Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of progress towards meeting 2026 air quality compliance limits in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s ‘Air Pollution in the UK report 2024’ which includes the annual assessment of compliance with the Air Quality Standards Regulations, was published on 30 September 2025. This contains information specific to the Greater Manchester Urban Area.
We agreed an £86m investment led clean air plan for Greater Manchester in January 2025 to address exceedances of nitrogen dioxide. This will see the city benefit from cleaner buses; local traffic measures and upgrades to the taxi fleet to help clean up the region’s air. We are continuing to work closely with Greater Manchester Authorities to monitor its delivery and in order to ensure compliance with NO2 limits in the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to improve air quality monitoring in Manchester Rusholme constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities are responsible for monitoring and assessing local air quality in their areas.
At a national level, air quality monitoring is undertaken across Greater Manchester at multiple locations, including Salford Eccles, Manchester Picadilly, Tameside A635, Bury Whitefield Roadside, Shaw Crompton Way and Manchester Sharston, measuring either NO2 and/or PM2.5.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the Air Pollution in the UK 2024 Compliance Assessment Summary report.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra’s ‘Air Pollution in the UK report 2024’ which includes the annual assessment of compliance with the Air Quality Standards Regulations, was published on 30 September 2025. The report can be accessed on gov.uk: Air pollution in the UK 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available to (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent early years settings in areas of high deprivation to offer (i) healthy and (ii) nutritious meals to children regardless of parental income.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Within the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, there is a requirement that where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. The EYFS framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
Good nutrition in the early years is essential for children’s health and long-term development. For this reason, this year we published new EYFS guidance to support providers to understand and meet the EYFS requirement. Providers are required to have regard to the new nutrition guidance.
The guidance sets out that it is good practice for providers to develop a food and nutrition policy, to help parents and carers understand the obligation to provide healthy, balanced and nutritious food to children and encourage healthier food choices for packed lunches. It also provides information on cost-effective healthy food that can be shared with parents/carers.
As of September 2025, there is a requirement within the EYFS for providers to have ongoing discussions with parents and/or carers regarding known allergies and intolerances and to prepare food in a way to prevent choking. Providers must be clear about who is responsible for checking that the food being provided meets all the requirements for each child including food from packed lunches.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of healthy food provision in early years settings on (a) child health and (b) educational outcomes (i) in general and (ii) for disadvantaged children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Within the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, there is a requirement that where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. The EYFS framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
Good nutrition in the early years is essential for children’s health and long-term development. For this reason, this year we published new EYFS guidance to support providers to understand and meet the EYFS requirement. Providers are required to have regard to the new nutrition guidance.
The guidance sets out that it is good practice for providers to develop a food and nutrition policy, to help parents and carers understand the obligation to provide healthy, balanced and nutritious food to children and encourage healthier food choices for packed lunches. It also provides information on cost-effective healthy food that can be shared with parents/carers.
As of September 2025, there is a requirement within the EYFS for providers to have ongoing discussions with parents and/or carers regarding known allergies and intolerances and to prepare food in a way to prevent choking. Providers must be clear about who is responsible for checking that the food being provided meets all the requirements for each child including food from packed lunches.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of children bringing packed lunches into early years settings on (a) health and (b) safety.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Within the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, there is a requirement that where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. The EYFS framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.
Good nutrition in the early years is essential for children’s health and long-term development. For this reason, this year we published new EYFS guidance to support providers to understand and meet the EYFS requirement. Providers are required to have regard to the new nutrition guidance.
The guidance sets out that it is good practice for providers to develop a food and nutrition policy, to help parents and carers understand the obligation to provide healthy, balanced and nutritious food to children and encourage healthier food choices for packed lunches. It also provides information on cost-effective healthy food that can be shared with parents/carers.
