Written questions by Campbell-Savours.

What the average time taken to diagnose multiple sclerosis was in each of the last five years.

We do not hold data in the format requested. The latest data for referral to treatment waiting times in England, from January 2025, shows there were under 233,000 pathways waiting for a neurology appointment, 53.8% of which had been waiting less that 18 weeks.On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. We have delivered an additional two million appointments between July and November 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, seven months ahead of schedule, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. These additional appointments have taken place across a number of specialities, including neurology.

What the average time taken to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis was in each of the last five years.

We do not hold data in the format requested. To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, such as ankylosing spondylitis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published expert guidance on the diagnosis and management of spondyloarthritis in over 16 year olds, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng65The NICE guidance aims to raise awareness of the features of spondyloarthritis and provide clear advice on what action to take when people with signs and symptoms first present in healthcare settings.As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with integrated care board leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with ankylosing spondylitis, and improve data, metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.

What data his Department uses to monitor endometriosis diagnosis waiting times.

It is unacceptable that women can wait up to 10 years for an endometriosis diagnosis. We achieved our manifesto pledge of 2 million extra appointments seven months early. This includes appointments for endometriosis, and our new agreement with the independent sector will help cut waiting lists faster. An ONS study is linking primary and secondary care data to better understand diagnosis times for endometriosis.

Communities and Local Government, which local authorities claimed emergency financial assistance money under the Bellwin scheme of emergency financial assistance to local authorities in each of the last 15 years; and how much money was received in each case.

The table below sets out the Bellwin payments made to local authorities by financial year in each of the last 15 financial years. 2010-11AuthorityGrant Paid (£) South Lakeland District Council30,348 Allerdale Borough Council302,847 Cumbria County Council408,297 Cumbria Police Authority148,049Total for year4889,541 2011-12AuthorityGrant Paid (£)Total for year00 2012-13AuthorityGrant Paid (£) City of Lincoln Council24,870 Royal Berkshire Fire Authority404,640 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council76,668 Gateshead Council393,939 Herefordshire Council218,499Total for year51,118,6162013-14AuthorityGrant Paid £ Devon County Council3,023,598 Richmondshire District Council915 Herefordshire Council2,048,963 Teignbridge District Council38,234 Newark & Sherwood District Council3,407 Uttlesford District Council16,643Total for year65,131,7602014-15AuthorityGrant Paid £ Arun District Council44,134 Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council563,383 Boston Borough Council123,230 Bournemouth Borough Council50,736 Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Fire Authority36,964 Christchurch Borough Council39,867 Copeland Borough Council130,350 Croydon Council2,006,683 Dartford Borough Council22,054 Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service509,936 Devon County Council789,567 Dorset County Council413,400 Dorset County Council332,315 Dover District Council6,602 Elmbridge Borough Council66,692 Exeter City Council8,339 Fareham Borough Council5,888 Great Yarmouth Borough Council172,466 Guildford Borough Council50,424 Hampshire County Council3,612,261 Havant Borough Council25,865 Herefordshire Council3,090,340 Isle of Wight58,167 Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service12,492 Kent County Council982,732 Lewes District Council5,737 Maidstone Borough Council130,373 Malvern Hills District Council19,249 New Forest District Council151,514 Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service23,166 Norfolk Police (OPCC)3,745 North Devon Council24,987 North Norfolk District Council47,262 Oxford City Council210,142 Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service9,017 Royal Berkshire Fire Authority2,101,673 Runnymede Borough Council216,144 Scarborough Borough Council164,189 Sedgemoor District Council87,326 Somerset County Council778,411 Somerset County Council615,006 South Hams District Council100,510 South Oxfordshire District Council60,029 South Somerset District Council39,481 Spelthorne Borough Council68,491 Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service1,373 Surrey County Council2,382,887 Tandridge District Council82,294 Taunton Deane Borough Council36,176 Teignbridge District Council260,896 Test Valley Borough Council194,824 Tewkesbury Borough Council23,614 Thanet Council36,162 Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council99,177 Torbay Borough Council102,912 Tunbridge Wells Borough Council18,407 Waveney District Council19,638 Waveney District Council31,694 Waverley Borough Council43,736 Waverley Borough Council55,975 West Berkshire Council652,396 West Dorset District Council47,240 West Oxfordshire District Council7,959 West Somerset District Council5,175 West Sussex County Council37,510 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council23,412 Wiltshire Council745,588 Winchester City Council75,715 Windsor & Maidenhead Royal Borough406,373 Worcester City Council51,701 Wycombe District Council27,634 Wyre Borough Council31,784 Wyre Forest District Council62,001Total for year7323,575,5932015-16 Grant Paid (£)Total for year00 2016-17AuthorityGrant Paid £ Allerdale Borough Council218,274 Bury Council111,490 Calderdale Council1,029,731 Carlisle City Council377,912 Chorley Council74,238 City of York Council170,700 Cumbria County Council2,185,838 Eden District Council23,077 Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service63,123 North Yorkshire County Council176,449 North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority302,982 Northumberland County Council1,082,555 Ribble Valley Borough Council50,903 Rochdale Borough Council139,674 Salford City Council80,485 Selby District Council13,740 South Lakeland District Council177,581 Wyre Council15,701Total for year186,294,4532017-18AuthorityGrant Paid (£) Kensington and Chelsea RB7,045,389Total for year17,045,3892018-19AuthorityGrant Paid (£) North Norfolk District Council8,825 Scarborough Borough Council171,471 Waveney District Council88,280Total for year3268,5762019-20AuthorityGrant Paid (£) Leicestershire Combined Fire and Rescue243,832 East Lindsey District Council149,905 Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service418,293 Richmondshire District Council180,762 Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service376,177 High Peak Borough Council30,370 Mansfield District Council197,639Total for year71,596,978 2020-21AuthorityGrant Paid (£) South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority497,260 Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council535,997 Calderdale Council265,762 Rossendale Borough Council9,217 Herefordshire Council1,112,310 Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service33,086 Malvern Hills District Council24,827 Newark and Sherwood District Council17,718 Shropshire Council58,567 Telford & Wrekin Council53,324 Worcester City Council6,279 Worcestershire County Council63,060 Wyre Forest District Council10,156Total for year132,687,5642021-22 Grant Paid (£)Total for year002022-23 Grant Paid (£)Total for year002023-24 Grant Paid (£) Canterbury City Council133,485Total for year1133,4852024-25 Grant Paid (£) Merton Council653,124 Northumberland County Council166,007Total for year2819,131Link to the Bellwin guidance:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bellwin-scheme-guidance-notes-for-claims/bellwin-scheme-of-emergency-financial-assistance-to-local-authorities-guidance-notes-for-claims

Whether he plans to end single-word ratings for Care Quality Commission assessments.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is currently focussing on making the improvements recommended in the reviews carried out by Dr Penny Dash, Sir Professor Mike Richards, and Professor Vic Raynor. This includes work to develop new ratings characteristics, make changes to how the CQC uses scoring in assessments, and develop a new handbook for providers, which will explain clearly how assessments are carried out.A specific review of one-or two- word ratings for health and social care providers is therefore not a priority currently, but will be kept under review.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting lists for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments in Penrith and Solway constituency.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make available the appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.