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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) reopening or (b) replacing the Community Ownership Fund to support communities seeking to take local assets into community ownership.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Although the Community Ownership Fund is now closed, this Government remains committed to the communities’ sector and to community empowerment.

Through the English Devolution Bill, we will introduce a new Community Right to Buy to help local people to acquire valued community spaces, such as pubs, if they come up for sale. These powers will help to keep these assets in the hands of the community, bringing more spaces back into use and rejuvenating local high streets across the country.

We have no current plans to replace the Community Ownership Fund. However, at Spending Review 2025, the Chancellor announced that up to 350 of the most deprived places will receive support from government. That includes the 75 places named in the Plan for Neighbourhoods in March 2025. Further information will be published in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to review the (a) application process and (b) delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant.

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

The Government has no immediate plans to review the application process or delivery timescales for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG). We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government Departments more widely on relevant issues.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) delays, (b) administrative burdens and (c) the availability of approved contractors to improve the operation of the Disabled Facilities Grant.

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

The Government recognises the importance of timely and efficient delivery of home adaptations, including through the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), to help enable older and disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Government guidance Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) delivery: guidance for local authorities in England on the effective delivery of the grant, sets out best practice delivery to meet statutory timescales. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide a decision on a DFG application within 6 months of receipt, and the works must usually be completed within 12 months of the approval date. This guidance also outlines how councils can develop a local housing assistance policy to improve efficiency and better address the needs of their local communities.

Government also funds a national body for DFGs and home improvement agencies, currently Foundations, to provide support and advice to local authorities to help them deliver the DFG as efficiently as possible. In December 2024 Foundations launched the Home Adaptations Installer Network, Introducing the Home Adaptations Installer Network: Raising the Bar for Quality and Trust a tool for engaging with TrustMark registered contractors to deliver home adaptations.

Government continues to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. As part of this, government is consulting until 16 September 2025 on a new approach to the way government allocates capital DFG funding to local authorities in England to ensure funding for the grant is better aligned with local needs. The consultation can be accessed here.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the guidance entitled Skilled Worker visa: minimum salary if you’re under 26, studying, training or in a postdoctoral role, last updated on 22 July 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing the salary threshold for the skilled worker visa for people under the age of 26 on (a) young professionals, (b) regional employers and (c) graduate visa holders seeking to transition to skilled worker status.

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

As set out in the Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, published on 12 May, this Government’s approach is to link migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK.

It is our intention to publish an Impact Assessment at the earliest opportunity. A technical annex (www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex) was published alongside the Immigration White Paper setting out the impact of some of the key policy changes.

The Graduate route is designed to allow UK graduates time to work, or look for work, for a set period after completing their studies. It does not guarantee progression to the Skilled Worker route, for which an individual would need to find higher skilled, higher salaried employment after graduation and meet the requirements in place at the time they make their Skilled Worker application.

On 2 July we asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on future salary requirements for Skilled Worker visas. We expect the MAC to respond around the end of the year.

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 impact of the use of covid vaccines on levels of (a) hospitalisations and (b) disability caused by long covid.

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

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI assessment indicates that the oldest age cohorts and individuals who are immunosuppressed are the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease.

To inform JCVI considerations, the last assessment of the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on hospitalisations was conducted by the UK Health Security Agency using data from the 2023 spring and autumn COVID-19 vaccination programmes. The next evaluation is planned to occur in the next few months.

Long term health consequences following COVID-19, including post-COVID syndromes such as long COVID, have been discussed at meetings of the JCVI. It remains uncertain whether getting extra COVID-19 vaccine doses has any effect on the chances of developing long COVID, how it progresses, or how it affects people.

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 had discussions with (a) landowners and (b) Natural England on the (i) risk of wildfire in areas of moorland that is not actively managed and (ii) potential impact of policies of non-intervention in rewilded moorland areas.

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

This Government has engaged with public and private landowners, and Natural England, throughout the consultation process on amending The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021. The revised regulations, which were laid before Parliament on 9 September 2025, aim to make these landscapes more resilient to wildfire. We are encouraging land managers to develop good quality wildfire management plans.

We also held workshops with a wide range of land managers to inform the new Heather and Grass Management Code. This is being drafted by Natural England and will set clear standards for managing habitats including moorlands.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the £39 billion allocated for affordable housing delivery will be spent in rural areas; and whether her Department plans to ringfence funding to support the development of social housing in rural communities.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).

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 expedite decisions on access to new treatments for secondary breast cancer.

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

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. The NHS is legally required to fund NICE recommended medicines, normally within three months of final guidance, and cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the point of a positive draft NICE recommendation.

NICE aims, wherever possible, to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing to ensure that patients are able to benefit from rapid access to clinically and cost effective new medicines. The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out the measures we are taking that will mean that patients are able to access medicines three to six months faster, including improved alignment between the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s decisions and NICE’s guidance publication. The Life Sciences Sector Plan is published and available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688c90a8e8ba9507fc1b090c/Life_Sciences_Sector_Plan.pdf

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help support people in (a) physically and (b) emotionally demanding jobs who are unable to continue working in their current role into their late 60s.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions currently offers employment support for older jobseekers including those affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications.

Through Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK and online, we support older people to review their health, finances and skills. We are working with key partners to develop these tools including Department of Health and Social Care, the National Health Service and the National Careers Service

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the Government’s approach to the employment support system to target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity and better join up health, skills and employment support based on the needs for all, including older people.

We know that employers are crucial to enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme

In recognition of employers' vital role, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working Independent Review as a part of the Government's wider white paper plans to Get Britain Working. Sir Charlie Mayfield is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions.

Sir Charlie Mayfield is expected to produce a final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is she taking to support people in (a) physically and (b) emotionally demanding jobs who are unable to continue working in their current role into their late 60s.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions currently offers employment support for older jobseekers including those affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications.

Through Midlife MOT reviews, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK and online, we support older people to review their health, finances and skills. We are working with key partners to develop these tools including Department of Health and Social Care, the National Health Service and the National Careers Service

The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out the Government’s approach to the employment support system to target and tackle the root causes of unemployment and inactivity and better join up health, skills and employment support based on the needs for all, including older people.

We know that employers are crucial to enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme

In recognition of employers' vital role, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working Independent Review as a part of the Government's wider white paper plans to Get Britain Working. Sir Charlie Mayfield is considering recommendations to support and enable employers to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence, and recruit and retain more disabled people and people with health conditions.

Sir Charlie Mayfield is expected to produce a final report with recommendations in autumn 2025.