Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 30 January (HL14009), what assessment they have made of whether increased spending allocation to tacking mental health care results in a reduction in prevalence of mental health conditions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that the nation’s mental health has deteriorated over the last decade. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/24 shows that the proportion of 16 to 64 year olds with a common mental health condition increased from 17.6% in 2007 and 18.9% in 2014, to 22.6% in 2023/24.
Total mental health spending for 2025/26 is expected to amount to £15.6 billion, which is a significant increase of £688 million compared to the previous financial year. However, demand has outstripped supply as a result of rising prevalence. That is why we have launched the independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. The review will look at prevalence, early intervention and treatment, and the current challenges facing clinical services.
The Government has already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve National Health Service mental health services. This includes NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide evidence-based interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. More than 670,000 people completed a course of treatment last year. We are expanding Talking Therapies services so that 915,000 people can complete a course of treatment by March 2029.
NHS Talking Therapies have a recovery target that at least 50% of people who complete treatment should move to recovery, which is generally met or close to being met. Information released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that completion of Talking Therapy treatment has a positive impact on pay and employment status. Further details are available on the ONS website.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of outstanding Plan 2 student loan debt in the year the first loans become eligible to be written off; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that debt on Government finances.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The oldest Plan 2 loans will become eligible for cancellation in 2046. For the England-domiciled 2012/13 cohort, the first to receive Plan 2 loans, we forecast a total of £17,036 million in loan balances (including interest) will be cancelled at the end of their 30-year repayment periods.
These cancellations are accounted for at the point of loan outlay. The future cancelled debt is reflected in both the national accounts and the department’s accounts in the year the loan is issued and is then updated annually. It will not result in further losses when the loans reach the end of their 30-year write-off period.
The treatment of student loans in the national accounts is in line the methodology published by the Office for National Statistics and can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/methodologies/studentloansinthepublicsectorfinancesamethodologicalguide.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of deaths related to climate change in each county in England.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Lord Foster of Bath
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
04 February 2026
Dear Lord Foster,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of deaths related to climate change in each county in England (HL14056).
The ONS published Climate-related mortality, England and Wales: 1988 to 20221 in 2023. This release used climate and mortality data from 1988 to 2022 to analyse temperature-related mortality in England and Wales. The analysis estimates the relative risk, numbers and rates of death per 100,000 population associated with changing temperatures, based on a statistical model. Publication of updated estimates based on an enhanced statistical model and including data up to 2025 is provisionally planned for mid-2026.
Data is available for each English region and for Wales. However, data is not available by individual county in England.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of farms that have become (a) insolvent and (b) ceased trading in the last three years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The numbers of companies with Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 code 011, 012, 013, 014, 015 and 016 that entered insolvency in the UK in the last three years (2023 to 2025) are presented in the table below. This information has been provided by the Department for Business and Trade.
Calendar Year | Companies Entering Insolvency |
2023 | 63 |
2024 | 80 |
2025 | 67 |
The Insolvency Service’s Monthly Company Insolvencies Official Statistics Publication provides more information and a breakdown of SIC codes.
Information on business closures for farms is best obtained from the Office for National Statistics’ quarterly business demography publication. This release is regarded as ‘official statistics in development’. However, it is not possible to separately identify farm closures from within the published group which contains them, which is ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’.
Business closures in the UK for Agriculture, forestry and fishing from the first quarter of 2023 until the fourth quarter of 2025 are shown in the table below.
UK Agriculture, forestry and fishing business closures
Period | Business Closures |
Q1 | 1310 |
Q2 | 1260 |
Q3 | 1975 |
Q4 | 990 |
2023 total | 5535 |
Q1 | 1090 |
Q2 | 1525 |
Q3 | 1200 |
Q4 | 1055 |
2024 total | 4870 |
Q1 | 1885 |
Q2 | 1645 |
Q3 | 1355 |
Q4 | 1505 |
2025 total | 6390 |
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an estimate of how average journey times on railways in Wales compare to equivalent distances on the railways in (a) London and (b) the southeast of England.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Rail statistics published by the Department for Transport, the Office of Rail and Road, and the Office for National Statistics provide data on passenger journeys, punctuality, regional rail usage and access to stations, but do not include comparative journey time metrics by region.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the level of the tarrifs avoided on an annual basis as a result of the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal based on the following assumptions: (a) 100% tariffs removed on pharmaceuticals worth £6.6 billion; (b) a reduction in automotive tariffs from 25% to 10% applied to £9 billion of UK car exports, assuming full utilisation of the applicable quota; (c) 10% tariff removed on £2.2 billion of aerospace exports; and (d) 25% tariffs removed on £0.4 billion of steel and aluminium exports; using export values from the Office for National Statistics, and if not, what alternative assumptions and estimates the Department uses.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Negotiations on the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal are ongoing. Discussions include tariff and non‑tariff barriers, digital and services trade, and sectors under section 232 investigation.
