Alistair Strathern

The Government has set out its immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the Plan to Make Work Pay. The Plan includes a number of measures which may help people manage endometriosis and other menstrual conditions at work - including making sure people can benefit from flexible working and ensuring flexibility is a genuine default.

Some of the measures in Make Work Pay will be delivered through an Employment Bill. The Government will confirm the contents of that Bill in due course.

The Government works closely with electricity networks to improve and maintain energy infrastructure resilience. In the event of a disruption, electricity network operators have well practiced response plans in place to minimise disruption to customers. Great British Energy (GBE) will speed up the deployment of technologies to support Government’s aim of decarbonising our electricity system, whilst ensuring we can meet future demand and provide energy security. The GBE Bill outlines that activities for ensuring security of energy supply are within GBE’s scope, which could include supporting energy storage projects. As GBE will be operationally independent, the exact mix of technologies it chooses to invest in will be determined in due course, influenced by available opportunities and alignment with the strategic priorities that government sets out.

Government recognises the importance of the issue of power resilience for the sector. Whilst most power cuts are brief, we recognise the impact that they can have on the telephone network. We are working closely with the regulator, communications providers and the power sector to improve resilience and minimise disruption to the public and businesses as much as possible.

Communications providers have statutory responsibilities to take all appropriate and proportionate steps to minimise disruption to services and must ensure at least one form of communication is available for contacting emergency services for a minimum of one hour during a power outage. On 6 September 2024, Ofcom published detailed resilience guidelines specifying the measures that providers are expected to meet throughout their networks, including resilience to power cuts, and set out the analysis they are completing to consider whether additional resilience is required for mobile services.

Government recognises the importance of the issue of power resilience for the sector. Whilst most power cuts are brief, we recognise the impact that they can have on the telephone network. We are working closely with the regulator, communications providers and the power sector to improve resilience and minimise disruption to the public and businesses as much as possible.

Communications providers have statutory responsibilities to take all appropriate and proportionate steps to minimise disruption to services and must ensure at least one form of communication is available for contacting emergency services for a minimum of one hour during a power outage. On 6 September 2024, Ofcom published detailed resilience guidelines specifying the measures that providers are expected to meet throughout their networks, including resilience to power cuts, and set out the analysis they are completing to consider whether additional resilience is required for mobile services.

The Communications Ombudsman is one of two Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes accredited by Ofcom, the independent regulator of services, in the telecoms sector.

Ofcom launched a review of ADR in November 2023 which examines the extent to which schemes are working effectively, whether customers are receiving an accessible and fair service; and the potential need for changes to the monitoring of performance. Ofcom expect to provide an update on their review by the end of the year.

The government will consider any potential next steps once Ofcom’s review has concluded.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have met to discuss a range of issues and projects.

This department’s independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will aim to deliver a curriculum that ensures young people leave compulsory education with the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to achieve and thrive throughout life. The call for evidence is drawing to a close, but the review group will be continuing with other forms of engagement for the rest of the first term of the 2024/25 academic year.

The importance of a healthy diet and good nutrition is already covered through a number of subjects in the national curriculum, including design and technology (D&T), science and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).

The cooking and nutrition strand of D&T, which is compulsory for key stages 1 to 3, aims to teach children how to cook, with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. It recognises that cooking is an important life skill that will help children to feed themselves and others, healthy and affordable food.

Similarly, in science, healthy eating is covered through topics relating to nutrition and digestion, which cover the content of a healthy diet and the impact of diet on how the body functions.

Furthermore, within health education as a part of RSHE, it is expected that by the end of primary, pupils should know what constitutes a healthy diet, including understanding calories and other nutritional content, the characteristics of a poor diet and the risks associated with unhealthy eating. By the end of secondary, pupils should know how to maintain healthy eating and the links between a poor diet and health risks, including tooth decay and cancer.

At GCSE, pupils can delve deeper into diet and nutrition by choosing to study Food Preparation and Nutrition. The subject requires pupils to understand and apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating when preparing and cooking food.

The department is also providing additional support for teachers through the Oak National Academy, who have been working to give teachers and their pupils access to free, optional and adaptable high quality digital curriculum resources. They have a wide array of lesson plans for D&T that contain healthy and tasty recipes to help children to understand the significance of what they put into their bodies.

