Written questions by Shannon.

What his Department's planned timetable is for the rollout of histotripsy treatment through the NHS.

Histotripsy is a non-invasive ultrasound treatment that destroys tumours without the need for surgery or radiation. It is delivered through the Edison System, developed by HistoSonics, which is one of eight transformative technologies supported through the Government’s Innovative Devices Access Pathway pilot, which aims to streamline patient access to medical devices that address an unmet clinical need in the National Health Service.At this stage, the detailed timetable for the potential NHS rollout of histotripsy treatment is still under development. The Department is working with system partners to determine the most appropriate, effective, and equitable approach and aims to communicate this later in the summer. Our aim is to ensure that any rollout is informed by ongoing evidence, supports early adoption in appropriate sites, and aligns with wider NHS priorities.

What steps he is taking to encourage Commonwealth citizens to join the British Army.

Commonwealth citizens have long made a valued contribution to the British Army and continue to be an important part of its structure and capability. There is always a strong interest in joining the Army. This can result in thousands of applications being received, which must be managed against the Army’s annual limit of 1,000 Basic Training starts for Commonwealth applicants and the 15% limit on the number of Commonwealth citizens who can serve in each cap badge. In August 2024, the Army re-opened the recruitment window, accepting applications from Commonwealth citizens sponsored by Serving personnel under the Recruit Bounty Scheme. This was limited to specific roles, including Musician, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer, Royal Engineer Technician and Tradesman, and the Parachute Regiment. This initiative generated a high volume of applications from across the Commonwealth. The recruitment of Commonwealth citizens is subject to regular review by the Army to ensure it remains aligned with operational requirements. At present, the Commonwealth recruiting pipeline is forecast to remain closed in the medium term due to the sheer volume of applications during the 2024-25 recruitment window, which Capita continue to process. The Ministry of Defence also works closely with the Home Office to ensure that Commonwealth personnel and their families benefit from specific immigration rules which enable them to enter, live, work and settle in the UK and become British citizens.

Whether her Department plans to increase the number of hours of PE lessons available to schoolchildren to help tackle obesity.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The government has committed to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) and by empowering more schools to provide high-quality PE for all pupils.PE is a compulsory subject in the national curriculum for all four key stages and aims to ensure pupils lead healthy and active lives. The department does not mandate time for any subject, including PE.On 19 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced next steps for the future of PE and sport in schools. The government will co-design PE and School Sport Partnership networks with the sector. We are looking to develop and build strong partnerships between schools, National Governing Bodies, local organisations and clubs, with the aim of increasing equal access for children to high-quality PE and extracurricular sport. Further details, including funding, will be outlined in due course and we expect to launch the partnerships from autumn 2026.The department also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in 2024 which seeks to deliver a curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative, so that all children and young people do not miss out on subjects such as music, art, PE and drama. The interim report was published in March 2025, and the final report will be published in the autumn with the government’s response. Departmental officials are now working on the next phase of the Review, which is considering subject-specific issues including PE, and are working with external experts.

Whether she is taking steps to measure the potential impact of active travel funding on the number and proportion of trips (a) walked, (b) wheeled and (c) cycled.

The Department for Transport and Active Travel England have developed a number of tools that measure the potential impact on numbers and proportions of people walking and cycling of active travel investment. This includes tools to enable local authorities to estimate increases in walking and cycling and the associated cost-benefit case for individual active travel schemes and the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS) Model.

What steps she is taking to encourage people who do not regularly exercise to become more active through the Active Travel Fund.

In February, the Department and ATE announced £8.5 million of funding over 25/26 for Cycling UK, Living Streets and Modeshift to deliver walking, wheeling and cycling initiatives in schools and communities, including a focus on less physically active groups. In addition, ATE has allocated £40.5 million in revenue funding over 25/26 for local authorities through the Consolidated Active Travel Fund. This funding can be used by local authorities to deliver outreach schemes and complements Bikeability funding for school children and Active Travel Social Prescribing Pilots underway in some authorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterparts on the AUKUS defence pact.

