Written questions by Gordon.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 78154 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what assessment her Department has been made of the potential economic impact of funding additional therapies beyond the fair access limit on local authorities; and if her Department holds data on how many families require therapy beyond the fair access limit.

The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) and is engaging with stakeholders. Decisions to fund additional therapy beyond the fair access limit rest with individual local authorities.This financial year, we have invested £50 million in the ASGSF, giving adopted and kinship children access to therapeutic services that stabilise placements and address complex needs.The government has introduced the Families First Partnership programme, with an extra £547 million, bringing total funding to £2.4 billion over the next three years. We are also investing nearly £1.5 billion to improve family services and early years education, including £500 million for Best Start Family Hubs between 2026 and 2029. Local authorities should decide how best to use these resources to support adoptive and kinship families.The department does not collect data on how many families require therapy beyond the fair access limit.

What assessment her Department has made of local authorities' ability to deal with increased levels of demand for therapy above the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support Fund fair access limit.

The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) and is engaging with stakeholders. In the current financial year, the department has invested £50 million in the ASGSF, ensuring that adopted and kinship children may have access to therapeutic services designed to stabilise placements and address complex needs. The government has launched the Families First Partnership programme, providing an additional £547 million, and bringing total funding to £2.4 billion over the next three years. We are also investing nearly £1.5 billion to strengthen family services and early years education, including £500 million for Best Start Family Hubs between 2026 and 2029. Local authorities are responsible for determining how best to deploy these resources to meet increased demand for therapeutic support beyond the fair access limit.

What assessment her Department made of the potential impacts of removing the ability for driving instructors to book driving tests on behalf of learners on test availability.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country.The measures the Secretary of State for Transport announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee. The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that sought views from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties. In reaching this decision, impacts were fully considered. Further detail on the rationale, which will set out the detailed analysis, will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the value for money of parish polls.

The government acknowledges that a significant time has passed since the coalition government consulted on proposals to modernise the parish polls.The government has no immediate plans to amend the parish poll regulations.

Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made in implementing the conclusion of the 2014 consultation on modernising parish poll rules; and if he will take legislative steps to (a) strengthen trigger thresholds and (b) prevent the misuse of parish polls.

The government acknowledges that a significant time has passed since the coalition government consulted on proposals to modernise the parish polls.The government has no immediate plans to amend the parish poll regulations.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in freight-related crime; and what measures her Department are implementing in collaboration with (a) police forces and (b) industry to reduce theft from commercial vehicles and logistics facilities.

We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. This Government is determined to crack down on it. The incidence of cargo theft, where criminals rip the sides of lorries and take the goods inside, is frightening for those dedicated HGV drivers across the UK, and the perception this crime is low risk and high reward is unacceptable.Freight crimes are not currently separately identifiable in the centrally held police recorded crime data. Crimes involving the theft of freight are recorded by the police within broader vehicle-related theft categories. In order to monitor trends, we are piloting the use of a flag on police crime recording systems which officers can use to indicate that the crime they are investigating is freight crime. Set against police priorities and the need to ensure burdens on the police are proportionate, we will keep the need for a separate freight crime recording code under review.We are working closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime. We have regular discussions with key partners, including Opal, about tackling organised freight crime.

With reference to the 2024 National NHS Staff Survey Results, what data his Department holds on whether (a) consultants, (b) trainees and (c) specialty, associate specialists and specialist doctors in (i) clinical radiology and (ii) clinical oncology believe there are enough staff in their organisation for them to do their job properly.

The Department does not hold this data. As reported in the 2024 NHS Staff Survey, 34.01% of respondents said that there are enough staff at their organisation for them to do their job properly. The data from the Staff Survey cannot, however, be used to identity trends in specialities.

With reference to the 2024 National NHS Staff Survey Results, what data his Department holds on staff wellbeing indicators for (a) consultants, (b) trainees and (c) specialty, associate specialists and specialist doctors in (i) clinical radiology and (ii) clinical oncology, including (A) additional paid hours worked, (B) additional unpaid hours worked, (C) trends in the level of stress and (D) trends in the level of burnout.

As reported in the 2024 NHS Staff Survey, 30.24% of respondents reported having felt burnout because of their work. Data taken from the NHS Staff Survey cannot however be used to identity trends in specialities.

What steps his Department are taking to improve procedures for processing gestational diabetes blood glucose tests to improve the accuracy of diagnosis.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is responsible for setting clinical guidelines. For diabetes in pregnancy, including testing for gestational diabetes, the relevant clinical guideline is NG3 - Diabetes in pregnancy: management from preconception to the postnatal period, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng3/chapter/Recommendations#gestational-diabetesThe Department provides funding to the National Institute for Health and Care Research for research to help improve procedures around gestational diabetes, such as the DOMINO study, with further information available at the following link:https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR134628

On what date she decided to reduce the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund fair access limit to £3,000 in 2025-26.

The decision to set the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) fair access limit at £3,000 for 2025/26 was taken as part of departmental business planning decisions in the spring, following the announcement to Parliament on 1 April that the ASGSF would be continuing into 2025/26.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (a) review and (b) update clinical guidelines on (i) diagnosis and (ii) treatment of type 1 diabetes and eating disorders.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for determining whether its guidelines should be reviewed or updated in light of new evidence. NICE takes a proactive approach to surveillance, monitoring for changes in the evidence base that may impact on its recommendations. Topics for new or updated guidance are considered through the NICE prioritisation process. Decisions as to whether NICE will create new, or update existing, guidance are overseen by a prioritisation board, chaired by NICE’s Chief Medical Officer.NICE intends to carry out focussed updates to all diabetes guidance to take account of changes in insulin availability, but has no current plans for further updates to its guidelines on type 1 diabetes or eating disorders.

