Written questions by Smart.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of complaints received by NHS Trusts relating to end of life care priorities in hospitals; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) compliance by hospitals with established end of life care priorities and (b) communication with family members and next of kin regarding end of life care decisions.

The Department does not hold central estimates of the number of complaints National Health Service trusts receive specifically relating to end‑of‑life care priorities in hospitals. Complaints are managed locally by NHS organisations in line with the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, NHS Complaint Standards (2022), and Health and Care Act 2022, which set out the requirements for handling complaints in all NHS bodies. Anyone can raise concerns about NHS care, and trusts must investigate these in accordance with the regulations.NHS England sets out clear expectations for high‑quality end‑of‑life care through statutory guidance and service specifications for integrated care boards (ICBs) on commissioning palliative care and end‑of‑life care services. Compliance with established end‑of‑life care priorities is monitored through existing assurance mechanisms. The Care Quality Commission assesses whether trusts have effective systems in place to recognise deterioration, safeguard vulnerable adults, and provide safe, compassionate care at the end of life. NHS England also annually assesses ICBs on how well they discharge their statutory functions, including commissioning high‑quality palliative care and end‑of‑life care.We recognise that high-quality palliative care and end-of-life care should include the opportunity for individuals to discuss their wishes and preferences so that these can be taken fully into account in the provision of their future care, also known as advance care planning (ACP).NHS England has published Universal Principles for Advance Care Planning. These principles facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP in England. The principles focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences, including place of care, when they are nearing the end of life.

Whether she plans to extend land powers for the HS2 route between Birmingham and Crewe beyond 10 February 2025; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those powers lapsing on future northern rail connectivity.

The Northern Growth Strategy set out the Government’s intention to ultimately deliver a full North-South new line between Birmingham and Manchester. As part of this announcement, the Government confirmed that its existing land holdings between the West Midlands and Crewe will be retained. We are aware that the existing land acquisition powers for the HS2 Phase 2a route expire in February 2026. We will set out our future intentions shortly.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the capacity of the West Coast Main Line at Stockport; and what steps she is taking to ensure that local rail services are not adversely impacted by the introduction of HS2-compatible trains on that line.

We recognise there are capacity constraints on the West Coast Mainline at Stockport. The Rail Minister has asked officials to work with Network Rail and the wider industry to explore options to address this and meet future demand.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the introduction of non-tilting HS2-compatible trains on West Coast Main Line capacity.

We anticipate the use of non-tilting trains to have no impact on the capacity of the West Coast Mainline. We are currently developing the timetable for when HS2 opens and decisions will made closer to the start of services and will be subject to consultation.

If his Department will review information on the NHS website regarding hamstring injuries to ensure it adequately reflects the potential severity of hamstring avulsion injuries and the possible need for surgical intervention.

Decisions on the need for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the case of hamstring avulsion injuries are clinically led. The Department has not made an assessment of the adequacy of the relevant guidance.The hamstring injury page on the NHS.UK website was recently reviewed against the latest clinical evidence and updated in July 2025. The current page does alert users to the potential for a hamstring injury to be severe and require surgery, and where and when to get medical help. NHS England routinely updates the NHS.UK website in line with clinical evidence to ensure individuals with a potential hamstring injury are provided with the latest clinical evidence.The Department is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, including for MRI. NHS England is taking steps to support MRI services to remain resilient, effective, and able to meet growing demand. Over the past five years, significant capital investment has been deployed to strengthen service resilience, increase capacity, and improve patient access. This has included funding for new MRI assets, upgrading existing machines with MRI acceleration software, and supporting trusts in replacing failing or outdated systems.The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This includes £600 million in capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26, some of which will deliver new scanners in acute hospital settings, as well as replacement of the oldest MRI scanners and MRI acceleration software.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of guidance for NHS trusts on the urgent provision of MRI scans for patients with hamstring avulsion injuries.

