Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to protect bridleways in the context of changes to national planning regulations.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should protect and enhance public rights of way and access, including taking opportunities to provide better facilities for users, for example by adding links to existing rights of way networks including National Trails.

The government will consult on a new suite of national policies for decision making later this year and as part of that exercise we will consider whether any changes are needed to policy relating to public rights of way.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to help support the long-term viability of community rail organisations in the context of (a) her Department's rail reforms and (b) the inception of Great British Rail.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As we move towards establishing Great British Railways (GBR), the Community Rail movement will be integral to helping us deliver our priorities and will continue to deliver for passengers and communities. We will continue to work closely with the Community Rail Network to identify opportunities to support the community rail sector ahead of the standup of GBR.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support community rail in the north of England.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department continues to support the community rail sector across the north of England, including through funding for station adoption groups and Community Rail Partnerships. This support is delivered via train operating companies and through the Community Rail Network (CRN), who provide access to grants and resources to its members. As we move towards establishing Great British Railways, the role of Community Rail will be more important than ever. Community Rail will be integral to helping us deliver our priorities and will continue to deliver for passengers and communities in the north of England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help support the wider community utility of rail stations in the north of England.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department continues to support the community rail sector across the north of England, including through funding for station adoption groups and Community Rail Partnerships. This support is delivered via train operating companies and through the Community Rail Network (CRN), who provide access to grants and resources to its members. As we move towards establishing Great British Railways, the role of Community Rail will be more important than ever. Community Rail will be integral to helping us deliver our priorities and will continue to deliver for passengers and communities in the north of England.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of bridleways on supporting active travel nationally.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Bridleways have an important role to play in enabling active travel across the country. To support local authorities seeking to deliver active travel schemes outside of towns and cities, Active Travel England is developing specific guidance for good practice application in rural contexts and expects to publish this later this year. The guidance will explore how best bridleways (and other elements of the Public Rights of Way network) can be incorporated and integrated into existing and proposed active travel networks to expand their reach and connectivity. This will potentially have benefits for a range of different path users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that men’s mental health organisations in the north of England are consulted on the forthcoming men’s health strategy.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Men's Health Strategy will seek to improve the health and wellbeing of all men in England and will be informed by a call for evidence that is open to the public, academics, health and social care professionals, and stakeholder organisations in England. The call for evidence closes on 17 July 2025. We encourage all men’s mental health organisations in the north of England to complete the call for evidence and have their say on ways to tackle the biggest health problems facing men. We will continue to engage with stakeholders during development of the strategy.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the mental health needs of children in Ukraine.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains committed to supporting the mental health and psychosocial well-being of children affected by the war in Ukraine. This year, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will provide £9.4 million to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) to target urgent needs - including mental health and psychosocial support. URCS will support the delivery of community-based psychosocial services, including, safe, accessible spaces where children can receive essential support, and will expand training for mental health professionals promoting regional knowledge-sharing.

The UK is also leading a multi-donor programme, Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, which will enhance the capacity of Ukraine's education system to respond to the mental health needs of children. This programme focuses on equipping schoolteachers with the skills to identify signs of psychological distress and to facilitate appropriate referrals, thereby embedding mental health awareness and support within the school environment.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help improve the quality of probation services across the North West of England.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Probation Service in the North West has developed a Quality Improvement Plan which prioritises and focuses improvement activity across Probation Delivery Units in the region, and at regional level, and includes actions derived from internal audits and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation reports. Progress is routinely monitored, assured and supported by regional and national, Performance, Assurance and Risk functions.

We regularly publish performance ratings for each region of the Probation Service, which can be found at the following link: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK.

We are hiring 1,300 trainee probation officers by March 2026 in addition to the 1,050 already appointed last year. We are also investing in new technology to lift the administrative burden on probation officers so they can focus on what they do best – managing and rehabilitating offenders.

