Written questions by Beavers.

How many people received funding through an Access to Work grant to purchase hearing aids in the last 12 months.

Although the Department holds information on the specific types of support for which Access to Work payments are made, data which would allow payments for ‘hearing aids’ to be identified is not readily available. The data is recorded as descriptive free-text information and extracting it would require manual review of individual records, incurring disproportionate cost. Statistics on the number of people receiving Access to Work payments by readily available element and support worker categories are published annually in Table PAY02 of the Access to Work official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.

What steps NHS England is taking, working with manufacturers of breakthrough treatments for fatty liver disease, to prepare the NHS to deliver such treatments as quickly as possible to eligible patients once approved.

Newly licensed medicines are appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE aims wherever possible to issue draft guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing. The NHS in England is legally required to fund drugs recommended by NICE, usually within three months of final guidance.NICE is currently evaluating potential new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in anticipation of the medicines being granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with guidance expected later this year. NHS England is actively preparing to support the potential introduction of new treatments for MASH, including fatty liver disease with fibrosis, alongside the ongoing NICE appraisal process.The Department and NHS England will continue to work to ensure that, once approved, effective new treatments for fatty liver disease are introduced in a way that is fair, affordable, and which protects the wider NHS, while ensuring that patients with the greatest clinical need are able to benefit as quickly as possible.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that constituents who are partnered with trained assistance dogs can access public spaces.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

If he will commission a review of the (a) clarity and (b) consistency of legislation relating to disabled people with assistance dogs.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory definition for assistance dogs.

No one should be refused access to businesses, services or public spaces because they legitimately have an assistance dog.Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of thermal energy storage within heat networks on the (a) need for grid reinforcement and (b) operation of the electricity system.

The Department has not yet made a full quantitative assessment of the flexibility benefits of thermal energy storage within heat networks. The electricity distribution network benefits of heat networks has been estimated at between £5 to 7bn in avoided costs, and external research suggests that flexibility would significantly increase this amount. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan establishes our high ambition to increase flexible capacity on the grid, including 10-12 GW in short-duration consumer-led flexibility by 2030. Our Clean Flexibility Roadmap ensures that heat networks and thermal energy storage will contribute to this.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle health inequalities in liver disease in Blackpool.

Liver disease is a broad term for several conditions affecting the liver and pancreas and the Government is taking decisive action to tackle ill health and shift the focus on diseases such as liver disease from treatment to prevention.The most prevalent cause of liver-related ill health and death is alcohol-related liver disease. From 2026/27, all alcohol and drug treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with ringfenced funding in which Blackpool Council will receive £4,554,578 in 2026/27 and indicative totals of £4,647,350 and £4,737,845 for 2027/28 and 2028/29 respectively. The Department has also published the United Kingdom’s first clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which include guidance on early identification of liver disease and treating alcohol dependence in people with liver disease. To help people make healthier choices about alcohol we are making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information.Locally, Blackpool Teaching Hospital’s Liver Service has recently achieved micro‑elimination of hepatitis C, with all drug and alcohol services across Lancashire now declared micro‑eliminated. The region’s Liver Health Check Team supports earlier detection of liver disease by referring at‑risk individuals, including those with high body mass index, diabetes, or high alcohol consumption for community fibroscans available in general practices (GPs), community venues, and via mobile units.NHS England’s liver transformation programme focusses on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease and has developed a data pack for regional commissioners using the Department’s Fingertips data to support this. It is for commissioners in integrated care boards to determine how best to use this information as part of local commissioning decisions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is assessing new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the broader term for fat buildup of the liver, which metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) falls under. This includes resmetirom and semaglutide. Outputs and recommendations are expected to be published mid-2026.As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are improving diets, reducing physical inactivity, and creating healthier environments so that fewer people reach the point of needing treatment for diseases such as MASH. This includes updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink, requiring all large food businesses to report against standardised metrics on the healthiness of food sales and getting millions moving more through our national movement campaign.

What targeted interventions he plans to introduce to reduce the effects of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in areas with high levels of deprivation.

Liver disease is a broad term for several conditions affecting the liver and pancreas and the Government is taking decisive action to tackle ill health and shift the focus on diseases such as liver disease from treatment to prevention.The most prevalent cause of liver-related ill health and death is alcohol-related liver disease. From 2026/27, all alcohol and drug treatment and recovery funding will be channelled through the Public Health Grant, with ringfenced funding in which Blackpool Council will receive £4,554,578 in 2026/27 and indicative totals of £4,647,350 and £4,737,845 for 2027/28 and 2028/29 respectively. The Department has also published the United Kingdom’s first clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which include guidance on early identification of liver disease and treating alcohol dependence in people with liver disease. To help people make healthier choices about alcohol we are making it a legal requirement for alcohol labels to display health warnings and consistent nutritional information.Locally, Blackpool Teaching Hospital’s Liver Service has recently achieved micro‑elimination of hepatitis C, with all drug and alcohol services across Lancashire now declared micro‑eliminated. The region’s Liver Health Check Team supports earlier detection of liver disease by referring at‑risk individuals, including those with high body mass index, diabetes, or high alcohol consumption for community fibroscans available in general practices (GPs), community venues, and via mobile units.NHS England’s liver transformation programme focusses on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease and has developed a data pack for regional commissioners using the Department’s Fingertips data to support this. It is for commissioners in integrated care boards to determine how best to use this information as part of local commissioning decisions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is assessing new treatments for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the broader term for fat buildup of the liver, which metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) falls under. This includes resmetirom and semaglutide. Outputs and recommendations are expected to be published mid-2026.As part of our 10-Year Health Plan, we are improving diets, reducing physical inactivity, and creating healthier environments so that fewer people reach the point of needing treatment for diseases such as MASH. This includes updating the standards behind the advertising and promotions restrictions on ‘less healthy’ food and drink, requiring all large food businesses to report against standardised metrics on the healthiness of food sales and getting millions moving more through our national movement campaign.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 February to Question 110590 on Breast Cancer: Screening, whether the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry will include women assessed as being at moderate or high risk of breast cancer who do not have an identified genetic mutation.

