Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary school children are eligible for free school meals in (a) the North East and (b) Hexham constituency.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department publishes the number of pupils in primary schools who are eligible for free school meals (FSM). The most recent figures, including regional level data, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

Parliamentary constituencies are based on their boundaries at the time of the January school census each year, therefore, the 2024 Parliamentary boundaries do not reflect the changes made in the summer of 2024.

​Where statistics were published prior to the changes in Parliamentary constituency boundaries, they will be updated to reflect the new boundaries in the next publication of statistics. This is expected to be in June 2025 for the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication.

FSM data is published at school level. This can be combined with information from ‘Get Information About Schools’ (GIAS) to identify parliamentary constituency. GIAS currently reflects the changes made following the general election Parliamentary constituency changes. Updates to geographical data are made on a quarterly basis using data published by the Office for National Statistics.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to publish the Financial Inclusiveness Strategy.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

On 5 December, the Government announced work on a Financial Inclusion Strategy which will be developed alongside a supporting committee, chaired by me. The Financial Inclusion Committee’s mission is to tackle barriers to individual and households’ ability to access affordable and appropriate financial products and services.

The strategy will be published later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many veterans are accessing mental health support in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service, which allows veterans to make self-referrals. The Op COURAGE North service, run by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, covers the Hexham area.

The service, which is available across England, has been designed to support veterans from all areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices (GPs), Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate. The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services, and they can instead choose to use mainstream NHS services, such as Talking Therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.

GPs are able to participate in the Veteran Friendly Practice Accreditation Scheme, which is a free support programme for GPs in England that enables GPs to easily identify, understand, and support veterans and, where appropriate, refer them to specialist healthcare services designed especially for them, such as Op COURAGE. Over 99% of Primary Care Networks have at least one GP accredited as Veteran Friendly.

For Op COURAGE, between April and November 2024, Op COURAGE North received 2,040 referrals. Across all Op COURAGE services in England, there were over 5,000 referrals in the same time period. For NHS Talking Therapies, between April and November 2024, NHS Talking Therapies in the North of England received 5,100 referrals from veterans. Across all NHS Talking Therapies there were over 13,400 referrals over the same period.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure veterans in Hexham constituency have access to mental health services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissions Op COURAGE, the integrated mental health and wellbeing service, which allows veterans to make self-referrals. The Op COURAGE North service, run by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, covers the Hexham area.

The service, which is available across England, has been designed to support veterans from all areas, and is delivered from a range of locations, including National Health Service trusts, general practices (GPs), Poppy Shops, veteran hubs, and drop-in centres. Elements of the service may also be provided online if this is clinically appropriate. The Government recognises that not all veterans want to use veteran-specific mental health services, and they can instead choose to use mainstream NHS services, such as Talking Therapies, which are available to both veterans and civilians.

GPs are able to participate in the Veteran Friendly Practice Accreditation Scheme, which is a free support programme for GPs in England that enables GPs to easily identify, understand, and support veterans and, where appropriate, refer them to specialist healthcare services designed especially for them, such as Op COURAGE. Over 99% of Primary Care Networks have at least one GP accredited as Veteran Friendly.

For Op COURAGE, between April and November 2024, Op COURAGE North received 2,040 referrals. Across all Op COURAGE services in England, there were over 5,000 referrals in the same time period. For NHS Talking Therapies, between April and November 2024, NHS Talking Therapies in the North of England received 5,100 referrals from veterans. Across all NHS Talking Therapies there were over 13,400 referrals over the same period.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people are on the waiting list for social housing in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

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

The number of households on social housing registers (waiting lists) in (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England is available in live table 600 on gov.uk here.

The department does not collect this information by parliamentary constituency, so we do not have the information for (a) Hexham constituency.

The number of households on the housing register (waiting list) is not the same as the number of households waiting. Local authorities periodically review their registers to remove households who no longer require housing, so the total number of households on housing registers may overstate the number of households who still require social housing at any one time. The frequency of reviews varies between local authorities. Housing register size may also be affected by other factors. For example, there is the potential for some households to be on the housing register of more than one local authority.