Written questions by Dhesi.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending free milk eligibility to the end of the academic year in which a child turns five.

The Nursery Milk Scheme is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five years old who attend a setting for two or more hours per day. Schools can claim reimbursement from the scheme in respect of their pupils aged under five years old.There are no plans to extend eligibility for the Nursery Milk Scheme to cover children until the end of the academic year, during which they reach their fifth birthday. Separate legislation allows pupils from lower-income families, and who are eligible for free school meals, to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old.

What progress he has made to renew the Women’s Health Strategy.

Significant progress has been made towards delivering the ambitions in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy, for example, improving women and girls’ awareness and access to services and driving research to benefit women’s health.Renewing the strategy will ensure that we continue this momentum and that it is fully aligned with the 10-Year Health Plan. We will identify and remove enduring barriers to high-quality care, such as decreasing wait times for diagnosis, and ensuring that professionals listen to women and respond to their needs.We are currently engaging with external partners to inform the renewal of the strategy, bringing together voices from across the Government, NHS England, public health, mental health, women’s health advocacy, and employment policy alongside women with lived experience of women’s health conditions. We are also drawing on the evidence provided by almost 100,000 people in response to the original call for evidence for the 2022 strategy.

What steps he is taking to reduce gynaecology waiting lists.

Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029.We are making good progress, as waiting lists have been cut by over 230,000 since the Government came into office, which includes nearly 14,000 fewer patients waiting for gynaecology treatment over the same period.We have also delivered 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025, having exceeded our pledge of two million. However, we know there is more to do, and we have confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment to expand capacity across diagnostics, electives, and urgent care. This includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. As of November 2025, over half of the 123 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services.

Whether his Department has assessed the potential impact of annual funding cycles for the Nursery Milk Scheme on suppliers and delivery partners.

The Nursery Milk Scheme is a statutory scheme which allows registered early years childcare settings to claim one-third of a pint of milk for all children under the age of five years old who attend the setting for at least two hours per day. The statutory nature of the scheme means that it is not impacted by annual funding discussions, and these discussions therefore have no impact on the childcare settings who use the scheme, or on the suppliers who supply them.

What recent steps he has taken to improve training on racial bias.

The Department does not currently provide specific training centrally for racial bias. All staff are required to complete the Civil Service Expectations mandatory learning which covers broader aspects of equality, diversity, and inclusion.Aspects of bias also feature in recruitment training which is carried out prior to sifting and interviewing. All panel members for Civil Service recruitment must complete the Success Profiles: sifting and interviewing course and Civil Service Expectations course.

Whether he is taking steps to provide long-term funding arrangements for the Nursery Milk Scheme and the School Milk Subsidy Scheme to ensure continuity of provision for early years and primary education settings.

The Nursery Milk Scheme is operated by the Department of Health and Social Care and provides reimbursement to early years childcare settings to cover the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to all children under the age of five years old who attend the setting for more than two hours per day. The School Milk Subsidy Scheme is the responsibility of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and partly finances the cost of similar milk provision to children in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. There are no current plans to change these schemes.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the number of children who have been seen by an NHS dentist in Slough is in line with the national average.

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 Slough constituency, this is the Frimley ICB.We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.ICBs are recruiting posts 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 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 shortly.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.

What steps he is taking to increase the proportion of written parliamentary questions which receive answers within the usual time period.

The Department takes seriously its parliamentary obligations. I am grateful to my colleagues for their patience as we respond to a very high number of written parliamentary questions (PQs).The Department of Health and Social Care is the busiest Department in Whitehall in terms of the volume of PQs that we receive, routinely receiving in excess of 1,400 PQs each month. In the most recent period for which the Table Office has provided data on PQ performance, from 24 March to 30 June 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care received nearly double the number of PQs as the next highest volume departments, and received 15% of all PQs tabled across Whitehall.We are taking action to improve PQ performance. This includes enhancing the data available to policy teams on outstanding casework and ensuring that the joint leadership of the Department is championing the importance of PQs.

