Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and (b) voluntary sector organisations on the implementation of the forthcoming Civil Society Covenant in relation to the next HIV Action Plan for England.

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

While not specifically in relation to the Civil Society Covenant, Department of Health and Social Care officials have engaged with officials from across the Government, including at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to align resources and efforts across the Government in relation to the next HIV Action Plan for England.

Collaboration is at the core of the next action plan, which we aim to publish this year, and we are therefore engaging a wide range of system partners in its development, including people with lived experience, the voluntary and community sector (VCS), professional bodies, and local partners, amongst others.

We recently hosted engagement sessions with approximately 60 VCS and external partners to discuss what the next action plan should look like, though the Civil Society Covenant has not been discussed specifically. Professor Kevin Fenton, the Government’s Chief Advisor on HIV, has also hosted a series of engagement workshops, with approximately 250 system partners, including the VCS, industry, primary care, and integrated care board colleagues, to inform our plan.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing levels of participation in cricket in state secondary schools in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engages with the Secretary of State for Education on a range of issues, including school sport.

The Government is committed to protecting time for physical education in schools. The ongoing independent expert-led review of the curriculum will ensure that all children can engage with a broad range of subjects, including PE and sport.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the National Governing Body for cricket, has committed to making the sport as inclusive as possible for children and young people through their new strategy and state school action plan. I have also seen the work of their charitable arm, Chance to Shine, to encourage more children to take up cricket, at the Mill Academy in Worsbrough last year.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. The ECB receives £10.2 million funding from Sport England across up to five years to help deliver strategic objectives, including tackling inequalities and improving access to sport.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) frequency of Northern Rail services in (i) Stockport constituency and (ii) across Greater Manchester on Sundays.

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

Northern has acknowledged to passengers and the Government that its current performance is not acceptable. The organisation has developed and is beginning to implement a performance improvement programme to create the modern, flexible organisation which can deliver reliable service and a customer-focussed seven-day railway.

Resolving Sunday working arrangements with RMT conductors is central to this. We are encouraging Northern and RMT to continue their discussions, so that passengers in the North can return to a reliable Sunday service. We are watching closely to make sure this work continues at pace.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the speed of the rollout of the Access for All scheme across (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester.

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

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This included Bredbury, Flowery Field and Newton for Hyde stations in Greater Manchester. Those progressing to design phase will be announced shortly.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of NHS Greater Manchester’s proposed reduction in the number of NHS-funded IVF cycles from two to one on residents of Stockport.

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

We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. The NICE’s Fertility problems: assessment and treatment guideline recommends that the standard for the best outcome is offering three cycles of in vitro fertilisation for women aged between 22 and 39 years old, and one cycle for women aged 40 to 42 years old. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service funded treatment are still appropriate.

In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.