Written questions by Shannon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on the (a) recent airstrike on Evin Prison in Tehran and (b) detention of (i) Christians and (ii) other religious minorities; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to (A) help uphold freedom of religion or belief and (B) advocate for prisoners of conscience in that country.

The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary consistently called for de-escalation throughout the 12-day conflict. We continue raise Iran's repression of freedom of religion or belief, including against Christians, in multilateral fora. On 18 March, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN highlighted the continued systematic targeting and repression of religious minorities at the UN Human Rights Council. On 3 April, we were integral to the delivery of a new Human Rights Council resolution, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to investigate a broader range of abuses including against religious minorities, in an important step towards accountability.On 3 July, the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith MP, met the Baha'i International Community UN Representative, Simin Fahandej, to discuss the current situation faced by Baha'is in Iran. We continue to monitor the ongoing harassment and arbitrary detention of Christians in Iran, and in November 2024, called on the Iranian government to release religious practitioners imprisoned for their membership in or activities on behalf of a minority religious group at the UN Third Committee.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of family hubs on (a) neighbourhood health and (b) integrated community-based health services.

We are committed to moving towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and support people to stay healthier and maintain their independence for longer.The Family Hubs and Start for Life programme supports the three reform shifts set out in the Government’s Health Mission, including the shift from hospital to community. It is already delivering a community-based model to transform health outcomes for babies, children, and their families.The effectiveness of the programme will take time to be realised, as long-term evaluation is required. The programme is subject to two national, independent evaluations to understand its implementation and impact.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of people who have been victims of fraud in the last 12 months.

The latest Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) release in April 2025 estimated that there were 3.4 million victims of fraud in the year ending December 2024 in England and Wales.Further information for Year Ending December 2024 Edition can be found here (Worksheet A4):https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help uphold human rights in Kenya.

Over the past two weeks, in addition to regular engagement with Government of Kenya at all levels, we have issued three statements, on 11th, 18th and 24th June expressing concern at Kenyan police brutality and in support of fundamental freedoms, including a British High Commission Nairobi released joint statement reaffirming every Kenyan's right to peaceful protest, and the importance of preserving civic space, and called for swift, transparent and independent investigations into all instances of violence against protestors. The UK's development funding supports police reform, focusing on human rights compliant policing and accountability. We are committed to maintaining a constructive dialogue with the Government of Kenya which will enable us to pursue shared interests, support Kenya's most vulnerable people, deepen our strong people-to-people links and raise challenging issues such as human rights.

Whether he plans for the (a) voluntary and (b) community sector to have a role in implementing the neighbourhood cancer care model set out in the national cancer plan.

The National Cancer Plan will seek to foster improved collaboration with partners across the cancer ecosystem, including the voluntary and community sector.The 10-Year Health Plan laid out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will rebalance our health system so that it fits around people’s lives, not the other way round. At its core, the Neighbourhood Health Service will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can: digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, in a hospital if necessary.The Neighbourhood Health Service will mean millions of patients are treated and care for closer to their home by new teams of professionals; and neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services on people’s doorsteps.We will soon launch the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP). The NNHIP will support systems across the country to test new ways of working, share learning, and scale what works, making Neighbourhood Health the norm, not the exception.The National Cancer Plan will be published later in 2025 and will set out further details on measures to support collaboration with cancer partners.

What steps he plans to take through the national cancer plan to help (a) reduce inequalities in cancer care and (b) improve outcomes in underserved communities.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire on 16 June 2025 to Question 58897.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of multiple sclerosis.

At the national level, there are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit.NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with MS. This focuses on providing access equitably across the country, care as close to home as possible, and early intervention to prevent illness and deterioration in patients with long-term neurological conditions. A toolkit is being developed to support ICBs to understand and implement this new model, which will include components on delivering acute neurology services, improving health equity in neurology, and improving community neurology services. The Neurology Transformation Programme has developed an Adult Neurology ICB dashboard, which includes specific data on MS disease-modifying therapies. Additionally, NHS England has also developed guidance for systems on improving access to disease-modifying treatments for MS closer to home, which includes successful delivery models and good practice case studies.We have set up a United Kingdom-wide Neuro Forum, facilitating formal, biannual meetings across the Department, NHS England, the devolved administrations and health services, and the Neurological Alliances of all four nations. The new forum brings key stakeholders together, to share learnings across the system and discuss challenges, best practice examples, and potential solutions for improving the care of people with neurological conditions, including MS.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced guidance on the management of MS in adults, which includes a number of recommendations on recognising the signs and symptoms of MS and the initial assessment and diagnosis of MS. NICE has recommended a number of new medicines for use in the treatment of relapsing-remitting MS that are now routinely available for use in the treatment of National Health Service patients. In December 2024, NICE recommended Ublituximab for treating relapsing-remitting MS, and more recently in April 2025, NICE recommended Cladribine for treating active relapsing-remitting forms of MS.

Whether his Department plans to establish a governance framework for (a) monitoring the implementation of and (b) ensuring accountability for the national cancer plan.

Governance mechanisms for monitoring implementation and ensuring accountability for delivery will be established as part of the development of the National Cancer Plan, which will be published later this year.

What steps his Department plans to take to help ensure that the national cancer plan includes measures to support collaboration with partners across the cancer ecosystem.