Decisions on the need for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the case of hamstring avulsion injuries are clinically led. The Department has not made an assessment of the adequacy of the relevant guidance.The hamstring injury page on the NHS.UK website was recently reviewed against the latest clinical evidence and updated in July 2025. The current page does alert users to the potential for a hamstring injury to be severe and require surgery, and where and when to get medical help. NHS England routinely updates the NHS.UK website in line with clinical evidence to ensure individuals with a potential hamstring injury are provided with the latest clinical evidence.The Department is committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, including for MRI. NHS England is taking steps to support MRI services to remain resilient, effective, and able to meet growing demand. Over the past five years, significant capital investment has been deployed to strengthen service resilience, increase capacity, and improve patient access. This has included funding for new MRI assets, upgrading existing machines with MRI acceleration software, and supporting trusts in replacing failing or outdated systems.The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This includes £600 million in capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26, some of which will deliver new scanners in acute hospital settings, as well as replacement of the oldest MRI scanners and MRI acceleration software.

What plans his Department has to increase MRI scanning capacity in the NHS.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services, including investment in new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners. This will speed up waiting times for tests, a crucial part of reducing overall waiting times and returning to the referral to treatment 18-week standard.The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This includes £600 million in capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26 to support delivery of the NHS performance standards. This funding will deliver new community diagnostic centres, including new MRI scanners, new scanners in acute hospital settings, as well as replacement of the oldest MRI scanners and MRI acceleration software.Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that clinicians in emergency and urgent care settings receive adequate training in the recognition and management of hamstring avulsion injuries.

Regulated healthcare professionals need to meet the standards of proficiency, conduct, and performance set by the relevant professional regulator, which are independent of the Government. It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure their staff have appropriate access to ongoing training and professional development to provide safe and effective care.

Whether his Department plans to a) make the Psychotherapeutic Counselling Core pilot training pathway permanent and b) increase the number of places available through the pathway.

The Psychotherapeutic Counselling Core training pathway is no longer a pilot and is a part of NHS England’s regular commissioning cycle for the education and training programmes. There are no plans to increase the number of training places on the Psychotherapeutic Counselling Core training pathway.

Whether his Department plans to review the amount of hours of training that newly qualified counsellors and psychotherapists have to complete before being eligible to work in the NHS.

It is the responsibility of individual employers to set any specific requirements for their roles and to ensure staff meet patient safety, clinical quality, and professional competence.

What steps he is taking to ensure parity of funding and service provision between physical health services and mental health services.

We are committed to giving mental health the same attention and focus as physical health. We know that, for people living with severe mental illness, life expectancy is 15 to 20 years shorter than that for the general population.As the Medium-Term Planning Framework makes clear, we need a new approach for mental health, to drive down waits, improve the quality of care, and increase productivity of mental health services. Funding is a key part of this. We have set out that over the next three years, integrated care boards will be required to meet the mental health investment standard by protecting mental health spending in real terms. In other words, rising in line with inflation from 2026/27.The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our vision for the neighbourhood health service. This is about bringing care into local communities, convening professionals into patient-centred teams, ending fragmentation, and abolishing the National Health Service default of ‘one size fits all’ care. Through six pilot sites we are testing 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres. These provide round the clock, open-access to treatment and support for adults with severe mental health needs, and we are now looking to roll the model out more widely. The centres will work in close partnership with primary care to provide wraparound support for service users.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of progress towards ensuring that all areas have a commissioned 24/7 community mental health crisis service; and what steps he is taking to support areas that have not yet been able to implement such provision.

While no such specific assessment has been made, integrated care boards, supported by regions, should maintain full 24/7 community mental health crisis coverage.To strengthen access to urgent mental health support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through a mental health option on NHS 111. This integrated service can give patients of all ages, including children, the chance to be listened to by a trained member of staff who can help direct them to the right place.There are currently six funded sites piloting the 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centre model, as well as 16 'associate sites' that are already proactively testing the model. These centres bring together a range of community mental health services under one roof, including crisis services and short-stay beds. The Government will make available capital funding of £473 million over four years to invest in new models, including 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres, building on findings from the six pilots, and other capital projects such as Mental Health Emergency Departments and eliminating out-of-area placements.

Whether she has made an estimate of the (a) number of local authorities which have exempted blood bikes from the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, (b) cost of those exemptions individually and (c) savings from a national exemption.

