Written questions by Dhesi.

What recent steps he has taken to help reduce rates of obesity in Slough.

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, we are taking decisive action on the obesity crisis to shift the focus from treatment to prevention and ease the strain on our National Health Service, including in Slough.We have fulfilled our commitment to restrict junk food advertising targeted at children on television and online. We have also implemented restrictions on volume price promotions for less healthy food and drink, such as three for the price of two offers, and consulted on our proposals to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children aged under 16 years old.We will go further by introducing mandatory reporting on the healthiness of sales for all large food businesses and setting new healthier food targets. We will also strengthen the existing advertising and promotions restrictions by applying an updated definition of ‘less healthy food and drink’. We published the updated Nutrient Profiling Model in January, ahead of consulting on its policy application.To support people already living with obesity, we will double the number of patients able to access the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme. From June 2025, the NHS began making weight loss drugs available through primary care. Approximately 220,000 adults will be considered in the first three years with access prioritised by clinical need. We are committed to expanding NHS access and will work closely with industry and local systems to identify innovative ways to do this.Officials in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ South East team work closely with local partners including local authorities and the NHS to support them with local initiatives to promote a healthy lifestyle and to tackle obesity.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the nutritional guidance for school dinners.

The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. We are revising the School Food Standards and engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. As part of our work, we expect to revise our guidance.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps she has taken to help reduce dog bites.

The Government has reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce is considering four themes: educating the public on how to stay safe around dogs, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement, and improving data on dog attacks. We look forward to receiving its findings and recommendations in due course.

What recent steps has he taken to increase bowel screening uptake in Slough constituency.

Improving cancer services is a priority for the Government. We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster so that more patients survive, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system. Slough is seeing an improvement in bowel screening uptake, although this remains below the national average.Commissioners and providers continue to work together to address this variation and to ensure that all eligible residents are supported to participate in screening at the earliest opportunity.The Berkshire Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and local partners have undertaken several initiatives to increase awareness and participation in Slough including:a presentation on bowel cancer screening delivered to the Cippenham Carers group;engagement with the 50+ Group at Kingsway United Reformed Church, promoting the importance of early detection; anda bowel cancer screening awareness poster circulated to general practices in Slough through the Frimley Health communications team.In addition, Slough Borough Council is actively supporting improvement in cancer screening uptake through communication and training measures.All partners remain committed to collaborative working to reduce inequalities, strengthen pathways, and support increased uptake among underserved populations.

Whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that private parking companies provide adequate notice to individuals served with a fine regarding the period in which they must (a) pay or (b) appeal.

The Secretary of State has not had discussions with her cabinet colleagues on this matter. Private parking companies are the policy responsibility of the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of interim support available to children waiting for access to CAMHS support.

The Department has made no assessment of the adequacy of access to child and adolescent mental health services for children in the Slough constituency. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including for children and young people’s mental health services in the Slough constituency.As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating. An additional 900,000 children and young people had access by this spring, which means that 60% of all pupils will have access to this early support at school, up from 44% in spring 2024.More widely, we are, rolling out Young Futures Hubs. The Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health.

What information his Department holds on the number of people that have been waiting over six months to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services support in Slough constituency.

There are currently six young people living within the Slough Local Authority area who have been waiting for a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) intervention for over 26 weeks. There are no young people within Slough waiting for longer than 104 weeks to be seen by CAMHS.

What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the environmental impact of high-carbon advertising.

The government is committed to reducing emissions from high carbon products and will continue to bring forward proposals to do so. For example, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is assessing the potential for voluntary ecolabels. Ecolabels provide information on the carbon intensity and environmental impact of products and services, to help inform consumers’ purchasing decisions. The Committees of Advertising Practice and Advertising Standards Authority regulate the content and targeting of advertising in the UK, and the advertising codes include rules on environmental claims. The ASA system operates independently of the government. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including on how we deliver our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

What recent steps he has taken to help improve Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services referral times in Slough.

The Department has made no assessment of the adequacy of access to child and adolescent mental health services for children in the Slough constituency. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including for children and young people’s mental health services in the Slough constituency.As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating. An additional 900,000 children and young people had access by this spring, which means that 60% of all pupils will have access to this early support at school, up from 44% in spring 2024.More widely, we are, rolling out Young Futures Hubs. The Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health.

Whether his Department has assessed the adequacy of children's access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the Slough constituency.

The Department has made no assessment of the adequacy of access to child and adolescent mental health services for children in the Slough constituency. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including for children and young people’s mental health services in the Slough constituency.As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating. An additional 900,000 children and young people had access by this spring, which means that 60% of all pupils will have access to this early support at school, up from 44% in spring 2024.More widely, we are, rolling out Young Futures Hubs. The Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health.

What recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the provision of services to prevent knife crime among young people.

This Government have set an ambitious but essential target to halve knife crime over this decade and we are making progress: since the start of this Parliament, knife crime has fallen by 8% and knife homicides are down by 27%.To achieve this ambition we are engaging with partners across the system both to address knife crime and address the root causes of knife crime. This includes local authorities who play a vital role.This role is formalised within the Serious Violence Duty which places a statutory requirement on a range of public sector bodies, including local authorities, to work collaboratively, analyse the local problem, and put in place a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence. Community Safety Partnerships, led by the local authority and whose partners match those subject to the Serious Violence Duty must also comply with these requirements.The Home Office had discussions and worked with relevant local authorities to deliver the extended knife surrender arrangements which the Government ran in July 2025 and covered various locations in London, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. The extended surrender arrangements involved the use of a mobile surrender van and 37 bespoke weapons surrender bins and a total of a 3,570 knives and weapons were surrendered through these arrangements.The Home Office maintain regular discussions with local authorities through Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) and Young Futures Panels partnership arrangements to support the effective delivery of services to prevent knife crime among young people.

