Written questions by Morello.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of degraded drainage infrastructure on trends in flooding levels in rural areas.

Protecting communities from the dangers of flooding is one of Defra’s top priorities. We have inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record meaning approximately 60,000 properties are at a higher risk. We are taking decisive action to stop the steady decline and ensure the flood defences we already have are in good working order, protecting communities across the country from extreme weather events. We are investing a record £2.65 billion over two years for around 1000 projects, of which over £450 million will fund the repair and maintenance of existing assets. This includes re-prioritising £108 million into asset maintenance, which will ensure that an additional 14,500 properties will have their level of protection maintained or restored. Watercourse management responsibilities fall to different bodies and we expect all those responsible to invest in ongoing maintenance and necessary repairs. Riparian landowners are required to keep watercourses clear of anything which could cause an obstruction to the flow of water on their land, or downstream if washed away. The Environment Agency (EA) has permissive powers to undertake maintenance on main rivers and will focus its efforts on those activities which will achieve the greatest flood risk benefit. Lead local flood authorities or internal drainage boards (IDBs) have permissive powers for ordinary watercourses. To support greater resilience for farmers and rural communities, we have also invested £50 million as part of the one-off £75 million IDB Fund. The Fund will provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade IDB assets. The EA is working with Dorset Council on the Dorset Rural Runoff project to improve understanding of flooding causes and identify potential interventions to reduce flooding impacts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of degraded drainage infrastructure on trends in flooding levels in West Dorset constituency.

Protecting communities from the dangers of flooding is one of Defra’s top priorities. We have inherited flood assets in their poorest condition on record meaning approximately 60,000 properties are at a higher risk. We are taking decisive action to stop the steady decline and ensure the flood defences we already have are in good working order, protecting communities across the country from extreme weather events. We are investing a record £2.65 billion over two years for around 1000 projects, of which over £450 million will fund the repair and maintenance of existing assets. This includes re-prioritising £108 million into asset maintenance, which will ensure that an additional 14,500 properties will have their level of protection maintained or restored. Watercourse management responsibilities fall to different bodies and we expect all those responsible to invest in ongoing maintenance and necessary repairs. Riparian landowners are required to keep watercourses clear of anything which could cause an obstruction to the flow of water on their land, or downstream if washed away. The Environment Agency (EA) has permissive powers to undertake maintenance on main rivers and will focus its efforts on those activities which will achieve the greatest flood risk benefit. Lead local flood authorities or internal drainage boards (IDBs) have permissive powers for ordinary watercourses. To support greater resilience for farmers and rural communities, we have also invested £50 million as part of the one-off £75 million IDB Fund. The Fund will provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade IDB assets. The EA is working with Dorset Council on the Dorset Rural Runoff project to improve understanding of flooding causes and identify potential interventions to reduce flooding impacts.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that people over 65 can access free health checks every five years.

The NHS Health Check programme, England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, aims to prevent CVD in people aged 40 to 74 years old, and is offered every five years. During 2023/24, over 1.4 million people received an NHS Health Check, and through behavioural and clinical interventions, the programme prevents approximately 500 heart attacks and strokes a year.To improve access and engagement with the NHS Health Check, we are developing a new digital service which will complement the existing face to face programme and enable people to undertake the NHS Health Check in the comfort of their own home.The Department is developing policy proposals and advice to ministers on options to improve the uptake and impact of the NHS Health Check programme. The work will consider the recommendations of the recent National Audit Office’s report, Progress on CVD Prevention.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) tackle and (b) improve reporting rates of disability hate crime.

Disability hate crimes are completely unacceptable, and this Government is committed to tackling these appalling crimes.We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target disability, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.We are carefully considering next steps to tackle the full range of hate crime offences.The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal, True Vision, that was designed so that victims of all types of hate crime - including disability hate crime - do not have to visit a police station to report. The Government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.

What assessment his Department has made of support for people with ADHD outside the school environment.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nationally or for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for adult ADHD assessments in rural areas.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nationally or for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the average waiting time for an ADHD assessment.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nationally or for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

What assessment his Department has made of the (a) levels of diagnosis and (b) difficulties of diagnosing ADHD in girls.

We recognise that girls may be underdiagnosed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make available the appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.NICE guidelines on ADHD, published and updated in September 2019, aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD, recognising that ADHD may be under-diagnosed in women and girls, and improve the quality of care and support that people of all ages who are diagnosed with ADHD receive.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) the governance structures in men's rugby union and (b) their alignment with the requirements for government funding allocations.

The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of government.The revised Code for Sports Governance sets out the levels of transparency, diversity and inclusion, accountability and integrity that are required from sporting governing bodies, including the RFU, who seek – and are in receipt of – DCMS and National Lottery funding from UK Sport and/or Sport England (DCMS’ arm’s-length bodies). This is kept under review.We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. Sport England has awarded the RFU £13,859,000 for the period 2022-27 as one of Sport England’s long-term system partners to support grassroots rugby union.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of introducing mandatory toothbrushing programs in primary schools on improving oral health outcomes for children.

