Written questions by Opher.

Whether his Department plans to engage with (a) parliamentarians and (b) healthcare stakeholders on steps to improve health inequalities.

Our Health Mission in England focuses on addressing the social determinants of health, with the goal of halving the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.We will work across Government and with a wide range of healthcare stakeholders to address the root causes of health inequalities. We will prioritise prevention, shift more care into the community, and intervene earlier in life to raise the healthiest generation of children in our history.As part of the Government’s five long-term missions, and informed by the Darzi Review, the Government has launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future.Existing initiatives to reduce inequalities in relation to health services, in England, include NHS England’s Core20PLUS5, which focuses on improving the five clinical areas at most need of accelerated improvement in the poorest 20% of the population, along with other underserved population groups identified at a local level, including groups that share protected characteristics, and socially excluded groups such as people experiencing homelessness.Future spending will be subject to the outcome of the Spending Review announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

What the (a) structure and (b) scope is of the cross-Government Health Mission Board.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care chairs a cross-Government Health Mission Board to oversee and drive delivery of the Health Mission to build a health and social care system fit for the future. Mission Boards are Cabinet Committees.The current membership of the Health Mission Board includes the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster as the Deputy Chair. Other ministers will be invited to meetings according to the agenda.The Terms of Reference of the Health Mission Board are to oversee and drive delivery of the Health Mission.

What criteria is used to determine funding allocations from Active Travel England to local authorities.

Active Travel England sets out allocations based on population level and capability level, with funding weighted to areas with higher levels of capability to maximise delivery. Local authorities with lower ratings receive support to increase their capability rating through revenue funding and engagement with Active Travel England. In previous rounds of the Active Travel Fund, funding allocations were based on a competitive bidding round with final allocations based on assessed schemes submitted by local authorities.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of 14-16 year old provision in further education colleges.

Further education (FE) and sixth form colleges are able to enrol students aged 14 to 16 on a full time study programme and receive funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). If they wish to do so, colleges need to meet specific criteria, including Ofsted rating, and have to put in place necessary requirements. It is up to localities to judge the need for this provision and colleges are expected to have discussed their intent to directly enrol 14 to 16 year-olds with relevant local authorities before making the necessary arrangements to be able to offer this provision. Currently there are 14 colleges across England which offer full time education for 14 to 16-year-olds. The department’s published guidance on the full time enrolment of 14 to 16 year-olds in FE and sixth form colleges in the 2024/25 academic year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges-2023-to-2024-academic-year.Colleges are also funded where they make part time provision for children aged 14 years or older who are currently electively home educated. They can also receive funding for the education of those aged 14-16 who have achieved qualifications at least equivalent to a full level 2, and who want to enrol on a level 3 course.Funding for 14 to 16 year-olds in FE colleges is based on the same approach as for 16 to 19 year-olds. A modified version of the 16 to 19 funding formula is used to calculate allocations for directly recruited, full time 14 to 16 year-olds to reflect their circumstances. This includes provision of pupil premium funding where these young people qualify. This year, 2024/25, there will be a significant increase of £750 per full time 14 to 16 student that has not yet achieved GCSE English and mathematics. This is as a result of extending to programmes at all levels the English and mathematics funding only previously available for those on level 3 programmes without grade 4 in the subjects.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of differences in levels of funding between 14-16-year-old students who undertake their Key Stage 4 education at a (a) mainstream school and (b) further education college.

Further education (FE) and sixth form colleges are able to enrol students aged 14 to 16 on a full time study programme and receive funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). If they wish to do so, colleges need to meet specific criteria, including Ofsted rating, and have to put in place necessary requirements. It is up to localities to judge the need for this provision and colleges are expected to have discussed their intent to directly enrol 14 to 16 year-olds with relevant local authorities before making the necessary arrangements to be able to offer this provision. Currently there are 14 colleges across England which offer full time education for 14 to 16-year-olds. The department’s published guidance on the full time enrolment of 14 to 16 year-olds in FE and sixth form colleges in the 2024/25 academic year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges/full-time-enrolment-of-14-to-16-year-olds-in-further-education-and-sixth-form-colleges-2023-to-2024-academic-year.Colleges are also funded where they make part time provision for children aged 14 years or older who are currently electively home educated. They can also receive funding for the education of those aged 14-16 who have achieved qualifications at least equivalent to a full level 2, and who want to enrol on a level 3 course.Funding for 14 to 16 year-olds in FE colleges is based on the same approach as for 16 to 19 year-olds. A modified version of the 16 to 19 funding formula is used to calculate allocations for directly recruited, full time 14 to 16 year-olds to reflect their circumstances. This includes provision of pupil premium funding where these young people qualify. This year, 2024/25, there will be a significant increase of £750 per full time 14 to 16 student that has not yet achieved GCSE English and mathematics. This is as a result of extending to programmes at all levels the English and mathematics funding only previously available for those on level 3 programmes without grade 4 in the subjects.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include a specific requirement to provide rural affordable housing in commissioning the next phases of funds for Homes England.

