Written questions by Jogee.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the importance of citizenship education in our schools.

Citizenship education provides a framework to prepare pupils to be active, informed and responsible citizens. The national curriculum for citizenship is mandatory at key stages 3 and 4 and primary schools can choose to teach it. In secondary citizenship, pupils learn about democracy, politics, parliament and voting, as well as human rights, justice, media literacy, the law, and the need for mutual respect.The Oak National Academy (Oak) is providing optional, free, adaptable digital curriculum resources. Oak launched its curriculum sequences for secondary citizenship in November 2024, with the full package of curriculum resources expected by autumn 2025.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that equips young people with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to thrive in life and work. The Review will publish its final report in autumn 2025.

With which health charities has his Department engaged on the development of the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan.

In the coming weeks, we will launch the formal engagement phase of the upcoming workforce plan, which will provide stakeholders with the opportunity to contribute directly to the plan’s development. The Government wants to hear from anyone with relevant evidence, including trade unions, royal colleges, employers, charities, and those with expertise by experience.

Whether the engagement on the development of a 10 Year Health Plan delivery strategy will include (a) a formal consultation and (b) stakeholder engagement with (i) health charities and (ii) other relevant stakeholders.

The 10 Year Health Plan will seize the opportunities provided by new technology, medicines, and innovation to deliver better care for all patients, no matter where they live or how much they earn, and better value for taxpayers.To develop the 10 Year Health Plan, we had the biggest ever conversation on the future of the National Health Service with over a quarter of a million contributions from the public, staff and partners including charities and patient groups.The Government and the NHS continue to work with the public, staff and partners to deliver the 10 Year Health Plan.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Sport England in supporting grassroots sport in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone, including children and young people. Everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity. Every bit of physical activity counts and the greatest public health benefit is enabling people, currently less active, to move more and lead more active lives. This can help to reduce the risk of a range of chronic diseases, in line with the Government’s aims to prevent ill health as set out in the recent NHS 10 Year Plan.The Secretary of State and I engage regularly with the leadership of Sport England, including at quarterly meetings with the Chairs and CEOs of all DCMS public bodies. A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sports sectors together at community level, including their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities. Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire is one of Sport England’s place partnerships.

Media and Sport, what recent engagement she has had with the leadership of Sport England.

The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone, including children and young people. Everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity. Every bit of physical activity counts and the greatest public health benefit is enabling people, currently less active, to move more and lead more active lives. This can help to reduce the risk of a range of chronic diseases, in line with the Government’s aims to prevent ill health as set out in the recent NHS 10 Year Plan.The Secretary of State and I engage regularly with the leadership of Sport England, including at quarterly meetings with the Chairs and CEOs of all DCMS public bodies. A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sports sectors together at community level, including their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities. Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire is one of Sport England’s place partnerships.

What steps she is taking to support care leavers in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.

The department is committed to ensuring that, regardless of where they live, care leavers have access to stable housing, health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and opportunities in education, employment, and training.All local authorities are required to publish a local offer for care leavers. This outlines both the statutory support they are entitled to and any discretionary services the authority provides. To strengthen this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will make the Staying Close programme a national offer for eligible care leavers. This will require local authorities to assess whether care leavers need support to find and maintain suitable accommodation, and access services related to health, wellbeing, relationships, education, and employment, and provide that support where their welfare requires it.The Bill will also enhance the local offer by strengthening requirements around accommodation and promoting joint working between leaving care and housing teams.Local housing authorities currently owe duties to those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. To better support care leavers, the Bill removes the intentional homelessness test for eligible individuals, ensuring they receive the housing support they need without unnecessary barriers.

What recent steps he has taken to improve access to NHS dentistry in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency, this is Staffordshire and Stoke-on Trent ICB.We will deliver 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments per year, and ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. Staffordshire and Stoke-on Trent ICB is expected to deliver 16,190 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What steps she is taking to help support young people into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.

The Department is committed to ensuring young people have access to the support they need to move into sustainable employment. DWP currently provides young people aged 16-24 with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. This includes flexible provision driven by local need, nationwide employment programmes and support delivered by work coaches based in our Jobcentres and in local communities, working alongside partners such as the Kings Trust, Local Authorities, National Careers Service/Career Wales, local colleges and Youth Trusts. In Newcastle-under-Lyme we are working closely with stakeholders through the Newcastle Employment and Skills Group – including Aspire Housing and Keele University – to connect young people with job opportunities and tailored support. Programmes such as Positive Directions and We Mean Business are providing fully funded five-week courses for 16–24-year-olds not in education, employment or training covering areas such as fitness instruction, customer service, and entrepreneurship. Also, Newcastle College is expanding its offer to include ESOL, functional skills, and employability courses, while Keele University is piloting new pathways to widen participation in higher education. Local initiatives are also delivering training in digital marketing, cyber security, and mental health first aid. In addition, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) and collaboration with care leaver schemes are helping young people with complex barriers into sustained employment.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential health impact of improved access to grassroots sport for young people in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England.