Probation funding will increase by up to £700 million by the final year of the spending review – a 45% increase in the next three years. We will deliver thousands more tags, more staff, and more accommodation to ensure that offenders are tracked and monitored closely in the community.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that recommendations made by the School Support Staff Negotiating Body are implemented.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) is being established in primary legislation through the Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced in Parliament within the first 100 days of government on 10 October 2024. The Bill is currently in the House of Lords. Due to the uncertainties of Parliamentary business and scheduling, we cannot confirm at this stage when the Bill will receive Royal Assent. After Royal Assent, secondary legislation will be required to constitute the body.

The department’s current estimate is that once the SSSNB has been established and is operational, the earliest the body will be in a position to start making pay related recommendations is in the 2027/28 academic year, to ensure a smooth transition from the current National Joint Council process.

The SSSNB will bring together employers and employee representatives to reach agreements on pay and terms and conditions which may then be ratified by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. It is important that the department strikes an appropriate balance between the SSSNB having sufficient independence to reach agreements and make recommendations, whilst ensuring that any agreements in relation to remuneration, terms and conditions or advice in relation to training and career progression are practicable before being ratified or published as statutory guidance by the Secretary of State for Education. As a negotiating body, employee and employer representatives will be able to meaningfully negotiate on pay and conditions as well as advise on training and career progression, with a clear process for the Secretary of State for Education to decide on the course of action based on the agreements reached or recommendations made.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the independence of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) is being established in primary legislation through the Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced in Parliament within the first 100 days of government on 10 October 2024. The Bill is currently in the House of Lords. Due to the uncertainties of Parliamentary business and scheduling, we cannot confirm at this stage when the Bill will receive Royal Assent. After Royal Assent, secondary legislation will be required to constitute the body.

The department’s current estimate is that once the SSSNB has been established and is operational, the earliest the body will be in a position to start making pay related recommendations is in the 2027/28 academic year, to ensure a smooth transition from the current National Joint Council process.

The SSSNB will bring together employers and employee representatives to reach agreements on pay and terms and conditions which may then be ratified by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. It is important that the department strikes an appropriate balance between the SSSNB having sufficient independence to reach agreements and make recommendations, whilst ensuring that any agreements in relation to remuneration, terms and conditions or advice in relation to training and career progression are practicable before being ratified or published as statutory guidance by the Secretary of State for Education. As a negotiating body, employee and employer representatives will be able to meaningfully negotiate on pay and conditions as well as advise on training and career progression, with a clear process for the Secretary of State for Education to decide on the course of action based on the agreements reached or recommendations made.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the School Support Staff Negotiating Body will be operational.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) is being established in primary legislation through the Employment Rights Bill, which was introduced in Parliament within the first 100 days of government on 10 October 2024. The Bill is currently in the House of Lords. Due to the uncertainties of Parliamentary business and scheduling, we cannot confirm at this stage when the Bill will receive Royal Assent. After Royal Assent, secondary legislation will be required to constitute the body.

The department’s current estimate is that once the SSSNB has been established and is operational, the earliest the body will be in a position to start making pay related recommendations is in the 2027/28 academic year, to ensure a smooth transition from the current National Joint Council process.

The SSSNB will bring together employers and employee representatives to reach agreements on pay and terms and conditions which may then be ratified by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. It is important that the department strikes an appropriate balance between the SSSNB having sufficient independence to reach agreements and make recommendations, whilst ensuring that any agreements in relation to remuneration, terms and conditions or advice in relation to training and career progression are practicable before being ratified or published as statutory guidance by the Secretary of State for Education. As a negotiating body, employee and employer representatives will be able to meaningfully negotiate on pay and conditions as well as advise on training and career progression, with a clear process for the Secretary of State for Education to decide on the course of action based on the agreements reached or recommendations made.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure collaboration between the School Support Staff Negotiation Body and academy trusts.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) will have a remit for pay, conditions, training and career progression for support staff in all state-funded schools, including academies, in England. As half of schools are now academies, it is vital that academies are included in the statutory remit of the SSSNB to ensure there is a national core offer for support staff pay and terms and conditions, across all schools.

