Written questions by Smart.

What information his Department holds on the number of contacts that UK NHS Ambulance Trusts have had with people who are (a) experiencing suicidal ideation and (b) committing suicide in each of the last five years.

This information is not held centrally. We know that suicide is complex and there are a range of factors outside of the mental health system that we will need to address if we are to achieve the Government’s aim.We will need to continue working across Government and with a wide range of organisations outside of Government to do this. That is why we have a dedicated cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy.We have commissioned research to explore why suicide rates amongst children and young people were increasing until recently. We expect the results to be published very shortly, and will use the findings to inform next steps.

Whether his Department plans to review Shared Care arrangements to ensure they are delivering effective outcomes for patients.

There are currently no plans to review shared care agreements.General practices (GPs) are independent contractors that provide National Health Services. Shared care agreements between a GP and a specialist are voluntary and are not part of the GP Contract. The General Medical Council is clear that a GP cannot be mandated to enter into a shared care agreement, and there is guidance in place to help GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities.On initiating a treatment, the specialist clinician must follow General Medical Council guidance, that if continuation of the treatment is dependent on shared care, then an agreement with the GP must be in place before the treatment is started.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to reopen the Community Ownership Fund.

On 23 December 2024, we announced that the Community Ownership Fund (COF) is now closed and that there will be no further application windows. We took this difficult decision due to the challenging inheritance left by the previous government. COF’s purpose is to bring assets that are at risk of closure into sustainable community ownership. Funding was awarded to projects to secure the long-term future of their local asset. Monies will continue to be paid to successful projects from previous windows in line with the conditions set out in their Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). This Government remains committed to the communities’ sector and to community empowerment. The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment. There will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of classifying income from pensions payments as unearned income for the purposes of Universal Credit assessments on people who are unable to work due to their partner's disability or health condition.

No assessment has been made. There are no plans to change the way that income from pensions is treated under Universal Credit.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support young people in the music industry in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.

The government is committed to extending music opportunities for young people across the UK. As part of this, in March, we launched a National Music Education Network to promote arts opportunities to children and young people, support excellent teacher training in the arts, and boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations.We are providing an additional £3m to expand the Creative Careers Programme (CCP) in 2025/26. Stockport has been identified as a priority area for the CCP, which seeks to boost opportunities and provide information on creative careers and pathways for young people aged 11 - 18 from backgrounds that are under-represented in the creative industries.The government has announced £2.5m of continued funding to Arts Council England (ACE)’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025-26. In Stockport, The Strines Nightingale, which is based in Hazel Grove, has received £26,592 to allow them to expand their live music programming and improve their accessibility and infrastructure.Through ACE’s investment in National Portfolio organisations and through our Music Education Hub programme, we fund organisations that provide music education and opportunities to young people from every background and in the boroughs across Greater Manchester. Examples include Brighter Sound and Factory International, both of which are based in Manchester city but which have a number of programmes aimed at developing talent in the region.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the closing of the Community Ownership Fund on local assets that previously received funding.

On 23 December 2024, we announced that the Community Ownership Fund (COF) is now closed and that there will be no further application windows. We took this difficult decision due to the challenging inheritance left by the previous government. COF’s purpose is to bring assets that are at risk of closure into sustainable community ownership. Funding was awarded to projects to secure the long-term future of their local asset. Monies will continue to be paid to successful projects from previous windows in line with the conditions set out in their Grant Funding Agreement (GFA). This Government remains committed to the communities’ sector and to community empowerment. The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment. There will be further announcements relating to communities this year, including on the community ownership of assets.

Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of funding allocated to local leisure facilities.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector, and that the public leisure sector plays an important role in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure.The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to (a) maintain and (b) improve community leisure centres.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector, and that the public leisure sector plays an important role in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure.The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

How many hospital admissions were recorded for inflammatory bowel disease in the Hospital Episode Statistics dataset in (a) Hazel Grove constituency and (b) England in each of the last five years.

The following table shows the annual number of finished admission episodes with a primary diagnosis recorded for inflammatory bowel disease in England, in each of the last five years:YearFinished admission episodes2023/24358,0632022/23327,6932021/22308,5282020/21259,0582019/20282,335Source: Hospital Episode Statistics.Data on the number of admissions for the Hazel Grove constituency is not available.

Whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of private landlords who will sell their properties as a result of the proposed change in Energy Performance Certificate standards.