The Government believes that opportunities to play sport and get physically active should be available to everyone, including children and young people. Everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity. Every bit of physical activity counts and the greatest public health benefit is enabling people, currently less active, to move more and lead more active lives. This can help to reduce the risk of a range of chronic diseases, in line with the Government’s aims to prevent ill health as set out in the recent NHS 10 Year Plan.The Secretary of State and I engage regularly with the leadership of Sport England, including at quarterly meetings with the Chairs and CEOs of all DCMS public bodies. A large part of Sport England’s work focuses on bringing the health and sports sectors together at community level, including their place partnerships work which is working in a targeted way with local areas to understand and overcome the specific barriers in their communities. Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire is one of Sport England’s place partnerships.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the steps necessary to protect communities from any potential increase in the likelihood of wildfires taking place in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England as a result of a warming planet.

The Government recognises that the impact of climate change is likely to increase and intensify fire incidents in England and Wales - further impacting fire and rescue service’s (FRS) resources, capacity, and strategical response. As the lead government department for wildfire, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) maintains regular engagement with other government departments including the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and Cabinet Office on this national risk. This is alongside the department’s work with national bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements and mitigations. Since 2024 we have also funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans take to ensure that communities are (a) notified of and (b) consulted on planning applications in their areas.

Planning law requires local planning authorities to publicise planning applications through various means, including site notices, advertisements in local newspapers, and publishing information on their website. We are exploring ways to enhance community engagement through the greater digitalisation of the planning system. This will help remove barriers to participation in the planning application process, including among those in representative community groups.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with local government representatives on mandating the use of British made bricks in house building programmes.

The government is working with industry to ensure the housebuilding sector has access to the construction materials needed to build 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this parliament. We expect suppliers to increase capacity to meet demand, and we have seen deliveries of bricks in England, Scotland and Wales increase by 10% in the year to April 2025. Added to that, construction materials prices are stable, rising only 1% between January 2024 and January 2025, far below the rate of inflation for the wider UK economy. We are engaging with the wider sector to support the use of British-made bricks, but there are currently no plans to mandate their use.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to increase the use of British made bricks in house building projects using government finance in whole or in part.

The government is working with industry to ensure the housebuilding sector has access to the construction materials needed to build 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this parliament. We expect suppliers to increase capacity to meet demand, and we have seen deliveries of bricks in England, Scotland and Wales increase by 10% in the year to April 2025. Added to that, construction materials prices are stable, rising only 1% between January 2024 and January 2025, far below the rate of inflation for the wider UK economy. We are engaging with the wider sector to support the use of British-made bricks, but there are currently no plans to mandate their use.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of children living in temporary accommodation in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

This Government has inherited record levels of homelessness, and we recognise the cost pressures this has put on councils. That is why we have increased funding for homelessness services in 2025/26 by £233 million to nearly £1 billion, alongside a local government finance settlement for 2025/26 which makes available over £69bn for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024/25. The Homelessness Prevention Grant is allocated to councils across England based on local homelessness pressures. In 2025/26 the Homelessness Prevention Grant provided £451,899 to Newcastle-under-Lyme, £538,531 to East Staffordshire, £219,530 to South Staffordshire and £240,569 to Staffordshire Moorlands. In 2025/26 LAs are required to spend 49% of their funding on prevention, relief and staffing activity. This has been introduced, to support areas maintain their homelessness prevention and relief services. Allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant can be found here: Homelessness Prevention Grant allocations: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK

What recent estimate he has made of the number of people with dementia in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England in the next five years.

No specific estimate has been made for the number of people with dementia in the next five years.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase funding for homelessness prevention services in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

This Government has inherited record levels of homelessness, and we recognise the cost pressures this has put on councils. That is why we have increased funding for homelessness services in 2025/26 by £233 million to nearly £1 billion, alongside a local government finance settlement for 2025/26 which makes available over £69bn for local government, a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024/25. The Homelessness Prevention Grant is allocated to councils across England based on local homelessness pressures. In 2025/26 the Homelessness Prevention Grant provided £451,899 to Newcastle-under-Lyme, £538,531 to East Staffordshire, £219,530 to South Staffordshire and £240,569 to Staffordshire Moorlands. In 2025/26 LAs are required to spend 49% of their funding on prevention, relief and staffing activity. This has been introduced, to support areas maintain their homelessness prevention and relief services. Allocations for the Homelessness Prevention Grant can be found here: Homelessness Prevention Grant allocations: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority on the (a) political, (b) economic and (c) humanitarian situation in the West Bank.

The previous Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in the West Bank, including the economic situation, with Prime Minister Mustafa in April, and the current Foreign Secretary did likewise with President Abbas on 8 September.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Arab League on the (a) political, (b) economic and (c) humanitarian situation in the West Bank.

The previous Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in the West Bank, including the economic situation, with Prime Minister Mustafa in April, and the current Foreign Secretary did likewise with President Abbas on 8 September.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to secure a two state solution to the (a) humanitarian, (b) political and (c) security crisis in the Middle East since 22 July 2025.

I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority on the (a) political, (b) economic and (c) humanitarian situation in the West Bank.

The previous Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in the West Bank, including the economic situation, with Prime Minister Mustafa in April, and the current Foreign Secretary did likewise with President Abbas on 8 September.