Written questions by McIntyre.

What steps he is taking to support adult social care providers in Gloucester.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025-26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.The additional funding available to Gloucestershire in 2025-26 means that they will see an increase to their Core Spending Power of up to 6.6% in cash terms.Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, they are tasked with the duty to shape their care market to meet the diverse needs of all local people.

What recent steps his Department has taken to improve access to NHS dentistry in Gloucester.

The Government plans to tackle 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 areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to Integrated Care Boards across England. For Gloucester constituency, this is NHS Gloucestershire ICB.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve access to treatment for people with functional neurological disorder.

The majority of services for people with neurological conditions, including functional neurological disorder (FND), are commissioned locally. Integrated care board commissioners are best placed to configure services for their populations, and will be supported by clinical guidance.At a national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions, including FND, such as the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the Neurology Transformation Programme. In 2023, the National Neurosciences Advisory Group developed a clinical pathway for FND, which is available at the following link: https://www.nnag.org.uk/optimal-clinical-pathway-adults-fnd-functional-neurological-disorder NHS England is in the process of updating the Specialised Neurology service specification. This will include FND, which is not included in the current published version. Service specifications are important in clearly defining the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also has guidance in place to support clinicians in the diagnosis of suspected neurological conditions, including FND. The NICE guidance, Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral, updated in October 2023, includes guidance on FND, and outlines symptoms that are often common in FND, such as recurrent dizziness, limb or facial weakness, numbness and tingling, and difficulties with memory and concentration. The guidance also outlines that the severity of the symptoms of FND often fluctuate and increase during times of stress.The NICE is also currently developing a guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders and acquired brain injury, with further information available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ng10181 FND will be included in the final guideline, which the NICE expects to publish in September 2025.

What recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that people can access support through the Warm Homes Plan in Gloucester.

As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next three years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to 2025/2026. This includes support for the most vulnerable, including those in Gloucester, to help slash fuel poverty. To fund energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating for social housing residents, lower income households, and renters, £1.29 billion has been committed to the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and £500m for the Warm Homes: Local Grant respectively. Delivery is expected to start this year. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

Whether he will take steps to implement a National Cardiovascular Disease Plan.

The Government is committed to ensuring fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). That is why, building on the 2019 NHS Long Term Plan commitment to prevent 150,000 heart attacks, strokes and dementia cases by 2029, this Government has set a CVD-specific mission ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and strokes by 25% within a decade.The Department and NHS England are working together at pace to understand the scale of the CVD challenge and the greatest opportunities for progress.This includes through building on action already taken as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve the timely identification and treatment of CVD risk factors, such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol and atrial fibrillation, and drawing on what we have we have heard from the public, patients and staff through the 10-Year Health Plan engagement exercise.The 10-Year Health Plan, once published, will set out the Government's overarching vision for delivering on its health mission, including how we deliver the critical shift from a focus on treating illness to preventing conditions such as CVD.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support public libraries in Gloucester.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.I understand that Gloucestershire had 32 local authority-run static libraries as of December 2023, with five of those libraries located in Gloucester itself.The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) fly tipping and (b) littering in Gloucester.

Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering and fly-tipping problems, in a way tailored to the community in which they occur. They have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal including fixed penalty notices and prosecution. We are reviewing how we can further support local authorities to tackle these issues. We are also considering how to most effectively deliver our manifesto commitment to force fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created. We will provide further details in due course. In the meantime, Defra will continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities, the Environment Agency and National Police Chiefs Council, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

Communities and Local Government, how many people have received funding from the disabled facilities grant in (a) Gloucester and (b) Gloucestershire in the last five years.

The Disabled Facilities Grant allocation to Gloucester and Gloucestershire for the last five years has been as follows: Financial yearGloucesterGloucestershire2020/21£1,276,921£6,842,3532021/22£1,276,921£6,842,3532022/23£1,276,921£6,842,3532023/24£1,388,345£7,439,4172024/25£1,584,452£8,490,250 This information is also available through the website of Foundations, the National Body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies here: Disabled Facilities Grant Annual Allocations.It is for local authorities to decide how to spend their allocation and deliver adaptations to eligible disabled and older people. Government does not hold data on how many people have received Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding.Government recognises how important home adaptations are in enabling older and disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. This is why on 3 January 2025 government announced an immediate £86 million in-year uplift to the DFG, taking the funding total to £711 million for 2024-25. This will allow 7,800 more eligible people to make vital improvements to their home allowing them to live more independent lives and reducing hospitalisations.Furthermore, government announced an £86 million additional investment in the DFG for the 2025-26 financial year at the Autumn Budget (bringing total funding for 2025-26 to £711 million).

What steps she is taking to help increase the availability of childcare in Gloucester.

