Written questions by Maguire.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support internally displaced people in Yemen living in (a) overcrowded and (b) flood-prone settlements with limited access to (i) water, (ii) sanitation and (iii) health services.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises including with 4.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The UK provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 and is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year.Both of the UK's humanitarian programmes support the most vulnerable in Yemen, including IDPs. The UK's Women and Children programme provides primary health care and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and sexual and reproductive health services. In 2025, the programme supported 534 health facilities, providing basic medicines, health workers and community outreach to over one million people, including IDPs. The UK's Food Safety and Security Nets programme has supported more than 26,000 IDPs this year. The programme supports vulnerable communities with cash for food and living expenses, delivers "shock responsive" funding to all those impacted by flooding, and provides direct support to Women's Rights Organisations working with IDPs. The programme has supported more than 88,000 people with Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, essential given the increased exposure to GBV that IDPs face.We are working with international partners to respond to these growing needs. The UK and Saudi Arabia have worked together on a $10 million joint programme on cholera in Yemen. Working through the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this joint programme tackled cholera in the most high-risk and affected communities, including IDP communities.

How many children of primary school age in September 2025 are waiting for an EHCP assessment.

The department does not hold information on the number of children waiting for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment.The department does collect and publish information from local authorities on the number of requests for an EHC needs assessment received, and the number of EHC needs assessments carried out during the calendar year. The latest published figures relate to the 2024 calendar year and were published 26 June 2025. Information for the 2025 calendar year will be published in summer 2026.The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment which were outstanding at the end of the 2024 calendar year by age, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/667cfd50-479e-4427-f991-08de0724494a.The number of EHC needs assessments carried out where the outcome was outstanding at the end of the 2024 calendar year by age, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0713cf5f-cbc9-4957-f992-08de0724494a.

With reference to the Office for National Statistics' document entitled Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators: 2 October 2025, published on 2 October 2025, what steps his Department is taking to help support consumers with recent trends in automotive fuel prices.

The government is implementing Fuel Finder, an open data scheme for road fuel prices, to help drive down pump prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals for the cheapest fuel in their area. The Competition and Markets Authority has also received statutory information gathering powers through the Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers Act 2024 so it can monitor and scrutinise fuel prices. Taken together, these provisions will have a positive effect on the road fuels retail market, both in terms of facilitating competition at a national and local level and protecting consumer interests.

What the average waiting time was to receive an EHCP assessment in (a) England and (b) Surrey during the latest 12 months for which data is available.

Information on the number and percentage of education, health and care (EHC) plans issued within the statutory 20 week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is published as part of the statistical release, Education, Health and Care Plans – Reporting year 2024, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025. The latest published figures relate to the 2024 calendar year and were published on 26 June 2025. Information for the 2025 calendar year will be published in summer 2026.The number and proportion of plans issued within, and over, the statutory 20 week deadline, for England and Surrey during the 2024 calendar year can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3512e185-e65b-4cd7-f98d-08de0724494a.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential risks of (a) cholera and (b) other waterborne diseases among internally displaced populations in Yemen; and what steps she is taking with international partners to help mitigate those risks.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises including with 4.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The UK provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 and is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year.Both of the UK's humanitarian programmes support the most vulnerable in Yemen, including IDPs. The UK's Women and Children programme provides primary health care and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and sexual and reproductive health services. In 2025, the programme supported 534 health facilities, providing basic medicines, health workers and community outreach to over one million people, including IDPs. The UK's Food Safety and Security Nets programme has supported more than 26,000 IDPs this year. The programme supports vulnerable communities with cash for food and living expenses, delivers "shock responsive" funding to all those impacted by flooding, and provides direct support to Women's Rights Organisations working with IDPs. The programme has supported more than 88,000 people with Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, essential given the increased exposure to GBV that IDPs face.We are working with international partners to respond to these growing needs. The UK and Saudi Arabia have worked together on a $10 million joint programme on cholera in Yemen. Working through the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this joint programme tackled cholera in the most high-risk and affected communities, including IDP communities.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase participation in the Duke of Edinburgh award.

I met with the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award in November 2024 and have visited the DofE Award in June 2025. DCMS is providing £1.5 million of funding in FY 25/26 to support Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision schools to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award. DCMS is also assisting the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) in forging strategic alliances with the National Governing Bodies of Sport. This includes securing funded sectional activity placements specifically for marginalised young people.This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. The National Youth Strategy will be published later this year. The detail and scale of future funding commitments will be announced with the Strategy.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with (a) international partners and (b) UN agencies to help tackle the (i) humanitarian and (ii) protection needs of internally displaced people in Yemen.

Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises including with 4.8 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The UK provided £144 million in humanitarian aid in financial year 2024/2025 and is currently the largest donor to the Yemen Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for this financial year.Both of the UK's humanitarian programmes support the most vulnerable in Yemen, including IDPs. The UK's Women and Children programme provides primary health care and nutrition, water hygiene and sanitation, and sexual and reproductive health services. In 2025, the programme supported 534 health facilities, providing basic medicines, health workers and community outreach to over one million people, including IDPs. The UK's Food Safety and Security Nets programme has supported more than 26,000 IDPs this year. The programme supports vulnerable communities with cash for food and living expenses, delivers "shock responsive" funding to all those impacted by flooding, and provides direct support to Women's Rights Organisations working with IDPs. The programme has supported more than 88,000 people with Gender Based Violence (GBV) and child protection services, essential given the increased exposure to GBV that IDPs face.We are working with international partners to respond to these growing needs. The UK and Saudi Arabia have worked together on a $10 million joint programme on cholera in Yemen. Working through the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), this joint programme tackled cholera in the most high-risk and affected communities, including IDP communities.

If she will introduce a national (a) training and (b) accreditation programme to allow the recognition of school staff with automated external defibrillator responsibilities as competent persons for equipment governance.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used safely with no prior training. Users are prompted to follow step-by-step instructions on the device at the time of use. Suggesting only trained individuals can use defibrillators can unintentionally deter use in an emergency, where every minute is critical.As defibrillators are designed to be used with no prior training, the department does not believe an accreditation programme is necessary.Schools must ensure they comply with their first aid equipment responsibilities. The department provides defibrillator guidance to supports schools. The guidance is not intended to be read in isolation but provides schools with clear, practical, and accessible advice that supports the widespread adoption of defibrillators, including maintenance, as part of school first aid provision.Schools can access additional support in managing their defibrillator by registering it on the British Heart Foundation’s national defibrillator network, The Circuit. The Circuit provides schools with regular reminders to check their device. More information can be found here: www.thecircuit.uk.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of adults who have been seen by an NHS dentist in Surrey in line with the national average.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Epsom and Ewell constituency, this is the Surrey Heartlands ICB.We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. The Surrey Heartlands ICB is expected to deliver 6,585 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August 2025. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

What steps his Department is taking to help improve underperforming NHS dental contract holders in Surrey.

The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the minimum unit of dental activity rates to help tackle recruitment issues for practices.

A minimum Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) value of £28 is in place to support practices with historically low UDA rates. There are differential UDA rates across England, and integrated care boards have the flexibility to set the UDA rate locally, which may help to support local interventions. The current differential UDA rates allow providers to use differing pay rates to reflect the local market rates.We recently held a public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and improve the quality of, National Health Service dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August, and the Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course, with the expectation of implementing the reforms from April 2026.We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform by the end of this Parliament.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of children who have been seen by an NHS dentist in Surrey in line with the national average.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Epsom and Ewell constituency, this is the Surrey Heartlands ICB.We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments to make sure that patients with urgent dental needs can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025. The Surrey Heartlands ICB is expected to deliver 6,585 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.We recently held a full public consultation on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of, NHS dentistry, which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. The consultation closed on 19 August 2025. The Government is considering the outcomes of the consultation and will publish a response in due course.We are committed to reforming the dental contract, with a focus on matching resources to need, improving access, promoting prevention, and rewarding dentists fairly, while enabling the whole dental team to work to the top of their capability. The Government is committed to achieving fundamental contract reform before the end of this Parliament.

What assessment has he made of effectiveness of the Carr-Hill formula.

