Amanda Hack

Work on the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Social Fund Annual Reports is underway, and these will be published as soon as possible. The 2023-24 Social Fund Annual Report will follow in due course.

Access to Work has a significant backlog of applications, with 62,000 outstanding applications in February 2025. This has resulted in significant delays and we are considering changes within the existing policy framework to reduce this.

To support customers with the application process, we have streamlined our delivery process and made all core parts of the Scheme, such as applying and requesting payment, fully digital. We recognise that significant delays can have adverse effects on customers, our Case Managers receive training in how to identify and support vulnerable customers during their application process and can provide advanced support to those whose wellbeing is affected during the application process.

The number of complaints made to DWP regarding the Child Maintenance Service is published within table 11 of the Child Maintenance Service Official Statistics: Child Maintenance Service statistics - GOV.UK. Data is presented on a quarterly basis.

Table 1: Number of complaints received by the Child Maintenance Service

Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 5

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) are committed to delivering the best possible service to all customers. Customers can contact the CMS in a number of different ways.

This could be via the telephone, by post or through the CMS online service. Depending on what the query is and how it was made, response times can vary.

Whilst the DWP does not collate data on average response times for all queries across different CMS channels, we are working to improve the efficiency of our customer interactions. We will continue to review, evaluate, and enhance our service lines to meet demand and deliver a quality customer service.

The National Health Service has set an ambitious goal in its new 10-Year Plan that by 2035, artificial intelligence (AI) should be seamlessly integrated into most clinical pathways, with tools like generative AI being widely adopted and continuously improved. The aim is for the NHS to become a global leader in the ethical use of AI.

One promising area is the use of AI to interpret electrocardiograms (ECGs). While AI is not yet routinely used for ECG interpretation in NHS practice, it is being actively developed and tested in research and pilot settings. Major funders such as the British Heart Foundation, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, and the Medical Research Council are supporting this work to improve the speed, accuracy, and accessibility of ECG analysis.

However, there are still important challenges to overcome. Different studies use different types of ECG recordings and data preparation methods, making it difficult to compare results or identify best practices. AI models also need further refinement to ensure they work well across diverse patient groups, including young people. Importantly, these tools must be thoroughly validated, clinicians must be trained to use them, and appropriate legal and ethical frameworks must be in place before they can be safely adopted into routine care.

Research teams are working to address these barriers. For example, NHS trials are planned to begin in late 2025 at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. These trials will test whether an AI model can accurately predict long-term health risks from routine ECGs.

At the same time, United Kingdom health regulators are developing the rules and safety checks needed to ensure that AI tools are accurate, fair, and safe for patients.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with brain aneurysms, as they are best placed to make decisions according to local need. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance, including that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Nationally, there are several initiatives that are supporting improvements to neurological services more generally. NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Neurology Programme aims to reduce unwarranted variation and improve efficiency across neurological services, through data-driven analysis and best practice sharing. Additionally, NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme is supporting integrated care systems to transform neurology services by promoting integrated care, prevention, and early intervention.

NICE is currently developing the guidance Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury, which is expected to be published in September 2025. The guideline covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms resulting from acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury or peripheral nerve disorder, progressive neurological disease, or functional neurological disorder. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181

NICE has also published the guidance Subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm: diagnosis and management. The guideline focuses on the diagnosis and management of individuals who are suspected of having a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) caused by ruptured aneurysm and includes recommendations on follow-up care and support for patients, their families, and carers.

This guidance also covers familial aneurysms in the context of SAH and recommends that that individuals with two or more first-degree relatives who have had a SAH may be offered screening to detect potential aneurysms. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng228

The Government expects the healthcare system and commissioners to take NICE guidelines fully into account when designing services for their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.

Our 10-year health plan will make the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be prepared for future challenges, from hospital to community care, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We are committed to expanding community-based access to tests and scans, promoting a more collaborative service delivery, and enhancing the use of apps and wearable technology. These changes will help people manage their long-term conditions, including brain aneurysms, more effectively and closer to their homes. Earlier diagnosis will play a key role in preventing disease progression and improving outcomes.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services for people with brain aneurysms, as they are best placed to make decisions according to local need. The process of commissioning services should take into account best practice guidance, including that published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Nationally, there are several initiatives that are supporting improvements to neurological services more generally. NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Neurology Programme aims to reduce unwarranted variation and improve efficiency across neurological services, through data-driven analysis and best practice sharing. Additionally, NHS England’s Neurology Transformation Programme is supporting integrated care systems to transform neurology services by promoting integrated care, prevention, and early intervention.

NICE is currently developing the guidance Rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders including acquired brain injury, which is expected to be published in September 2025. The guideline covers rehabilitation in all settings for children, young people, and adults with a chronic neurological disorder, neurological impairment, or disabling neurological symptoms resulting from acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury or peripheral nerve disorder, progressive neurological disease, or functional neurological disorder. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181

NICE has also published the guidance Subarachnoid haemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm: diagnosis and management. The guideline focuses on the diagnosis and management of individuals who are suspected of having a subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) caused by ruptured aneurysm and includes recommendations on follow-up care and support for patients, their families, and carers.

