Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England on reducing the number of (a) delays and (b) cancellations to NHS mental health appointments in Hazel Grove constituency.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No such specific discussions have taken place regarding delays and cancellations to National Health Service mental health appointments in the Hazel Grove constituency.

On a national scale we are meeting the waiting time standards we have in place for NHS Talking Therapies and Early Intervention in Psychosis pathways. However, we recognise that many of the working-age adult population with mental health needs can face long waits to access mental health support.

This is why we are working to reform our mental health system to make sure patients get the care they need, when they need.

At the Spending Review 2025, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitments to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament and roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30.

Six pilot sites are trialling 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, providing open access to mental health care for patients, reducing long waits. Our improvements to the NHS App will mean people are able to access rapid online support when they need.

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 prepare for possible future pandemics.

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

Ensuring the United Kingdom is prepared for a future pandemic is a top priority for the Government, and we are embedding lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic in our approach to pandemic preparedness. We aim to have flexible, adaptable and scalable capabilities that can respond to any infectious disease or other threat, rather than rely on plans for specific threats.

In the Autumn 2024 budget, the Chancellor announced £460 million of investment to strengthen the UK’s pandemic preparedness, including replenishing personal protective equipment (PPE), vaccine and medicines stockpiles.

Our stockpiles for a potential future health emergency cover a range of clinical countermeasures, including antivirals, antibiotics, medical consumables, PPE and hygiene consumables.

In autumn 2025, the Department and UK Health Security Agency are conducting Exercise PEGASUS, a national exercise on the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic. It aims to assess the UK’s preparedness, capabilities, and response arrangements in the context of a pandemic arising from a novel infectious disease and involves all regions and nations of the UK and thousands of participants.

The outcomes of the exercise will inform how we approach our pandemic strategy going forward.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of sentences for people convicted of crimes involving breaches of trading standards.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice has made no assessment of sentencing for offending involving breaches of trading standards.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts. Parliament has provided the courts with a broad range of sentencing powers to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and custodial sentences.

When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors. The courts also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the amount of time taken by police forces to complete digital advice examinations; and what steps her Department is taking to help reduce those times.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are aware that the amount of time taken by forces to examine digital devices varies considerably, but that urgent requests are always prioritised.

Chief Constables, and ultimately Police and Crime Commissioners, are currently responsible for forensics procurement and delivery, with some regional coordination. We are exploring the creation of a specialist national capability for police forensics, within the proposed National Centre for Policing, and have recruited a Director of Forensic Services to stabilise and reform forensics in the meantime.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help increase economic growth in Hazel Grove constituency.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

There is excellence right across the country and this government is backing it: lifting living standards and putting more money in people’s pockets.  Greater Manchester Combined Authority will receive £2.5bn through the Transport for City Regions Fund and the Greater Manchester Investment Zone is expected to deliver £1.1 bn in private sector investment and 32,000 jobs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for Graduate visas made from within the UK used (a) the standard service, (b) the priority service, and (c) the super-priority service in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Published data on Graduate visa applications can be found here, Visa, status and immigration data: April to June 2025 including data on standard, priority and super-priority applications.

Filter 'Graduate' on the 'VSI_01a" tab

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities in providing (a) warm spaces and (b) cool spaces in local areas.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding which will be delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29. The £3.4 billion, when taken together with a 3% core council tax referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept, results in a 2.6% real terms average annual increase in Core Spending Power over the Spending Review period.

The government is committed to reforming the way in which local government is funded to return the sector to a sustainable position and target funding to the places who need it most.  By fixing these foundations, the sector will be better placed to invest in and drive local growth.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to local government funding on the ability of local authorities to provide (a) warm spaces and (b) cool spaces in local areas.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years for local services that communities rely on. This includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding which will be delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29. The £3.4 billion, when taken together with a 3% core council tax referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept, results in a 2.6% real terms average annual increase in Core Spending Power over the Spending Review period.

The government is committed to reforming the way in which local government is funded to return the sector to a sustainable position and target funding to the places who need it most.  By fixing these foundations, the sector will be better placed to invest in and drive local growth.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

Warm Spaces Programme

Local government and social care

Fireworks anti-social behaviour and regulation

Protections for animals and people

Buying community energy locally

Scientific hearing on animal experiments

Warm Homes Plan

Renewable energy and coal

Found: Steve Reed OBE MP (Labour; Streatham and Croydon North) Lisa Smart MP (Liberal Democrat; Hazel Grove)