Written questions by Dhesi.

What recent steps he has taken to increase early stage detection rates for prostate cancer.

Currently, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) does not recommend a national prostate cancer screening programme due to the limitations of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen test, which may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of cancers that would not have caused harm during a man’s lifetime. However, the UK NSC is undertaking a comprehensive evidence review to assess six potential approaches to targeted screening for those at higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Recommendations will be published upon the conclusion of this review.In addition, the Government has invested £16 million in the £42 million United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, led by Prostate Cancer UK, which aims to identify new ways of detecting prostate cancer at an earlier stage, including in men without symptoms. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current PSA test lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.NHS England is taking steps to increase public understanding of prostate cancer and its risk factors. This includes working in partnership with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people in their communities with tailored messaging and support.

What recent steps he has taken to increase awareness of the risk factors associated with prostate cancer.

Currently, the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) does not recommend a national prostate cancer screening programme due to the limitations of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen test, which may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of cancers that would not have caused harm during a man’s lifetime. However, the UK NSC is undertaking a comprehensive evidence review to assess six potential approaches to targeted screening for those at higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Recommendations will be published upon the conclusion of this review.In addition, the Government has invested £16 million in the £42 million United Kingdom-wide TRANSFORM trial, led by Prostate Cancer UK, which aims to identify new ways of detecting prostate cancer at an earlier stage, including in men without symptoms. The trial will ensure that at least 10% of participants are black men, reflecting their higher risk and the importance of ensuring new tests are effective across all groups.The UK NSC does not currently recommend a national screening programme for prostate cancer, as the current PSA test lacks the necessary accuracy. It can lead to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, as well as false reassurance for some men. This is particularly important given that many prostate cancers are slow-growing and may not cause harm during a man's lifetime.NHS England is taking steps to increase public understanding of prostate cancer and its risk factors. This includes working in partnership with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people in their communities with tailored messaging and support.

What her planned timeline is for reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) is being established in primary legislation through the Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced in Parliament within the first 100 days of government on 10 October 2024. The Bill is currently at committee stage in the House of Lords. Due to the uncertainties of Parliamentary business and scheduling, we cannot confirm at this stage when the Bill will receive Royal Assent. After Royal Assent, secondary legislation will be required to constitute the body.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the post-diagnosis support available to people with dementia.

The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.The Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have recently published the Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool has now been launched, and is available at the following link:https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/nccmh/service-design-and-development/dementia-100-pathway-assessment-toolTo improve care for patients with dementia, we have refreshed the RightCare Dementia Scenario. The scenario works through the dementia well pathway journey from diagnosing well through to dying well, detailing optimal and sub optimal approaches, with associated costings for each. They have developed a dementia model pathway based on data for each component of the dementia well pathway, to provide a high-level view of what dementia care activity looks like for local areas and to aid targeted support where appropriate.

What recent steps he has taken to make NHS services more accessible for deaf patients.

It is for individual National Health Service organisations, including NHS trusts and integrated care boards, to comply with the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations have a legal duty to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are as accessible to disabled people, including deaf people, as they are for everybody else. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients.Health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated. Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, published September 2023, the flag went live in the National Care Record Service, and is being rolled out across England.Since 2016, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including deaf people. NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should not be a gap in provision for people using services.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that NHS patients who are deaf are able to adequately communicate with NHS staff about their care.

It is for individual National Health Service organisations, including NHS trusts and integrated care boards, to comply with the Equality Act 2010. Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations have a legal duty to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are as accessible to disabled people, including deaf people, as they are for everybody else. This includes responsibility for ensuring that there is adequate provision of British Sign Language interpreters to support deaf patients.Health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag was developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments, across the NHS and social care, wherever the person is seen or treated. Following the launch of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag Information Standard, published September 2023, the flag went live in the National Care Record Service, and is being rolled out across England.Since 2016, all NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including deaf people. NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision. A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should not be a gap in provision for people using services.

What recent steps her Department has taken to ensure (a) compliance with and (b) raise awareness of legal lighting requirements for cyclists at night.

