Written questions by McMahon.

What assessment has been made of the (a) adequacy of support services for families of patients detained or likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act, and (b) benefits of developing a single point of contact service to remove the occasions where multiple calls to numerous agencies are required to secure the required support.

While no specific assessment has been made of support services for families, we know that families play a vital role in supporting people with mental health needs through their treatment and recovery.The Mental Health Bill includes measures that aim to ensure that people who care for the patient’s welfare, such as family or carers, are consulted by clinicians and kept informed throughout the patient’s care, treatment, and discharge.Guidance on what information and support should be provided to families throughout the discharge process is set out in the Discharge from mental health inpatient settings statutory guidance and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice. Engagement with families, carers, and close friends should also be standard practice in community mental health services.Integrated care boards and local authorities are also expected to work in partnership to support carers, in line with statutory guidance and local priorities. Many areas also have dedicated carers' support organisations that help connect families with resources and advocacy services, and signposting at the point of discharge from inpatient care.

How much was spent on community payback services in (a) Greater Manchester (b) Oldham for each year from 2015 to date.

The data below shows the annual spend for Community Payback services in the Greater Manchester Probation Region since 2021. 2021-222022-232023-242024-25 £m£m£m£mGreater Manchester Unpaid Work1.403.934.704.46 To note: Data cannot be broken down below regional level.Data prior to July 2021 is unable to be reported on, due to probation regions being under the management of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). The unification of CRCs and the National Probation Service (NPS) in England and Wales took place on 26 June 2021, marking a significant restructuring of the probation system.

What assessment has been made of the (a) effectiveness of the legal and regulatory framework and (b) use and coverage of facial recognition technology by police forces in England.

The Government supports the wider adoption of facial recognition technology across all police forces.Although there is a legal basis for police use of facial recognition, we want to bring forward a new bespoke legal framework, to build public trust and enable the wider, responsible use of facial recognition across police forces. To help shape this, the Home Office launched a public consultation on 04/12/2025 on the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. The consultation responses we receive will inform the development of this new bespoke framework.In terms of existing coverage, retrospective facial recognition is already used by all UK police forces. There are over 25,000 searches carried out each month on the Police National Database (PND) to help identify suspects after an incident or event.Live facial recognition is used on a regular basis by some forces and is available to all forces via a small national capability made up of 10 mobile units.The Home Office invested £12.6 million in facial recognition last year, with £2.8 million spent on national live facial recognition capabilitiesThis year, £6.6 million is being spent supporting the adoption, evaluation, and responsible rollout of facial recognition technology. This includes £3.9 million for the development of a new, national facial matching service.

What estimate has been made of the value of the tourism levy by mayoral combined authority area.

The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy if they so choose is still under development.The Government has published a consultation running until 18 February 2026, so that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power to introduce a levy that will be devolved to local leaders.The impacts of the levy, including how much it will raise, will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear their concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is raised. Giving this power to local leaders who best understand their region enables them to tailor it to growing their local economies.

How many (a) water pumps and (b) generators his Department disposed of for each year from 2015 to date.

The number of water pumps and generators disposed of through the Defence Recycling and Disposals Team (DRDT) from January 2024 to date is as follows: Water pumpsGenerators2024110320251192 In line with Ministry of Defence policy, records related to disposals are retained for a period of seven years. Consequently, it is not possible to provide information on disposals through the DRDT prior to 2018. Additionally, due to the way information was recorded by the DRDT prior to September 2023, details on the total number of water pumps and generators disposed of between 2018 and September 2023 could only be provided at disproportionate cost. It should also be noted that not all disposals are conducted through the DRDT. Identifying the total number of water pumps and generators disposed of through other routes would similarly exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

What assessment his Department has made of current inpatient capacity and waiting times for secure mental health placements for individuals detained under the Mental Health Act in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester (c) Oldham.

Nationally, NHS England collates information from annual contracts to understand the commissioned and available capacity across all adult forensic services, including high, medium, and low secure. A change notification process is managed nationally to capture in-year changes to this capacity and to monitor provider-reported activity via the Mental Health Services Dataset. NHS England does not hold information about waiting times for all individuals detained under the Mental Health Act who require admission to an adult forensic service except where the individual is transferred from prison to hospital. NHS England and the Greater Manchester Adult Secure Provider Collaborative continue to work closely with National Health Service trusts and independent sector organisations to monitor capacity and demand for secure mental health beds for the population of Greater Manchester. Whilst work is in progress to achieve more timely transfers into secure mental health facilities for prisoners, and work with providers around reducing overall secure length of stay, based on current demand there are sufficient adult secure beds across Greater Manchester and the wider North West region, including Oldham, to meet demand against the national adult secure specification. Waiting list numbers are stable and consistent which indicates that commissioned provision is sufficient to meet need. As waiting lists are managed on a clinical priority basis and due to the low volumes of people requiring secure mental health services, it is difficult to provide a meaningful statistic about waiting times for admission.

Following the recent National Living Wage increase announced in the Budget, what assumptions have been made on future wage differential compression for social care workers currently earning just above the current National Living Wage.

When assessing National Living Wage (NLW) increases, we assume that individuals earning at or near the NLW will receive a pay increase equivalent to the full NLW uplift, whilst pay growth for higher earning workers will increase in line with forecasts for average earnings. This assumption is based on robust external evidence on the impact of increases in the NLW on pay in the United Kingdom labour market. However, employers are ultimately responsible for the implementation of NLW increases and impacts may therefore vary locally.The Government is committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce. This represents the most significant investment in improving pay and conditions for adult social care staff to date.

What estimate she has made of the number of young people who have been off-rolled by schools and colleges while awaiting Education, Health and Care Plans in England.

The department does not hold data on the number of children or young people who have been off-rolled while waiting for an education, health and care plan assessment.This government is clear that off-rolling in any form is unacceptable, and we will continue to work closely with Ofsted to tackle it.Pupils may leave a school roll for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, transfer to another school, or change of circumstances. All schools are legally required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is removed from the admissions register.The law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.Our ambition is that all children with special educational needs (SEN) receive the right support to succeed. We are committed to strengthening the accountability system and to providing earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with SEN.

What is the current working assumption for the Casey review into adult social care to start and conclude.

The Independent Commission into Adult Social Care (the Commission), chaired by Baroness Louise Casey, formally began in April 2025. The Commission is in two phases: phase one will report in 2026, focusing on medium-term improvements using existing resources; and phase two will conclude by 2028, when the Commission publishes their report setting out long-term recommendations for transforming the system.

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of multiagency responses to bullying in schools, online and through messaging platforms which disrupt the learning of young people and cause distress and harm.

Bullying is unacceptable and must be tackled to ensure schools are supportive environments where pupils can thrive. We know that evidence suggests that cyberbullying is often linked to face-to-face bullying.All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. It is for schools to decide when to involve external agencies. Schools should contact the police where they believe an offence may have been committed.The government is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams.To support schools further with preventing and tackling bullying, the department has recently launched procurement for an expert, evidence-led review of anti-bullying best practice to inform a practical resource for schools.Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs will focus on supporting senior leaders in schools to develop cultures with high expectations for attendance and behaviour, with robust processes for following up poor behaviour.

What estimate she has made of the number of children who have an unmet SEND need in England.

The requested information is not held by the department.The department publishes information on the number and proportion of pupils with special educational needs as at January each year. The latest information available indicates that 19.5% of pupils have special educational needs (SEN) support or an education, health and care (EHC) plan. This publication, from January 2025, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2024-25.It may also be useful to note that the Education Policy Institute has conducted research on a longitudinal dataset that gathers information on SEN support and EHC plan status for pupils who started school in 2008 and reached Year 11 in 2019. This research indicates that 37% of these pupils were recorded as having SEN support or an EHC plan at some point during this period. Their report is available at: https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEND-Final-Report-version-FINAL-04.02.2024-2.pdf.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of education in schools relating to toxic masculinity and misogyny; and what steps her Department is taking to improve culture and behaviours and to promote positive male role models.

Every parent should be able to trust that their child is safe at school, online and in their relationships. But too often toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged. In December 2025, this government published a new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We want to protect young people and drive forward education on healthy relationships, and we will be investing £11 million to pilot the best interventions in schools over the next three years.The updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education, significantly strengthens content including an emphasis on building healthy relationships skills from the start of primary school, focusing on kindness and respect. Pupils are expected to develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual violence, including recognising sexism and misogyny and how to report abuse.It emphasises opening conversations with young people about positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, including how to identify and learn from positive male role models.Through a whole school approach, positive action should be taken to build a culture where misogynistic attitudes and behaviour are not tolerated, and any occurrences are identified and tackled.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to question 78371, whether he plans to increase court numbers in Greater Manchester to deal with the backlog of cases; and if he will prioritise co-location with a new police station and other services in Oldham.