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation includes proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030, unless a valid exemption applies, and is accompanied by the Department’s impact assessment. The assessment makes clear that we are unable to quantify the extent to which this will impact the supply of properties as landlords may take different approaches. We encourage stakeholders to feed in views and evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. Following the consultation process, a government response and full impact assessment will be published.

Whether her Department plans to review speed limits on non-residential roads.

Traffic authorities (including National Highways for the Strategic Road Network) have the power to set local speed limits on the roads for which they are responsible where they consider that the national speed limit is not right for the road. The Department for Transport issues best practice guidance on setting local speed limits designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local circumstances.Measures to address speeding will be considered for inclusion within the forthcoming road safety strategy.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing funding for educational support for children with a cancer diagnosis on costs to the public purse.

If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a national funding scheme to support the education of children diagnosed with cancer.

If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to Energy Performance Certificate requirements on trends in the level of privately rented housing stock.

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation includes proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030, unless a valid exemption applies, and is accompanied by the Department’s impact assessment. The assessment makes clear that we are unable to quantify the extent to which this will impact the supply of properties as landlords may take different approaches. We encourage stakeholders to feed in views and evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. Following the consultation process, a government response and full impact assessment will be published.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of educational provision for children diagnosed with cancer.

If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of provisions within (a) the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and (b) other relevant legislation intended to promote school attendance on children required to take extended absences from school following a cancer diagnosis.

If a child is too unwell to attend school, local authorities have a duty under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996 to provide suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.Ofsted holds local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision as part of their area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections.Where full-time education is not possible due to a child’s health needs, local authorities must arrange part-time education on whatever basis they consider to be in the child's best interests.Full and part-time education should still aim to be equivalent to the education the child would receive in their mainstream school. Any part-time education should be reviewed regularly, with the aim of eventually increasing the number of hours up to full-time as soon as the child’s health allows.The law places a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age who is registered at school attends regularly. However, section 444 of the Education Act 1996 sets out exemptions to this duty. This includes where the child cannot attend due to illness. Parents cannot be penalised if their child is ill and unable to attend to school.There is nothing in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that has a direct impact on children being absent from school due to illness. The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.Educational provision for children who cannot receive their education in school for health reasons, including those in hospital, is funded from local authorities’ high needs budgets.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion.

What information her Department holds on the number of contacts that each police force has had (a) with people experiencing suicidal ideation and (b) where a suicide is in progress in the last 12 months.

The Home Office does not collect or hold data on these subjects.The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice guidance contains a chapter intended to support the police in offering crisis intervention to people who are at risk of suicide and to respond professionally and effectively when suicide occurs: https://www.college.police.uk/app/mental-health/suicide-and-bereavement-responseThe Independent Office for Police Conduct’s annual report on the number of deaths during or following police contact in England and Wales contains information on the number of apparent suicides following police custody. The most recent publication is here: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/annual-deaths-during-or-following-police-contact-report-202324The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, College of Policing, and key health and voluntary sector stakeholders to improve support for those at risk of suicide following release from police custody.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce call waiting times on the PIP helpline.

Telephony is our customers’ primary channel to contact us. We continually assess the number of calls we are receiving and the associated waiting times. Where we have been seeing higher call volumes, we have been deploying more of our available resource onto telephony and at times this has been up to 100% of that resource, whilst also balancing the need to complete necessary processing work. As a result, over the last month we have seen improvements with call wait times dropping by c30%.

What steps she plans to take to tackle the backlog of court cases involving violence against women and girls.

The judiciary prioritises cases involving vulnerable victims and witnesses, which includes victims of violence against women and girls.We have increased Crown Court funding, bringing courts to their highest capacity in almost a decade.We look forward to Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendations on once in a generation court reform, due in late Spring.

If he will support the development of a new bypass to link the A6 at Hazel Grove with the M60 at Bredbury.

This Government is committed to renewing national infrastructure, improving England’s road network and driving growth as part of its Plan for Change. It has been clear that any funding decisions will be part of a long-term infrastructure strategy for this country, as stated within the manifesto. Decisions on funding more generally beyond 2025/26 is a matter for the forthcoming Spending Review. Any assessment of the adequacy of the current or projected future capacity of the A6 road corridor between Hazel Grove and Whaley Bridge is a matter for the local highway authority.