Those who cycle have a duty to behave in a safe and responsible manner and to follow the rules set out in The Highway Code. The enforcement of cycling offences is an operational matter for the police. We promote cycle safety advice for cyclists and motorists via the THINK! website, social channels, education resources and radio filler advertising. We continually review our campaign priorities using data and research to make sure we are addressing the most important road safety issues to help make our roads safer. The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.

What steps she is taking to encourage active travel in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.

Slough Unitary Authority has been allocated over £415,000 for active travel in 2024/25 and 2025/26. Over £3.2 million has been allocated to local transport authorities in Berkshire for the same period. Decisions on how to use this funding to improve local cycling and walking routes would be a matter for the respective authorities. The Government is committed to improving the safety of all road users, especially the most vulnerable such as pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. This is a key priority for the Department which was reflected in the updated Highway Code in January 2022 with the implementation of a Hierarchy of Road Users. We are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory (a) Accessible Information Standard and (b) deaf awareness training for NHS staff.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver safe and effective treatment for patients, and to deploy them in the best way to ensure the delivery of health services to their populations.Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.NHS England has been undertaking a review of the AIS to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss are met in health and care provision.A revised AIS will be published in due course. In the meantime, the current AIS remains in force, and therefore there should not be a gap in provision for people using services. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication, and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of the disabled people using these services.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS compliance with the Accessible Information Standard.

Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the recommended approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.The AIS conformance criteria, published in 2016, set out how NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers should comply with the AIS, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/patient-equalities-programme/equality-frameworks-and-information-standards/accessibleinfo/resources/assess-conformance/The responsibility for monitoring compliance with the AIS sits with the commissioner of the service.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to ensure (a) the safety of humanitarian workers and (b) the delivery of humanitarian aid in Sudan.

The UK is playing a leading role in response to the crisis in Sudan, including efforts to facilitate more consistent humanitarian delivery into and across the country. During last month's London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million towards the crisis which will provide life-saving aid to more than 650,000 people. Sudan remains an extremely perilous context for humanitarian personnel. Nearly 100 humanitarian aid workers have been killed since the conflict started in April 2023. To protect civilians including aid workers, the UK continues to advocate that parties to the conflict uphold international humanitarian and human rights obligations as applicable, whilst calling for the implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCR), including UNSCR 2736 (2024) on El Fasher, Darfur. On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary also issued a statement following renewed attacks in El Fasher, calling for security guarantees in order to deliver aid rapidly and safely.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to help enable humanitarian aid to reach people in Tawila, fleeing Zamzam camp in Sudan.

The UK strongly condemns the continued violence in and around El Fasher and Zamzam camp which has resulted in the deaths of nearly 500 people and has displaced over 403,000 people from the camp. In response to the deteriorating humanitarian context in El Fasher, the UK will provide £2 million in funding through the Mercy Corps-led cash consortium which will help to deliver urgent cash-based assistance to vulnerable communities. Sustained engagement and advocacy are also vital to ensure food and humanitarian supplies are not blocked from reaching regions such as Tawila. On 24 April, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement following the attacks calling for the warring parties to ensure humanitarian actors are provided with the security guarantees needed to deliver aid rapidly and safely. This followed the UN Security Council statement, released on 16 April, condemning the escalation of violence and calling for the parties to urgently implement UN Security Council Resolution 2736.

What recent discussions she has had with car manufacturers on the prevention of headlight dazzling from SUV style cars.

Officials from the Department for Transport are actively engaged in the recently established United Nations glare prevention taskforce which includes representatives from headlamp and vehicle manufacturers, including those which produce SUV style cars. The first meeting of the taskforce was in April. In parallel, Government has commissioned independent research into headlamp glare. Careful consideration will be given to that work when it reports later this year to determine what future actions may be appropriate to ensure the safety of all road users.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on taking steps to improve the transportation of donor stem cells.

No such discussions have taken place. The UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry has robust contingency measures in place to address travel disruptions and costs incurred by voluntary and contracted couriers who transport donor stem cells to patient transplant centres.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of headlight dazzling on road user safety.