What recent steps his Department has taken to ensure an adequate number of NHS dentists are recruited in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.Integrated care boards (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 recently held a public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and improve the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. We will publish a response shortly.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.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of ambulance response times in Slough constituency.

We acknowledge that urgent and emergency care performance has not consistently met expectations in recent years, and we are taking serious steps to address this.Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.This commitment is supported by significant investment in upgrading hundreds of ambulances and expanding the capacity of urgent and emergency care services, enhancing both the speed and quality of care for patients in greatest need.The latest National Health Service performance figures, from October 2025, for South Central Ambulance Service which covers Slough, show that Category 2 incidents were responded to in 31 minutes 54 seconds on average, over six minutes faster than in October 2024.

What recent steps his Department has taken to support South Central Ambulance Service to meet target waiting times.

We acknowledge that urgent and emergency care performance has not consistently met expectations in recent years, and we are taking serious steps to address this.Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.This commitment is supported by significant investment in upgrading hundreds of ambulances and expanding the capacity of urgent and emergency care services, enhancing both the speed and quality of care for patients in greatest need.The latest National Health Service performance figures, from October 2025, for South Central Ambulance Service which covers Slough, show that Category 2 incidents were responded to in 31 minutes 54 seconds on average, over six minutes faster than in October 2024.

What the current average waiting time is for an (a) ADHD and (b) autism assessment in (i) Slough constituency and (ii) the South East.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.For the first time, NHS England published management information on ADHD waits at a national level on 29 May 2025, as part of its ADHD data improvement plan, and has also released technical guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve the recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waits data and publishing more localised data in future. NHS England has also captured examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services and is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.In respect of autism, the most recent data, published on 13 November 2025, is available on the NHS England website at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/autism-statistics/october-2024-to-september-2025

What recent steps his Department has taken to ensure an adequate number of places are available for foundation year doctors moving onto speciality training posts.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan published on 3 July, we will work across the Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. The plan also sets out that over the next three years we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need. We will set out next steps in due course.NHS England has also taken steps to tackle competition for speciality training places this year by changing General Medical Council registration requirements and limiting the number of applications that can be submitted by individuals.

What recent discussions he has had with integrated care boards on the steps they are taking to reduce waiting times for (a) ADHD and (b) autism assessments.

The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to autism and ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism and ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. NHS England has continued to support services to identify challenges and how they might overcome these.  NHS England also established an ADHD taskforce to better understand the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing timely and equitable access to services and support. We are pleased that the final report was published on 6 November, and we are carefully considering its recommendations.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of waiting times at urgent care centres in Slough constituency.

No assessment has been made. The Department monitors urgent and emergency care performance nationally through NHS England, and the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 sets commitments and improvement measures. This includes £250 million of capital funding to continue the expansion of co-located urgent treatment centres and same day emergency care to improve patient streaming and reduce overcrowding.NHS England works with local systems to implement these improvements and ensure patients receive timely and appropriate care.

What recent discussions he has had with integrated care boards on reducing waiting times for breast cancer treatment in Slough constituency.

The Government and the local integrated care board (ICB) has taken action to reduce waiting times for breast cancer treatment. This includes expansion of one-stop breast clinics and improved access to breast imaging. Action has also been taken to use enhanced digital triage to prioritise highest-risk cases. Moreover, targeted action has been taken to reduce the proportion of patients diagnosed at stage 3 or stage 4, with early signs of improvement in the timeliness of staging and biopsy results.Additionally, there are plans for extended-hours breast imaging sessions for Slough Community Diagnostic Centre after the scheduled opening in March 2026. Moreover, action has been taken across the local ICB to safeguard capacity for triple assessment and surgery. Participation in the national AI-enabled breast cancer early detection programme will help to support improved accuracy and faster reporting.

What recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the average diagnosis time for Postural Tachycardia Syndrome.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) provides education on postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) through its Syncope Toolkit, which includes an e-learning module, a podcast and a webinar. These resources cover diagnosis and management and include patient perspectives to improve clinical understanding. The toolkit is available to GPs via the RCGP e-learning platform.As part of its Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) resources, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also published detailed guidance on the assessment and management of syncope and blackouts, which includes advice on PoTS. The purpose of CKSs is to provide primary care practitioners with quick, accessible, and evidence-based guidance on best practice for commonly occurring conditions.The guidance is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/PoTS is diagnosed by a combination of GPs and specialist clinicians. GPs can diagnose PoTS in many cases but, if they are unsure of symptoms or if symptoms are complex, they will refer patients to specialists for diagnosis. The RCGP’s Syncope Toolkit provides diagnostic information to GPs, including the use of the active stand test, to rule out other conditions and potentially diagnose PoTS more quickly.Where patients are referred to secondary care for diagnosis, we are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029.By expanding community-based services for routine monitoring and follow up, employing artificial intelligence for productivity and investing in digital tools and data, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, we can ensure that consultants’ time is reserved for complex cases of PoTS, including specialist diagnostic assessments.While the Department recognises the significant challenges of PoTS diagnosis, responsibility for specific clinical pathways and specialist training rests with local NHS bodies.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of training provided to General Practitioners on (a) the treatment and (b) symptoms of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome .

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) provides education on postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) through its Syncope Toolkit, which includes an e-learning module, a podcast and a webinar. These resources cover diagnosis and management and include patient perspectives to improve clinical understanding. The toolkit is available to GPs via the RCGP e-learning platform.As part of its Clinical Knowledge Summary (CKS) resources, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also published detailed guidance on the assessment and management of syncope and blackouts, which includes advice on PoTS. The purpose of CKSs is to provide primary care practitioners with quick, accessible, and evidence-based guidance on best practice for commonly occurring conditions.The guidance is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/PoTS is diagnosed by a combination of GPs and specialist clinicians. GPs can diagnose PoTS in many cases but, if they are unsure of symptoms or if symptoms are complex, they will refer patients to specialists for diagnosis. The RCGP’s Syncope Toolkit provides diagnostic information to GPs, including the use of the active stand test, to rule out other conditions and potentially diagnose PoTS more quickly.Where patients are referred to secondary care for diagnosis, we are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029.By expanding community-based services for routine monitoring and follow up, employing artificial intelligence for productivity and investing in digital tools and data, as outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, we can ensure that consultants’ time is reserved for complex cases of PoTS, including specialist diagnostic assessments.While the Department recognises the significant challenges of PoTS diagnosis, responsibility for specific clinical pathways and specialist training rests with local NHS bodies.

What recent assessment he has made of the availability of lactose free Olanzapine in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

I have made no assessment of the availability of lactose free olanzapine in Slough and Berkshire. Information is not held at that level. However, I am informed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) that records show that lactose free olanzapine should be readily available throughout the United Kingdom. At present there are 11 companies that do not list lactose as an ingredient in their olanzapine. All ingredients are listed on the relevant summary of product characteristics and should be confirmed by the healthcare professional prescribing the medicine and the pharmacist performing the dispensing.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the availability of treatment for those with Friedreich’s Ataxia.

Under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is working to improve access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs across all rare conditions. In February, we published the fourth England action plan reporting on progress.Following extensive consultation, NHS England has revised the national service specification for specialised neurology, which now includes an annex providing greater clarity for neurology sub-specialties. This includes the categories of both movement disorders and neurogenetics into which Friedreich’s Ataxia falls. Every specialised National Health Service neurology centre could and should see patients with Friedreich’s Ataxia.Although Skyclarys (omaveloxolone) is now licensed for those aged 16 years old and over, following an update from the company, Biogen, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has had to terminate its appraisal of this medicine as the company has withdrawn its evidence submission. NICE will review its decision if the company decides to make a new submission. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA1061To avoid the possibility of creating a way to circumvent the appraisal process, NHS England is unable to fund medicines where companies have not engaged with NICE.