The government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to include a specific requirement to support community-led housing in commissioning the next phases of funds for Homes England.

The government will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to launch a further consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to reduce the cost and complexity for community-led housing providers aiming to build small numbers of affordable homes in rural communities.

The government recognises that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits, including additional housing supply, empowering communities, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy. We are committed to making it easier for community-led developers to develop new affordable homes and to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas.I am committed to working with representatives of the community-led housing sector to consider how the government may support the growth of community led housing over the long term and I recently met with the Chief Executive of the Community Land Trust Network and other stakeholders to that end.Our revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December, strengthened provisions to support community-led housing, providing extra clarity and flexibility on the groups that may bring forward community-led housing and on the size of community-led exception sites.We intend to give further consideration to how policy can better promote rural affordable housing as part of our work to produce a set of national policies for decision making in 2025.

What the age profile is of the NHS midwifery workforce for each Agenda for Change pay band in each region of England in the most recent month for which figures are available.

The table attached shows the age profile of the National Health Service midwifery workforce for each Agenda for Change pay band, in each region of England.

What the age profile is of the NHS midwifery workforce in (a) the most recent month for which figures are available and (b) the same month in each year since 2015.

The tables attached show the age profile of the National Health Service midwifery workforce in the most recent month for which figures are available, and in the same month in each year since 2015.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the consistency in EPC ratings provided by different assessors; and whether she plans to improve that consistency through changes to (a) methodology, (b) training and (c) regulation.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2012 place a duty on accreditation schemes to ensure that Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are produced in a consistent and accurate manner and the energy assessors are suitably qualified and experienced to carry out their duties. Government regularly audits accreditation schemes to assess whether they are fulfilling their duties and takes action to address any issues found.

Whether his Department plans to introduce (a) exemptions and (b) alternative pathways for landlords unable to meet the EPC C rating requirement due to structural limitation.

Government will consult shortly on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will include proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. In this consultation, we will set out proposals on the exemptions regime for properties that cannot meet the proposed increased standard. We encourage landlords and other key stakeholders to feed into this consultation when it is published.

What support is available for landlords of traditional pre-1919 buildings to (a) conduct detailed retrofit assessments and (b) ensure compliance with EPC requirements.

Support is available to landlords to improve their properties. An eligibility tool is available on our ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page that will help landlords find the support available to them. Guidance for how to comply with EPC requirements can be found on gov.uk via the following links: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-performance-certificates and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance.

With reference to page 12 of the document entitled Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025, what steps he plans to take to implement shared decision-making.

The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care. Shared decision making is an important part of good patient experience, ensuring that patients have greater empowerment, autonomy, and control over their care. Shared decision making is not a new concept but is a key component of universal personalised care that we are committed to delivering and expanding. Improving digital tools will be essential, and changes to the NHS App will help to improve communication and shared decision making between patients and clinicians. We have committed to ensuring that at least 85% of acute trusts will be able to provide information about their elective appointments to patients on the NHS App by the end of March 2025. We will also make more types of content about patients’ treatment available on the NHS App, such as discharge letters, by December 2025. We will also support all trusts to adopt digital patient engagement portals (PEPs) which enable patients and their healthcare team to send messages and share documents. We understand, though, that digital options do not work for everyone and we will continue to provide high quality, non-digital options for those who want and need them. Providing customer-care training to patient facing non-clinical staff will form another key part of supporting patients to make informed decisions about their care. The plan outlines that we will be expanding opportunities for self-management and remote monitoring which will empower patients to manage long-term conditions in ways which are more convenient for their lives. The National Health Service will use digital questionnaires through PEPs and the NHS App to make remote monitoring a standard offer to patients with long-term conditions, following agreement with their healthcare team. Shared decision making between patients and clinicians is a cornerstone of supporting more patient initiated follow-ups (PIFU), helping patients to be seen quickly when required, whilst avoiding the inconvenience of appointments they do not need. We have set out the aim of increasing PIFU uptake to at least 5% of all outpatient appointments by March 2029.

