Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 raise public awareness of the symptoms of chronic urinary tract infections.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service provides information on the symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTIs), including chronic UTIs, at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/urinary-tract-infections-utis/
The Department currently has no plans to raise public awareness of the symptoms of chronic UTIs. However, the Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is funding research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs, including chronic UTIs. This research includes the development of antimicrobial-impregnated catheters to reduce episodes of catheter-associated UTIs as well as the TOUCAN study, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation
This study is evaluating rapid point of care UTI diagnostic tests in general practice surgeries that not only enable faster detection of UTIs but also provide real-time information on antibiotic resistance, ensuring patients receive the correct treatment.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much additional funding her Department plans to spend on transport projects for Maidenhead; and what those projects are.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are yet to announce the local authority allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. This will be announced in due course. We have informed Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £7.336 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 reduce waiting times for adolescent mental health services in Berkshire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including Berkshire. We are determined to change that as part of our shift to prevention and earlier intervention and in line with our Plan for Change.
The Department’s Spending Review settlement means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, representing a £53 billion cash uplift, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24.
In the Spending Review announcement, we have confirmed that we will fulfil the Government’s commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 additional mental health staff by the end of the Parliament and expand mental health support teams in schools in England to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of guidance from the Highway Authority and Utilities Committee that utilities beneath tram tracks must be diverted under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 on the cost of light rail schemes; and whether her Department is taking steps to (a) review the cost-allocation model for utility diversions and (b) review the requirement to move utilities in this way.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department works closely with the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC(UK)) - which brings together highway authorities, utilities and government with the aim of working safely and smartly to reduce the impact of street and road works on members of the public throughout the UK. The Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee is currently reviewing the Diversionary Works Code of Practice with my officials. There are currently no plans to review the regulations for cost allocation.
The New Road and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) balances the statutory rights of highway authorities and undertakers to carry out works with the need to minimise the disruption caused by these works. Financial incentives play an important role in ensuring compliance with requirements. There is a risk that by removing safeguards when utilities work on tram routes, reinstatements may not be fit for purpose, resulting in damage and possible safety issues that the tram company operator or local highway authority would then need to resolve.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to green belt protections on (a) biodiversity, (b) access to green space and (c) the long-term preservation of rural character in Cookham.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on 12 December 2024, following extensive consultation, including with local planning authorities.
I otherwise refer the hon. Members to the answers given to questions UIN 26508 on 5 February 2025, UIN 29375 on 18 February 2025, UIN 40156 on 26 March 2025 and UIN 43157 on 7 April 2025.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered introducing custodial sentences for people found guilty of illegal hunting under the provisions of the Hunting Act 2004.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans in a generation to improve animal welfare and that is exactly what we will do.
The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.
The Government has committed to a ban on trail hunting. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of air quality levels in Maidenhead constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities review and assess air quality in their areas and publish an annual report on their actions to improve local air quality including local monitoring data.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have reported continued reductions in concentrations of NO2 and PM10 over recent years and continued compliance with the Air Quality Objectives set by central Government. The council has begun to monitor local concentrations of PM2.5 and are likely to report on this pollutant later this year; Defra’s modelling for PM2.5 shows that background concentrations are also well below the annual mean Air Quality Objective in this council’s area.
The most recent national air quality compliance assessment for 2023 presented air quality modelling data and measurements from national air pollution monitoring networks across the UK. The assessment was published in September 2024 on Defra’s UK-AIR website. No exceedances were reported of the limit and target values for NO2, PM10 or PM2.5 in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with Transport for London on taxi and private hire driver licence renewals.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Transport for London is the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authority for London and is responsible for administering the licensing regime in London. The Department discusses a range of licensing matters with them.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring television manufacturers to include a dedicated BBC iPlayer button on remote controls in line with existing buttons for commercial streaming services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the need to ensure that public service broadcasters’ (PSB) services and content remain easy to find as viewers increasingly shift online.
That is why we are getting on with implementing the Media Act 2024 which introduces a new online prominence regime. This new regime will ensure that PSB apps, like BBC iPlayer, are carried and given appropriate prominence on major TV platforms. The Government will consider the case for further reforms following the publication of Ofcom’s Public Service Media review later this year.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school buildings in Maidenhead are classified as requiring urgent repair under her Department’s Condition Data Collection.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
From 2021 to 2026, the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme is visiting every government-funded school and college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. This is providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the condition of the school estate in England to support our capital funding policy and programmes.
School reports, setting out the condition of building elements, are shared with each school and their responsible body while the CDC2 programme is in progress, so that schools and responsible bodies have access to the latest assessment of their site.
Information on the condition of schools, as assessed by the predecessor programme (CDC1), can be found at: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.
Responsible bodies, such as local authorities, voluntary-aided school bodies, and multi and single academy trusts, have the responsibility to make regular assessments of the condition of schools in their estate to inform programmes of maintenance works.
The department has increased funding to improve the condition of the estate for the 2025/26 financial year to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion last year. Allocations are published on GOV.UK and are partly informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate collected by the department, reflecting the relative need of schools. This is in addition to our continued investment in the current School Rebuilding Programme.