Chris Bloore

This Government continues to follow EU regulatory developments with interest, engaging with the EU on key regulatory developments via TCA structures. The Drinking Water Directive has not been discussed or raised with my Department.

UK businesses exporting to the EU must ensure that they comply with EU requirements for accessing the EU market. Guidance in respect of regulatory compliance with the revised Drinking Water Directive is the responsibility of the European Commission.

The government is committed to ensuring that all young people can access a range of high quality vocational and technical qualifications which supports them to develop the skills they need to thrive at work and throughout life, including applied general qualifications. This is at the heart of the government’s missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and to boost economic growth.

The government is currently conducting a review of level 3 qualifications focusing on those set to lose funding from 31 July 2025, which includes applied general qualifications. The outcomes of the review will be reported by the end of the year.

Additionally, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, will ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all at ages 16 to 19, with access to qualifications and training that will provide the skills they need to seize opportunity.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. This includes allergies.

The accompanying statutory guidance, 'Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions', makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

'Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions' includes guidance on individual healthcare plans and specifies that they should ensure that the school assesses and manages risks to the child’s education, health and social wellbeing, and minimises disruption.

The department included a reminder to schools of these duties in its regular schools’ email bulletin in both March and September 2024. In the same communication we also alerted schools to the newly created Schools Allergy Code. The Code was developed by The Allergy Team, Independent Schools’ Bursars Association and the Benedict Blythe Foundation, who are all trusted voices on the matter of allergies. The department has now also added a link to the Code to its online allergy guidance, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have produced guidance on the use of adrenaline auto-injectors in schools here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-emergency-adrenaline-auto-injectors-in-schools. DHSC have also produced guidance on emergency inhalers in schools, including the purchase of spares, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-asthma-inhalers-for-use-in-schools.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. We will be outlining more detail in due course.

Our drinking water regulations and approved regulator specifications are designed, in part, to protect human health by reducing the likelihood of contamination of drinking water supplies.

Our current Regulations allow certain other national specifications to be accepted by water undertakers, if they can demonstrate an equivalent level of protection and performance with our drinking water standards.

Our drinking water regulations and approved regulator specifications are designed, in part, to protect human health by reducing the likelihood of contamination of drinking water supplies.

Our current Regulations allow certain other national specifications to be accepted by water undertakers, if they can demonstrate an equivalent level of protection and performance with our drinking water standards.

After writing to Ofwat, the Secretary of State has secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. If that money is not spent, it will be refunded to customers – not diverted for bonuses, shareholder payouts or salary increases.

The Department has recently concluded a public consultation on policy changes. This included proposals to remove the Direct Pay service (where parents pay each other directly) and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster.

The consultation also sought views on how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported to use CMS and whether removing Direct Pay completely would benefit victims and survivors of domestic abuse. This follows the Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act receiving Royal Assent in June 2023, which recognised that Direct Pay may not always be appropriate for victims and survivors of domestic.

Removing Direct Pay would mean all maintenance payments would be monitored and transferred within the scheme. As all payments would flow via CMS, the CMS would be able to automatically identify any that were missed, late or partial and immediately take action to re-establish compliance. This would also reduce the ability for perpetrators of domestic abuse to exploit the communication channel needed for direct pay to function for the purposes of abuse; and prevent abusers from inflicting economic control and coercion through withholding CM payments.

Feedback from the consultation is being considered and a Government response will be published in due course.

The total expenditure of Bereavement Support Payment from April 2017 to March 2023 was £1.2 billion. Figures for the 2023/24 financial year are still being finalised so are not included in this expenditure total.

Note: figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000 and are taken from the Department for Work and Pensions Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024.

Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Statistics for Bereavement Support Payment, including claims allowed each month from April 2017 to March 2024, are published on Stat-Xplore in the Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) Claims Received dataset.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to Lord Darzi’s report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

In addition, following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will develop a new national cancer plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including those with pancreatic and other less survivable cancers.

We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and will provide updates on this in due course.

NHS England is delivering a range of interventions that are expected to improve early diagnosis and treatment for patients with suspected and diagnosed pancreatic cancer. This includes providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for patients at inherited high-risk, to identify lesions before they develop into cancer, and diagnose cancers sooner.

In March 2024, NHS England published guidance for providers and systems to implement a timed Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary cancer pathway with the aim of ensuring that patients with some suspected tumour types, including suspected pancreatic cancer, receive a diagnosis or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of urgent referral.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all women and babies received safe, personalised, equitable, and compassionate care. I am urgently considering, with my officials and NHS England, the immediate action needed across maternity and neonatal services to improve outcomes and address the stark inequalities that persist for women and babies, including what targets are needed.

This includes consideration of what comes beyond the national maternity safety ambition, ensuring that we take an evidence-based approach, and that any targets set are women and baby-centred and focused on tackling inequalities.

Ministers regularly meet with a wide range of cancer partners, including brain cancer charities and patient groups. Ministers also regularly meet with teams from the National Health Service, including clinical specialists where this is appropriate. These meetings are valuable opportunities to discuss raising awareness, screening, treatments, innovation, and the care experiences of people living with cancer.

The Department, NHS England, and the National Institute for Health Care and Research (NIHR) are taking several steps to help improve outcomes for brain tumour patients. NHS England is committed to ensuring that all cancer patients are offered Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person. As well as this, all patients, including those with secondary cancers, will have access to the right expertise and support, including a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other support worker.

Further to this, in September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients, and a new funding call to generate high quality evidence in brain tumour care, support, and rehabilitation. We will get the NHS diagnosing cancer, including brain tumours, on time, diagnosing it earlier, and treating it faster, so more patients survive this horrible set of diseases, and we will improve patients’ experience across the system.

NHS England is committed to improving diagnosis rates and recovering them to the national ambition for two thirds of people with dementia to have a formal diagnosis. This commitment is included in the operational planning guidance for 2024/25, giving clear direction for integrated care boards (ICBs) to prioritise dementia.

Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including carers, under the Care Act 2014. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work with the third sector in their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population. NHS England would expect ICBs to take account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines when commissioning services for their local population.

NHS England does not hold this information centrally. The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.

The Additional Role Reimbursement Scheme aims to grow and diversify the general practice workforce. The scheme provides funding for additional roles in primary care networks, to help create bespoke multi-disciplinary teams.

The attacks on the Mulberry Bush and Tavern in the Town public houses were horrific events.

As we approach the 50^th anniversary I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to all those affected.

The families of the victims of these attacks have long campaigned for justice to be done. The Home Secretary and I will consider requests for an inquiry as soon as possible.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 3887 on 10 September 2024.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high. Local authorities report the numbers of households in temporary accommodation and this data is published each quarter as part of the Homelessness Case Level Collection (H-CLIC). The most recent figures for January-March 2024, including regional breakdowns, are available here (see tab TA1): Statutory homelessness in England: January to March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).