Giving children the best start in life is key to the government’s Opportunity Mission. Good parenting and high-quality early education provide the foundation for children to achieve and thrive. This government is determined to ensure that parents have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare. The department is rolling out more government-funded childcare entitlements to help millions of families, working hand in hand with the early years sector to build a system that works for them, parents and above all, children. This includes delivering 3,000 new and expanded school-based nurseries to make high-quality childcare accessible and available. As a first step, primary schools have been able to apply for up to £150,000 of a total £15 million capital funding, with the first stage of the plan set to support up to 300 new or expanded nurseries across England. High-quality, school-based nursery provision is popular with parents, especially families with multiple children. It can help schools upgrade spare space whilst also providing early support to children and families, supporting their transition into primary school. School-based nursery settings have proportionally higher qualified staff and see lower staff turnover, providing more consistency of care for children. Proportionally, school-based nurseries also look after more children with special educational needs and disabilities and offer a higher proportion of places in the most deprived areas. In the 2024/25 financial year, early years providers are set to benefit from over £2 billion extra investment compared to last year, to support the rollout of 30 hours of government-funded early education from next September, rising in 2027/28 to over £4.1 billion. As announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department expects to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements in 2025/26, which is around a 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we continue to deliver the expansion to eligible working parents of children aged from nine months. The department has confirmed funding rates for 2024/25 and has also announced a new £75 million expansion grant to support nurseries, childminders and other providers to deliver the 35,000 additional staff and 70,000 places required to meet demand for next September. The government will also deliver the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing rates by over 45% to up to £570 per eligible child per year. This unprecedented increase is an investment in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most, to give them the support they need to be school ready at age five and go on to have the best life chances. Department hourly funding rates for Gloucester have been confirmed at, £5.47 for 3-4-year-olds, £7.60 for 2-year-olds and £10.33 for under 2s. This government is committed to delivering the expansion to 30 hours government funded childcare for eligible working families from September 2025 but there will be challenges including providers securing enough staff and places to meet demand, with the capacity needed varying across the country. The department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders to join the workforce by creating conditions for improved recruitment. We are urging the public to ‘do something BIG’ and start a career working with small children through our national recruitment campaign. Our dedicated website also helps people find out more about gaining qualifications and search for existing job vacancies. Skills Bootcamps for the early years are available and lead to an accelerated apprenticeship, and we are funding Early Years Initial Teacher Training as a route for new and existing staff to gain Early Years Teacher Status. To support childminders to join and stay in the profession, we have implemented new flexibilities to work with more people and spend more time working from non-domestic premises. The department is working closely with local areas and the early years sector to do everything we can to ensure there are enough places and the sector has the workforce needed to provide those places and to bridge local gaps ahead of September 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage investment in high streets in (a) Gloucester and (b) Gloucestershire.

The Government is committed to rejuvenating high streets, supporting businesses and communities that drive town centre success. High Street Rental Auctions, effective December 2024, give local authorities in England powers to auction rental rights for vacant commercial properties, addressing long-term vacancies.To further revitalise high streets, the Government is tackling anti-social behaviour, late payments, and crime, empowering communities to utilise vacant properties. Initiatives include, expanding banking hubs, strengthening the Post Office network, and reforming business rates. A Small Business Strategy Paper will be introduced this year to support small businesses.Gloucester City Council received £1.468 million from UKSPF over three years to enhance community spaces, and support local businesses, including on the high street. Gloucester was awarded £11 million to transform the Greyfriars Quarter around Eastgate Shopping Centre. These aim to create vibrant, sustainable high streets for residents and visitors. Gloucestershire has received an additional £2.308 million from UKSPF which could also be invested in high streets.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support small businesses impacted by flooding in Gloucester.

My thoughts remain with householders and business owners impacted by flooding after the recent heavy rainfall, flooding is a devastating experience for all those affected.Government support in the aftermath of flooding is only provided in exceptional circumstances. At present, overall, the scale of impacts is not sufficiently significant for the Flood Recovery Framework to be activated in any area. However, officials continue to review impacts data and stand ready to support as appropriate.

How many dentists have been recruited under the dental recruitment incentive scheme in Gloucester.

Within the NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB), seven dentists have been recruited under the dental recruitment incentive scheme. ICBs continue to work with practices in their area to support recruitment to these posts.This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

What estimate she has made of the number of young people out of work, education and training in (a) Gloucester and (b) Gloucestershire in the last five years.

The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the labour force survey for young people aged 16-24. This is available at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief. The number of 16 to 24-year-olds estimated as NEET in England for the last five years can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d9b4d0bf-3a58-4907-5a37-08dd3479441b.However, these estimates are only published at national level due to limitations with sample sizes for lower-level geographies. Therefore, NEET rates for young people aged 16-24 in Gloucester and Gloucestershire cannot be provided.However, local authorities are required to encourage, enable or assist young people’s participation in education or training and return management information for young people aged 16 and 17. This data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-figures. The data shows that of the young people aged 16 and 17-years-old who were known to Gloucestershire local authority in the link below for the last five years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/fb35cd74-1667-4de1-ab38-08dd34489990.These statistics are published as transparency data so some caution should be taken if using these figures.In addition, 16-18 destination measures are published. These official statistics show the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16-18 study, that is 6 months of continual activity. This can be used as a proxy for the number of young people out of work, education and training at age 18. The latest publication includes destinations in 2022/23 by Parliamentary constituency boundaries at that time. Data can be found here for Gloucester parliamentary constituency for the last five years here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/365fe966-b823-4406-ab39-08dd34489990.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to establish the (a) nine new river walks and (b) three new national forests.

