Written questions by Dance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20545 on Department of Health and Social Care: Correspondence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that 80% of hon. Members receive a response to correspondence in 20 days.

The Department is committed to meeting the target of responding to at least 80% of correspondence from Hon. Members within 20 working days. Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account. We recognise there is room for improvement and we are committed to doing things differently. The Leader of the House of Commons wrote to all Cabinet members in November 2024 to remind Ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' written parliamentary questions and correspondence.The Government has already taken steps to strengthen its approach to correspondence, with a Ministerial champion for correspondence identified in each department. As the lead Minister appointed for this Department, I am receiving information from my officials on performance and highlighting the importance of this work in communicating with Hon. Members across both Houses of Parliament.

What the criteria are for Ministers to (a) intervene in an Integrated Care Board's reconfiguration proposal and (b) revisit decisions made in those proposals.

The call-in power introduced on 31 January 2024 allows my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to intervene in service reconfigurations within the National Health Service at any stage where a proposal exists and following that intervention, to take or re-take any decision that previously could have been taken by the NHS commissioning body.The Department published statutory guidance in January 2024 which sets out how call-in requests may be considered. This guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reconfiguring-nhs-services-ministerial-intervention-powers

What steps her Department is taking to support people who are out of work but not receiving employment support.

As part of the biggest reforms in a generation, DWP will shift from being a department for welfare to being a department for work. The Get Britain Working White Paper published in November set out plans to deliver fundamental reform of our health, employment and skills system, including:Delivering a new jobs and careers service to support people to enter work, progress in their careers, earn more and find higher quality work, this will apply to everyone who seeks support, regardless of whether they are in receipt of benefits.Working with local areas to tackle economic inactivity and increase participation in the labour market through the delivery of localised work, health and skills plans and the introduction of trailblazers.Delivering a Youth Guarantee for 18-21 year olds in England so that young people benefit from education, training or help to find work.The Get Britain Working White Paper can be found at Gov.uk. GBW White Paper.

What sanction regime will be used for young people under the Youth Guarantee; how that regime will differ from the conditionality regime; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that new regime on vulnerable young people with (a) mental ill-health and (b) SEND.

The Youth Guarantee will be available to all young people in England aged 18-21, not just those on benefits, and therefore sanctions are not relevant for many in scope of the Guarantee. Young people on benefits can access DWP’s Youth Offer and Jobcentre Plus support offer. If young people on benefit do not engage with activity mandated by a work coach, without good reason, they may be subject to a sanction. However, emphasis is placed on protecting vulnerable claimants and decision-makers always take all the individual circumstances of the case into account before making a decision. Our work coaches regularly explain benefit conditions and the consequences of failing to meet agreed requirements to our claimants to ensure understanding. As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we will explore a new approach to the benefit rules for young people to ensure they support the intent and design of the Youth Guarantee. For example, supporting young people to focus on improving their skills. We will engage widely on this issue to ensure all young people, including those with mental health or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, have access to opportunities in employment, education or training.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2024 to Question 16219 on Military Aircraft: Helicopters, what the timetable is for introduction into service of the New Medium Helicopter.

The Ministry of Defence is continuing with the established procurement process, managed by Defence Equipment and Support, for the New Medium Helicopter programme. The competition remains commercially sensitive, and the evaluation and approval process must...

Whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's response times to correspondence from hon. Members.

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, Peers, and members of the public. The Department receives some of the highest, and most sensitive, volumes of correspondence. This year, we are forec...

Whether he is taking steps to increase access to dental services in rural areas.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,00...

What his planned timetable is for implementing the supervised toothbrushing scheme.

We are committed to introducing a supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five-year-olds, targeting the areas of highest need. Further information on the implementation timetable will be confirmed in due course.

What steps he is taking to improve disabled access to railway stations in rural areas.

We are committed to improving the accessibility of the railway for all users, including those with a range of disabilities and in rural areas. The Department for Transport recently completed an accessibility audit of all 2,577 stations across Great Britai...

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of steps to improve accessibility of train stations for disabled people.

We are committed to improving the accessibility of the railway for all users, including those with a range of disabilities. The Department for Transport recently completed an accessibility audit of all 2,577 stations across Great Britain. This data is bei...

What progress he has made on the provision of 700,000 additional dental appointments; and what his target date is for that provision.

The Government is committed to tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To re...

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of recruitment and retention in NHS dentistry; and what steps he plans to take to tackle this.

The Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324The N...

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of levels of water pollution in Yeovil constituency.

For too long, customers have been let down and water companies have discharged record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will...

When he plans to respond to the letter of 1 August 2024 from the hon. Member for Yeovil on the closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s hyper acute stroke unit.

I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 11 December 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding.

What steps she is taking to encourage upskilling for tradespeople.

The department is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy. My noble Friend, the M...

What steps he is taking to ensure that people working in the gig economy receive (a) at least the minimum wage, (b) sick leave and (c) holiday entitlement.

All employers must comply with their legal obligations towards those they engage. The Government is committed to creating of the Fair Work Agency. It will bring existing functions like minimum wage enforcement into one place and it will also enforce right...

If she will exempt nurseries in England from business rates.

At the Budget in October, the Government committed to increasing spending on early years and family services to over £8 billion in 2025-26. This includes an additional £1.8 billion which will be paid to early years providers to continue the expansion of g...

With reference to paragraph 2.62 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the application of the standard VAT rate to independent

HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees, which can be found on here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-schoo...

Whether she plans to provide additional investment for the pharmacy network.

At the Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced a £22.6 billion increase in day to day spending for the Department of Health and Social Care from 2023-24 to 2025-26. This is an average increase of 4% in real terms funding growth for the NHS, the highest sin...

With reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, if she will provide additional financial support to pharmacies for (a) employer National Insurance contributions, (b) the national minimum wage and

The Budget will provide support for government departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer NICs costs only. Pharmacies are independent contractors and therefore will not be exempt from these changes. This is consistent with the a...