The Government inherited a justice system in crisis, with a record and rising open caseload of nearly 80,000 criminal cases waiting to be heard in the Crown Court and too many victims waiting years for justice.Upon entering office, the Deputy Prime Minister took immediate action to allocate an additional Crown Court sitting days this financial year, taking the total allocation to a record 112,500 sitting days, over 5,000 more days than those funded last year by the previous Government. We have also secured record investment of up to £450 million per year for the courts system over the Spending Review period, alongside investing almost £150 million to modernise the court estate, including improvements at Manchester Crown Court. While plans to expand criminal hearing capacity in Greater Manchester remain under review, it is important to recognise that court capacity is determined by more than the number of available courtrooms. Increasing physical space alone will not create additional hearings unless there are also sufficient judges, magistrates, legal advisors, advocates and wider system partners available to support them.To deliver that, we are accelerating our programme to recruit more new and diverse magistrates over the coming years. We continue to recruit high levels of legal advisers to ensure courts remain resilient. We are also continuing to invest in the recruitment of c.1,000 judges and tribunal members annually across all jurisdictions.However, demand is currently so high, it is indisputable that fundamental reform is needed. That is why, on 2 December, the Government announced a bold and ambitious criminal court reform package to ensure cases are dealt with proportionately and deliver swifter justice for victims.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025 to question 85843, whether she is considering requiring drivers to register with their home local authority validated by checking council tax, electoral roll and credit reference data.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing drivers to licence with an authority other than that in which they intend to work. The Department continues to consider further options for reform, including out-of-area working and enforcement. We need to ensure that taxis and PHVs are able to work in a way that facilitates the journeys passengers want and need to make, in a consistently safe way, whilst achieving the best overall outcomes for passenger safety.

Food and Rural Affairs, what measures has the government taken to help ensure the free flow of livestock between NI and GB.

Defra has maintained longstanding arrangements to safeguard animal health while supporting the movement of livestock between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. These measures recognise the separate epidemiological statuses of GB and NI and the need to protect against disease risk while supporting trade within the UK internal market. Defra has agreed technical easements to enable the flow of livestock. For example, livestock moving from NI to GB are not subject to residency requirements, if hosted at an APHA approved centre and returned to NI within 15 days. We will continue to work closely with the livestock sector and with Devolved Governments to facilitate movement and market access between UK nations.

What progress she has made on reforming Common Bond provisions for Credit Unions.

The government recognises the role that credit unions play in providing savings and affordable loans to their members, serving local communities throughout the country. This is why the government is taking steps to ensure credit unions are fully supported to grow and scale into the future. This includes running a call for evidence on reforms to the credit union common bond, which closed in March. After reviewing responses to this call for evidence, the government has committed to a package of growth-focused reforms to the credit union common bond. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy published on 5 November. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.

What the change has been in NHS waiting lists in Oldham since July 2024.

We are clear that the extent of waits for treatment is unacceptable, and cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We have committed to returning by March 2029 to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment.Waiting list data is not available by town. At the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which covers Oldham, the waiting list size has fallen by over 3,000 since the Government took office in July 2024. Patients here are also facing shorter waiting times, with 53.6% of waits within 18 weeks as of September 2025, compared to 52.7% in July 2024.We are committed to transforming elective services to ensure patients get timely access to the care they need. This includes investing £6 billion additional capital investment over five years for diagnostic, elective, urgent, and emergency capacity in the NHS.Between July 2024 and June 2025, we delivered 5.2 million additional appointments compared to the previous year, more than double our pledge of two million. This marks a vital first step towards delivering the constitutional standard.We promised change, and we have made good progress. As of the end of September 2025, 61.8% of pathways on the waiting list are within 18 weeks, an improvement of 3.3% since September 2024, and the number of waits over 18 weeks has reduced by almost 320,000 over the same period.

Pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2025 to question 87366, if his Department will take measures to ensure that the mobility scheme prioritises British made vehicles.

Motability Operations, an independent commercial company which delivers the Motability Scheme, has announced plans to support the government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. The number of British made vehicles purchased by the scheme will reach 25% by 2030, with an ambition of 50% of vehicles registered on the Scheme being made in the UK by 2035. The Department for Work and Pensions will continue to meet regularly with Motability Foundation, the independent charity with responsibility for overseeing the Scheme, to discuss the Schemes operation.

Pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to question 92073, what steps her Department is taking to ensure maximum resale value for commercial assets held by the DVLA.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has been selling previously unissued vehicle registration numbers since 1989. In that time more than nine million registration numbers have been sold, generating £4.1 billion in revenue.Vehicle registration numbers that have been previously issued and displayed on a vehicle or held on a certificate of entitlement and allowed to expire are not resold. The DVLA is currently developing a strategic plan which is designed to enable and optimise sustainable growth and ensure that annual sales income targets are consistently met or exceeded.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 November to question 90783, if her Department will take steps to ensure that police forces prioritise British made vehicles.

The Police vehicle/fleet framework is owned and competed by Bluelight Commercial and goes through Bluelight’s commercial governance.The vehicle specification requirements are determined by Policing in line with operational Policing requirements and by Bluelight Commercial to meet Procurement Act and existing public sector procurement requirements.