Satvir Kaur

The department recently published its latest research on the cost of school uniforms, surveying parents and carers of children aged 4 to 16 attending state-funded schools in England. The research report assessed the relative changes to the cost of school uniforms since the department’s previous report in 2015. It is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms-survey-2023.​

The research found that the average total expenditure on school uniform, based on the items required in the 2023/24 academic year, was £249.58 compared with £279.51 for a similar period and adjusted for inflation in 2014/15. It was less expensive for parents or carers of children in primary schools (£217.65 for boys and £246.80 for girls) than for those with children in secondary schools (£266.14 for boys and £289.04 for girls).

Too many families still tell the department that the cost of school uniform remains a financial burden. That is why as part of the King’s Speech we have committed to legislate to limit the number of expensive branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) monitors and enforces animal welfare legislation in slaughterhouses in England and Wales. Food Standards Scotland operate in Scotland and the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs are responsible in Northern Ireland.

FSA animal welfare enforcement non-compliance data can be accessed on their website here. The FSA records non-compliances in all slaughterhouses in the same way irrespective of if the slaughterhouse receives Government funding.

We support social workers through our existing initiatives such as bursaries, which is the main funding route to support students studying Higher Education Institute courses, and the Assessed Supported Year in Employment, which provides support and assessment for newly qualified social workers.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the National Health Service. Evidence from the women's health strategy call for evidence in 2021 identified difficulties accessing care due to lack of recognition of symptoms from both women and healthcare professionals, and reluctance of some healthcare professionals to prescribe hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms.

A range of information and resources are available to help primary care professionals to support women experiencing menopause symptoms. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has a holistic curriculum of training that all general practitioners (GPs) must cover before they are able to pass the examination to become a member of the RCGP and work independently as a GP. There is a specific section on women’s health, including menopause. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is also updating its guideline on menopause diagnosis and management.

The Department has also invested £25 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the establishment of at least one pilot women’s health hub in every integrated care system. These provide more specialist care for women in the community, and many of them also act as a point of training and support for their local GP community. Menopause care is a core service for pilot women’s health hubs.

No assessment has been made of the potential merits of removing car-parking charges for National Health Service patients and staff.

All NHS trusts that charge for hospital car parking provide free parking to in-need groups, which include NHS staff working overnight, frequent outpatient attenders, disabled people, and parents of children staying overnight in hospital.

We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, including blood cancer. This is supported by NHS England’s key ambition on cancer, to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.

The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of Lord O'Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and ensuring that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to NHS patients, including those with blood cancer.

Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.

Professor Lord Darzi has undertaken an independent investigation into the state of the NHS, the findings of which will feed into the Government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future. The Government will therefore set out any further priorities on cancer and health in due course.

The National Disease Registration Service, through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services (NCRAS), collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The National Disease Registration Service’s website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/

All cases of cancer diagnosed and treated in the NHS in England are registered by the NCRAS. This creates a clinically rich data resource that is used to measure diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer. The data held by the NCRAS supports service provision and commissioning in the NHS, clinical audits, and public health and epidemiological research, all of which contribute to improved outcomes for those diagnosed with cancer.

We will get the National Health Service diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster, including blood cancer. This is supported by NHS England’s key ambition on cancer, to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard, which sets a target of 28 days from urgent referral by a general practitioner or screening programme to patients being told that they have cancer, or that cancer is ruled out.

The Department is committed to implementing the recommendations of Lord O'Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials, making sure that the United Kingdom leads the world in clinical trials, and ensuring that innovative, lifesaving treatments are accessible to NHS patients, including those with blood cancer.

Making improvements across different cancer types is critical to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the NHS’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.

Professor Lord Darzi has undertaken an independent investigation into the state of the NHS, the findings of which will feed into the Government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future. The Government will therefore set out any further priorities on cancer and health in due course.

The National Disease Registration Service, through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Services (NCRAS), collects information on how many people in England have cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms. The National Disease Registration Service’s website also shows the number of people treated for different tumour types by treatment type, as well as survival rates, mortality rates, and data on urgent suspected cancer referrals. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/

All cases of cancer diagnosed and treated in the NHS in England are registered by the NCRAS. This creates a clinically rich data resource that is used to measure diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer. The data held by the NCRAS supports service provision and commissioning in the NHS, clinical audits, and public health and epidemiological research, all of which contribute to improved outcomes for those diagnosed with cancer.

The Government continues to call for the human rights of all Afghans to be protected, including those of Hazara communities, most recently in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September. We condemn recent attacks against Hazaras. In line with The Hazara Inquiry report's recommendations, we continue to monitor and document discrimination and abuses against Hazaras, including through our support for the UN Special Rapporteur. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press the Taliban on human rights abuses and the rights of minorities in Afghanistan.

The Government continues to call for the human rights of all Afghans to be protected, including those of Hazara communities, most recently in our statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September. We condemn recent attacks against Hazaras. In line with The Hazara Inquiry report's recommendations, we continue to monitor and document discrimination and abuses against Hazaras, including through our support for the UN Special Rapporteur. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press the Taliban on human rights abuses and the rights of minorities in Afghanistan.

There are no plans currently to make wildlife crimes notifiable. Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to the police can still be investigated where appropriate, as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to help tackle these crimes.

The Government has committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. Our aspiration is to ensure that, in the first full financial year of this Parliament (2025-26), the number of Social Rent homes is rising rather than falling. We will update Parliament on our progress.

We have therefore asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to maximise the number of Social Rent homes in allocating the remaining Affordable Homes Programme funding.

My department published an update on targets in the 2021-26 Programme on 30 July 2024. We have also proposed a number of changes to national planning policy that are designed to support the delivery of Social Rent homes. We will bring forward details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the Spending Review.

The Government is currently reviewing the increased Right to Buy discounts that were introduced in 2012, with a view to better protecting existing social housing stock. The Government will also review the Right to Buy more widely, including looking at eligibility criteria and protections for newly-built social housing and will launch a public consultation in the autumn.