Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to regulate commercially available prostate specific antigen tests; and if he will produce clinical guidance to ensure the promotion of (a) clear and (b) evidence-based public health messaging on the (i) risk of prostate cancer and (ii) options for testing.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In January 2024, the UK National Screening Committee updated its information on paid-for private screening tests, and how they differ from National Health Service screening programmes.
The updated guidance sets out the potential benefits and harms of all screening, including summarising some additional possible issues for people to think about if considering commercially offered health screening tests. These issues include that commercial companies often only offer a test, rather than an end-to-end screening pathway. If an individual then receives an abnormal finding, it is up to them to seek any advice, further investigation, or treatment.
Furthermore, NHS England is taking steps to raise awareness of the symptoms of prostate cancer, where there are opportunities to do so. NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time programme published guidance in April 2024 to support the implementation of good practice in the management of prostate cancer, which includes ensuring that the diagnostic pathways for prostate cancer were implemented from a primary care setting to a secondary care presentation.
The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve all cancer services and outcomes for people living with cancer, including those with prostate cancer. The Department is investing £16 million into the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial, which seeks to find better ways of detecting prostate cancer. This trial will compare the most promising tests that look for prostate cancer in men that do not have symptoms, and aims to address disparities in detection rates across different groups.
As recently announced, we will publish a new National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve cancer services across England, including for those living with prostate cancer.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to recruit more neurodiverse graduates into the armed forces.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In a competitive age, our advantage derives from the talent and skills of our people. Attracting, recruiting, and retaining the best people drawn from the broadest diversity of thought, skills and background is mission critical to our operational effectiveness. It ensures we continue to meet the threats we face and safeguard the security, stability and prosperity of our nation. Diversity drives performance, innovation, increases creative thinking and reduces the risks of group think and lack of challenge, as highlighted in the Chilcot Review.
This Government has already begun to modernise and refine our policies and processes to attract, and then retain the best possible talent in our Armed Forces. Defence is committed to a diverse workforce, including in neurodiversity. The Defence Secretary has undertaken to review the current recruitment policies and has already announced several changes to prior outdated approaches, including medical entry standards relating to neurodiverse conditions. For example, candidates with Autism Spectrum Disorder can now join the Armed Forces, providing their symptoms have no significant impact and do not require ongoing specialist support.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to (a) support young people with mental health conditions into work and (b) help reduce the number of young people signed off work due to mental health conditions.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Get Britain Working White Paper set out the government’s plans to drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity, create an inclusive labour market in which everybody can participate and progress in work, and meet the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. The White Paper set out three major reforms: to create a new Jobs and Careers Service, address the growing and unsustainable problem of people being out of work due to poor health, and establish a new Youth Guarantee.
The Youth Guarantee will be for all 18-21 year olds in England and will ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work, starting in eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazer areas this Spring.
Department for Work and Pensions already provides young people aged 16-24, who are claiming Universal Credit, with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Hubs across Great Britain, and Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work. Youth Employability Coaches specifically work closely with Disability Employment Advisors to support those with disabilities and health conditions.
The Government also recognises that many people find health conditions and disabilities, including mental ill health, a barrier to employment. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key.
There are a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals with health conditions to stay in work and get back into work, which involve joint working between Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care. Support includes Employment Advisers in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support programme for people with severe mental illnesses, and Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme aimed at disabled people with complex barriers to employment. In addition, Department for Health and Social Care’s Early Support Hubs also provide employment advice and broader mental health and wellbeing support to young people aged 11-25.
Policy relating to waiting lists for people referred for mental health support sits with my Ministerial colleagues at the Department for Health and Social Care, and you may wish to raise the matter with them.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with the aircraft industry to help reduce (a) noise and (b) carbon emissions from aircraft and (c) air space modernisation.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department works closely with Sustainable Aviation – an industry alliance to support a sustainable UK aviation sector – and they published an updated Noise Road Map in February 2025. We recognise the nationwide noise reduction benefits that the latest generation of aircraft and aircraft technology will deliver.
The Government has also established the Jet Zero Taskforce to convene stakeholders from across the UK aviation sector to identify, and advise on, unblocking the key barriers in delivering greener aviation. Further, through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme, Government is co-investing with industry in the development of ultra-efficient and zero-carbon aircraft technology. It aims to grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace while reducing harmful emissions, including CO2 and noise.
The Government’s airspace modernisation programme works closely with a range of industry stakeholders, primarily airports and airlines, to ensure the environmental benefits of airspace modernisation can be realised as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to regulate the level of interest rates offered by loan companies on daytime television; and what steps she is taking to protect vulnerable consumers from high-cost credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Lenders offering high-cost credit are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This oversight ensures that lending practices are fair and that consumers are protected.
In 2013 the Government placed a duty on the FCA to implement a price cap for high-cost short-term credit products. The price cap came into force in 2015 and ensures that consumers using these products will never repay more than 100% of the principal in interest, fees, and other charges.
Lenders are also required to follow the FCA’s rules on promotions and adverts, where non-compliance could lead to fines. The FCA requires that all adverts and other promotions must be clear, fair, and not misleading.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
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 made an assessment of the potential impact of mini forests on (a) improving (i) air quality and (ii) diversity and (b) supporting the UK’s environmental goals.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra, through the Trees Outside Woodlands research programme (funded by the Government), has carried out a study on the Miyawaki Method of planting, sometimes known as tiny or mini forests. The testing has been carried out since 2021. The long-term potential effects of this type of planting compared to typical planting is not yet known, but the study found that the plots that used the Miyawaki Method produced significantly higher early growth and survival rates. It also found early indications that biodiversity levels may be higher than typical planting. Ongoing research aims to understand the carbon implications and longer-term effects of using the method, but these early findings show that the method is a useful tool that can be deployed for tree planting, particularly in urban areas.
A report on the findings after two years of growth can be found here.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to (a) correlate data between people (i) with mental health conditions and (ii) reported as perpetrators of domestic abuse and (b) share that data with police authorities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that the proportion of domestic homicide reviews where mental health concerns have been identified has risen in recent years. It is important that all parts of the system, including health, policing and justice services, work together to deal with this and protect domestic abuse victims. Following recent discussions with the Home Office and NHS England, we are considering what options might be available to help achieve this.
Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for the Government, we have a mission to halve this violence in a decade. We are working across Government to deliver a transformative approach to this, underpinned by a new strategy to be published later in 2025.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning the use of bottom-towed fishing gear within marine protected areas.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Runcorn and Helsby on 3 February 2025, PQ 26547.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
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 to reduce the amount of fly-tipping.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities have enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping, including fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, and prosecution action which can lead to significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers and we are also taking steps so that we may develop further guidance to support local authorities to consistently, appropriately and effectively exercise these existing powers.
In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment, and other actions to tackle fly-tipping, in due course.
In the meantime, Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
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 (a) regenerate town centres and (b) reduce the number of derelict properties.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government is committed to rejuvenating our town centres. On 4 March, we launched the Plan for Neighbourhoods, the government's flagship programme, a £1.5 billion investment to help revitalise local areas and fight deprivation in 75 places across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. We have also launched High Street Rental Auctions; powers which allow local authorities in England to auction the lease of persistently vacant commercial properties. On 6 March we announced the names of a further 8 early adopter councils, 11 in total, which will champion the new powers to give others confidence to revive their high streets.