The Government is continuing to progress plans to designate nine new National River Walks across England and is considering delivery options to ensure the new river walks will have the most benefits for local communities. Further details will be provided in due course. The Government is committed to the establishment of three new forests. Good progress is being made towards establishing the first of these forests as part of our wider work to fulfil this commitment.

Whether she has had discussions with representatives of Great Western Railway since 29 November 2024.

The Secretary of State has not met with Great Western Railway representatives since 29 November 2024, however on 12 December the Rail Minister met with representatives of both Great Western Railway and Network Rail to ensure they are progressing their plans to improve services for passengers.

What steps she is taking to improve public transportation options for children with special education needs and disabilities that are in further education.

This 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. Local authorities are responsible for transport to education and training for 16-19 year olds. Post-16 transport guidance requires local authorities to make the necessary transport arrangements or provide financial support to ensure young people can participate in education or training. The needs of young people with SEND should be specifically considered and the arrangements put in place for each group must be documented in local authority transport policy statements.In addition to their statutory responsibilities, many local authorities do offer some form of subsidised transport which, combined with the 16-19 bursary, has been intended to provide financial support to students from low-income households. These decisions are best made locally, in consideration of local needs, the resources available and other local circumstances. With regard to public transport options more widely, the government wants everyone who needs it, including children and young people with SEND, to have access to public transport and is committed to improving services, so they are more inclusive and enable disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. The government’s reforms to bus services typify this. On 17th December, the government introduced a new Bus Services Bill that will give local leaders the freedom to take decisions to deliver their local transport priorities and ensure networks meet the needs of the communities who rely on them, including for disabled people. The Bill includes measures which will make bus travel more accessible and inclusive.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve children's oracy in Gloucester.

High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.The government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review will seek to deliver a cutting-edge curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes young people need to thrive.​The department agrees that children’s oracy is very important. The Education Endowment Foundation has found that the average impact of oral language interventions is approximately an additional six months’ progress over the course of a year. Approaches that focus on speaking, listening and a combination of the two all show positive impacts on attainment, most notably on reading outcomes. Impact in early years (seven months additional progress) and primary schools (six months additional progress) tends to be higher than in secondary schools (six months additional progress).​In the early years, developing language skills is vital to enable children to thrive.The department has also invested over £20 million in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception age children needing extra support with their speech and language development.​ More than 170 primary schools in Gloucestershire have benefited from this support.The English Hubs Programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. The English Hub for schools in Gloucester is Mangotsfield English Hub. Further information can be found here: https://www.mpenglishhub.co.uk/.

What steps she is taking to ensure that people receiving Universal Credit have adequate support for accessing (a) employment opportunities and (b) training in Gloucester.

The local Jobcentre team in Gloucestershire are committed to ensuring that all customers, including those claiming Universal Credit, have ample support in accessing employment opportunities and training. They take a multifaceted approach that draws on locally gathered information and data to deliver a bespoke service to meet the needs of customers and employers. Through employer networking events and visits to local businesses the team communicate how they can support employers with their recruitment needs, including advice on streamlining hiring practices and application processes to take account of diverse capabilities and health challenges, as well as offering space in the Jobcentre for job interviews, support with redundancy and retention, and disability awareness. Monthly recruitment events are held in Gloucester, in collaboration with trusted partners, showcasing a range of vacancies and pre-employment opportunities with local and national employers, with an event at GL1 Leisure Centre on 13 February. The team also hold monthly drop-in sessions on employment support in venues across the community, including Noah’s Ark in Tewkesbury and Bespoke Mentoring in Lydney. Furthermore, the 100 Futures program provides 6-week work placements for young individuals, offering valuable workplace insights and development across several employment sectors. We are working with NHS Integrated Care Boards to collaborate on the Volunteer to Career Scheme, with the first cohort starting this month. In terms of training and provision, Gloucester Jobcentre actively collaborate with partners to offer support, including Sector Based Work Academy Programmes and Movement to Work, meeting regularly with Employment and Training leads at Gloucester County Council, to share information and discuss priorities and plans. The National Careers Service deliver career advice and training support in every Jobcentre. The Restart program offers intensive employment support and in addition to Work Coach support, customers aged 50 and over can benefit from a 12-week employability support program, run in collaboration with Forest Green Rovers and the Employment and Skills Hub. We also deliver outreach services in locations across Gloucestershire, including Cinderford, Coleford and Stroud. These initiatives ensure that customers in Gloucester receive the necessary support to access employment opportunities and training, fostering a pathway to sustainable employment, and you would be welcome to visit Gloucester Jobcentre to see this work at first hand.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points across (a) Gloucester and (b) the South West.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of January 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 73,334 publicly available charging devices, up 37% on this time last year. Gloucestershire County Council was allocated almost £3.7m capital and resource funding through the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund to increase the number of local public chargepoints. The South West region has been allocated over £45.5m capital and resource funding to increase the installation of local charging infrastructure across the region.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to tackle digital poverty in (a) Gloucester and (b) Gloucestershire.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 27th November to question UIN 15161. I hope to say more about the Government’s approach to digital inclusion in the near future.