Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the correction to written question 19221 regarding the number of additional radiotherapy treatments, whether her Department plans to assess the National Cancer Plan's projections for radiotherapy capacity and patient access.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Department’s National Cancer Plan for England, available at the link below, where this drafting error has been corrected.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cancer-plan-for-england
Asked by: Dan Aldridge (Labour - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of accessible housing for disabled people and wheelchair users.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Requirements set out in the Building Regulations 2010 include Part M, ‘Access to and use of Buildings’. These requirements intend that new building work meets the needs of occupants with differing needs, including older or disabled people, and allow adaptation of the dwelling to meet changing needs over time.
Statutory guidance, called Approved Documents, offer guidance to developers about how to meet the legal requirements set out in the Building Regulations. M4(2) homes provide enhanced accessibility, requiring features such as a living area and step free access at entrance level. M4(3) homes meet or can be easily adapted to meet the needs of wheelchair users. The government has set out a clear position that at least 40% of housing on major development should be built to M4(2), or higher.
On 17 August 2026, the government published a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which can be found on gov.uk here, alongside the government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework here. The New NPPF includes requirements for authorities to deliver accessible housing. This means that development plans should set out the proportion of new homes that should be delivered to M4(2) and M4(3) accessibility standards, to meet or exceed identified need.
In the government response, we committed to providing further guidance to assist local authorities in assessing older and disabled people’s housing need, and will consider appropriate engagement to support this work.