The National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry already includes some women who do not have an identified genetic mutation. National cancer registration data collects high-quality data in the National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry on women at very high risk of breast cancer according to The Surveillance of women at very high risk of developing breast cancer guidelines, which are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breast-screening-higher-risk-women-surveillance-protocols/protocols-for-surveillance-of-women-at-higher-risk-of-developing-breast-cancer As well as women at high risk of breast cancer who have an identified genetic mutation, the registry collects data on ‘risk-equivalent’ women who have a strong family history of breast cancer, but who have not undertaken a definitive genetic test and therefore do not have an identified genetic mutation. Their eligibility criteria can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breast-screening-higher-risk-women-surveillance-protocols/tests-and-frequency-of-testing-for-women-at-very-high-risk--2#women-who-are-risk-equivalent-but-genetic-cause-not-identifiedWomen from the breast cancer after radiotherapy dataset, or BARD, are also included. These women have received radiotherapy to the chest area involving breast tissue for the treatment of lymphoma between the ages of 10 and 35 years old. They are identified by linking national cancer registration data to the national Radiotherapy Dataset within National Disease Registration Service, as both are nationally mandated datasets.

How many people were waiting for decisions on Access to Work scheme claims as of (a) February 2026, (b) October 2025 and (c) April 2025.

The number of Access to Work applications has risen significantly. We are committed to reducing waiting times. We also prioritise applications from customers who are due to start work within the next four weeks, as well as renewals for existing grants, to minimise disruption to employment. In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, launching a consultation on the future of Access to Work and how the scheme can better support disabled people in employment. We are reviewing all aspects of the programme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation. As of the 1st of February 2026, there were 66,218 applications awaiting a decision.As of the 1st of October 2025, please refer to the answer given on 22 October 2025 to Question UIN 80759. As of the 1st of April 2025, please refer to the answer given on 10 June 2025 to Question UIN 56299. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

How many outstanding Access to Work scheme payments there were in (a) February 2026, (b) October 2025 and (c) April 2025.

Access to Work (AtW) operates as a reimbursement grant, which means that the service or support must be provided before any payment can be made. Once AtW support has been approved, the customer can then submit their claim for payment. Customers have up to nine months to submit claims for their approved costs. As a result, on any individual day, there will always be claims awaiting review and payment. On average, we are currently processing and clearing claims within 13 days. We have plans in place to reduce this to 10 days.As of the 1st of February 2026, there were 16,389 payment claims being processed.As of the 1st of October 2025, there were 9,103 payment claims being processed.As of the 1st of April 2025, there were 28,499 payment claims being processed. Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

How his Department plans to promote the National Year of Reading within the criminal justice system.

The National Year of Reading is a welcome opportunity to promote a wide range of activity to improve literacy and engagement with reading for people in custody and on probation.As part of this work we have appointed the first ever Prison Reading Laureate, the author Lee Child. He will champion the transformative power of reading across the criminal justice system, continue expansion of his successful literacy pilot programme which has been running in a number of prisons since 2025 and will bring in more authors to work with prisons across the country, promoting the benefits of reading to rehabilitation.Reading is a priority for HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) who work with many voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations such as the Reading Agency and National Literacy Trust. A programme of work is planned throughout this year to improve national access to books and facilitate workshops with authors. The Youth Custody Service is also launching its first ever Literacy Festival to inspire reading amongst some of the most complex children in our society.

How her Department plans to promote the National Year of Reading within early years policy and strategy.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign aiming to tackle long-term declines in reading enjoyment.Reading together is one of the most powerful ways to build a child’s language and communication skills, strengthen early bonds, and spark a lifelong love of reading. This is why early years is one of the priority groups for the National Year of Reading.The ‘Go All In’ campaign positions reading as a powerful way for parents and families to increase quality time with their children and explore shared interests further, rather than reading being seen as a parental obligation.​The National Year of Reading includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.The government is also investing around £500 million in the national rollout of the Best Start Family Hubs, which includes simple, practical tips to help parents feel confident in sharing stories, songs and books.Early years settings and all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to www.goallin.org.uk for more information and to receive regular updates.

