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 potential merits of investing in mental health services to help tackle substance abuse.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the need for evidenced-based, high-quality drug and alcohol services, and will ensure that anyone with a substance use problem can access the help and support they need. To achieve this, we also recognise the vital need for high-quality integrated care for those with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet these needs, whilst most mental health services in England are funded and commissioned by integrated care boards. There are currently no plans to change this arrangement, but we are working to promote more cohesive and joined up care between mental health and substance use services. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing a total of £310 million in additional targeted grants to improve drug and alcohol services and recovery support, which includes housing and employment. Alongside this, for 2025/26, mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift in real terms spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year. Integrated care boards are forecast to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard over the 2025/26 financial year, meaning that local health services will invest a greater share of their budgets into frontline mental health services.

In addition to continued investment, we intend to soon publish the Co-occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Action Plan, which has been co-produced between the Department and NHS England. The action plan provides national commitments and calls to the sector on how the health system can improve delivery of joined-up, person-centred care across drug and alcohol treatment and mental health services.

Furthermore, the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities has published a Commissioning Quality Standard in 2022 which provides guidance for drug and alcohol treatment commissioners on improving services for people with co-occurring mental health and alcohol or drug conditions. This standard sets out that local services need to work together so that people can access the help they need for both their mental health and their alcohol or drug use.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve public transport services to industrial estates.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Good local bus services, including to industrial estates, are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them right across England. The government has committed to increasing accountability by including a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.

In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been allocated £66.3 million of this funding.

Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has conducted feasibility studies on extending (a) Metrolink and (b) tram-train services to (i) towns and (ii) villages in Hazel Grove constituency.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

This Government is investing in transport improvements across our city regions, including Greater Manchester which is receiving over £1 billion through its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. In line with the Government’s commitment to devolution, decisions on where to invest this funding, including whether to conduct feasibility studies for extending Metrolink and tram-train services to towns and villages in the Hazel Grove constituency, rest with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, in partnership with its constituent local authorities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to set a target for decision waiting times in the National Referral Mechanism.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We have committed to clearing the backlog of Conclusive Grounds decisions by December 2026, improving decision timeliness for all potential victims of slavery and trafficking referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

We have recruited new staff to the Single Competent Authority and are seeing significantly increased number of Conclusive Grounds decisions as a result of these new staff becoming operational. Decision-making times have reduced in the most recent quarter and the backlog is now half the size it was at its peak.

In addition, we are continuing to explore ways to improve the First Responder Form used by First Responder Organisations to refer potential victims of modern slavery and trafficking into the NRM, to improve the quality of referrals into the NRM system, so that decisions can be taken as early as possible.

Statutory guidance outlines that a minimum period of 30 days must pass between a Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decision, and that such a decision can only be made once all relevant information has been gathered or received.

Statistics about NRM referrals and decisions are published quarterly on gov.uk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to clear the backlog in the National Referral Mechanism.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We have committed to clearing the backlog of Conclusive Grounds decisions by December 2026, improving decision timeliness for all potential victims of slavery and trafficking referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

We have recruited new staff to the Single Competent Authority and are seeing significantly increased number of Conclusive Grounds decisions as a result of these new staff becoming operational. Decision-making times have reduced in the most recent quarter and the backlog is now half the size it was at its peak.

In addition, we are continuing to explore ways to improve the First Responder Form used by First Responder Organisations to refer potential victims of modern slavery and trafficking into the NRM, to improve the quality of referrals into the NRM system, so that decisions can be taken as early as possible.

Statutory guidance outlines that a minimum period of 30 days must pass between a Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decision, and that such a decision can only be made once all relevant information has been gathered or received.

Statistics about NRM referrals and decisions are published quarterly on gov.uk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of lifting the ban on people in the National Referral Mechanism working if they have been waiting for a decision for over three months.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

An individual’s right to work depends on their immigration status in the UK. Many victims of modern slavery already have the legal right to work owing to being British or due to having pre-existing leave to remain for another reason.

Victims with a right to work in the UK can do so while continuing to receive support through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence from Jilly Julian of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council of 4 February 2025 on the administration of the Flood Recovery Framework.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The department has no record of having received this correspondence.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing incentive schemes to encourage NHS dentists to practice in areas that are experiencing a shortage of NHS dental professionals.

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

We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.

Integrated care boards have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 46010 on Speed limits, what her planned (a) timetable and (b) scope is for the forthcoming road safety strategy.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I would like to make clear that improving road safety is one of my key priorities. Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. That is why we are developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.

At the Transport Select Committee in April 2025, the Secretary of State set out that we hope to publish the Strategy later this year.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of contacts that UK NHS Ambulance Trusts have had with people who are (a) experiencing suicidal ideation and (b) committing suicide in each of the last five years.

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

This information is not held centrally. We know that suicide is complex and there are a range of factors outside of the mental health system that we will need to address if we are to achieve the Government’s aim.

We will need to continue working across Government and with a wide range of organisations outside of Government to do this. That is why we have a dedicated cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy.

We have commissioned research to explore why suicide rates amongst children and young people were increasing until recently. We expect the results to be published very shortly, and will use the findings to inform next steps.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of public funding for local leisure facilities.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Department works closely with local government and other government departments to understand specific demand and cost pressures facing local government on an ongoing basis. This involves looking at a range of cost and demand data, as well as regular engagement with local authorities.

The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash-terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of this funding is un-ringfenced, and can be used to address the range of pressures facing the local government sector. Spending decisions beyond 2025-26, including on funding for local leisure facilities, are a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with refugee charities on the potential merits of creating greater flexibility for the collection of biometric information for people seeking refugee family reunion.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing greater flexibility for the collection of biometric information for people seeking refugee family reunion.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent reductions in NHSP overtime pay rates for Band 5 nurses on NHS staff (a) retention and (b) morale.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Professionals, a limited company wholly owned by the Department, contracts on an arm’s length basis with National Health Service trusts to provide flexible workforce solutions, including managed bank services and its National Bank offering.

Shifts made available by trusts through NHS Professionals are not classed as overtime. Trusts request that NHS Professionals fill a shift from its bank membership and specify the pay rate, as it may be at the Agenda for Change rate for that assignment, or may be at an enhanced rate.

Enhanced rates were initially introduced in response to competition from higher cost agencies, and were always intended to be a temporary measure. A decision to amend the rates was made by the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust following a detailed review of the enhanced bank rates in nursing and midwifery services across the Greater Manchester area.

The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

Speed camera guidance

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

Improving equestrian road safety awareness

Overseas-qualified dentists

UK aid for global forests and indigenous peoples

Universities and international students

Jewish LGBTQ+ groups at Pride

Political parties at Pride

Community Energy Pathways and the King’s Award for Sustainable Enterprise

Deaf Awareness Week 2025

UK-EU Summit

Court transcript costs

Climate and Nature Bill

Safe sleep standards in early years settings

Sewage discharge

UK role in peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Gaza occupation proposals

Electoral reform

Royal Mail's universal service obligation

Ensuring stability for Ukrainian refugees in the UK

Blockade of aid to Gaza

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