With reference to the document entitled Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025, which groups of patients will be offered the prehabilitation services outlined in that plan; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending those services to all patients referred for surgery.

The Elective Care Reform Plan identifies the importance of supporting all patients to take control of their health, for example through smoking cessation and weight loss programmes, as they prepare for their surgery. As well as improving patient outcomes, this can also enable patients to be treated in lower acuity settings, for example in day case settings enabling patients to go home the same day.The plan states that NHS England will work through Cancer Alliances to support improvements in prehabilitation for people about to undergo cancer treatment. The approach to this will be informed by the Macmillan Cancer Support/National Institute of Health and Care Research guidance for healthcare professionals, which is available at the following link:https://www.macmillan.org.uk/healthcare-professionals/news-and-resources/guides/principles-and-guidance-for-prehabilitationAn update on this guidance is expected in spring 2025, alongside existing good practice examples.Current NHS England guidance requires acute trusts in England to adopt earlier screening, risk assessment and health optimisation for adult patients waiting for inpatient surgery, with more information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/earlier-screening-risk-assessment-and-health-optimisation-in-perioperative-pathways-guide-for-providers-and-integrated-care-boardsNHS England will continue to identify and work with areas of England that have programmes in place for different groups of patients waiting for surgery, including prehabilitation programmes to support patients having major surgery and waiting well programmes to support patients having all types of surgery, to learn from and share best practice.

What assessment he has made of the potential (a) barriers and (b) costs for NHS trusts in implementing the perioperative care measures outlined in the document entitled Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025.

The perioperative care measures outlined in the Elective Care Reform plan build on existing NHS England led work to improve perioperative care including guidance on Earlier screening, risk assessment and health optimisation for adult patients due to have inpatient care. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/earlier-screening-risk-assessment-and-health-optimisation-in-perioperative-pathways-guide-for-providers-and-integrated-care-boardsNHS England has worked closely with systems and providers including through onsite visits and system level engagement to understand the key barriers to implementing the perioperative care measures outlined in the Elective Reform Plan.Whilst costings will vary between organisations, measures from this work alongside supporting improved patient experience and outcomes, will support the delivery of sustainable clinical pathways. This will lead to reduced waste in the National Health Service, for example by ensuring productivity in theatres is maximised.

With reference to document entitled the Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025, what estimate he has made of the size of the workforce needed to implement the (a) perioperative care measures and (b) requirements for anaesthetists outlined in that plan.

The Elective Reform Plan sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care. Improving perioperative care can increase productivity by reducing cancellations, reducing length of stay, and minimising postoperative complications.The Government will work closely with NHS England to develop a new long-term workforce plan for the National Health Service.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure sufficient recycling facilities are available to process end-of-life electric vehicle batteries.

The UK has the opportunity to boost its midstream processing and recycling of critical minerals, building on world-leading innovation and technical expertise in our chemicals and metals sectors. We continue to work with industry via the Automotive Transformation Fund to support the creation of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK including battery recycling. We will ensure continuity in HMG support, building on the announcement in the Budget of £2bn for zero emission vehicles manufacturing and their supply chains.

What assessment he has made of the role of energy storage and back-up systems in managing the intermittency of wind and solar power generation.

The Government recognises the vital role of energy storage and back-up systems in delivering clean power. As set out in our Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, we are committed to developing a flexible energy system that ensures security of supply through long term storage technologies which could include pumped hydro storage, CCUS, hydrogen to power, or liquid air energy storage.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to develop recycling technologies for end-of-life wind turbine blades and solar panels.

This Government is committed to transition to a circular economy. We are developing a Circular Economy Strategy for England including a series of road maps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis, supporting Government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower. In our manifesto we also committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviours to ensure we can all take pride in our communities. With regard to solar panels, they are electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). This is regulated to reduce the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) incinerated or sent to landfill sites. The WEEE Regulations 2013 require the producers of electrical equipment, including solar panels, to take financial responsibility for products they place on the market when they become waste.