How her Department plans to promote the National Year of Reading within early years policy and strategy.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign aiming to tackle long-term declines in reading enjoyment.Reading together is one of the most powerful ways to build a child’s language and communication skills, strengthen early bonds, and spark a lifelong love of reading. This is why early years is one of the priority groups for the National Year of Reading.The ‘Go All In’ campaign positions reading as a powerful way for parents and families to increase quality time with their children and explore shared interests further, rather than reading being seen as a parental obligation.​The National Year of Reading includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.The government is also investing around £500 million in the national rollout of the Best Start Family Hubs, which includes simple, practical tips to help parents feel confident in sharing stories, songs and books.Early years settings and all interested parties are encouraged to sign up to www.goallin.org.uk for more information and to receive regular updates.

Media and Sport, how her Department plans to promote the National Year of Reading within policy and strategy for public libraries.

Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work.This is part of the broader programme of government support for the National Year of Reading including the £5 million funding for secondary schools to purchase books the Chancellor announced during her budget speech.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of integrating all at risk screening for breast cancer into the National NHS Breast Screening Programme.

The new and world-leading NHS National Inherited Cancer Predisposition Registry (NICPR), part of the National Disease Registration Service, will help the National Health Service to deliver proactive, targeted prevention, surveillance, and earlier diagnosis for people and their families. Women at Very High Risk (VHR) of breast cancer are now identified within the NICPR and referred into the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP), which has enabled reconciliation to ensure that all identified women are safely referred into the programme. This is a step towards a fully electronic referral VHR process into the NHSBSP.The Government is advised on all screening matters by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which is made up of leading medical and screening experts. Where the UK NSC is confident that offering screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.In 2022 the remit of the UK NSC was expanded to include targeted, and risk stratified screening, in addition to population screening. So far, the UK NSC has not made a recommendation for targeted screening of women at a moderate or high risk of breast cancer.Currently, if women reach the criteria for moderate or high- risk screening with surveillance recommended, this is offered as part of screening provision managed locally with NHS trusts.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities within the most deprived decile receive above average increases in Core Spending Power in each year of the local government funding settlement.

Following extensive consultation and engagement, we are realigning funding distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement with need and deprivation. These updates will account for local circumstances, including for different ability to raise income locally from council tax. By using the most up to date data available, the government will be able to assess local authorities' relative demand for services more effectively. This includes using the most up to date 2025 Indices of Multiple Deprivation in our assessment of need. We introduced the £600 million Recovery Grant in 2025-26 to support the most deprived local authorities. Following a large number of representations, the government has consulted on its plans to maintain the Recovery Grant across the multi-year Settlement; and to provide a Recovery Grant Guarantee, ensuring that upper-tier authorities in receipt of Recovery Grant see an increase of at least 5% in 2026-27, 6% in 2027-28 and 7% 2028-29, compared to their 2025-26 income, subject to a cap of £35m. As a result of our reforms, the most deprived places – such as Blackpool – will see increases in government funding which ensure that their Core Spending Power per head will on average be higher than in less deprived places.The government is considering the responses received following the consultation of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2026 to 2027 and will set out a position when the final Settlement is published in early February.

What information her Department holds on the number of drink-driving related (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries in Blackpool North and Fleetwood for each of the past 5 years.

Statistics regarding drink driving in personal injury road collisions in Great Britain are based on data reported to police using the STATS19 system. The estimated number of fatalities and serious injuries in drink-drive collisions for Blackpool North and Fleetwood between 2019 and 2023 (the latest 5 years available) are given in the table below. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Values of 0 indicate that the estimated number of fatalities or serious injuries is less than 5:YearFatalitiesSerious injuries (adjusted)2023002022010202100202000201900 These figures are based on the results of breath tests conducted by the police at the scene of personal injury road collisions and combined with data from coroners on blood alcohol levels of those killed in collisions. On 7 January 2026 we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. Alongside the strategy we published a consultation on reforms to motoring offences, including lowering the drink drive limit in England and Wales and introducing tougher penalties for driving without insurance or without a licence.

How allocations will be decided for new Community Help Partnerships.

The Government announced Community Help Partnerships (CHPs) at the Spending Review. Since then, we have been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders—including people with lived experience, the voluntary sector, and central and local government—to design a programme of preventative support for adults experiencing disadvantage.This will build on learning from the Changing Futures’ crisis-focused programme. CHPs will go further in addressing systemic barriers to allow local services to provide better integrated, earlier preventative support. The Cabinet Office is working closely with MHCLG to coordinate the two programmes.We are continuing to explore how to strengthen alignment with wider place-based public sector reform. Further details will be announced in due course.

What progress he has made on the launch of Community Help Partnerships.

The Government announced Community Help Partnerships (CHPs) at the Spending Review. Since then, we have been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders—including people with lived experience, the voluntary sector, and central and local government—to design a programme of preventative support for adults experiencing disadvantage.This will build on learning from the Changing Futures’ crisis-focused programme. CHPs will go further in addressing systemic barriers to allow local services to provide better integrated, earlier preventative support. The Cabinet Office is working closely with MHCLG to coordinate the two programmes.We are continuing to explore how to strengthen alignment with wider place-based public sector reform. Further details will be announced in due course.