Written questions by Dickson.

With reference to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, what his Department's planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to introduce new regulations to help reduce the appeal of vapes to children.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children, to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.The bill includes a range of new regulation-making powers for the Government. Proposed regulations will be consulted on and subsequently laid. They will be implemented as soon as possible after the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has received Royal Assent.The new age of sale restrictions for nicotine pouches will come into force six months after Royal Assent.

When age of sale restrictions will be brought into force for nicotine pouches.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children, to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.The bill includes a range of new regulation-making powers for the Government. Proposed regulations will be consulted on and subsequently laid. They will be implemented as soon as possible after the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has received Royal Assent.The new age of sale restrictions for nicotine pouches will come into force six months after Royal Assent.

If her Department plans to update the School Food Standards.

The department announced a review of the School Food Standards on Thursday 5 June.

Whether his Department plans to widen the number of conditions for which pharmacies can assess and treat patients for without the need for a (a) GP appointment and (b) prescription.

We are currently focused on optimising the implementation of the current clinical pathways that allow for the supply of prescription only medicines, and which cover seven common health conditions, including: sinusitis; sore throat; earache; impetigo; shingles; infected insect bites; and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women aged 16 to 64 years old. NHS England is keeping the clinical scope of the service under review.

What his Department's planned timetable is for all hospitals to integrate opt-out smoking cessation interventions in routine care.

We are committed to ensuring that all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England has prioritised and put new funding out to integrated care boards (ICBs) for the rollout of tobacco dependence services in hospital settings. Future funding decisions are subject to the Spending Review process.Local authorities work with ICBs to provide a range of interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training, based on the needs of their local populations.

What guidance his Department has issued to (i) integrated care boards and (ii) NHS Trusts on including opt-out smoking cessation interventions in routine hospital care.

We are committed to ensuring that all hospitals integrate ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation interventions into routine care. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England has prioritised and put new funding out to integrated care boards (ICBs) for the rollout of tobacco dependence services in hospital settings. Future funding decisions are subject to the Spending Review process.Local authorities work with ICBs to provide a range of interventions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training, based on the needs of their local populations.

How many (a) volunteer and (b) paid peer support worker positions were created in the NHS England (i) liaison and diversion and (ii) RECONNECT service since peer support was first included in the liaison and diversion national service specification.

The information requested is not collected centrally by NHS England. The national service specifications set an expectation that the workforce composition will include volunteer and paid peer-support roles within each liaison and diversion and RECONNECT service. However, the service specification does not stipulate the number or ratio of volunteer or peer support roles per service. It is a matter for the provider to satisfy the regional commissioner that the overall workforce plan is appropriate to meet the needs of the patient population.

Whether the Integrated National Transport Strategy will include measures to support the(a) efficiency and (b) decarbonisation of the logistics sector.

The Strategy will set the high-level direction for how transport should change to better serve people and is currently in early development. Government recognises the importance of the logistics sector in delivering its missions and transport priorities, including driving economic growth and achieving net zero. We are committed to working with the sector to achieve this and will set out next steps in due course.

Whether the industrial strategy will include measures to support growth in the logistics sector.

I refer the member for Dartford to the answer I provided to UIN 9312 on 18 October 2024.

What technical assistance her Department plans to provide to Kent County Council for restoring the collapsed section of the A226 Galley Hill Road at Greenhithe.

The Department has had a number of meetings with Kent County Council (KCC) on this matter and I visited the road in question in September. The Department is waiting for KCC to submit an analysis of the costs and benefits of different options to inform a decision on any Government support.

Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Statutory levy and online slot stake limits to be introduced to tackle gambling harm, published on 27 November 2024, what steps she plans to take to monitor the spending of the 30% of levy funding allocated for prevention.

As set out in the Government’s response to the consultation on the statutory levy, the levy will for the first time provide dedicated, statutory investment for prevention activity in the gambling space. This could include a range of projects and services to increase awareness of risks and prioritising early intervention measures. To guarantee sufficient accountability and transparency within the new system, including the use of funding allocated for prevention alongside research and treatment, we will establish appropriate governance arrangements consisting of a Levy Board for the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments to monitor the health and impact of the levy system, and an Advisory Group to provide informal advice to lead commissioning bodies regarding strategic and funding priorities. The UK government will also formally review the statutory levy system within five years with the first formal review expected by 2030.

