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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue after March 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is committed to delivering economic growth across the country and is considering how to best fund long-term local funding in line with wider fiscal and economic priorities.

Post-March 2025 funding is a decision for the Budget.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future of the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I regularly talk to the Chancellor and her team to discuss many aspects of funding, across all the departments’ business and my officials work closely with those in the Treasury. The future of any departmental programme will be agreed as part of the budget and next fiscal event in light of those discussions.

The Government is committed to delivering economic growth across the country, and is considering how to best fund long-term local funding in line with wider fiscal and economic priorities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will undertake a review of the Child Maintenance Service.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. The consultation includes exploration of removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster. The consultation also explores how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported.

The Government extended the consultation to the 30 September 2024 to ensure full stakeholder engagement can take place, we will then consider the next steps for CMS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS hospitals are required to record the number of occasions on which instrumental delivery of a baby creates lasting health problems for the mother.

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

The Department recognises the significant physical and psychological consequences of birth trauma and the devastating impact this has on women. The Government remains fully committed to improving the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth, and the critical months that follow. National Health Service trusts in England submit data through the Maternity Services Data Set from the booking appointment through to discharge from maternity services, which is usually approximately 10 days after birth. This includes data on instrumental delivery complications including post-partum haemorrhage and severe perineal tears but, due to the time period covered by the data, does not capture lasting health problems arising from birth.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to commission a lessons learned review with local authorities following the late arrival of postal votes in the 2024 General Election.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year.

In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings.

With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.

Found: Department for Culture, Media & Sport Matt Rodda MP Northern Ireland Office Becky Gittins MP Wales Office Melanie