Written questions by Morris.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Network Rail's (a) board and (b) wider governance arrangements.

a) In line with corporate governance best practice Network Rail (NR) appoints an independent company to undertake regular reviews of the effectiveness of the Board. A review is currently in progress. The Secretary of State and Rail Minister will meet regularly with the Acting Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Network Rail to discuss the performance of the company. b) DfT and Network Rail have a Framework Agreement in place setting out how the Department and Network Rail interact in terms of corporate governance and financial management. DfT and Network Rail will be reviewing the Framework Agreement to ensure that the governance arrangements will be fit for purpose as the rail industry is reformed.

Whether (a) access to radiotherapy cancer treatment and (b) overall cancer treatment waiting times are within the scope of the independent investigation of NHS performance led by Professor Lord Darzi.

My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Professor Lord Darzi of Denham to conduct an immediate and independent investigation of the National Health Service. Professor Lord Darzi will be considering data and intelligence across a broad range of measures, assessing patient access to healthcare, the quality of healthcare being provided, and the overall performance of the health system. Full Terms of Reference for the review can be found on GOV.UK website.

If she will make an estimate of the cost for introducing free school meals for all primary school children.

This government has not made a formal assessment of the cost of providing free school meals to all primary school children. The department is separately committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school to ensure children are set-up for the day and ready to learn.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the rail network enhancements pipeline.

The Rail Enhancements Portfolio has been managed in line with the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline policy since 2018. As part of this Government’s refreshed approach to capital investment in the transport network, we expect to consider all aspects of our spending plans and principles to ensure that they deliver a unified system for railways; bringing together infrastructure with services for the benefit of passengers and the taxpayer.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2024 to question 52 on Dental Health: Pupils, when the UK National Screening Committee will next review recommendations on school dental screening.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) was due to review screening for dental disease in children under nine years old in 2022/23. However, a number of reviews, including this one, were delayed due to staff depletion and delays to recruitment, following the UK NSC secretariat function moving into the Department, and the Committee’s remit expanding. Staffing levels have now been resolved, and the UK NSC is addressing the outstanding reviews in their planned three-year programme of work.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2024 to question 52 on Dental Health: Pupils, for what reason the National Screening Committee have not reviewed school dental screening recommendations in the period 2022-23.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) was due to review screening for dental disease in children under nine years old in 2022/23. However, a number of reviews, including this one, were delayed due to staff depletion and delays to recruitment, following the UK NSC secretariat function moving into the Department, and the Committee’s remit expanding. Staffing levels have now been resolved, and the UK NSC is addressing the outstanding reviews in their planned three-year programme of work.

If he will take steps to ensure that the National Equipment Tracking and Inventory System highlights radiotherapy cancer treatment machines that are over 10 years old; and if he will ensure that sufficient capital funding is available to replace those machines.

The Department can confirm that the National Equipment Tracking and Inventory System highlights radiotherapy cancer treatment machines within the National Health Service, as well as their associated ages.Since April 2022 the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the NHS for 2022 to 2025, and the latest Capital Planning Guidance.

If he will establish an additional bank holiday to honour veterans on the Monday after Remembrance Sunday.

The Government recognises the sacrifices made by so many veterans and the huge debt of gratitude owed to those who have served their country. The current pattern of UK bank holidays is well established and accepted. Whilst an additional bank holiday may benefit some sectors, the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday remains considerable. The latest analysis estimates the cost to the UK economy for a one-off bank holiday to be around £2bn.

What steps her Department plans to take to help ensure a continuity of care for individuals released from prison via the early release scheme that were receiving treatment for (a) drug and (b) alcohol issues.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to working in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to ensure that continuity of care is in place for individuals leaving prison under the ECSL scheme and who have an ongoing drug and or alcohol treatment need.

What steps she is taking to tackle the challenges of policing (a) criminal and (b) anti-social use of off-road bikes.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.The Government will give police the powers they need to take illegal, dangerous and antisocial bikes off the streets for good, so that they will be able to quickly destroy the bikes that they seize from offenders. We will set out more information in due course.

If he will introduce a statutory fuel finder scheme as recommended by the Competition and Markets Authority's Road Fuel Market Study.

The government welcomes the CMA’s work to investigate fuel prices and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

What steps she is taking to help reduce overcrowding on the Durham Coast Line during peak periods.

Rail North Partnership (RNP), through which the department jointly manages Northern Trains’ contract with Transport for the North, monitors operators’ planned train deployment to ensure this falls within the requirement on them to match capacity to demand. While we have no evidence passengers’ safety is being compromised, RNP will discuss the loading on Durham Coast services with Northern and ensure it takes the actions open to it to meet its targets

If he will make it his policy to publish a national cancer plan.

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, sets out the National Health Service’s key ambitions on cancer. The plan sets out the NHS ambition to increase the number of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 to 75% by 2028, and to increase the number of people surviving cancer for five years by 55,000 as a result.Professor Lord Darzi is currently undertaking an independent investigation into the state of the NHS, the findings of which will feed into the Government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future. The Government will set out any further priorities on cancer and health in due course.

What steps he plans to take to increase radiotherapy treatment capacity in the NHS.

Since April 2022 the responsibility for investing in new radiotherapy machines sits with local systems. This is supported by the 2021 Spending Review, which set aside £12 billion in operational capital for the National Health Service for 2022 to 2025, and...

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of national house building targets will be for council housing in the next five years.

The Government is committed to the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and we will work with councils and housing associations to achieve this. More announcements will be made in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if she will (a) review the definition of affordable housing and (b) ensure that definition is linked to average wages by region.

Affordable housing is defined for planning purposes in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Government will be publishing a consultation on national planning policy before the end of July.We are committed to the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. New development will allow us to deliver thousands of affordable homes, including more for Social Rent. We will work with councils and housing associations to build capacity and ensure we build the homes people need.

If she will make an assessment of the impact of overcrowding on the Durham Coast Line during peak periods on the health and safety of passengers.

Rail North Partnership (RNP), through which the department jointly manages Northern Trains’ contract with Transport for the North, monitors operators’ planned train deployment to ensure this falls within the requirement on them to match capacity to demand. While we have no evidence passengers’ safety is being compromised, RNP will discuss the loading on Durham Coast services with Northern and ensure it takes the actions open to it to meet its targets

If he will bring forward proposals to reintroduce school dental screening.

There are no plans to reintroduce school dental screenings in England. The UK National Screening Committee does not recommend population screening for dental disease in children aged six to nine years old. Further information is available at the following link:https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/dental-disease/

What her Department's policy is on the potential merits of trialling a kinship care allowance.

The department is committed to working in partnership with local government to support children in care, whether they are being looked after by their community of wider kinship care, foster carers and adoptive parents, or being cared for in children’s homes, if this is the best place for them to be. The department recognises many challenges kinship cares experience, including the financial challenges that many kinship carers face. The government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system so that it can deliver better support and outcomes for children and families. This will include considering how best to support kinship carers and children in kinship care.

When he plans to bring forward proposals relating to the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme to (a) reform the surplus sharing arrangements and (b) transfer the Investment Reserve Fund to scheme members.

Work has already started across Government to deliver on our manifesto commitments. I will be meeting the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme Trustees shortly to discuss the best way to deliver our commitments.