Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a 20 years’ service medal for Police Community Support Officers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will consider any proposal for national long service recognition for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
It is only right that we recognise the commitment shown by PCSOs across the country and whose roles are undeniably at the sharp end of policing, diffusing community tensions and providing visible policing presence in our communities.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47133 on Mobile Broadbands, whether the implementation of part two of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 will be included in the review of the telecommunications market.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is continually engaged with developments in the mobile sector. This involves considering sector-wide investment challenges and technological innovations and their impact on the market and rollout of high-quality infrastructure, as well as mobile signal and coverage issues and the quality of service afforded to mobile customers. This is separate to the Government’s work on the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022. The Government monitors the impacts of the PSTI Act reforms through ongoing tracking of progress against connectivity targets and stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to establish specialist care pathways for people with bipolar to (a) improve treatment and (b) reduce misdiagnosis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long, including for people with bipolar disorder. We are determined to change that.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, create a network of open access community Young Futures hubs, recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment, and modernise the Mental Health Act.
We are also committed to new models of care for mental health, including reforming care for people experiencing a mental health crisis. We are testing neighbourhood mental health centres for people aged 18 years old and over with serious mental illness. These six pilot schemes are based in Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Sheffield, York, Birmingham, and Whitehaven.
These models will offer 24/7 open access care closer to home, with an integrated service including healthcare providers, local authorities, and the voluntary sector. These pilots build on international evidence which shows that similar models have led to a reduction in hospitalisation and waiting times, and support our efforts to move more care into the community.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with key stakeholders to meet (a) the requirements of commercial broadcasters and (b) secure public access to live sport.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring access to live sport so that it can be enjoyed by a wide audience. However, this must also be balanced with the ability of sports national governing bodies to generate revenue to invest in their sports at all levels, given broadcasting rights provide essential income for these organisations.
All UK broadcasters are operationally and editorially independent of the government. Decisions relating to coverage of particular sporting events are ultimately a commercial decision for the relevant broadcaster and/or the rights holder of the specific sporting event.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to undertake a review of the mobile telecommunications market.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government constantly reviews the mobile sector. As part of this, we are reviewing sector-wide investment challenges, technological innovations and their effect on the market and considering what Government can do to support the telecoms sector to invest in their networks over the next decade. We will also consider any impact on the rollout of high-quality wireless infrastructure and concomitant mobile signal and coverage issues, and the quality of service afforded to mobile customers.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
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 help ensure that all NICE-approved medicines for osteoporosis are included in (a) ICS and (b) local formularies.
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 their costs and benefits.
The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.
The 2025/26 NHS Standard Contract, which applies to all contracts between NHS commissioners and providers, stipulates that, where any service involves or may involve the prescribing of medicines, the provider must ensure that its formulary reflects all relevant positive NICE technology appraisals.
The NICE has also published guidance on developing and updating local formularies, which is intended to support commissioners and healthcare providers, including those working within integrated care systems, in developing formularies that reflect local needs, reducing variation in prescribing, and allowing for the rapid adoption of new medicines and treatments. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/mpg1
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to strengthen legislation on tackling hare coursing.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England and Wales only.
This government recognises the importance of tackling rural crimes such as Hare Coursing.
The previous Government made changes to address illegal hare coursing through a package of measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. This broadened the circumstances in which police can investigate and bring charges for hare coursing related activity. There are no plans to further change the legislation of Hare Coursing.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
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 increase available social housing in the Forest of Dean.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and contribute to our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 25 November 2025 (HCWS549).
The investment made at Spring statement follows the £800 million in new in-year funding which has been made available for the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme and that will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes.
We will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.
The government has also announced the £450m third round of the Local Authority Housing Fund, followed by an uplift of £50m, enabling councils to grow their housing stock.
We also confirmed a range of new flexibilities for councils and housing associations, both within the Affordable Homes Programme and in relation to how councils can use their Right to Buy receipts. Having reduced Right to Buy discounts to their pre-2012 regional levels, we have allowed councils to retain 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales.
The government recognise that Registered Providers need support to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply. Between 30 October 2024 and 23 December 2024, the government consulted on a new 5-year social housing rent settlement, to give Registered Providers the certainty they need to invest in new social and affordable housing.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 includes a number of changes that make the planning system more supportive of affordable housing, in particular Social Rent homes. These include new Golden Rules for development on the Green Belt. Prior to development plan policies for affordable housing being updated in accordance with the revised NPPF, the affordable housing contribution required to satisfy the ‘Golden Rules’ is 15 percentage points above the highest existing affordable housing requirement that would otherwise apply to the development, subject to a cap of 50%. We estimate that under this model, the median Green Belt local planning authority affordable housing requirement will be 50%.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the University of Manchester's blog entitled Addressing the UK’s heritage skills crisis: why we must act now, published on 23 January 2025, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including (a) heritage skills and (b) the Sloyd method in the national curriculum.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The national curriculum focuses on the key knowledge that must be taught to children aged 5 to 16 years-old in maintained schools. The national curriculum provides a broad framework which ensures schools have flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.
The Review seeks to deliver a curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive.
The Review Group has now published a well-evidenced, clear interim report, which sets out its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. This highlights the successes of the current system, making clear that the most trusted and valued aspects of our system will remain, whilst setting a positive vision for the future. The report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.
The government will consider any changes it wishes to make to curriculum, assessment and qualifications whilst the Review is conducted, and will respond to the final recommendations in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Matt Bishop (Labour - Forest of Dean)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the University of Manchester's blog entitled Addressing the UK’s heritage skills crisis: why we must act now, published on 23 January 2025, what steps she is taking to preserve heritage buildings.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
My response to PQ 30997 sets out how we are considering heritage skills in relation to the University of Manchester's blog and associated report.
On preserving heritage buildings, there is funding and a protection regime in place. In particular, the Secretary of State announced in February £15 million of additional funding for Heritage at Risk, building on Historic England's existing Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk programme - providing grants for repairs and conservation to heritage buildings at risk, focusing on those sites with most need, and a new £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund to enable local people to take ownership of heritage they love and bring historic buildings back into use. The National Lottery Heritage Fund also delivers project-based heritage funding. Since 1994, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has distributed £8.6bn of National Lottery funds to more than 47,000 projects.