Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
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 plans to take to ensure that new Mayors are accountable to their local areas.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Within Mayoral Combined Authorities and Mayoral Combined County Authorities there is an existing system of accountability and scrutiny arrangements. This system ensures that public spending is achieving value for money.
In the English Devolution White Paper the government set out how it plans to go further and the government’s commitment to strengthening the accountability and scrutiny arrangements of Mayors and the Combined Authorities as greater powers, duties and resources are devolved.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress his Department has made on the rollout of Project Gigabit in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 99% of premises in the Ossett and Denby Dale constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 96% have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>1000 Mbps).
To improve this coverage further, Quickline is delivering several Project Gigabit contracts across Yorkshire, targeted at bringing gigabit-capable broadband to premises in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout. Work has already commenced in parts of Ossett and Denby Dales.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the transport system supports economic growth in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Kickstarting economic growth across every corner of the UK is the top priority of this Government.
We’re getting on with delivering the Government’s Plan for Change by delivering the basics of a better transport system, including in places across West Yorkshire, where we are providing £830million of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding to help transform their local transport network. This is funding a range of transport improvements that will benefit West Yorkshire’s economy, including development of the first phase of West Yorkshire Mass Transit.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) prevent and (b) increase the early detection of chronic kidney disease through the 10-year health plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts the National Health Service needs to be fit for the future, namely from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving the prevention and detection of chronic kidney disease in all parts of the country.
The 10-Year Health Plan will build on the NHS Health Check which aims to prevent heart disease, stroke and kidney disease among adults aged between 40 and 74 years old, and engages over 1.4 million people a year.
Earlier diagnosis will help people manage their conditions, prevent deterioration and improve survival rates. More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support the early detection of many long-term conditions such as chronic kidney disease.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help farmers recruit people on Seasonal Worker visas.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We know how important securing the right workforce is to the agri-food chain, for both skilled (such as butchers and vets) and temporary (such as seasonal horticulture harvesting) jobs.
The Government has confirmed the Seasonal Worker visa route for 2025, with a total of 43,000 Seasonal Worker visas available for horticulture and 2,000 for poultry. At the NFU conference, the Government announced a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, until the end of 2030, giving farms a pipeline of workers and certainty to grow their businesses. Annual quota reviews will ensure we strike the right balance – supporting farms while gradually transitioning away from seasonal migrant labour. This will help secure the labour and skills needed to bring high quality British produce, such as strawberries, rhubarb and daffodils to market.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help support farming businesses in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government wants to improve profitability for farmers, including for those in West Yorkshire, to make their businesses viable for the future. That is why we were pleased to announce £5 billion for the farming budget over 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes to boost Britain’s food security and accelerate the transition to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle fraud in the welfare system by serious and organised criminal gangs.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP works collaboratively across Government Departments and Law Enforcement Agencies on investigations into benefit fraud carried out by organised crime gangs.
New powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will strengthen our capability to tackle organised crime by modernising and enhancing our investigation powers and ensuring those defrauding the public sector face appropriate consequences.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of dentists are taking on new NHS patients in (a) Ossett and Denby Dale constituency and (b) West Yorkshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As of 4 February 2025, there were 13 National Health Service dental practices in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency, with three, or 23%, showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’ and two, or 15%, showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’. In West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, there were 269 NHS dental practices, with 86, or 32%, showing as ‘accepting new child patients when availability allows’ and 48, or 18%, showing as ‘accepting new adult patients when availability allows’.
This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website and is matched to constituencies based on the postcode data shown on the website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-dentist
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has plans to provide disabled access at Shepley train station in Ossett and Denby Dale constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are carefully considering the best approach to the Access for All programme. Since April 2024, 19 stations have been completed with a further 8 due to be completed by April 2025. We will shortly be updating MPs and other stakeholders on our approach to Access for All. This Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.
Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of endometriosis care services in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the care received by those suffering from gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis. We have taken urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan. In gynaecology, the plan supports innovative models offering patients care closer to home, and piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres.
We encourage any woman or girl with symptoms of endometriosis to contact their GP. Within West Yorkshire endometriosis care services are delivered in three ways; through work taking place to provide care in women’s health hubs supported by primary care, support provided by secondary care, and specialist services for the treatment of severe endometriosis.
The Leeds women’s health hub opened on 1 May 2024 and a virtual West Yorkshire women’s inclusion health hub is due to go live in March 2025. Services provided in the women’s health hubs include assessment and treatment of menstrual problems, including but not limited to care for heavy, painful or irregular menstrual bleeding, as well as care for conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Secondary care endometriosis diagnosis and treatment is provided by several hospital trusts across West Yorkshire. The Mid Yorkshire Teaching Trust is the only commissioned specialist endometriosis centre in West Yorkshire, commissioned by NHS England to provide interventions for severe endometriosis. The local gynaecology clinical network is currently reviewing opportunities to maximise patient access to endometriosis services across West Yorkshire, utilising the available sub-specialty skill set across the hospital trusts in the network.