The SSSNB will need to represent all school support staff and their employers effectively. The body will be composed of representatives of employers, employee representatives, an Independent Chairperson, and a member representing my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. The Secretary of State for Education will appoint an employer organisation which represents academy employers via regulations.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support bereaved families who have lost loved ones as a result of serious and violent crimes committed by reoffenders.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to ensuring families bereaved by homicide receive the support they need to help them build resilience to cope with the impact of these devastating crimes.

Families bereaved by homicide have rights under the Victim’s Code, which sets out the minimum level of service that victims should receive. Under the Victims’ Code, they are entitled to be given information about and be referred to victim support services by the police. The Ministry of Justice also commissions a National Homicide Service, delivered by Victim Support, to provide a consistent level of support across England and Wales to families bereaved by homicide.

Addressing reoffending is critical to public safety. We follow the evidence to tackle the root causes of reoffending by investing in a range of interventions. Serious Further Offences (SFOs) committed by offenders subject to probation supervision are rare but have a devastating impact on victims, which is why we conduct thorough investigations into each one. The findings of SFO reviews are shared with victims, as we recognise that it is vital that victims understand any improvement we need to make as a direct result of the SFO.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and her Department's document entitled English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she will bring forward legislative proposals for (a) Mayors to have a statutory role in (i) governing, (ii) managing and (iii) planning railways, and (b) an option for Mayors to control local railway stations and (c) the right for Mayors to request rail devolution.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

These subjects will be addressed in the Railways Bill, to be introduced later in this parliamentary session, and with accompanying guidance on the right to request. Guidance will outline the process for Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to make this request and the criteria that will be considered, such as national and regional network implications.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her Department’s policies of the recommendations of the article entitled Abuse of Women Runners: implications for the violence against women and girls policy agenda, published in November 2024.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government has been clear that the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable, and we are treating it as the national emergency that it is. Everyone should both be and feel safe whilst going about their day-to-day lives – and we recognise the particular vulnerability that women runners may feel.

We will go further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve VAWG in a decade, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy, which we are aiming to publish in September.

We are working across Government to use every tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence to keep all women safe.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help support the mental health needs of children in Gaza.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We highlighted the critical situation for Gaza's children at a session of the UN Security Council which we co-called on 16 July, and at the International Development Committee on 16 July. We have provided £5.6 million to the Global Partnership for Education to support the educational and psychosocial needs of children and young people in Gaza and the West Bank. Our support to Education Cannot Wait is also supporting children's education and mental health via the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners.

Found: ) Dr Scott Arthur (Labour; Edinburgh South West) Catherine Atkinson (Labour; Derby North) Mrs Elsie Blundell

Found: Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Catherine Atkinson; Mrs Elsie Blundell

Found: Campbell Siân Berry Ellie Chowns Dawn Butler Tessa Munt Adrian Ramsay Freddie van Mierlo Mrs Elsie Blundell

Found: Campbell Siân Berry Ellie Chowns Dawn Butler Tessa Munt Adrian Ramsay Freddie van Mierlo Mrs Elsie Blundell

Found: Campbell Siân Berry Ellie Chowns Dawn Butler Tessa Munt Adrian Ramsay Freddie van Mierlo Mrs Elsie Blundell

Found: Campbell Siân Berry Ellie Chowns Dawn Butler Tessa Munt Adrian Ramsay Freddie van Mierlo Mrs Elsie Blundell

Submit Evidence (by 8 Sep 2025)

Taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) form a key part of the transport network, particularly for people who face barriers to using other forms of transport and as a driver of the nighttime economy. However, the current system for regulating these vehicles can vary across different licensing authorities, creating inconsistencies and raising questions about how effective present standards are.

Submit Evidence (by 15 Sep 2025)

The UK has a long tradition of manufacturing motor vehicles, buses, aeroplanes, trains, and ships, but manufacturers in the transport industries are concerned about skills shortages. These industries are integral to the economic health of the communities they are based in, and they provide high-quality, British-built equipment for companies here and around the world.

Submit Evidence (by 16 Oct 2025)

The Transport Committee is looking at how Government can mould transport services, networks and options around the journeys that people need and want to make in their daily lives. We want to find out what kinds of changes need to be made to bring this about, including in different parts of the country and for transport users with different needs.