The National Cancer Plan will seek to foster improved collaboration with partners across the cancer ecosystem, including the voluntary and community sector.The 10-Year Health Plan laid out our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service, which will rebalance our health system so that it fits around people’s lives, not the other way round. At its core, the Neighbourhood Health Service will embody our new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can: digitally by default, in a patient’s home if possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, in a hospital if necessary.The Neighbourhood Health Service will mean millions of patients are treated and care for closer to their home by new teams of professionals; and neighbourhood health centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services on people’s doorsteps.We will soon launch the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP). The NNHIP will support systems across the country to test new ways of working, share learning, and scale what works, making Neighbourhood Health the norm, not the exception.The National Cancer Plan will be published later in 2025 and will set out further details on measures to support collaboration with cancer partners.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing early state pension access for people with a terminal illness.

There has been no recent assessment. The principle of having a State Pension age that is the same for everybody has the merit of simplicity and clarity through providing an important trigger moment for planning purposes. It has always been the case that nobody can claim their State Pension before they reach their State Pension age. For those nearing the end of their life, the Government’s priority is to provide people with financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way the Department does this is through the Special Rules for End of Life. These enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment, serve waiting periods and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit. These rules apply to five benefits that support people with health conditions or disabilities: Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance

How many people have been diagnosed with Actinic keratoses in each of the last five years.

The following table shows the count of finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a recorded primary diagnosis of 'actinic keratoses', for the years 2019/20 to 2023/24, in English National Health Service hospitals:YearFAEs2019/2013,6752020/219,2782021/2212,5702022/2313,4592023/2415,346Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.Notes:an FAE is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider;FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes; andthe data presented here is a count of the number of admissions rather than the number of patients. It's possible that the same person may have been admitted to hospital on more than one occasion within any given period. The majority of cases of actinic keratoses are treated by a general practitioner or elsewhere in the community, with only a small minority of cases, typically the most serious, requiring hospital admission. The data presented here will, therefore, only represent a small proportion of the total number of cases that were treated.

What steps she is taking to tackle smuggling in prisons.

Prisons in England and Wales have a range of specialist staff and equipment to tackle the smuggling of drugs, mobile phones, weapons and other contraband into prisons. This includes X-ray body scanners, airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, X-ray baggage scanners, detection dogs, and other specialist equipment to alert staff to the potential presence of drugs on a range of items and materials.We are also working hard to deter, detect and disrupt drones being used to smuggle contraband into prisons. Our approach is multi-faceted and includes physical security countermeasures, exploring additional legislation and working across Government and with international partners on this global issue.We are investing over £40 million in physical security across 34 prisons in this financial year. This includes around £10 million on anti-drone measures such as secure windows and improved netting at 15 prisons.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of apprentices in the renewable energy sector.

Energy and skills are generally devolved matters, and we have regular discussions with Ministers in the devolved governments on shared priorities for clean energy skills development. No formal assessment has been made of the adequacy of the number of apprentices specifically in the renewable energy sector. DESNZ estimates that the offshore and onshore wind sectors could support up to 145,000 direct and indirect jobs across Great Britain by the end of the decade.

How much funding his Department has allocated to support mental health facilities in each of the last three years.

It is for local commissioners and providers to decide the level of funding required to support the operation of individual mental health facilities, and this information is not collected centrally.

What steps he is taking to ensure children with special needs have the required support in schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the SEND system and restore the trust of parents by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate to crisis point.We will strengthen mainstream inclusivity and accountability through Ofsted, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise, and encourage schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.We are actively working with parents and experts on solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.Any changes we make will improve support for children and parents, stop parents having to fight for support, and protect effective provision currently in place. Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn, including for early years and post-16.

How many and what proportion of children were privately educated in each of the last five years.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department publishes information on the number and proportion of children in England who attended independent schools in each of the last five years in the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ accredited official statistics publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle paramilitarism.

The work to tackle paramilitarism in Northern Ireland is led by the Northern Ireland Executive and delivered through the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime.The UK Government provides 50% of the funding for the cross-Executive Programme: currently £8m per year. As announced in the Spending Review, a further £8m has been secured for the period from April 2026 to March 2027. The allocation of funding across the Programme is a matter for the Executive and the Programme Sponsor Group.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the National Cancer Plan prioritises improving patient (a) experience and (b) quality of life.

The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as prevention, and research and innovation. It will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experience and outcomes for people with cancer.The plan will aim to improve how the physical and psychosocial needs of people with cancer can be met, with a focus on personalised care to improve quality of life. It will address how the experience of care can be improved for those diagnosed, treated, and living with and beyond cancer.

How many hospitals are able to provide aquablation therapy for prostate cancer.

Improving access to cancer treatment and care are key priorities for the Government for all cancer types, including prostate cancer. Aquablation therapy is not used for prostate cancer and so no hospitals will be offering it for prostate cancer.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends aquablation therapy for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia.The treatment options available for prostate cancer are dependent on the individual circumstances of the patient, for example whether the cancer is localised. Treatment decisions are made between patients and their clinicians.

What discussions she has had with her Indian counterpart on the investigation into the recent Air India crash.

The Government is regularly engaging with counterparts in India while the Indian Air Accident Investigation Bureau leads the investigation. This has been supported by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the US National Transportation Safety Board. The Indian Air Accident Investigation Bureau must be given the time and space to undertake a thorough investigation and make an official statement when ready to do so. I do want to reaffirm my deepest sympathies to those who lost their lives in the tragic incident of AI Flight 171, as well as to their loved ones.