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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of Greenpeace's report entitled Our Poisoned Land and its calls for the Government to help farmers to (a) reduce agricultural chemical use by 50% by 2030 and (b) reduce agricultural chemical use by 80% by 2040.

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

Last year the Government published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP). It sets out how all four UK Governments will support farmers, growers and other land managers to increase their use of sustainable farming practices to reduce the potential harm from pesticides. The NAP introduces a UK domestic target to reduce the potential pressures from pesticides on the environment by 10% by 2030.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) also pays farmers and land managers to carry out actions that support the sustainable production of food and boost farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and enhancing the environment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will commit to ending the use of the neonicotinoid acetamiprid.

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

The Government remains committed to ending the use in England of the three neonicotinoid pesticides (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid) that threaten vital pollinators, including through emergency authorisations.

Acetamiprid does not pose the same risk to pollinators and is authorised for use on sugar beet and other crops both in Great Britain and the European Union. The Health and Safety Executive recently approved an emergency authorisation for a second spray - only when specific conditions are met - due to the exceptionally high pressure from aphids being faced by sugar beet farmers this year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of homelessness accommodation providers' reliance on Housing Benefit as an income source on homelessness services.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department for Work and Pensions provides Housing Benefit subsidy to local authorities to help meet the cost of supporting households in temporary accommodation. In Great Britain, local authorities spent approximately £1.4 billion on Housing Benefit for temporary accommodation in 2024/25, of which around £980 million was subsidised. In addition, the Government is providing just over £3.6 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping funding to English local authorities between 2026/27 and 2028/29. The cross-government Homelessness Value for Money Review has identified pressures across the temporary accommodation and supported housing sectors, including rising costs, increasing demand, and provider sustainability. It is considering whether current funding arrangements support effective homelessness prevention, deliver good outcomes for service users, and provide long-term value for money for taxpayers. The review is expected to conclude in advance of Spending Review 2027.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many women's health hubs have been established in NHS Greater Manchester ICB.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board has established nine women’s health hubs.

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 the potential merits of offering electrocardiogram screening to under 35s.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government recognises how worrying heart health can be for the families of young people. The National Health Service already offers cardiac tests for young people who present with symptoms that could indicate a cardiac issue.

In considering whether any screening programme should be introduced, the Government is guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. Where the committee is confident that offering screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.

In 2019, the UK NSC reviewed screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old. The conclusion of that review was that population screening should not be offered, as research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use on young people with no symptoms.

Last month the UK NSC opened a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death. The consultation is open till 31 August, and we encourage those with an interest to contribute, at the following link:

https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data NHS England holds on Community Dental Service activity and referral waiting times for patients with complex neurological conditions, including epilepsy.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Data is not held on Community Dental Service (CDS) activity and referral waiting times for patients with complex neurological conditions, including epilepsy.

We recognise that certain groups of patients may be particularly vulnerable to oral health problems and may find it difficult to access dental care. Specialised dental services are in place to provide dental treatment and are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs).

The January 2025 Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) report on Community Dental Services (CDS) highlighted several known challenges in the operation and monitoring of CDS and offered recommendations for improvements. The majority of recommendations in the GIRFT report related to operational considerations for individual ICBs to address, which varies according to local arrangements, priorities, and needs.

NHS England and the Department have taken the recommendations on board and are working to improve the data reporting process to increase oversight of CDS activity, including current waiting lists and performance reporting. An amended waiting list data collection was implemented in August 2025 and will improve oversight of the current waiting lists and waiting times for adults and children.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve collaboration between adult social care and voluntary sector homelessness services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Local authorities and integrated care boards share responsibility for undertaking a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), working through health and wellbeing boards, to assess current and future health and social care needs. This assessment then informs the commissioning and delivery of health and care services. Guidance on JSNAs makes clear that they should cover the needs of vulnerable groups, including homeless people.

More broadly, the Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to deliver on the ambitions set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness. This includes a commitment that no one eligible for homelessness assistance is discharged to the street after a hospital stay.

In addition, we have established a new national adult safeguarding board in response to Baroness Casey’s adult social care reform recommendations. One of the initial priorities of this board is to update the Care Act statutory guidance on adult safeguarding to drive better multi-agency implementation and practice across a wide range of issues, including homelessness.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential fiscal cost of introducing a medical exemption from NHS dental charges for the repair of teeth damaged by epileptic seizures.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

NHS England's Dental Record Keeping Standards states that every clinical record should include the patient's presenting complaint and diagnosis, with the diagnosis expected to include the underlying cause. These standards apply to the recording of dental conditions generally, including cases where the presentation is due to underlying trauma.

Where a patient presents with dental trauma linked to epilepsy, the seizure-related cause would be expected to be recorded in the same way a clinician would record the cause of any other dental injury or condition. There are no current plans to introduce a separate recording category for seizure-related trauma, as the existing standards already require the underlying cause to be captured as part of the diagnosis. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/dental-record-keeping-standards-a-consensus-approach.pdf

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England requires dental clinics to record the underlying medical cause of traumatic dental injuries in patient datasets; and what plans he has to introduce a specific recording category for seizure-related dental trauma.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

NHS England's Dental Record Keeping Standards states that every clinical record should include the patient's presenting complaint and diagnosis, with the diagnosis expected to include the underlying cause. These standards apply to the recording of dental conditions generally, including cases where the presentation is due to underlying trauma.

Where a patient presents with dental trauma linked to epilepsy, the seizure-related cause would be expected to be recorded in the same way a clinician would record the cause of any other dental injury or condition. There are no current plans to introduce a separate recording category for seizure-related trauma, as the existing standards already require the underlying cause to be captured as part of the diagnosis. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/dental-record-keeping-standards-a-consensus-approach.pdf

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to publish a consultation on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out that ending the use of cages and crates is a key priority for this Government. We will be consulting on the transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems, in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce food waste in schools.

Answered by Mary Creagh

Defra funds the UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste. Through the Pact, we support delivery of the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which offers guidance for businesses on reducing food waste in their operations. Catering businesses who supply schools and school kitchen staff can use this guidance to reduce their food waste.

Simpler Recycling reforms ensure that across England, people can recycle the same materials, including food waste, whether at home, work or school. As of 31 March 2025, schools are required to make arrangements for the collection of food waste.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the estimated total cost to the NHS was of providing free NHS dental treatment in England under maternity exemption rules in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

The cost of treatment is an estimated total of how much patients with an exemption would have paid if they were not exempt. This cost has not been collected from patients.

The data is published by the NHS Business Services Authority and is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202425

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Low Income Scheme certificates (HC2 and HC3) were used to access free or reduced NHS dental treatment in England in each of the last five years; and the associated cost of these exemptions.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales

Data on NHS Low Income Scheme certificates is published by the NHS Business Services Authority and is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202425

Srebrenica Memorial Week

Government response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on communication of changes to women’s state pension age

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she intends to consult on phasing out the use of farrowing crates for sows.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for Bolton South and Walkden, Yasmin Qureshi, on 10 July 2026, PQ UIN15938.