Local authorities cannot extend the speed exemption in section 87 of The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to ‘Blood Bikes’ or any other class of vehicle. Like the exemptions to red traffic lights and keep left / right signs in The Traffic Signs, Regulations and General Directions 2016, these emergency driving exemptions are a matter for Parliament. Consequently, no such calculations or estimates have been made.

Whether there has been any consideration given to designating blood bikes within the exemptions to the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, under section 87.

There are no plans to give ‘blood bikes’ any road traffic exemptions or warning equipment. ‘Blood bikes’ provide a valuable courier service to the NHS, but they do not respond to emergencies and are not an emergency service. NHS Blood and Transplant provide an emergency blood service which is fully provided for in legislation should the supply of blood in a hospital blood bank require urgent unscheduled replenishment.

Whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the repairs backlog at Stepping Hill Hospital on patient care and waiting times; and if he will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of meeting those repair costs in the next three years.

We have inherited a broken National Health Service, with many hospitals in a state of disrepair, and patients unable to access the care they need. We recognise that hospitals across the country, including Stepping Hill, have challenging and poor-quality infrastructure. Repairing and rebuilding our healthcare estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan.We are working to rebuild the health service. We are backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26, with a further £16.9 billion to be allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers over the following years. Providers have also been given further five-year operational capital planning assumptions, covering 2030/31 to 2034-35, allowing them to plan longer term with confidence and accelerate investment decisions aligned to local priorities, including repairs and maintenance.In addition, we will provide £30 billion across five years, namely 2025/26 to 2029/30, in day-to-day maintenance and repair of the NHS estate, with a further five years of funding certainty for estates maintenance as set out in the 10 Year Infrastructure Plan. Within this, the Estates Safety Fund, established in 2025/26, will continue, providing £6.75 billion investment over the next nine years to target the most critical building repairs. The £2.5 million allocated to Stepping Hill hospital from the Estates Safety Fund in 2025/26 is the first step in addressing the repairs backlog at Stepping Hill Hospital.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the nationalisation of Northern Rail on punctuality, reliability, and frequency of service; and whether any improvements have been identified that can be used to improve wider nationalisation of the rail industry.

My Department has regular discussions with Northern Trains, as with all publicly owned operators, to ensure it remains focused on reducing train service cancellations and providing a reliable, predictable train service for customers. As part of this, we share success between operators so each one can assess how it could build on others’ good practice to improve its services.

What information her Department holds on the number of local authorities which voluntarily provide support for self-employed adoptive parents in each of the last five years.

The department does not collect information from local authorities or regional adoption agencies on the extent to which they provide voluntary support for self-employed adoptive parents.

How many of the places intended to be filled by the Government's Golden Hello Scheme for NHS dentists have been, and what work the Government will be doing with local ICBs to ensure that they hit more of their targets.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are continuing to recruit dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. The scheme offers a £20,000 recruitment incentive payment to dentists to work in those areas that need them most. The scheme remains a national priority.Golden Hello data will be published this year and will consist of data showing the regional distribution of the original allocation of posts and the number of posts recruited to at both a national and regional level.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of promoting zipper merging at roadworks to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.

The Department for Transport works closely with local authorities to encourage effective traffic management during highway works, ensuring disruption to road users is kept to a minimum. Local authorities are responsible for determining the most appropriate traffic management plan as part of the permit conditions for the work, which may include measures such as zipper merging. National Highways who maintain and operate the Strategic Road Network are always looking at ways to keep traffic flowing better during roadworks. This includes keeping the maximum number of lanes open at all busy times and carrying out the vast majority of work requiring extra restrictions overnight or at the weekend when traffic flows are lowest. National Highways has also increased the speed limit through most roadworks from 50mph to 60mph and is using more contraflows on its schemes, which can reduce the need for closures.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a mechanism allowing councils to insist that property developers are registered with the New Homes Ombudsman to make development applications.

The government expects all housebuilders to deliver high-quality homes and to swiftly resolve issues if and when things go wrong. We have committed to working with the devolved administrations to implement a statutory UK-wide New Homes Ombudsman that developers will have to join and remain members of. This Ombudsman will investigate and resolve complaints and provide new home buyers with redress.