The Carr-Hill formula is outdated, as the formula is based on data that is 25 years old in some cases. It uses the expected workload of general practices (GPs) to determine the distribution of funding for GPs across England. Currently, GPs serving more deprived areas receive on average 10% less funding per patient when adjusted for need than those in less deprived communities, despite having greater health needs and significantly higher patient-to-GP ratios.We recognise the importance of ensuring that funding for core services is distributed equitably between practices across the country. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 25 June that, through the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government will review the Carr-Hill formula with the aim of ensuring that resources are targeted where they are most needed.The review, conducted by National Institute for Health and Care Research, has now commenced. It will draw on a range of evidence and advice from experts, with a focus on how health need is reflected in funding.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of research funding allocated to pancreatic cancer given its rates of (a) mortality, (b) survival and (c) late diagnosis; and whether he plans to increase that funding.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and in 2024/25, spent £141,649,374 on cancer research, signalling its high priority. This includes studies that focus specifically on pancreatic cancer as well as studies that are relevant or include pancreatic cancer. For example, between financial years 2020/21 and 2024/25, the NIHR committed £1.5 million to specific pancreatic cancer studies. The NIHR has also invested £1.9 million in research to detect early stages of gastrointestinal cancers, which includes pancreatic cancer. This non-invasive breath test will aim to streamline the referral process for primary care.NIHR’s wider investments in research infrastructure, including facilities, services and the research workforce, supported the delivery of 160 pancreatic cancer research studies and enabled over 8,200 people to participate in potentially life-changing research during this time period. This includes support for the PemOla trial, which is the first to explore using precision immunotherapies to treat pancreatic cancer. More information about the trial is available at the following link:https://cambridgebrc.nihr.ac.uk/2025/07/18/pancreatic-cancer-precision-medicine-trial/

What estimate he has made of the cost to the taxpayer of raising NICE’s value for money threshold by 25 percent.

The pharmaceutical sector and the innovative medicines it produces are critical to our national interest, helping people access life changing treatments, reducing pressure on the health service over the longer-term, and ensuring we have a National Health Service that is fit for the future.That is why through our Life Sciences Sector Plan, we have committed to working with industry to accelerate growth in spending on innovative medicines, compared to the previous decade. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will reform the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

What steps his Department is taking to increase support for victims of domestic abuse.

The Government is absolutely committed to tackling domestic abuse and halving violence against women and girls in a decade. We are strengthening protections for victims, improving law enforcement responses, and ensuring perpetrators are held to account.The 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims. This includes ‘core’ funding for victims of all crime types and funding that is ring-fenced for domestic abuse and sexual violence services. For 2025/26, we protected dedicated VAWG victims spending in the department by maintaining 2024-25 funding levels for ringfenced sexual violence and domestic abuse support. Funding after March 2026 will be agreed through the allocations process which follows on the latest Spending Review, and we are unable to pre-empt the outcome of this.Alongside this, we have committed to a range of measures which will support domestic abuse victims, including piloting the Domestic Abuse Protection Order and expanding the use of Domestic Abuse Specialist Courts, where trained staff support victims and agencies work together to drive better outcomes, as recommended by the Independent Sentencing Review. We are also introducing a new judicial finding of domestic abuse at sentencing, which will help ensure domestic abuse offenders are better identified and monitored throughout the system. This will support stronger protections for victims, whether the perpetrator is in custody or in the community.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of stipulating that GP practices only receive the uplift to the Global Sum if that funding is passed onto employees.

General practices (GP) are independent businesses, contracted to provide National Health Services. Every year we consult the profession regarding what services GPs will provide and the funding they will receive in return for these services.We are investing an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26, the biggest cash increase in over a decade. The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay. As with last year, we have accepted the DDRB’s pay recommendation and have uplifted the pay elements of the GP Contract by 4% on a consolidated basis, an increase of 1.2% on top of the 2.8% interim uplift in April. Funding for these awards will be backdated to April 2025. We expect GP contractors to implement pay rises to other GP staff in line with the uplift in funding they are receiving. As self-employed contractors to the NHS, it is for GPs to determine uplifts in pay for their employees.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle food price inflation.

Defra regularly engages with farmers, manufacturers and retailers to monitor the drivers of food price inflation and to encourage efficiency and fairness across the food supply chain. Alongside this, the department’s food strategy is developing policies to ensure that individuals across the country have access to affordable, nutritious food.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the impact of chronic respiratory conditions on the NHS in winter 2025-26.

NHS England, working with the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and other partners, is taking action to reduce the impact of respiratory conditions on the National Health Service this winter. This includes robust, consistent infection prevention and control measures, and a campaign to encourage eligible people to get their winter vaccinations. Further information on the actions being taken to reduce the demand on acute services during winter is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/

How many (a) military families and (b) veterans will be served by the forces first housing scheme.

The Forces First approach will mean more Service personnel have access to the high-quality homes and home-ownership opportunities they deserve and will form part of the upcoming Defence Housing Strategy. This approach will be applied by agreement with local authorities and development partners on a site-by-site basis, so it is not possible to estimate the number of military families or veterans who will currently benefit at this time. A trailblazer for this approach is already underway at MOD Feltham in South-West London, where the MOD, the London Borough of Hounslow and the Greater London Authority have agreed to adopt a Forces First approach as part of a groundbreaking partnership to develop the site. Once vacated, this new development alone is expected to deliver hundreds of homes and jobs.