We will keep the House fully informed on these developments along with the expected economic outcomes of any final agreement.
Impact assessments are completed at the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether data recorded by the department classifies (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as religious or ethnic groups.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As is usual practice for public bodies, the data recorded by this department is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) harmonised standard and therefore classifies Sikhs and Jews as religious groups.
The ONS current harmonised standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. The ONS, which produces official statistics independently, launched a consultation to gather views on whether additional response options should be included in a future version of the ethnicity standard. This consultation has now closed, and the responses will be considered carefully.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who are victims of human trafficking.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office does not have an up-to-date estimate of the number of victims of human trafficking. Understanding the true scale of modern slavery is difficult due to a few factors, including the hidden nature of the crime.
We understand from recent estimates by NGOs that well over 100,000 individuals in the UK may be affected by this crime.
Data on the number of identified potential victims of modern slavery in the UK, as indicated through National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referrals, are published every quarter. In total, 19,125 potential victims of modern slavery were referred in 2024 (with latest 2025 annual figures to be published later this month). We continually look to improve the quality and provision of these statistics. The NRM statistics publications can be found here: National Referral Mechanism statistics - GOV.UK.
The Government remains firmly committed to ensuring that all victims of human trafficking and modern slavery are effectively identified and supported to rebuild their lives, while taking action to bring those who exploit vulnerable people to justice.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish national data on endometriosis diagnostic waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not centrally hold data on the number of women in England and Wales awaiting specialised endometriosis care, or on the waiting times for patients waiting for a diagnosis of endometriosis.
However, in England, the waiting list for gynaecology care, which includes those waiting for endometriosis care, stands at 575,986. This is a reduction of 19,979 since the Government came into office. Consultant-led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times data, which includes the above data, is published monthly at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2025-26/
Data is currently published on the waiting times for diagnostic tests that are used along an endometriosis pathway, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound, but does not differentiate between the suspected diagnosis. This can be found in the Monthly Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity dataset, published monthly at the following link:
The following table shows the number of patients waiting for MRI and non-obstetric ultrasound, as of November 2025:
| Total waiting list | Number waiting over six weeks | Percentage waiting over six weeks |
MRI | 362,208 | 67,557 | 18.7% |
Non-obstetric ultrasound | 627,473 | 115,909 | 18.5% |
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what indicators they use to measure progress in reducing health inequalities; and how those metrics inform policy and funding decisions.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is a priority for the Government to increase the amount of time people spend in good health and prevent premature deaths, with a vision of ensuring that all individuals, regardless of background or location, live longer, healthier lives.
We remain committed to reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy (HLE) between the richest and poorest, an ambitious commitment that shows the Government is serious about tackling health inequalities and addressing the social determinants of health. Indicators to monitor progress in health inequalities are measured in key data outcomes, such as the life expectancy estimates for England and sub-national areas, produced by the Office for National Statistics.
The Government bases decisions on a robust evidence base. For example, we know that the Carr-Hill formula is considered outdated, and evidence suggests that general practices (GPs) serving in deprived parts of England receive on average 9.8% less funding per needs adjusted patient than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios. This is why we are currently reviewing the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.
We are targeting key metrics such as the HLE gap to enable cross-Government action on primary prevention such as regulation of tobacco, controlling air pollution, and tackling poverty. We also support NHS England’s CORE20PLUS5 approach which targets action to reduce health inequalities in the most deprived 20% of the population and improve outcomes for groups that experience the worst access, experience, and outcomes within the National Health Service.