AUKUS is a landmark partnership which enhances UK deterrence, supports UK growth, and strengthens Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security. The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses AUKUS with his US counterparts. He most recently raised AUKUS with Secretary Rubio when he visited Washington DC in June. In April at the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, he and Secretary Rubio both mentioned Indo-Pacific security as a challenge our countries are working together to address, including through AUKUS. In January, the Foreign Secretary discussed the partnership in his very first call with Secretary Rubio.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential link between oral health and diabetes.

The Government recognises that patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes are at greater risk of developing severe gum disease.Patients with diabetes need to access effective dental care and local pathways should be developed to support this. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their population and for ensuring that the relevant dental services are available. The NHS England commissioning standard on dental care for people with diabetes provides guidance to ICBs on how to ensure these patients can access the care they need. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/commissioning-standard-dental-care-for-people-with-diabetes/

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of allotments in the UK.

My Department does not hold data on the number of allotments in the UK.

What steps she is taking to prevent vandalism on war memorials.

The Government is committed to protecting war memorials from vandalism and disrespect. Causing criminal damage to such memorials is a serious offence, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.The Crime and Policing Bill introduces an additional new offence of climbing on specified memorials without a lawful excuse, including the Cenotaph in Whitehall and the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, reinforcing our efforts to safeguard these important sites.It is a matter of deep regret that His Majesty’s Official Opposition chose to vote against these measures at the Third Reading of the Crime and Policing Bill on 18 June.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the age at which breast screening begins to 30.

Women under the age of 50 years old are not routinely screened for breast cancer due to the lower risk of women under this age developing breast cancer, and the fact that women under 50 years old tend to have denser breasts. The denseness of breast tissue reduces the ability of getting an accurate mammogram, the accepted screening test for breast cancer.However, the UK National Screening Committee keeps the age brackets under review. The committee recognises that screening programmes are not static and that, over time, they may need to change to be more effective. There are currently two trials under way that will help inform future decisions relating to breast screening. The AgeX trial is looking at extending the upper and lower age brackets, and BRAID is looking at alternative methods of screening for women with dense breasts. The committee will consider the findings of these trials as they become available.

If he will make an estimate of the number of sick days that were taken by people with osteoporosis in the last 12 months.

The Department has not collected data over the last 12 months on the number of sick days that were taken by people with osteoporosis specifically.The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the annual sickness absence rates of workers in the United Kingdom’s labour market, including the number of days lost by reason. This includes 26.5 million days lost through sickness absence in 2024 in the UK, with musculoskeletal (MSK) problems listed as the reason. MSK problems will include osteoporosis, however disaggregated data is not available as part of the publication. Further information on sickness absence in the UK labour market is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/sicknessabsenceinthelabourmarket

What steps he is taking to reduce NHS dermatology waiting lists.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. The Department is committed to ensuring that the proportion of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, including for dermatology services, returns to 92% by March 2029, and to 65% by March 2026.NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is working to improve waiting times through its established Further Faster programme to transform patient pathways and improve access and waiting times for patients. Dermatology is one of 24 specialties in focus for GIRFT’s Further Faster work.A Further Faster handbook for dermatology has been produced to share best practice, and the GIRFT team is carrying out regular visits to, and meetings with, challenged departments in order to provide support in improving performance across dermatology.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of defence budgets in the last 10 years.

The recent increase in defence spending is the largest sustained increase since the end of the Cold War. The Government is firmly committed to increasing defence spending to reach 2.6% of GDP by 2027 and has set an ambition to reach 3%in the next Parliament, as fiscal and economic conditions allow. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has also made a historic commitment to spend 5% of GDP on national security. This is a generational increase in defence and security spending, honouring our commitment to be a leader in NATO. The Department publishes historic MOD spending in cash and real terms in its annual Departmental Resources publication.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the length of prison sentences for people convicted of offences in connection with paedophile rings.

Home Office Ministers have regular discussions with their counterparts across Government, including the Ministry of Justice, on measures to tackle the heinous crime of child sexual abuse and exploitation and ensure perpetrators face the full force of the law.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Government is legislating to make grooming a statutory aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences. This will include (but is not limited to) offences committed by individuals involved in grooming gangs.Where a sentencing court concludes that a child sex offence was involved or was facilitated by grooming behaviour, it will be obliged to treat this as an aggravating factor, for which a more substantial penalty is accessible.