Whether his Department plans to take steps to alter the messaging provided on cervical screening leaflets to make clear it does not screen for (a) ovarian cancer and (b) other gynaecological cancers.

NHS England is responsible for delivering the NHS Cervical Screening Programme, and works to ensure that core public information on screening is easily accessible and understandable to the public. NHS England regularly reviews key public information across National Health Service screening programmes.NHS England has advised that they are currently updating the Cervical screening: helping you decide leaflet, and that the draft update already addresses the concerns raised, making it clear that cervical screening does not screen for other cancers of the reproductive system. The final updated version is expected to be published in early 2025, and the current leaflet is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-description-in-brief/cervical-screening-helping-you-decide--2

With reference to the Office for National Statistics web page entitled How the population changed in Dartford: Census 2021, published on 28 June 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for school funding of the recent growth in the population of Dartford constituency; and if she will take steps to reflect the growth in Dartford's population in future school funding allocations.

The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes core funding for 5 to 16-year-old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England.The vast majority of funding is allocated based on pupil numbers and characteristics. This means that, where pupil numbers are increasing, local authorities and schools will see a commensurate increase in school funding the following year.In addition to funding through the pupil-led factors in the NFF, the department also allocates growth funding to local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding to support schools experiencing significant growth in pupil numbers, until the lagged funding system catches up.

With reference to the Office for National Statistics web page entitled How the population changed in Dartford: Census 2021, published on 28 June 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for police funding of the recent growth in the population of Dartford constituency; and if she will take steps to reflect the growth in Dartford's population in future police funding allocations.

The Home Secretary has already announced that central government funding for policing will increase by over half a billion pounds in 2025-26; this includes an increase of over £260m in the core grant for police forces, additional funding for neighbourhood policing, and for the NCA and counter terrorism.Force level funding allocations for the financial year 2025-26 will be confirmed at the forthcoming police funding settlement. Funding for future years beyond 2025-26 will be set out in phase 2 of the Spending Review.

If his Department will take steps to ensure adequate levels of funding for healthcare in Dartford.

We have taken tough decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.NHS Kent and Medway will in turn receive a share of this additional funding. NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formulae used to help determine allocations from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.The formulae are based on independent academic research and include factors statistically associated with higher or lower need per head for National Health Services. The formulae produce a target allocation, or ‘fair share’ for each area, based on a complex assessment of factors such as demography, morbidity, deprivation, and the unavoidable cost of providing services in different areas.

What steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in Dartford 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. 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 (ICBs) across England. For the Dartford constituency, this is the NHS Kent and Medway ICB.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to work towards a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Southern Cameroon.

Dialogue is critical to achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon. The UK Government is committed to supporting efforts which will bring a peaceful solution through inclusive dialogue but we believe it is important that these efforts are owned and led by Cameroonians. We are also aware of the impact of the conflict on the regions' civilian populations, and urge that all perpetrators are held to account for violence against civilian communities.

How many appointments were (a) cancelled and (b) missed at Darent Valley Hospital on 21 October 2024.

The data regarding cancelled and missed appointments at Darent Valley Hospital on 21 October 2024 is not currently available to the Department.

What estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of recent traffic disruption on the local economy in Dartford constituency since October 2023.

National Highways has not conducted a specific assessment regarding the impact of recent traffic disruptions on the local economy in the Dartford constituency. National Highways is responsible for the operation of the strategic road network and monitoring and improving performance indicators related to delay, journey time reliability, and incident clearance, which are reported publicly.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of National Highway's management of recent traffic issues in Dartford constituency.

Following any major incident National Highways carry out a full debrief to ensure any lessons are learnt to improve future incident management. National Highways is committed to implementing improvements based on their findings to ensure effective management of traffic during both planned and unplanned disruptions.