure that an evidence-based approach is taken, and that all targets are woman- and baby-centred.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the food and drink wholesale sector on the classification of wholesale premises as online retail warehouses in the Transforming Business Rates Policy Paper; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this classification on the sector.

HM Treasury releases a quarterly record of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations. This can be found online: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel. The Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, published by the Government at the Autumn Budget, set out that we are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high-street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but include the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. The statutory definition for qualifying RHL properties will be set out in regulations ahead of implementation in the 2026-27 financial year.

Whether she plans to include provisions on the protection of wholesale workers in the Crime and Policing Bill.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 29% on year up to June 2024, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We won’t stand for this.Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job and this government is committed to taking retail crime seriously.As part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission, we will introduce a new specific offence for assaults on shopworkers to protect them from violence and abuse.The scope of this new offence will be confirmed when legislation is brought forward.

If he will take steps to ensure that Start for Life services in Sunderland are funded beyond 1 April 2025.

The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme is central to the Government’s commitments to give every baby the best start in life, and to deliver the healthiest generation ever.The Prime Minister’s Plan for Change outlined that we will give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. There will be investment to continue to build up the Family Hub and Start for Life programme. The Autumn Budget announcement has already confirmed £69 million to continue delivery of a network of Family Hubs in 2025/26.We are aware that local authorities such as Sunderland are undertaking financial planning for 2025/26, and have communicated with those for whom programme funding information is critical for operational business purposes.