As of September 2025, there is a requirement within the EYFS for providers to have ongoing discussions with parents and/or carers regarding known allergies and intolerances and to prepare food in a way to prevent choking. Providers must be clear about who is responsible for checking that the food being provided meets all the requirements for each child including food from packed lunches.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to incorporate research on (a) masking and (b) internalised behaviours into (i) autism diagnostic pathways and (ii) training for healthcare professionals.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) and health professionals should have due regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines when commissioning and providing health care services, including autism assessment services. NICE guidelines are developed by experts based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and through extensive engagement with stakeholders. In June 2024, NICE’s prioritisation board decided to prioritise updating the current NICE guidelines on autism assessment and diagnosis, namely Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management, and Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis. Both guidelines are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg142
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg128
Although NICE has committed to updating these guidelines, this work has not yet been scheduled into NICE’s work programme.
Under the Health and Care Act 2022, providers registered with the Care Quality Commission are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. To support this, we have been rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to the health and adult social care workforce. The first part of this training has now been completed by over three million people. Staff with responsibility for providing care, support, or healthcare, including social care and other professionals with a high degree of autonomy, are expected to complete Tier 2 of Oliver’s Training, which includes content on avoiding diagnostic overshadowing. Oliver's Training has been developed with reference to the Core Capabilities Frameworks on Learning Disability and Autism, co-produced alongside people with a learning disability and autistic people, and based on learning from the independently evaluated trials of the training in 2021. A long-term evaluation is now underway.
In addition, 5,000 trainers have been trained as part of the National Autism Trainer Programme, which covers autism presentation in women and girls. These trainers will cascade their training to teams across mental health services. NHS England has also published guidance on meeting the needs of autistic adults in mental health services, which makes specific references to the possible role of masking.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a national public awareness campaign on (a) the role of early years education in child development and (b) its wider economic impact.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Ensuring every child has the best start in life is at the heart of this government’s Plan for Change. This is why we are expanding childcare and providing parents with support and information to help their child’s development.
Children attending high quality early education for at least two years gain the equivalent of a higher grade in around seven GCSEs. For parents, particularly women, improved access to childcare enables employment, boosting family income and the wider economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility projects that by 2027/28, around 60,000 parents will enter employment as a result, with an equivalent effect from 1.5 million mothers already in work increasing their hours.
The government is introducing a new Best Start in Life awareness campaign which will support improved outcomes for children and help achieve our goal of 75% of children reaching a good level of development by 2028.
This campaign provides trusted advice for parents and carers from pregnancy through to starting school, covering healthy pregnancy, infant feeding, childcare, home learning, and school preparation which can be found here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/. Communications activity will continue throughout the autumn.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a national public awareness campaign on (a) the role of early years education in child development and (b) its wider economic impact.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Ensuring every child has the best start in life is at the heart of this government’s Plan for Change. This is why we are expanding childcare and providing parents with support and information to help their child’s development.
Children attending high quality early education for at least two years gain the equivalent of a higher grade in around seven GCSEs. For parents, particularly women, improved access to childcare enables employment, boosting family income and the wider economy. The Office for Budget Responsibility projects that by 2027/28, around 60,000 parents will enter employment as a result, with an equivalent effect from 1.5 million mothers already in work increasing their hours.
The government is introducing a new Best Start in Life awareness campaign which will support improved outcomes for children and help achieve our goal of 75% of children reaching a good level of development by 2028.
This campaign provides trusted advice for parents and carers from pregnancy through to starting school, covering healthy pregnancy, infant feeding, childcare, home learning, and school preparation which can be found here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/. Communications activity will continue throughout the autumn.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to increase access to (a) affordable and (b) nutritious food in deprived communities through (i) subsidies, (ii) planning measures and (iii) local food programmes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK Government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK.
The outcomes set out in the strategy include an improved food environment that supports healthier and more environmentally sustainable food sales, and access to all for affordable, healthy food, particularly those on low incomes.
The Government already supports some groups to be able to buy and eat fruit and vegetables, through policies like the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (for 4-6 year olds in state-funded schools throughout England) and Healthy Start (for pregnant women and parents/carers who have young children and are in receipt of benefits).