This guidance also covers familial aneurysms in the context of SAH and recommends that that individuals with two or more first-degree relatives who have had a SAH may be offered screening to detect potential aneurysms. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng228

The Government expects the healthcare system and commissioners to take NICE guidelines fully into account when designing services for their local population, and to work towards their implementation over time.

Our 10-year health plan will make the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be prepared for future challenges, from hospital to community care, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We are committed to expanding community-based access to tests and scans, promoting a more collaborative service delivery, and enhancing the use of apps and wearable technology. These changes will help people manage their long-term conditions, including brain aneurysms, more effectively and closer to their homes. Earlier diagnosis will play a key role in preventing disease progression and improving outcomes.

In making its recommendations on new medicines, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, including health benefits to carers. It does not, however, take into account wider societal or economic considerations. Taking a wider perspective could have unintended consequences such as reducing access to treatments for patients who are disproportionately older, economically inactive, or have greater care needs. NICE’s methods are set out in its published health technology evaluations manual, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/process/pmg36

When presenting health effects for carers, evidence should show when the condition is associated with a substantial effect on a carer’s health-related quality of life, and how the technology affects carers. This applies for all therapies, including therapies for rare diseases. NICE appraisals specifically consider health-related quality of life, for both patients and carers, rather than quality of life as a whole.

In making its recommendations on new medicines, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) takes into account all health-related costs and benefits, including health benefits to carers. It does not, however, take into account wider societal or economic considerations. Taking a wider perspective could have unintended consequences such as reducing access to treatments for patients who are disproportionately older, economically inactive, or have greater care needs. NICE’s methods are set out in its published health technology evaluations manual, which is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/process/pmg36

When presenting health effects for carers, evidence should show when the condition is associated with a substantial effect on a carer’s health-related quality of life, and how the technology affects carers. This applies for all therapies, including therapies for rare diseases. NICE appraisals specifically consider health-related quality of life, for both patients and carers, rather than quality of life as a whole.

HM Treasury concluded a review of the Green Book in June 2025. It marks a new approach to appraisal in the public sector, one which will enable the more effective assessment of place-based interventions in every area of the country. That includes North West Leicestershire.

Following the review, HM Treasury will now undertake six actions to improve appraisal across the public sector. These are set out in the conclusions of the Green Book Review 2025, published on GOV.UK.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with ever greater numbers of offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers as part of their crime. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work.

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have therefore introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, sending a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders that violence against retail workers will not be tolerated. The Bill is making its way through Parliament and committee stage started on 27 March.

As introduced, the definition of a ‘retail worker’ does not include wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises, but it does include wholesale workers operating in premises that provide retail sales to the public. Keeping a tight definition provides legal clarity and ensures there is less ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job. Workers whose roles are not included are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH).

That said, the purpose of the parliamentary process is to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and we will, of course, consider carefully any proposed amendments and supporting evidence.

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.

The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.

In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.

The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.

In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.

Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent yeara, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for it.

This Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200. These will be introduced in the first session Crime and Policing Bill.

The police made operational commitments in its October 2023 Retail Crime Action Plan, Retail Crime Action Plan (nbcc.police.uk) including a commitment for police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance where violence has been used towards shop staff.

Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Home Office is providing funding to the National Business Crime Centre to make it easier for retailers to report crime. We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.

Shoplifting has increased at an unacceptable level in recent yeara, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We will not stand for it.

This Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200. These will be introduced in the first session Crime and Policing Bill.

The police made operational commitments in its October 2023 Retail Crime Action Plan, Retail Crime Action Plan (nbcc.police.uk) including a commitment for police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance where violence has been used towards shop staff.

Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Home Office is providing funding to the National Business Crime Centre to make it easier for retailers to report crime. We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.

The government’s Planning Practice Guidance on housing and economic land availability assessment sets out how local planning authorities should identify and assess sites for their suitability for allocation in their Local Plans.

Local planning authorities, through their local development plans, should establish a housing requirement figure for their whole area, which shows the extent to which their identified housing need can be met over the plan period.

It is for individual local planning authorities to determine the most appropriate strategy to meet the housing needs of their area, and which sites are most suitable to meet their housing needs.

They are expected to justify their approach through public consultation and independent examination of the Local Plan.

The Planning Inspectorate does not hold historical information on case officers broken down by casework. However, the tracking of this information has commenced from the start of the financial year 2025/26.

Based on the targets described below, the number of open cases over non-statutory targets each month is as follows:

“Backlog” in this context is usually understood to refer to the number of cases which are over statutory deadlines. There are no statutory targets for Rights of Way and Common Land decisions.

However, non-statutory targets are as follows:

Due to limitations in the data storage, the inspector cases target (40 weeks) has been applied to all Common Land decisions by Written representation for the purposes of this answer.