Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support North East Lincolnshire Council to complete the long-overdue repairs and re-open Corporation Bridge in Great Grimsby.

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

The Department is committed to supporting local authorities in maintaining and renewing the local highway network, which is why by 2029/30, the Government will commit over £2 billion annually in local highways maintenance funding, doubling funding since coming into office. For the first time, we have confirmed allocations for four years of funding, enabling local authorities to plan ahead and move away from expensive, short-term repairs and instead investment in proactive and preventative maintenance.

In addition to this, the Spending Review announced £1 billion for key local highway enhancement projects and a new Structures Fund for repairing run down bridges, decaying flyovers and worn out tunnels.

I know that the work on Corporation Road Bridge has been ongoing since the beginning of 2022 and has faced significant challenges including a change of contractor which has led to considerable delays to these works. My officials are liaising with North East Lincolnshire Council Officers and I'm pleased to hear a new contractor has been appointed with the bridge likely to be reopened in December of next year.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her department is providing to local authorities to help them increase levels of library use ahead of the national year of reading in 2026.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work.

This is part of the broader programme of government support for the National Year of Reading including the £5 million funding for secondary schools to purchase books the Chancellor announced during her budget speech.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) financial sustainability of early years providers and (b) capacity of schools to deliver wraparound care in areas experiencing long waiting lists.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

In 2025/26, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements, increasing to over £9 billion in 2026/27, and we have increased the early years pupil premium by over 45%. On top of this we have provided further supplementary funding of £75 million for the Early Years Expansion Grant.

At Spending Review 2025, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29. We will also spend over £400 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.

The free breakfast clubs programme has delivered more than 5 million breakfasts and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. We are investing a further £80 million into the programme to fund an additional 2,000 schools between April 2026 and March 2027. Since September 2024, the National Wraparound Programme has also provided over 50,000 additional full childcare places. In 2026/27, we are providing local authorities with £12.9 million to sustain these places, ensuring sufficiency of school-age childcare and supporting national rollout of free breakfast clubs.

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 ensure that children referred for (a) neurodevelopmental and (b) paediatric assessment continue to receive care during transitions between (i) services and (ii) providers.

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

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including pre-and-post diagnostic support for children with neurodevelopmental conditions, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

The 10-Year Health Plan commits to establishing a new radical approach that will ensure that, as children and young people navigate the National Health Service, they feel comfortable and confident in managing their own health and care from 16 years old where appropriate. This will include supporting young people as they move from child to adolescent and adult services, making sure that care is developmentally appropriate throughout.

A national transition framework is being developed to help local areas set up this model or to strengthen an existing one. The principles of age-appropriate services it will set out apply to young people receiving care for the first time as well as those already on a transition pathway.

While this framework focuses on the broad principles of transition, future work will focus on specific considerations and conditions. Training is also being developed for healthcare staff to develop their skills in providing the best standards of care.

In April 2023, NHS England published a framework and guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. The guidance aims to help integrated care boards and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. This includes support for them and their families/carers, while they are waiting for a diagnostic assessment and once they have received the diagnostic outcome.

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 potential merits of introducing routine finger-prick blood glucose testing or urine testing for children who display one or more recognised symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.

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

A national task and finish group has been established by NHS England which brings together key experts from across the health system, including academia/research and leading national clinicians, to jointly assess the opportunities and challenges that are associated with a national screening programme for diabetes and to inform future national policy.

Through our National Institute for Health and Care Research, we have supported the establishment of the Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes, or “ELSA” study. This study is exploring the feasibility and benefits of screening for type 1 diabetes.

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 ensure that Integrated Care Boards can continue to provide consistent care and support to service users while restructuring processes are ongoing.

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

As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, integrated care boards (ICBs) will become strategic commissioners with responsibility for using multi-year budgets to enhance local population health while achieving efficiencies. This will help to support the delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future.

ICBs must continue to deliver their statutory responsibilities and will work with NHS England to ensure this is done effectively within the running costs allowance with savings reinvested in frontline services to deliver better care for patients.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of delays to the renewal of vocational licenses by the DVLA on the finances of professional drivers.

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

Straightforward applications for vocational driving licences are being processed within normal turnaround times of ten working days. Driving licence applications where a medical condition(s) must be investigated before a licence can be issued can take longer as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is often reliant on information from third parties, including medical professionals, before a licence can be issued.

The DVLA is currently rolling out a new casework system which is expected to deliver significant improvements to the services provided to drivers with medical conditions. When fully implemented, this will provide improved turnaround times, increased capacity and automation, higher levels of digital functionality and digital communication. The DVLA is also planning to launch a new medical services platform which will enable more customers to transact online and will increase the use of email communication.

The DVLA is also developing an online service for the renewal of vocational licences and this will enable more customers to transact online.

Applicants renewing an existing l licence may be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet specific criteria. More information can be found online at www.gov.uk/government/publications/inf1886-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla.

Found: following Members made oral representations: • Wera Hobbhouse: Cost of Energy • Gideon Amos and Melanie Onn

Found: h-Eileanan an Iar) Graeme Downie (Labour; Dunfermline and Dollar) Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat; Bath) Melanie Onn