The department recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers, including special guardians, play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. The department is committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements.

Local authorities have the powers to provide a range of services, including financial support, to support children and families. As local authorities know their carers best, they have the power to decide what financial support should be provided to special guardianship carers and their children and any payments should be made in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. The government does not set a maximum or minimum allowance for local authorities to administer. While the government recognises the financial constraints on local authorities, guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Financial support is paid at the discretion of the local authority and in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.

This government is committed to providing timely support to children and families that need help. Evidence shows that preventing problems from escalating leads to better outcomes for children and families and reduces cost pressures for local authorities and beyond.

The Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family Networks Pilot are testing whole-system children’s social care reform to help families overcome challenges, thrive together and keep children safe.

The pathfinder and pilot are being independently evaluated and interim findings are expected in spring 2025. The evaluation will support the department's understanding of both by assessing implementation, delivery, impact and value for money.

Delivering high quality affordable childcare is a priority for this government. As an initial step, the department is progressing work to deliver new places in 3,000 nurseries through upgrading space in primary schools. This will help increase the number of places available to parents, whilst also driving high and rising standards and better opportunities for every child.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing, including supporting them through the childcare delivery support contract where appropriate.

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) have three core functions. Firstly, to deliver evidence-based early interventions for emerging and actual mental health issues, 1 to 1 and in groups. Secondly, to support a school or college’s mental health lead to embed an effective approach to promote and support mental health and wellbeing. Thirdly, to advise school and college staff, and liaise with external specialist services, to help pupils and learners to get the right timely support and stay in education.

Data specifically on how many MHSTs there are in Bedfordshire, Hitchin constituency and North Hertfordshire is not currently available.​

However, data published by NHS England shows that since 2018/19, when the first wave of MHSTs were commissioned, 11 MHSTs have been established across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes. For the first 9 MHSTs established up to 2022/23, this equates to MHST coverage of 43% of pupils and learners and 40% of schools and colleges in these areas

A link to the data can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/#_Mental_Health_Support and https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F6642052bf34f9b5a56adc5dd%2FTransforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_implementation_programme_2024_data-tables.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.

I have discussed the risks that incorrect disposal of waste batteries can have at a senior level with the Environment Agency, including in the context of fires at waste sites.

Existing UK regulations place a number of obligations related to battery disposal on producers of lithium-ion batteries and products containing lithium-ion batteries.

These obligations include the requirement for all batteries sold in the UK to be clearly marked with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol indicating that they should not be disposed of by throwing them in the bin.

Those selling batteries are required to provide a means to take back waste batteries and producers of industrial batteries (which includes electric vehicle, e-bike and e-scooter batteries) must take back waste batteries free of charge upon request.

This Government is committed to cracking down on waste as we move towards a circular economy where we keep our resources in use for longer and reduce waste. Proposals to consult on reforms to the UK batteries regulations are being reviewed before setting out next steps.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of Defra’s five core priorities. That is why we have established a Flood Resilience Taskforce to improve coordination of the national and local flood response and strengthen preparedness ahead of the winter flood season.

Over 1,000 properties across the country have reported flooding to date following heavy rainfall in late September, with over 22,000 protected by flood defences. The Government sympathises with those impacted by recent flooding in the Hitchin constituency, and other areas across the country. As flooding minister, I visited affected communities impacted by flooding and also met with multiple agencies including the Environment Agency working to respond to the event.

These agencies have now shifted their focus to supporting communities to recover from recent flooding. Lead Local Flood Authorities will also begin investigating what happened during the event and identifying potential actions which could be taken by relevant partner agencies to reduce the risk and impact of flooding in future.

Since 2006, the Access for All (AfA) programme has delivered step free access at more than 250 stations across Great Britain. We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

This Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously, and is committed to maintaining and renewing our road network as a priority; on which Ministers will say more in future.

Maintenance of the local highway network within Hertfordshire, including the constituency of Hitchin, is the responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council. For 2024/25, Hertfordshire County Council has been allocated over £ 25 million to help it maintain its local highway network.

Future funding beyond 2024/25 is a matter for the next Spending Review.

