Written questions by Reynolds.

What his Department's planned timetable is for publishing its plans to reduce the time taken for patients to receive mental health treatment.

Long waits for mental health services are being driven by increasing demand to a system in desperate need of change. The Government is already responding by delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. We are piloting innovative models of care in the community, including six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity. We are also improving data quality so we can support providers to understand demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting times metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication to help services to target the longest waits.It is important that mental health services within the National Health Service work closely with the voluntary sector to deliver new models of care. The 10-Year Health Plan will be published shortly, and this will set out how the overall health system will run.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered introducing custodial sentences for people found guilty of illegal hunting under the provisions of the Hunting Act 2004.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans in a generation to improve animal welfare and that is exactly what we will do. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs, except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing. Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law. The Government has committed to a ban on trail hunting. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and further announcements will be made in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to accelerate the uptake of non-animal New Approach Methodologies in (a) regulatory testing and (b) scientific research.

National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funding is focused on translational, clinical, and applied health and care research. We therefore do not fund basic research or work involving animals, animal tissue, or both. However, the NIHR does work in close partnership with the Medical Research Council, which funds animal research in carefully defined circumstances and recognises the need for the robust application of the 3Rs, the replacement, reduction, and refinement of animal use in research.The Government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation, and uptake of alternative methods in basic, applied, translational, and regulatory research and testing later this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the inclusion of decapod crustaceans in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in the context of their recognised sentience under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022.

The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to improve welfare standards for decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs, and Defra has commissioned research and will seek expert opinion to inform any future policy decisions. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing British citizens to transmit their citizenship to their children born abroad.

There are already provisions in sections 2 and 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981 for children born abroad to British citizens to acquire citizenship, either automatically, or by registration where the child or parent can demonstrate a connection to the UK.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of legislation that exempts the conversion of buildings to nursery use from requiring planning permission on the adequacy of the locations of nurseries.

The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 groups together uses which have similar land use impacts into classes, allowing flexibility to change between uses within each class without the need for an application for planning permission. Since 2020, children’s nurseries are in the broad Class E ‘Commercial Business and Service’ class allowing a wide range of uses commonly found on high streets to move to use as a nursery without the need for a planning application, bringing new uses to the high street and providing additional nursery places including near to where people work.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dental services in Maidenhead.

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 from April 2025 and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, 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 the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Maidenhead constituency, this is the NHS Frimley ICB.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure academic consistency between (a) GCSEs and (b) iGCSEs; and whether she has held discussions with (i) teachers and (ii) parents on perceptions of the differences between those qualifications.

International GCSEs, which includes iGCSEs, and GCSEs in England are different qualifications. Unlike GCSEs, international GCSEs are not developed by the department, regulated by Ofqual or funded for use in state schools. International GCSEs have also not counted in school performance tables since GCSEs were last reformed.International GCSEs were introduced to serve the large international market for British qualifications and are also offered by some independent schools. The awarding organisations that offer international GCSEs decide the content for these qualifications and how that content is assessed. The department has no role in setting grading standards for these qualifications.

Whether his Department plans to increase core funding for GP practices.

We are investing an additional £889 million into core funding for general practice (GP) to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

What steps he is taking to improve the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks (PCNs) to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. That’s why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.

What steps he is taking to reduce levels of GP unemployment.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks (PCNs) to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. That’s why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.

What steps he is taking to support GP practices to (a) recruit and (b) retain skilled practitioners.

We are investing an additional £889 million through the GP Contract to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade.Under recently announced changes to the GP Contract in 2025/26, the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) will become more flexible to allow primary care networks (PCNs) to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for reimbursement of patient facing staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.In a drive to recruit GPs via the ARRS and to bring back the family doctor, the salary element of the maximum reimbursement amount that PCNs can claim for GPs will be increased from £73,113 in 2024/25, the bottom of the salaried GP pay range, to £82,418, an uplift of £9,305, representing the lower quartile of the salaried GP pay range, as some GPs will be entering their second year in the scheme. Proportionate employer on-costs will also be included within the overall maximum reimbursement amount which PCNs will be able to claim.Our commitment to growing the GP workforce includes addressing the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encouraging them to return to practice. We know that high workloads can be a key driver for GPs reducing their contracted hours or leaving the profession altogether. That’s why we are tackling morale through drivers such as growing the workforce and reducing bureaucracy through our Red Tape Challenge, to improve job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it a statutory requirement for schools to have libraries; and whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that all schools have access to well-resourced libraries.

I refer the hon. Member for Maidenhead to the answer of 28 January 2025 to Question 25150.

Communities and Local Government, whether she will issue guidance to local authorities to waive street party fees for celebrations commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe.

On 5 March 2025, Minister Peacock, Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) wrote to all local authorities regarding the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe (VE) and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day this year.The letter asked councils to help their communities in their preparations for VE Day – including by making processes cost-free for residents, as well as by signposting and updating existing community activity guidance and being flexible when receiving applications for road closures for street parties.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to take steps to intervene in the case of Iranian citizens Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani; and whether he plans to have discussions with his Iranian counterpart on the use of the death penalty in Iran.

The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We have repeatedly called on the Islamic Republic to establish a moratorium on executions, including through a Human Rights Ambassadors joint statement at the Human Rights Council in October 2024. The UK also helped deliver a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran at the UN Third Committee in November 2024. In January, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights directly with his Iranian counterpart. We will continue to raise human rights issues directly with the regime, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent persistent flooding in (a) Cookham and (b) Hurley.

Environment Agency (EA) teams are working with colleagues from Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council to improve knowledge and understanding of the flooding that has occurred during the last two years of higher-than-average rainfall. The EA is engaging with residents and community groups around Cookham, as well as elsewhere in the borough, to improve the services it provides. EA teams have also been providing advice and guidance about flood resilience, as well as promoting the recently closed Flood Recovery Grants. A study was completed during 2018-19 to look at possible options to mitigate flooding in Hurley. Unfortunately, at the time this study was completed it did not find an option that was financially viable. Inspections of EA flood defences led to temporary works during December 2024, to reinstate a bank collapse on the Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme (MWEFAS) near Taplow. This repair enabled MWEFAS to remain operational this winter, ensuring 3000 properties still benefit from the defences which include flood gates, walls and embankments in the Cookham area. EA teams are now designing the permanent repairs to take place as soon as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will meet with manufacturers from the (a) heating, (b) refrigeration and (c) air conditioning industries to discuss the inclusion of mandatory training for flammable refrigerants in the Government’s consultation on fluorinated gas regulation.

The GB F-gas review is ongoing, and we are in the process of developing proposals for amending the F-gas legislation in Great Britain. We intend to go out to consultation on proposals for reform in due course. Defra officials have ongoing and valued engagement with sector stakeholders as part of the review process and have gathered incredibly useful input. Private office handles all meeting requests. Please contact them directly to request a meeting.

Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department will publish the consultation on fluorinated gas regulation.

The GB F-gas review is ongoing, and we are in the process of developing proposals for amending the F-gas legislation in Great Britain. We intend to go out to consultation on proposals for reform in due course. Defra officials have ongoing and valued engagement with sector stakeholders as part of the review process and have gathered incredibly useful input.

What was the most recent date on which Israeli officials entered the Department's buildings on Whitehall.

The last visit by Israeli officials to the Ministry of Defence Main Building took place on Wednesday 5 February 2025.

What steps she plans to take to reform the Carer’s Allowance system.

We have announced the highest ever increase to the Carers Allowance earning limit, started considering the feasibility of a taper instead of the earnings threshold and launched an independent review of Carers Allowance overpayments.