Written questions by Anderson.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the visitor economy in South Shropshire constituency.

Tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country particularly in rural constituencies like South Shropshire, home to historical sites such as Ludlow castle and the diverse landscapes of the Shropshire Hills.DCMS works with VisitBritain and VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience with the aim of ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism are felt by all regions and nations.The Telford and Shropshire Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) has an important role to play in supporting the development of local tourism products and packages that meet the needs of visitors and benefit local communities to the area.The Government is committed to supporting the sector through the forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Plan, which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.

What guidance his Department has issued to closed mortuaries on family visiting arrangements.

The Department has not issued specific guidance to closed mortuaries on family visiting arrangements. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) is responsible for licensing mortuaries in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland which undertake post-mortem examinations. The Human Tissue Act 2004 and the HTA's Codes of Practice govern the standards in these mortuaries.HTA licensing standards require establishments to have in place documented policies for the viewing of bodies by family members and others, such as the Police. However, there is no obligation for HTA licensed mortuaries in the post mortem sector to provide viewings for families. Establishments are required to have controlled access to body storage areas, arrangements to protect against unauthorised access, and must ensure oversight of visitors and contractors. Most post-mortem examinations are conducted under the authority of a coroner. The access to and use of bodies under the authority of HM Coroner by the Police are at the coroner’s discretion.

What steps she is taking to ensure the provision of childcare in all rural areas.

In our Plan for Change we have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. We will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028.The government has committed to working with the sector to better support parents in poorer and rural areas. We have announced over £400 million of funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to help ensure more children can access the quality early education where it is needed and get the best start in life. The first phase of the programme is creating up to 6,000 new nursery places, with schools reporting over 5,000 have been made available in September 2025.The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that veterans have access to childcare options.

It is the department’s ambition that all families, including those from Armed Forces and Veteran communities, have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.In April 2026, over 200 new Best Start Family Hubs in areas not previously funded are now open to families, backed by over £900 million of investment. These hubs act as welcoming, one-stop shops rooted in local communities, supporting families from pregnancy through to early childhood with everything from infant feeding support and parenting advice to help with the cost of living and early identification of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Support will also extend beyond dedicated hubs into up to 2,000 community venues, known as Best Start Network Sites, by 2028, ensuring families can access help.The department's guidance for Best Start Family Hubs sets out minimum expectations for supporting Armed Forces and Veteran families. Hub staff are expected to be aware of the unique challenges these families can face, including the cumulative impact of mobility, separation, deployment, life after service and bereavement, and to signpost families to relevant support services including the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Education Advisory Team and the dedicated Armed Forces Families Federations.Best Start Family Hub staff are also expected to be familiar with the joint non-statutory guidance 'Service Pupils in Schools' (April 2025) and the MOD Local Authority Partnership (MODLAP) principles for supporting Service children with SEND through school transitions. The guidance also encourages the establishment of a dedicated military champion in every hub, linked to existing Armed Forces Covenant commitments.Veteran families who are based in England can apply for government funded childcare through the Childcare Service or through their local authorities. Families may also be eligible for support if they receive Universal Credit.Current service families may be eligible for 30 hours (over 38 weeks of the year) funded childcare support, which is available to eligible working parents from the term after their child turns nine months old until they start school. Parents must earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year to be eligible. In a two-parent household, both parents must meet the eligibility criteria.All three- and four-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours free early education per week (over 38 weeks of the year), regardless of family circumstances. This is available the term after the child’s third birthday. Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare are also available to families to help with childcare costs.The department wants to ensure that parents are aware of and are accessing all the government funded childcare support they are eligible for. The department is raising awareness of the government funded childcare support available via the Best Start in Life Parent Hub website to stimulate increased take up by eligible families, because we know this could make a significant financial difference to families. The website can be accessed here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

What assessment her Department has made of the ability of police forces to implement the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee set out commitments for police forces to implement by July 2025. Forces are now delivering on the Guarantee across England and Wales to ensure consistent and high-quality neighbourhood policing. Every neighbourhood now has named, contactable officers.Additionally, the Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made in improving water quality in South Shropshire constituency.

Cleaning up our rivers is a top priority. The Environment Agency’s (EA) Water Industry Regulation Transformation Programme is delivering more inspections and pushing water companies to perform better, and water companies are investing over £11 billion between 2025-2030, to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales. In the West Midlands in 2024/25, water companies undertook over 160 actions aimed at improving sewage treatment works (STWs) and storm overflow discharges to improve water quality, and over 100 actions aimed to prevent deterioration of water quality. In this constituency, 14 improvement schemes were delivered at STWs between 2020–2025, with further improvements at 11 STWs and 57 at storm overflows. During 2024/25 over 800 compliance inspections were conducted at Severn Trent Water sites, aiming to rise to 1700+ in 2025/26. The EA will attend more minor pollution incidents and continue to attend all serious pollution incidents, not hesitating to take appropriate enforcement action.

What steps his Department is taking to help support women affected by increases in State Pension age in South Shropshire constituency.

The Government believes the best way to support women who will be affected by the rise in State Pension Age is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work. DWP currently offers employment support for eligible women of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. A dedicated offer for older customers seeks to provide tailored support for those affected by low confidence, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications. Through initiatives like Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older women to assess their health, finances and skills to support effective later life planning. As part of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government is also committed to supporting women experiencing menopause to stay in work. In South Shropshire, Employer and Partnership Teams in Jobcentres work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers including women. The Government is reforming employment support to ensure it helps everyone who needs it, including women affected by the increase in State Pension age. By bringing together Jobcentre Plus with the National Careers Service in England, there is an opportunity to create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers as well as better join-up between employability and careers provision.

