Asked by: Jade Botterill (Labour - Ossett and Denby Dale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of outdoor education for (a) children and (b) adults.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department believes that outdoor education can be a valuable part of a broad and balanced curriculum, for example in physical education and geography, and a school’s enrichment offer. Both form an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and to achieve high and rising standards for all children.
We are supporting research by the University of Oxford which will help us to better understand the specific benefits of spending time in nature and ascertain which nature-based activities are most impactful for which outcomes.
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 ensure that diagnostic results shared via the NHS App for patients living with chronic conditions are accompanied by (a) tailored information for patients about their condition and (b) a clear route to contact with a health care professional where appropriate and desired by patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS App will provide an improved and personalised experience for users, empowering them to access key elements of their health conditions like test results, and providing patients with 24 hour a day, seven day a week advice and guidance that will help them to understand their health and make informed choices about what to do next.
This will be building on the current test results feature in the NHS App that is successfully used by millions of people each month to access the results of tests they have conducted with their general practice.
In the future, the NHS App will go even further and provide patients with a range of new tools that will redefine how patients engage with the health service. The 10-Year Plan outlines that patients can expect:
- fast advice, so no patient faces uncertainty about what care they need, or a needlessly anxious wait;
- increased choice between different services and different providers;
- direct access, so patients can book appointments or self-refer to tests wherever clinically appropriate; and
- accessible knowledge, so patients can find the information they need to get the most out of their healthcare, or to manage their caring responsibilities for others.
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