All types of road vehicle headlamps, are designed, tested and approved to internationally recognised standards to help prevent undue glare on a broad range of roads and environments. Police recorded collision statistics in Great Britain do not show any discernible trend over time that would suggest an underlying road safety issue linked to advances in lighting technology. However, Government recognises increased public concern around headlamp glare and has commissioned independent research. This is measuring light levels experienced by drivers during real driving on UK roads and considers factors like vehicle characteristics, weather conditions and ambient lighting. It also includes a programme of stakeholder engagement to build a comprehensive understanding of the issues. Careful consideration will be given to that work when it reports later this year to determine what future actions may be appropriate to ensure the safety of all road users.

Whether he has had recent discussions with cancer charities on taking steps to improve the transportation of stem cells.

There have been no recent discussions with cancer charities that suggest the need to improve the transportation of donor stem cells in the United Kingdom or internationally. The UK Aligned Stem Cell Registry has robust contingency measures in place to address travel disruptions and costs incurred by voluntary and contracted couriers who transport donor stem cells to patient transplant centres.

Innovation and Technology, what his expected timeline is for full-fibre availability in the SL2 postcode in Slough constituency.

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband, over 99% of premises in Slough have access to superfast broadband speeds, and over 96% have access to a gigabit-capable (1000 Mbps) connection.We currently expect the remaining premises in Slough to be reached by suppliers' commercial rollout, but if there are any premises that cannot be covered commercially, they will be considered for inclusion in Project Gigabit or other interventions.

What recent steps he has taken to eradicate modern slavery from the NHS.

As part of the recommendations from the review into the risk of modern slavery in National Health Service supply chains from December 2023, it was recommended that regulations be laid with a view to eradicating modern slavery, supporting the amendment of Section 12zc in the NHS Act 2006. Further information on the review into the risk of modern slavery in NHS supply chains is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-risk-of-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking-in-the-nhs-supply-chainThe Department and NHS England have collaboratively developed detailed guidance to support the embedding of the regulations and policies throughout procurement exercises. This ensures alignment to procurements conducted under all legal regimes, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. A public consultation for the content and approach of those regulations was launched in Autumn 2024. A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) was laid in both Houses of Parliament on 21 November 2024 to launch the consultation, which is available at the following link: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-11-21/hcws245. As stated in the WMS, the draft regulations and guidance were published alongside the consultation. The consultation closed in February 2025 and the Department will publish a consultation report shortly on the GOV.UK website. The Department intends to lay the regulations in due course, following the publication of the report. The published guidance refers to a risk assessment tool that NHS England has developed based on the six characteristics to help assess modern slavery risks, as set out in the Public Procurement Policy Note on identifying and managing modern slavery risks. These are: industry type; nature of the workforce; supplier location; context in which the supplier operates; commodity type; and business/supply chain model. Further information on the published guidance and the Public Procurement Policy Note on identifying and managing modern slavery risks is available, respectively, at the following two links:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tackling-modern-slavery-in-nhs-procurement-proposed-regulations-and-guidancehttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ppn-009-tackling-modern-slavery-in-government-supply-chains

What recent steps she has taken to support victims of modern slavery.

The Government has developed a Modern Slavery Action Plan which reinforces our commitment to working across Government and with civil society, businesses, and international partners to prevent exploitation, protect victims, and pursue those responsible for these heinous crimes.In England and Wales, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) provides victims safe accommodation, financial support and a support worker to help them access other support such as NHS medical care. We will soon be tendering for the new Support for Victims of Modern Slavery (SVMS) contract to replace the MSVCC when it ends. The SVMS contract has been informed by engagement with survivors and key organisations across the modern slavery sector.In addition to the statutory support local authorities provide to children in need in their areas, the Government's Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service is available in two-thirds of local authorities in England and Wales. The ICTG service provides an additional source of advice and support for potential child victims of modern slavery and exploitation and advocates on a child's behalf to ensure their best interests are reflected in the decision-making of the public authorities involved in their care.An ICTG's advocacy and involvement throughout the decision-making process is intended to ensure the child is protected from further harm, to promote their recovery and prevent them from possible repeat victimisation, re-trafficking or going missing.The Government intends to go out to tender for the contract for the roll out of a national ICTG service that will cover the whole of England and Wales in Summer 2025.

If she will take steps to increase the number of train stations which have step free access in the South East.

This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and we are continuing to deliver the Access for All (AfA) programme. Since 2019, 22 AfA projects have completed in Network Rail's Southern region with a further 7 in construction or design and a further 15 currently undergoing feasibility studies.