Written questions by Morello.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the UK’s involvement in the Security Action For Europe initiative.

Strengthening our security and defence partnership with the EU will deliver on our Plan for Change and turbo charge the UK’s defence industries to help safeguard the security of the European continent. Since we first came to office, the Government has been committed to strengthening its relationship with the EU. The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses European security issues with his Cabinet colleagues. We welcome efforts to enhance the EU’s defence production and look forward to the UK/EU Summit next week.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered temporarily restricting imports of queen bees from regions with a high risk of parasitic infestation.

Protecting our country from pests and diseases is a key priority and that is why we have stringent monitoring processes in place to detect pests and diseases. Imports of honey bees are only accepted from approved countries and are subject to rules relating to notification and health certification. Imports of honey bee queens must be inspected and certified as free from certain pests and diseases before they can be exported to the UK and they can only come from pest free areas. A risk-based approach applies to checks on imports, including some laboratory testing of packaging and accompanying worker bees, for evidence of bee pests and diseases. As well as the import controls, there is an extensive surveillance programme in place for invasive pests and the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit provide training and guidance on pest recognition to all UK beekeepers.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of short-term models to ensure dental access in (a) rural and (b) coastal areas with no current NHS dental practices.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in 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 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, 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 the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.The additional 700,000 urgent dental appointments will be available across the country, with specific expectations for each region. These targets are more heavily weighted towards those areas where they are needed the most.ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. 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 funding is available to police forces for the purchase of inflatable rescue mats used to prevent injuries from high-level jumps.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.Decisions around procuring this type of equipment is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners or their Mayoral equivalents, to be taken in line with the needs of their local force.

Whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national (a) specification or (b) reserve for inflatable crash mats for the emergency services.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.Decisions around procuring this type of equipment is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners or their Mayoral equivalents, to be taken in line with the needs of their local force.

Whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of standardising the availability of fall-prevention equipment across police forces.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.Decisions around procuring this type of equipment is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners or their Mayoral equivalents, to be taken in line with the needs of their local force.

How many and what proportion of police forces have inflatable crash mats.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.Decisions around procuring this type of equipment is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners or their Mayoral equivalents, to be taken in line with the needs of their local force.

Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of fire departments have inflatable crash mats.

MHCLG collects data through the Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System (IRS) on equipment used by Fire & Rescue Services at the scene of an incident. It does not include data for the specific equipment category of inflatable crash mat.This data is published in a variety of publications, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics and data tables here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables; though no statistics are published on the equipment used at incidents.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of responsible green lane use on the health and well-being of people.

This Government recognises the importance of access to nature for health and wellbeing and is committed to ensuring it is safe, inclusive, and appropriate including for people with reduced mobility. We are delivering on our ambitious manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England. Further details will be shared later this year, following the Spending Review and the publication of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan. Additionally, we are implementing key initiatives to increase access to green spaces, including the £33 million ‘Access for All’ programme, which aims to make protected landscapes, national trails, forests, and the wider countryside more inclusive and accessible. Local authorities are responsible for maintaining rights of way in the area they are responsible for. They are required to publish and maintain a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) which must explain how improvements made by the local authority to the public rights of way network including restricted byways and byways open to all traffic will provide a better experience for all users including those with reduced mobility. There have been no recent discussions with the Green Lane Association.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect access to green lanes for people with mobility difficulties.

This Government recognises the importance of access to nature for health and wellbeing and is committed to ensuring it is safe, inclusive, and appropriate including for people with reduced mobility. We are delivering on our ambitious manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England. Further details will be shared later this year, following the Spending Review and the publication of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan. Additionally, we are implementing key initiatives to increase access to green spaces, including the £33 million ‘Access for All’ programme, which aims to make protected landscapes, national trails, forests, and the wider countryside more inclusive and accessible. Local authorities are responsible for maintaining rights of way in the area they are responsible for. They are required to publish and maintain a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) which must explain how improvements made by the local authority to the public rights of way network including restricted byways and byways open to all traffic will provide a better experience for all users including those with reduced mobility. There have been no recent discussions with the Green Lane Association.

If she will take steps to introduce dental buses to treat (a) low-income, (b) elderly and (c) disabled patients in West Dorset constituency.

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 the areas that need them most.The decision about whether to commission dental vans should be made locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs know the needs of their local areas and are best placed to make decisions about whether or how mobile dental vans can contribute to meeting the dental care needs of their population. For the West Dorset constituency, this is the NHS Dorset ICB.

Whether crash mats are included in national resilience equipment standards.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.Decisions around procuring this type of equipment is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners or their Mayoral equivalents, to be taken in line with the needs of their local force.

Whether her Department has received applications for (a) the Safer Streets Fund and (b) other funding streams for fall-prevention equipment from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 13 May to Question 50409.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Green Lane Association on sustainable countryside access.

