Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health support services for bereaved parents following baby loss.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that experiencing a baby loss can be an extremely difficult time and we are determined to make sure all women, babies, and their families receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, particularly when things go wrong.
As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are available in all 42 integrated care system areas of England. These services provide care for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.
A record 63,858 women accessed a specialist community perinatal mental health service or maternal mental health services in the 12 months to February 2025. This is a 109% increase from March 2020.
We have developed the National Bereavement Care Pathway in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s leading pregnancy and baby loss charity, to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service. The pathway covers a range of baby loss circumstances, including miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, neonatal death, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
While the Government has not carried out a formal assessment of mental health support services for bereaved parents following baby loss, we are committed to transforming and improving mental health care, as set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of military promotion processes.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As recommended by the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), we are working towards supporting a ‘One Defence’ mindset through career management structures that reward behaviour and action accordingly. Unified Career Management (UCM) is currently in place within specialised cohorts which provides a joint approach to career management and promotion boards. Lessons learnt from UCM will provide an opportunity to refine the roll out to additional cohorts.
We will also consider the more radical options recommended by the SDR to break down single Service siloes, such as joint promotion boards and central career management.
Defence is taking seriously the SDR's call to invest in foundational leadership, financial, commercial, and technology skills across the civilian and military workforce, including the flexibility to reward the development of expertise in specialist areas, including through pay and promotion freedoms; and developing a two-way secondment programme with a focus on short-term, informal schemes that are effective and can be delivered quickly. We are working at pace on a plan for delivery.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to (a) reduce pavement parking and (b) encourage the removal of obstacles for pedestrians with visual impairments.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government fully understands the serious problems that vehicles parked on the pavement, and other obstacles on the pavement, can cause for pedestrians, especially people with mobility or sight impairments and those with prams or pushchairs. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to its pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking and deal with other obstacles on the pavement.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to support the development of padel courts in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.
We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to local authorities to (a) build and (b) maintain sports facilities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.
The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
DCMS and its ALB provide direct funding to sports facilities. The government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Additional funding for grassroots sport facilities is also delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which is providing £98 million across the UK in 2025/26 to support new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities.
In June the Culture Secretary announced another £400 million to transform community sport facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.