What steps he is taking to ensure the NHS lung cancer screening programme receives sufficient funding to ensure its completion by 2029.

The National Health Service will build on its recent successes, including roll-out of the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme, to diagnose cancer earlier and boost survival rates. Funding for national lung screening is set by NHS England and the timescale for full implementation of the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme will be specified in due course.The NHS is currently rolling out the National Lung Cancer Screening Programme to people with a history of smoking. The public health functions agreement between NHS England and the Department sets out that the Lung Cancer Screening Programme has a target to invite 50% of the eligible population by the end of March 2026.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of including (a) prehabilitation and (b) rehabilitation as essential elements of cancer treatment.

The Department and NHS England are taking a number of steps to support the National Health Service to deliver cost-effective prehabilitation and rehabilitation services.NHS England has highlighted the positive impact of efficient prehabilitation and rehabilitation on cancer outcomes and the potential to lead to cost savings. The ‘PRosPer’ cancer prehabilitation and rehabilitation learning programme, launched as a partnership between NHS England and Macmillan Cancer Support, aims to support allied health professionals and the wider healthcare workforce in developing their skills in providing prehabilitation and rehabilitation as essential elements of cancer treatment.The National Cancer Plan, to be published later this year, will look at how to improve patient outcomes across the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, including prehabilitation and rehabilitation services where appropriate.

What consideration he has given to supporting the National Screening Committee to (a) more swiftly implement innovation within screening programmes and (b) adopt innovative new programmes once proven effective.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) and its secretariat have adopted several robust strategies that support responsiveness to innovation in screening.The committee uses the expertise of its research and methodology group to help researchers focus the design of screening research to ensure it addresses questions in a way that is useful for screening policy. Where screening research trials are ongoing, the secretariat maintains close contact with researchers to ensure that we are proactive in response to the results coming out of the trial.Where there are evidence gaps in screening research, in-service evaluations provide an innovative solution to generating high quality evidence for the UK NSC in live National Health Services. The UK NSC secretariat works closely with NHS England on upcoming work so that the NHS can optimise their preparations in their readiness for the implementation of recommendations agreed by ministers.Networking across the healthcare landscape both nationally and internationally helps to ensure that the UK NSC keeps abreast of developments in screening and identifies viable innovations in tests and treatments that are suitable in the context of the United Kingdom. Collaboration between organisations such as the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, and professional bodies such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists supports joined up working with partners and avoids unnecessary duplication.

What steps he is taking to raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders among healthcare professionals in (a) diabetes and (b) eating disorder services.

NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) Pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway. Pilot sites are delivering a national high level service specification alongside testing local novel approaches to improving care including to awareness raising of the condition amongst both diabetes and eating disorder health care professionals.A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of Type 1 disordered eating amongst healthcare professionals.NHS England works alongside its partners to support the delivery of key messages around diabetes education and awareness. This includes through a digital diabetes platform which is developing educational resources for T1DE.

Whether Integrated Care Boards will be required to provide sustainable funding for successful pilot projects on Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders to become regional centres of excellence.

NHS England has provided up to £1.5 million a year for the five current Type 1 Disordered Eating pilots for three years. This funding is transferred to integrated care boards on an annual basis and in 2025/26 has been ringfenced.Decisions on funding for future years have yet to be taken.

What steps he will take to ensure that (a) the views of patients and (b) patient engagement are independently provided to (a) his Department, (b) the NHS, and (c) local authorities after Healthwatch's abolition.

Dr Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. The review recommends bringing together the work of local Healthwatch organisations, and the engagement functions of integrated care boards and providers, to ensure patient and wider community input into the planning and design of services.In addition, as also recommended by the review, we are amalgamating the functions of Healthwatch England to a new directorate. Its strategic functions will be transferred to the new directorate for patient experience in NHS England, transferring, in due course, to the new structures in the Department. This directorate will be responsible for overseeing the collection of more informed feedback from both patients, service users and carers and significantly improving the complaints function across the National Health Service.These changes will improve quality, including safety, by making it clear where responsibility and accountability sit at all levels of the system, and making it easier for staff, patients and users to directly feed into the system to improve quality of care. We believe that patients and users will have a stronger voice once it is heard inside the system.

Whether he has conducted an impact assessment of the effect of the abolition of Healthwatch on (a) patient representation, (b) accountability and (c) local authority scrutiny functions.

The abolition of Healthwatch England, the transfer of its functions and the changes to local Healthwatch require primary legislation. Timing of this is subject to the will of parliament and will happen when parliamentary time allows. A full impact assessment would be produced in line with HM Treasury's Green Book standards and published on the Government website when legislation is introduced in Parliament. No assessment has been made at this time, although the expertise of Dr Dash and her critical review of patient safiety will continue to guide the Government’s policy in this regard.

Whether his Department will ringfence funding for independent patient advocacy services after the abolition of Healthwatch.

The independent complaints advocacy service in the National Health Service is covered by a wider grant for Local Reform and Community Voices and is not a requirement of Healthwatch England or Local Healthwatch. This grant provides funding to local authorities which assists them in meeting statutory duties. This funding will continue to be provided. This grant has not been ringfenced to date and there are no plans to ringfence it, moving forward.

If she will make it her policy to start building a third track between York and Skelton Junction during this Parliament.

The Department has worked extensively with Network Rail and stakeholders on development and design of a scheme to deliver a third line between York North Throat and Skelton Junction. As the broader strategic benefits of the project would only be realised as part of a wider package of investment on the East Coast Main Line, the decision was taken at the Spending Review to pause the project until a long-term strategy for the route can be developed further. The scheme will remain under review to ensure it can be delivered in the most effective way as part of a holistic strategy of investment.