This Government recognises the importance of access to nature for health and wellbeing and is committed to ensuring it is safe, inclusive, and appropriate including for people with reduced mobility. We are delivering on our ambitious manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England. Further details will be shared later this year, following the Spending Review and the publication of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan. Additionally, we are implementing key initiatives to increase access to green spaces, including the £33 million ‘Access for All’ programme, which aims to make protected landscapes, national trails, forests, and the wider countryside more inclusive and accessible. Local authorities are responsible for maintaining rights of way in the area they are responsible for. They are required to publish and maintain a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) which must explain how improvements made by the local authority to the public rights of way network including restricted byways and byways open to all traffic will provide a better experience for all users including those with reduced mobility. There have been no recent discussions with the Green Lane Association.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of crash mat availability in (a) Dorset and (b) other rural fire services.

It is the responsibility of fire and rescue authorities to ensure that firefighters receive the equipment and training they need to safely respond to incidents, and to do so in light of their individual areas’ risk profiles and Community Risk Management Plans. We work closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council to ensure that the fire and rescue sector has sufficient resource to keep the public safe. The government does not hold any data or publish any statistics on equipment used at incidents.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement powers to prevent fly tipping.

Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, vehicle seizure and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of these powers, and we are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently and effectively exercise their powers. We have also announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. Research commissioned by Defra in 2023 into the effectiveness of enforcement against littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling is available at: https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21398. The report was unable to identify any firm conclusions about the effectiveness of enforcement due to data limitations. A more recent assessment of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement powers to prevent fly tipping has not been made. We have committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to support local commissioning bodies during dental contract reforms.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment.NHS planning guidance for 2025/26 confirms that dental budgets are ringfenced, and that improving access to urgent dental appointments is a key national priority. Careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver genuine improvements for patients and the profession, and so that ICBs are supported to commission services in line with system changes. NHS England supports ICBs with their local commissioning responsibilities for primary dental services with the provision of nationally agreed policies and procedures. NHS England has also published guidance to support commissioners to take advantage of the opportunities offered to commission further and additional services through flexible commissioning, which enables the responsible commissioner to tailor services to meet local population oral health needs. Further information can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/opportunities-for-flexible-commissioning-in-primary-care-dentistry-a-framework-for-commissioners/We are continuing to meet representatives of the dental sector to discuss how we can best deliver our shared ambition to improve access for NHS dental patients

What steps the NHS is taking to help improve the (a) early detection and (b) treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Respiratory disease, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is a clinical priority, and the National Health Service is investing in the provision of more and better rehabilitation services for respiratory patients. This has the objective of improving outcomes for people with COPD through early diagnosis, including via spirometry tests, and through increased access to treatments.The NHS RightCare COPD pathway has been rolled out nationally and defines the optimal service for people with COPD. Furthermore, the National Respiratory Audit Programme aims to improve quality of care, services, and clinical outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD, by collecting and providing data on a range of indicators and pulmonary rehabilitation activity.A national programme of work is underway to support systems with improving access to pulmonary rehabilitation for the eligible population, increase the capacity of provision to reduce waiting lists, and improve the quality and consistency of rehabilitation programmes through accreditation. Pulmonary rehabilitation is effective for people with COPD, improving exercise capacity or increasing the quality of life in 90% of the patients who complete a programme.

How much funding his Department has provided for research on the long-term effects of covid-19 on lung health.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation, remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for the long-term effects of COVID-19. The NIHR committed £15.06 million to the following three research projects related to the long-term effects of COVID-19 on lung health, between financial years 2020/21 and 2024/25:Characterisation, determinants, mechanisms and consequences of the long-term effects of COVID-19: providing the evidence base for health care services;HypErpolarised Xenon Magnetic Resonance PuLmonary Imaging in PAtIeNts with Long-COVID (EXPLAIN); andHElping Alleviate the Longer-term consequences of COVID-19 (HEAL-COVID): A national platform trial.Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, Government research funders invested several hundred million pounds to understand SARS-COV-2 and the COVID-19 illness. As COVID-19 is a predominantly respiratory condition, much of this research is relevant to understanding the long-term effects of COVID-19 on lung health. On long COVID specifically, through the NIHR and the MRC, we have invested over £57 million on research studies. The funded projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical care.Funding is available and we welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including on long COVID and lung health. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What steps his Department is taking to support retirement homes in maintaining continuity of care during staffing changes.

Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 states that providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), including residential care homes, must deploy “sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to enable them to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times”. The CQC can take regulatory action if providers registered with them are in breach of any parts of this regulation, including if providers have an insufficient number of suitably qualified, skilled, and experienced persons deployed.