The information requested regarding the average cost of bus fares is not available. The Department produces quarterly bus fare statistics in the form of a local bus fares index. However, this data is not available specifically for (a) Hitchin constituency, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) North Hertfordshire.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards. To increase the number of available test slots, it is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.

To increase the number of car driving test slots, the DVSA deployed eligible managers and administrative staff back on the front line to do driving tests from the beginning of October 2023 until the end of March 2024, which created over 145,000 additional test slots. Driving examiners from areas with lower waiting times continue to travel and test in those centres with longer waiting times. This is in addition to the DVSA recruiting additional examiners across the country into areas where waiting times are highest.

The DVSA is unable to calculate the waiting time between booking and taking a driving test.

The table below shows the June 2024 average waiting time, number of booked car practical driving tests, and available tests as of 22 July 2024 at the test centres that serve the constituency of Hitchin:

Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, called the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm some men as many would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects, such as sexual dysfunction and incontinence.

The UK NSC regularly reviews its recommendations, and the evidence review for prostate cancer screening is underway and plans to report within the UK NSC’s three-year work plan.

The evidence review includes modelling the clinical effectiveness and cost of several approaches to prostate cancer screening, including different potential ways of screening the whole population from 40 years of age onwards, and targeted screening aimed at groups of people identified as being at higher than average risk, such as black men or men with a family history of cancer.

The Department’s ministers and officials have had a number of recent meetings at which the issue of the availability of Enhertu for the treatment of HER2 low metastatic breast cancer has been discussed, including with Breast Cancer Now and other campaigners.

The Government wants patients to be able to benefit from access to innovative and effective new treatments such as Enhertu at a price that fairly reflects the benefits that they bring to patients, and does not displace funding for other valuable treatments and services. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England have been clear with the companies that the price represents the main barrier to access to Enhertu for patients with HER2 low breast cancer, and we encourage the companies to come forward with an improved commercial offer.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, as we get the National Health Service back on its feet. Equality of both access to care and outcomes will be at the heart of building an NHS that is fit for the future. This includes ensuring that women’s health is not neglected.

We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament, which includes those waiting for gynaecology treatment. To achieve this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, and will increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests, that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits. This urgent work will help the nearly 600,000 women on gynaecology waiting lists get the care they need.

Endometriosis is a common gynaecological condition, estimated to affect one in 10 women of reproductive age. Endometriosis can significantly impact women and girls’ physical and mental health, and anyone with symptoms of endometriosis should contact their general practice.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government, and we are committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future. We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.

The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of Lord O'Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and ensuring that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to National Health Service patients, including those with brain tumours.

The Department funded National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research.

In addition, the NIHR provides an online service called Be Part of Research, which promotes participation in health and social care research by allowing users to search for relevant studies and register their interest. This makes it easier for people to find and take part in health and care research that is relevant to them.

When designing research studies, researchers consider inclusion and exclusion criteria carefully to ensure they are not unnecessarily excluding specific groups who would benefit from the outcome of their study. The Health Research Authority is developing guidance to improve practices in this area.

Homelessness legislation includes eligibility criteria such as the local connection test, to ensure that resources are prioritised effectively, ensuring accommodation is there for people who need it most.

There are already existing provisions in homelessness legislation in respect of local connection for care leavers. Under the legislation, a young person owed leaving care duties under section 23C of the Children Act 1989 will have a local connection to the area of the children services authority that owes them the duties. If the children services authority is a county council and not a housing authority, the young person will have a local connection with every housing authority district falling within the area of the children services authority.

Where a care leaver is aged under 21 and normally lives in a different area to that of a local authority that owes them leaving care duties, and has done for at least two years including some time before they turned 16, the young person will also have a local connection in that area. This means a care leaver who is looked after by one area but is placed in another will have a local connection to both areas and if homeless may choose to either remain where they have been living or return to their home area.

We have already committed to improving access to social housing for care leavers under 25 and exempt them from local connection and residency tests for social housing. We will work with the sector and engage with relevant stakeholders to bring forward these changes in due course.

The Government is considering what action may be appropriate to drive up rates of swift brick installation in new build properties.

The requested information is not held by the department.

The Government is committed to taking steps to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair maintenance costs to an end and we will consult on the best way to achieve this.

In the interim, we will act quickly to provide residential freeholders with greater protections by implementing the relevant provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.