Supervised toothbrushing is an evidenced based intervention that reduces the prevalence and severity of tooth decay. We are committed to introducing a national supervised toothbrushing scheme in England. This will be targeted at three, four, and five year olds most in need.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the use of late payments by supermarkets and (b) increase transparency in the food supply chain.

Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists. Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applying to businesses who purchase agricultural products from farmers, which increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information such as payment terms, pricing information and set parameters around these, increasing transparency for producers. A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted, with the first use of these powers leading to Dairy Regulations, which came into force for new contracts in 2024. We will lay regulations in spring 2025 to improve fairness in the pig sector and are making progress on eggs and on fresh produce. Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) availability of mental health services and (b) recruitment and retention of mental health professionals in rural areas.

Waiting lists for those referred for mental health support are too high all across England, including in rural communities. People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health and that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community. We are working to consider the options to deliver this expansion of the mental health workforce, including where they should be deployed to achieve maximum effect. NHS England is also working to improve retention within the mental health workforce through clearer career progression pathways.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of piloting mobile NHS dental clinics to help improve access to routine dental care in remote communities.

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 decision about whether to commission dental vans should be made locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). Local areas know the needs of their population best 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.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of NHS dental buses in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other remote 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 decision about whether to commission dental vans should be made locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). Local areas know the needs of their population best 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.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage schools to implement supervised toothbrushing programs in West Dorset constituency.

We are committed to introducing a national supervised toothbrushing scheme in England. This will be targeted at three, four, and five year olds in the communities with the highest needs. Further information on the timing of the implementation of the national supervised toothbrushing programme will follow in due course.

Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to increase the level of funding made available to support the (a) growth and (b) financial sustainability of women’s Rugby Union at (i) grassroots and (ii) professional levels.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport including supporting its expansion.In October last year, the Department for Business and Trade launched the 2024-25 Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator scheme. The aim of the scheme is to attract more private investment in women’s sport and drive growth into the sector. Over 20 leagues, teams and competitions across 9 different sports will benefit including Rugby Union.Sport England have awarded the Rugby Football Union £13,859,000 as one of their long-term system partners for the period 2022-27 to support grassroots men’s and women’s rugby union.In addition to this DCMS has provided £28.76 million of investment to support England hosting the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, including £14.55 million of legacy funding. This ‘Impact 25’ funding is providing substantial improvements in facilities and greater opportunities for women and girls at all levels of the game in England.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating separate funding for (a) oral hygiene education and (b) toothbrushing schemes in schools located in areas with high levels of tooth decay.

The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to help promote and deliver supervised toothbrushing programmes for 3 to 5 year-olds in the most deprived communities.We recognise that prevention is better than cure. For this reason, we will be targeting the areas of highest need in order to have the greatest impact on young children’s oral health.Further information on the implementation timetable will be confirmed in due course.Currently all state-funded schools in England are required to teach about good oral hygiene as part of the statutory health education set out within relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of supermarket supply chain practices on the financial stability of farmers; and what steps he is taking to help farmers receive equitable prices for agricultural produce.

Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists. Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applying to businesses who purchase agricultural products from farmers, which increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information such as payment terms, pricing information and set parameters around these, increasing transparency for producers. A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted, with the first use of these powers leading to Dairy Regulations, which came into force for new contracts in 2024. We will lay regulations in spring 2025 to improve fairness in the pig sector and are making progress on eggs and on fresh produce. Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of farm diversification projects in rural areas.

The Government recognises that rural areas offer significant potential for growth and is taking steps to support the development of farm diversification projects in rural areas. As the Secretary of State announced in his Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year, he understands that the focus of the department should be on boosting profitability on primary income, whilst also supporting its diversification.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) promote and (b) fund nature-based solutions to reduce flooding risks along rivers.

Defra’s Environmental Land Management schemes will provide payments for managing land and water in a way that reduces flood risk. For example, the Sustainable Farming Incentive standards include actions to support waterbody buffering and soil health on farm woodland and hedgerows. Countryside Stewardship currently provides payments for actions that slow down surface runoff and also mitigate flooding from rivers, and we have recently announced a significant expansion of the flood and drought resilience offer within Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. One of the 2 themes for first wave of Landscape Recovery pilot projects was “Restoring England’s streams and rivers: improving water quality, biodiversity and adapting to climate change.” Many of the actions undertaken to restore England’s streams and rivers will provide flood risk mitigation benefits as well. Tree planting along rivers can help slow water flow and temporarily store water as part of natural flood management. The England Woodland Creation Offer provides financial support for tree planting and incentivises woodland creation that reduces flood risk through supplementary payments. In addition, the floods investment programme delivers a range of schemes, including natural flood management. The Government inherited an outdated funding formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences. Established in 2011, the existing formula slows down the delivery of new flood schemes through a complex application process, and neglects more innovative approaches to flood management such as natural flood management. A consultation will be launched in the coming months which will include a review of the existing formula.