What recent assessment he has been made of the adequacy of national guidance for schools regarding (a) incidents and (b) reports of knife possession on school grounds.

It is essential that schools are equipped to act decisively to safeguard all pupils and staff. The department regularly keeps guidance under review and we are actively considering how we can further support schools to understand the expectations set out in policy guidance around both violence prevention, and response to violence.Schools must have regard to statutory guidance, including ‘Keeping children safe in education’, ‘Working together to safeguard children’, and guidance on ‘Searching, screening and confiscation’.The department has taken steps to strengthen practice in schools by working with the Youth Endowment Fund to highlight evidence based approaches to preventing violence. This includes a national webinar series, aimed at school leaders and safeguarding leads, which shares best practice, evidence based approaches and practical guidance on preventing serious violence and supporting vulnerable pupils. This work supports the government’s ambition to halve knife crime over the next decade, starting with effective early prevention‑based approaches to preventing violence.

What recent steps she has taken alongside local authorities to reduce traffic congestion in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

Managing traffic on local roads is the responsibility of the local traffic authority. The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a Network Management Duty on them, which requires them to manage their roads to deliver ‘expeditious movement’ for all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion. They have a wide range of tools already available to them to manage congestion and traffic flows.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with colleagues in the Department for Education regarding steps taken to increase awareness of the dangers of swimming in (a) cold water, (b) open water among school-age children.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Swimming and water safety is a vital life skill. Swimming and water safety are compulsory elements of the PE National Curriculum at Key Stages 1 and 2. In addition, the changes made to the Government’s statutory RSHE guidance will ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water. This will help ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water. The Government is also providing a grant of up to £300,000 to deliver Inclusion 2028 – a programme which upskills teachers to deliver high quality, inclusive PE, including swimming and water safety, to pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

With reference to paragraph 84 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, when the Lead Government Department Expectations will be published.

We plan to publish the Lead Government Department Expectations in Spring 2026.

Whether the post of Chief of Defence People remains part of his plans for Defence Reform.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Veterans and People on 26 November 2025 to Question 92316 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk. The full answer can be found below: Significant reforms are being implemented within the Ministry of Defence (MOD), fundamentally transforming its operations. This is the biggest transformation of the MOD in over 50 years. Defence is now led by a strengthened Department of State, a fully-fledged Military Strategic Headquarters, a new National Armaments Director Group, and the Defence Nuclear Enterprise. Under Defence Reform, the post of Chief of Defence People has been disestablished. The Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff and Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Force Development) will play a key role in supporting our Military people, working with the Director General, People, to improve accountability, efficiency, and clarity in our people policy and strategy.

Whether she has held discussions with Transport for London on the potential impact of delays in issuing private hire licences on private hire drivers.

The Department for Transport is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which local licensing authorities in England license the taxi and private hire vehicle trades but ultimately the licensing process is left at the discretion of local authorities.

What recent discussions she has had with app-based private hire companies regarding Transport for London issuing licences for private hire drivers.

The Secretary of State has not recently discussed the issuing of private hire vehicle driver licences by Transport for London with private hire vehicle operators.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the bird shooting industry on (a) native bird populations and (b) the natural environment.

Defra has considered the potential impact of the bird shooting industry in a range of ways. In 2020, Defra considered the ecological impact of gamebird release and commissioned an assessment, as well as identifying evidence gaps for further work. In 2021, Defra launched a three-year Gamebird Research Programme to fill those gaps. Project reports, to be published at https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ will be reviewed and inform future policy. Since 2021 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has become a threat to our vulnerable bird populations. In 2022, at the request of Defra the Animal and Plant Health Agency assessed the risk of released gamebirds spreading HPAI to wild birds. In 2023 Defra and Natural England reviewed Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This lists wild bird species which can be shot during their open season. Natural England recommended greater protection for some of the species to ensure that such shooting is sustainable and does not undermine the conservation status of the species. Defra will consult on proposals shortly. There is evidence linking gamebird shooting to illegal raptor persecution. Defra funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to assist law enforcers investigating this national wildlife crime priority.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has she made of the adequacy of penalties for those who have committed crimes related to wildlife.

Wildlife crime is unacceptable and significant sanctions are already available for judges to hand down to those convicted of such crimes. Anyone who commits an offence under existing legislation such as the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 could face up to a six-month custodial sentence and/or an unlimited fine. Sentencing of those convicted of wildlife crimes remains a matter for judges, and these decisions are rightly taken independently of the Government. In addition, while the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 protects animals that are commonly domesticated, it can extend to wildlife as it prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to wild animals under human control, for example when they are held in a hand or caught live in a trap. Under this Act the maximum sentence for animal cruelty is five years, which is equal to the highest penalty in the world for such crimes. In the Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy published in December 2025, a commitment was made to review and look to strengthen penalties for cruelty against wildlife more generally so that a disparity is addressed and they are consistent with the higher levels of sentencing available for animal welfare offences against pets, livestock and wild animals when under human control.