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 improve mental health facilities in rural areas.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Integrated care boards are responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of their local populations. We plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023-2028, published September 2023, sets out an ambition to conduct and commission research and data linkage projects, including supporting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to look at agricultural workers to understand the unique challenges in that occupational group and respond appropriately.

In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission.

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 respond formally to the Electoral Commission's report entitled Voter ID at the 2024 UK general election.

Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Yes – the Government intends to respond to the Electoral Commission’s interim report on the UK Parliamentary General Election. We understand that the Commission will publish their full report later this year, and we intend to respond to both reports together in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to publish a private parking code of practice.

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

The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.

The Government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector and we will announce our plans for the new Code in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the introduction of VAT on private school fees does not negatively impact the academic progress of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and ensuring every child has access to high quality education. The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced a £1 billion uplift in high needs funding for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional support and improving outcomes for the more than a million children in the state sector with SEND.

Pupils who need a local authority funded place in a private school, including those with local authority funded education, health and care (EHC) plans, will not be impacted by the changes. This is because local authorities can reclaim the VAT that will be charged.

Most children with SEND, including most with an EHC plan, are educated in mainstream state funded schools. All state funded schools support children with SEND and all children of compulsory age are entitled to a state funded school place that is free for parents. Where a private school place is necessary to support a child with SEND, the local authority will fund it through an EHC plan.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient state school places in their area. Local authorities routinely support parents who need a state funded school place, including where private schools have closed or where pupils move between schools. The department works with local authorities to support place planning and ensure there is capacity in the state funded sector to meet demand.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Treasury on the potential merits of increasing funding to help (a) farmers and (b) food producers.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government’s commitment to farmers and food producers remains steadfast. Labour will always champion British farming to boost rural economic growth, strengthen food security and improve the environment.

Defra has £5 billion for the farming budget over two years. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes. This enables us to keep momentum on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector, with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier and Landscape Recovery all continuing. This funding will deliver improvements to food security as well as the environment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of extending the Rural England Prosperity Fund on (a) small business, (b) farmers and (c) community infrastructure.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) is intended to support new and existing rural businesses, including farm businesses, to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy and to support new and improved community infrastructure that will provide essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.

An evaluation of REPF is underway and will report in Spring 2025.

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 to support places of worship in rural areas with building conservation projects.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports places of worship, including in rural areas. These include Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust, which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of extending the UK Shared Prosperity Fund on (a) small business, (b) farmers and (c) community infrastructure.

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

The Autumn Budget announced that the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), for which the previous government made no plans beyond March 2025, will be extended for 2025-26 at a reduced level of £900 million. This transitional arrangement will allow places to continue investing in local growth in advance of wider funding reform. It will ensure stability and flexibility for areas to deliver the most important local projects, which can include help for small businesses and community projects where relevant.

We are committed to evaluating the impacts of the UKSPF. The UKSPF evaluation strategy is published online and sets out the approach to evaluation at programme, intervention and place level. The department is committed to publishing evaluation findings on an ongoing basis as they are available.

The Rural England Prosperity Fund is delivered alongside UKSPF to help rural communities and businesses, including farm businesses. Its evaluation is also now underway.