When he expects the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency early access service for innovative technologies to open.

In July of this year the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency published a statement of policy intent for the development and implementation of an Early Access Service for innovative medical devices, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-policy-intent-early-access-to-innovative-medical-devices/statement-of-policy-intent-early-access-to-innovative-medical-devices#next-stepsThe service aims to speed up safe access to innovative medical devices for patients, supporting the Government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan. The statement set out our intention to work with stakeholders across the life science ecosystem to further develop the policy and to build the internal capability required to deliver the service throughout 2025. Further information on our plans will be provided in early 2026.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the evidence used by his Department to inform its policy on burning on peatlands.

Earlier this year Natural England published a thorough evidence review looking at the effects of managed burning on upland peatlands. This remains the most comprehensive review available and can be found via the following link - An evidence review update on the effects of managed burning on upland peatland biodiversity, carbon and water - NEER155.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help people to prepare for the digital switchover in rural areas.

The Government has acted to ensure any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers. Major communication providers and network operators signed voluntary charters in December 2023 and March 2024. To enhance protections for vulnerable customers, the Government secured new commitments from the telecoms industry in November 2024, including further safeguards set out in the non-voluntary migrations checklist.One of the safeguards is to ensure that customers that have been identified as vulnerable, are provided with a battery back-up solution that provides over one hour of access to emergency services in the event of a power outage. This includes those who are landline dependent (e.g. because they live in a mobile not-spot). Many providers are going beyond these safeguards, including batteries that last 4-7 hours.

What steps he is taking to help improve farm safety.

I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 68659

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support small abattoirs.

The Government recognises the vital role small abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain. Defra works closely with industry stakeholders including through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups bring together government and industry representatives on a regular basis and provide a forum for identifying the challenges and opportunities that the sector faces, and for collaborating on practical solutions to support the long-term sustainability of small and medium sized abattoirs.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the planned timetable for gigabit rollout on rural areas.

According to the independent website, Thinkbroadband.com, 89% of premises in the UK already have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection. The government is still committed to ensuring 99% of premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032.The funding, committed over the Spending Review covering the period 2026/27 to 2029/30, will support the delivery of all existing Project Gigabit contracts, voucher projects and areas currently in procurement. It reconfirms the government’s confidence in suppliers' ability to deliver the rollout.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure protections are in place for the provision of (a) sports, (b) physical activity and (b) green spaces in the consideration of planning applications.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that access to high-quality open spaces and opportunities for sport and physical activity is important for the health and well-being of communities. The Framework includes strong protections for existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land, including playing fields, setting out that they should not be built on unless they are no longer needed, equivalent or better provision is made, or the development is for alternative sports or recreational provision which offers benefits that clearly outweigh the loss of the current or former use.

Whether his Department is taking steps to help support Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

The Department does not directly fund air ambulance services on a routine basis. Air ambulances in England operate as independent charities and are supported by the National Health Service through the provision and training of key clinical staff.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve services for young people in South Shropshire constituency.

Local authorities play a key part in delivering youth services, reflected in their statutory duty to provide sufficient leisure-time activities and facilities in line with local needs. In 25/26 we are investing £8m in the Local Youth Transformation (LYT) Pilot to support local authorities to rebuild a high-quality offer for young people and transition back to local youth services leadership. Shropshire County Council is one of the 12 local authorities participating in the pilot, and they have been awarded £695,131. This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. The National Youth Strategy will be published later this year.

What steps he is taking to help improve access to dental care in South Shropshire constituency.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the South Shropshire constituency, this is the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB.We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.ICBs are recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.

What steps he is taking to help improve access to palliative care in rural areas.

We know that there are inequalities in access to palliative care and end of life care in rural areas and the Government is looking at how best to reduce these.Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.The statutory guidance outlines areas for consideration when commissioning services, which makes reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience.NHS England has also developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.

What steps his Department is taking to help support (a) innovation and (b) collaboration in improving public health outcomes in rural areas.

Upper and single tier local authorities have a statutory duty to take steps to improve the health of local people. Under this duty, local authorities commission a range of public health services and are responsible for determining the most effective approaches to the delivery of these services, taking account of different local needs, including the needs of rural areas. This can include testing new approaches to service delivery, implementing technology-based interventions or improving data analytics to better understand population health. In 2025/26, we provided funding of £3.884 billion to local authorities for their public health duty, through the Public Health Grant. This is an average 6.1% cash increase, or 3.4% real terms increase, compared to 2024/25.NHS England is responsible for commissioning further specified public health services, including national immunisation and screening programmes. The 10-Year Health Plan signaled innovative approaches in these public health services, including a transformed NHS app that will be linked with screening programmes allowing individuals to receive reminders and book appointments online for breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening. Working with integrated care boards, commissioning of these services should also take account of local needs, including the different urban and rural characteristics of communities.The 10-Year Health Plan also announced that, from 2026, we will set the expectation that every single or upper tier local authority participates in an external public health peer review exercise, on a five-year cycle, with the results directly informing local plans. These will support local government to improve public health services, including those in rural areas, through sharing innovations and adopting best practices.

If she will make it her policy to restore the academy conversion support grant.

The department has no plans to restore the academy conversion support grant. Voluntary conversion is a choice for schools and trusts to make.