If he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to increase funding for cancer research in UK universities.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.6 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR spent £133 million on cancer research in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.The overall budget for research investment is agreed with the Treasury at the outset of each Spending Review period. Our investments in cancer are pivotal to informing efforts to improve cancer prevention, treatment and care.As well as funding cancer research itself, the Department also invests in centres of excellence, services and facilities to enable and delivery of cancer research in England. This includes NIHR funding for the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, a United Kingdom-wide network for delivery of early phase cancer trials, and NIHR’s Biomedical Research Centres, collaborations between world-leading universities and National Health Service organisations, bringing together academics and clinicians to do translational research, including on all cancer types. NIHR also works closely with industry to bring innovative research to the UK. This creates a strong portfolio of work reflecting the need to research early detection and diagnostics to reduce the impact of cancer on the population.NIHR is the UK’s largest funder of health and care research training, working with universities and the wider health and care system to deliver a comprehensive research career pathway for researchers from the full range of professions. NIHR welcomes applications for training awards from the clinical and non-clinical academic workforce conducting research into any aspect of human health, including cancer. In addition to training applications, NIHR also continue to welcome high quality, high impact funding applications for research into health and care.

What steps he is taking to help raise awareness of the symptoms of mini stroke.

Information on mini strokes, also known as transient ischaemic attacks, is available on the NHS.UK website, at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/transient-ischaemic-attack-tia/#:~:text=A%20transient%20ischaemic%20attack%20(TIA,of%20oxygen%20to%20the%20brain The main symptoms of a mini stroke are the same as those of stroke, and the National Health Service encourages people to use the FAST acronym for assessing if a mini stroke is occurring. On 4 November, NHS England is launched a new Act FAST campaign to increase knowledge of the main signs of a stroke and to encourage people to dial 999 immediately in response to any sign, with the phrase ‘Face or Arm or Speech, at the first sign, it’s Time to call 999’. The campaign ran in England across television, television on demand, radio, social media, national press, and ethnic minority television and radio stations. The campaign also included specific communications for multicultural and disabled audiences.

How many men between the ages of 50 and 60 have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in the last six months.

The following table shows the number of diagnoses of prostate cancer, from September 2024 to February 2025, the latest available data:DateNumber of diagnosesSeptember 2024516October 2024579November 2024518December 2024628January 2025696February 2025629Source: the Rapid Cancer Registration Data set for prostate cancer in males aged 50 to 59 years old, with further information available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/data/data-outputs/cancer-data-hub/rapid-cancer-registration-data-dashboardsTherefore, the total estimated number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 50 to 59 years old, over the most recent six months available, is 3,566.

How many children have been vaccinated against whooping cough in the last 12 months.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors trends in the level of childhood vaccination rates by upper tier local authority, region, and country. From April 2023 to March 2024, 91.2% of children in England who turned 12 months had been fully vaccinated with all three doses against pertussis, also known as whooping cough. Data on coverage of all routine childhood immunisations is published quarterly by UKHSA, and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2024-to-2025-quarterly-dataData on coverage of all routine childhood immunisations is also published annually by NHS England, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2023-24

How many people in the UK currently suffer with Lyme disease.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland there are approximately 1,000 to 1,500 laboratory confirmed cases every year, and in Scotland there are approximately 500 laboratory diagnosed cases.Previous studies have shown that there are approximately 2,000 additional cases of Lyme disease per year that are not laboratory confirmed in England and Wales. Lyme disease is more common in Scotland, and Southeast and Southwest England, compared to other parts of the United Kingdom such as Northern Ireland, and cases peak in the spring and summer months.Lyme disease is not a notifiable disease in the UK so the exact number in the community is unclear, as many patients are diagnosed with Lyme disease clinically, without sending samples for testing. Further details on Lyme disease are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis

What steps she is taking to help support young men's mental health in (a) schools and (b) other educational settings.

Education is a devolved matter and this response outlines the information for England only.This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people, including young men. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.As part of this, the government has launched a call for evidence on men’s health, including mental health and support for young men, as part of its commitment to developing a men’s health strategy. The consultation is open until 17 July: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-call-for-evidence-on-mens-health.The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.We continue to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice, and support student mental health in HE settings, through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce.