Written questions by Shannon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and what steps he is taking to promote respect for freedom of religion or belief in efforts to secure a peaceful resolution.

The UK welcomes the conclusion of negotiations on a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and urges both sides to sign the agreement as soon as possible in the interest of lasting peace and stability in the region. We remain ready to support further progress wherever it may be helpful. The recent meeting between the leaders in Tirana marked a positive step forward, and we continue to encourage peaceful dialogue to address the remaining challenges. I reiterated this message during my engagements with the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in April, as well as with Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Yalchin Rafiyev, on 30 April. The Foreign Secretary also conveyed this message during his phone call with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 17 June.The UK Government remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief globally.

What steps her Department will take to improve digital infrastructure in rural schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outline the information for England only.The Department for Education are joint funding with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology fibre upgrades to 833 schools in England, due to be completed this year, to ensure that rural schools in England are not left disconnected.The department has also published digital and technology standards to help schools make informed decisions about technology, leading to safer and more cost-efficient practices. These standards cover critical areas such as connectivity, cyber security, and filtering and monitoring. We launched a consultation on narrowing the digital divide in schools and colleges, which included proposals on the future of these standards, and we will publish our response to this consultation in due course.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the disability pay gap.

Equalities Ministers have been engaging with Ministerial colleagues as we develop the policy on disability pay gap reporting, including on the proposals in our recent consultation, and will continue to do so.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of local authorities' Local Flood Risk Management Strategies.

We are committed to supporting communities and ensuring flood risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.  Local flood risk management is a devolved matter, but we will work to improve resilience and preparation across central government and local authorities to better protect communities across the UK. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That is why we set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.  This marks a new approach to preparing for flooding and working between national, regional and local Government, including the devolved administrations, and flood risk partners.

How many endometriosis specialist practitioners there are in the NHS.

The Department does not hold information on the number of endometriosis specialists working in the National Health Service.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Achieving our commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade requires close cooperation and coordination across Government, public services, the private sector, and the charity sector. Through the Safer Streets Mission Board and VAWG Ministerial Group, we are driving collective action across Government to achieve this. We will set out further detail in a new, transformative VAWG Strategy, which we aim to publish in September.While crime prevention, policing, and justice policy are reserved matters in England and Wales, we are also working closely with partners in Scotland and Northern Ireland in achieving our shared ambition in tackling VAWG.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of food security.

The second United Kingdom Food Security Report (UKFSR) was published in December 2024. The UKFSR sets out an analysis of statistical data relating to food security in the UK, fulfilling the duty in the Agriculture Act 2020 to present a report on food security to Parliament at least once every three years.

How many homes have qualified for new boilers through Government energy schemes.

Between January 2013 and April 2025, 889,589 boilers and 13 biomass boilers were installed under the Energy Company Obligation. Between May 2022 and May 2025, 407 vouchers for biomass boilers were granted under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. No boilers were installed through the Home Upgrade Grant, Local Authority Delivery scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund or Great British Insulation Scheme. Only biomass boilers are eligible for support under the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. The schemes started delivery in April 2025 and therefore installation figures are not yet available.

What steps his Department is taking to improve awareness of symptoms of (a) lung and (b) pancreatic cancer.

The Department is committed to improving symptom awareness of lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, and NHS England is also taking steps to improve awareness.NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms and address barriers to acting on them, to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms as well as encouraging body awareness to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point. NHS England and other National Health Service organisations, nationally and locally, also publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. This information can be found on the NHS website.The Department has also committed support to the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, which is a group of charities focusing on cancers with poor survival rates. This partnership focuses on raising awareness of less survivable cancers, including lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, so more people understand their symptoms and go to see their general practitioner if they have concerns. As part of developing the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England, the Department has been working with members of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce to identify how to improve diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for less survivable cancers, including lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) tackle local authority financial deficits and (b) improve local authority value for money.

This government recognises the pressures local authorities are facing because of their Dedicated School Grant (DSG) deficits. The Department for Education Spending Review settlement confirmed funding for reform of the current Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, details of which will be set out in a White Paper in the autumn. The government will commence a phased transition process which will include an extension to the Dedicated Schools Grant Statutory Override, currently due to end in March 2026, until the end of 2027-28. The government will provide more detail by the end of the year including a plan for supporting local authorities with both historic and accruing deficits. We will set out more detail at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.Furthermore, through this Spending Review we are providing an additional £3.4bn of grant funding for local authorities in 2028-29 compared to 2024-25 and the government has committed to reforms which will mitigate the growing pressures on Local Government services and achieve better value for money.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of Inheritance Tax provisions for agricultural property on farmers.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 36399.

Whether she is taking steps to introduce a GCSE on British Sign Language.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department is in the process of developing a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE. This landmark GCSE is an important step towards greater recognition of BSL as a language and will foster better communication between deaf and hearing communities.The department published subject content for the BSL GCSE in December 2023. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, recently ran a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements and expects to confirm its decision on the qualification rules in autumn 2025. At this point, any exam board that chooses to offer the GCSE will be able to start developing specifications.

Whether the Child Poverty Strategy will include funding for family hubs.

I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer of 03 July 2025 to Question 63139.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of combined cataract and trabecular bypass on glaucoma progression.

The best treatment options for any individual patient will be decided by the treating clinician in discussion with the patient, taking into account the relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. NICE guidance on trabecular stent bypass microsurgery for open-angle glaucoma sets out that trabecular bypass surgery can be combined with a cataract operation and has shown its ability to reduce intraocular pressure.

What steps his Department is taking to help prevent irreversible blindness from glaucoma progression.

Regular sight tests play a crucial role in the early detection of glaucoma, which is often symptomless in the early stages. Free National Health Service sight tests are available for many, including individuals diagnosed with glaucoma or those aged 40 years old and over with a close family member with a history of glaucoma. Patients with suspected glaucoma will be referred for further investigation, any clinically necessary treatment, and ongoing monitoring, which can delay its progression.NHS England has been testing how IT connectivity between primary and secondary eye care services and the development of a single point of access could improve the referral and triage of patients, reducing the time from referral to treatment. It could also allow for more patients to be managed closer to home, within community optometry. This could benefit all patients with eye care needs, including those with suspected or diagnosed glaucoma.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the use of innovative technologies to treat glaucoma through the 10-Year Plan.

The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to preventing and managing conditions such as glaucoma in all parts of the country. More tests and scans delivered in the community and better joint working between services will support the management of conditions including glaucoma, closer to home. The 10-Year Health Plan aims to benefit everyone, and eye health will likely benefit from these reforms. The 10-Year Health Plan ensures that the system and framework are in place to support the delivery for people with glaucoma. The plan has been developed through the extensive engagement we have undertaken with the public, patients, and staff, including with the eye care sector. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will continue to play a crucial role in evaluating new medicines, medical devices, and other technologies to determine their clinical and cost-effectiveness before recommending them for NHS use.

When she plans to publish the (a) eligibility criteria and (b) application process for (i) employers and (ii) sectors seeking to have occupations included on the proposed Temporary Shortage List; and what the criteria for inclusion on that list will be.

An interim Temporary Shortage List (TSL), containing occupations at RQF levels 3-5 which the Department for Business and Trade and His Majesty’s Treasury have identified as being important for the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy was included in Immigration Rules changes laid before Parliament on 1 July 2025 (HC 997). The TSL will be subject to review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). Occupations will only be included or retained on the list where the MAC has advised it is justified, where there is a workforce strategy in place, and where sectors are key to the industrial strategy or delivering critical infrastructure. The MAC will be commissioned to undertake this review shortly and will issue a call for evidence to which interested stakeholders should engage.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to require local authorities to provide family hubs.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

If she will develop a national outcomes framework for family hubs.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.

What funding she plans to allocate to family hubs.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025.This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that: the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.