Written questions by Vickers.

What steps she is taking to improve public (a) awareness and (b) education on the (i) dangers of misusing air weapons and (ii) impact of that misuse on (A) animals and (B) communities.

The possession and use of air weapons is subject to statutory controls and regulation to guard against misuse and to ensure safe handling. In England and Wales, higher powered air rifles can only be held on a firearm certificate and higher powered air pistols are prohibited. Lower powered air weapons are subject to controls in relation to possession and use. We keep these controls under review, whilst the enforcement of the law on air weapons is an operational matter for police forces.A guide to air weapons safety is available on gov.uk and is intended to explain the law in relation to air weapons and to encourage responsible ownership and use. The guide provides advice on safe handling, recognising that irresponsible or misuse of firearms can result in serious injuries or death, The guide also stresses the importance of preventing children from accessing air weapons and sets out clearly how the law applies to possession in a public place and restrictions that apply to the shooting of air weapons where this can cause danger or injury to others, damage to property or injury or death wild animals, birds or pets.Alongside the guide, the Firearms (Air Weapons) (England and Wales) Rules 2023 clarified the ‘reasonable precautions’ that air weapon owners must take to safely store air weapons away from children when not in use, so that whenever under-18s are present, air weapons must be stored securely, out of sight, and separately from ammunition.

How much funding his Department has allocated to support the (a) development and (b) expansion of MND clinical trial infrastructure.

The Department funds health and care research infrastructure through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This provides world-class research expertise, specialist facilities, a dedicated research delivery workforce, and support services across the National Health Service and wider health and care system in England.NIHR infrastructure funding is not allocated by individual disease or therapy area. Instead, it underpins the development and expansion of research capacity across all specialties, including motor neurone disease (MND). Examples include:- Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), with £909 million awarded from December 2022 to March 2028. Six BRCs conduct research into neurological disease, supporting discovery science and the development of new trial approaches;- the Research Delivery Network, with approximately £380 million provided each year, providing the NHS with support funding and the workforce to expand research delivery capability across regions, including for MND studies; and- Clinical Research Facilities, with £214 million invested until 2029 in 28 facilities, creating dedicated spaces for early-phase and complex trials such as drug, cell, and gene therapies, supporting both the development and expansion of MND clinical trials.Government responsibility for MND research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered by NIHR, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). In addition, targeted investments are helping to strengthen trial capacity, including £6 million for the MND Translational Accelerator, which connects UK institutes to speed up the development of treatments, and £8 million for the EXPERTS-ALS programme, which screens promising drugs and complements the MND-SMART platform trial.

Whether trends in levels of age-dispute cases have increased or decreased since June 2024.

The requested information is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of raised and resolved age disputes is published in table Asy_D05 of the 'Age disputes detailed datasets'. Age disputes data for July 2024 onwards is not available due to ongoing work on a new case working system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration System Statistics release.

How many times her Department has recorded an asylum claimant’s self-declared age as their official age in circumstances where their age could not be independently verified since June 2024.

The requested information is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of raised and resolved age disputes is published in table Asy_D05 of the 'Age disputes detailed datasets'. Age disputes data for July 2024 onwards is not available due to ongoing work on a new case working system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration System Statistics release.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the use of recovered life jackets on investigations into people smuggling networks.

Due to sensitivities, we cannot go into detail on operational methods regarding investigations into people smuggling networks.

What plans his Department has to support MND Care Centres to participate in (a) research studies and (b) MND-SMART.

The Department is committed to funding health and care research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) across England, to ensure that the research we support is inclusive and representative of the populations we serve. Government responsibility for motor neurone disease (MND) research is shared between the Department for Health and Social Care, with research delivered by the NIHR, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with research delivered by UK Research and Innovation.NIHR infrastructure has national coverage and is designed to build research capacity and capability across all settings, including MND care centres, to support participation in all eligible research studies. These mechanisms are well placed to support care centres’ participation in studies such as MND-SMART, ensuring centres have the guidance and practical support needed to take part in this trial.This sits alongside wider Government investment to accelerate MND research. Examples include £12.5 million to support discovery science at the UK Dementia Research Institute, £6 million for the MND Translational Accelerator, and £8 million for the EXPERTS-ALS drug screening programme, which complements the charity-funded MND-SMART trial.

What estimate she has made of the number of life jackets recovered from small boat crossings since 4 July 2024; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of their disposal.

The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The majority of life jackets seized arrive in very poor condition and may be damaged during the recovery process, and are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and, where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled.

What safeguards are in place to ensure that recording an asylum claimant’s self-declared age does not place adults at risk of being accommodated with children.

The age of a person arriving in the UK is normally established from the documents with which they have travelled, but many do not have any definitive documentary evidence to support their claimed age.There are clear safeguarding issues which arise if a child is inadvertently treated as an adult, and equally if an adult is wrongly accepted as a child and placed in accommodation with children to whom they could present a risk.Where there is reason to doubt an individual’s claimed age, immigration officers are required to make an initial age decision to determine whether the individual should be treated as a child or an adult. This is an important first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure individuals are routed to the correct adult or child process for assessing their asylum or immigration claim.If there is doubt whether a claimant is an adult or child, they will be referred to a local authority’s Children’s Services Department who are then able to either undertake an age assessment themselves or can refer into the National Age Assessment Board for further consideration of their age in the interests of safeguarding. Regardless of age, where issues relating to safeguarding or community safety are raised, referrals will be made to the relevant authorities.

Whether her Department has a budget for retraining programmes for adult workers transitioning from oil and gas to renewable energy.

Green skills are essential to driving economic growth and achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050. Clean energy and advanced manufacturing have been identified as priority sectors in the Industrial Strategy.To support this, the government will invest an additional £1.2 billion annually in skills by 2028/29, expanding opportunities across high-growth industries. As part of this, over £100 million will be directed toward engineering skills development through education, apprenticeships, and the establishment of Technical Excellence Colleges in key sectors like advanced manufacturing.The government will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund in the 2025/26 academic year. This includes funding the Free Courses for Jobs offer, which gives eligible adults the chance to access a high value level 3 qualification for free, helping support them to gain higher wages or a better job in key sectors, for example in heat pump installation.The government will also support adult learners through our technical education offer, including through a range of apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of defaulting to a claimant’s self-declared age where no independent verification is available on the provision of effective (a) safeguarding and (b) community safety.

The age of a person arriving in the UK is normally established from the documents with which they have travelled, but many do not have any definitive documentary evidence to support their claimed age.There are clear safeguarding issues which arise if a child is inadvertently treated as an adult, and equally if an adult is wrongly accepted as a child and placed in accommodation with children to whom they could present a risk.Where there is reason to doubt an individual’s claimed age, immigration officers are required to make an initial age decision to determine whether the individual should be treated as a child or an adult. This is an important first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure individuals are routed to the correct adult or child process for assessing their asylum or immigration claim.If there is doubt whether a claimant is an adult or child, they will be referred to a local authority’s Children’s Services Department who are then able to either undertake an age assessment themselves or can refer into the National Age Assessment Board for further consideration of their age in the interests of safeguarding. Regardless of age, where issues relating to safeguarding or community safety are raised, referrals will be made to the relevant authorities.

What discussions his Department has had with (a) NHS England and (b) the National Institute for Health and Care Research on (i) expanding the number of recruiting sites for and (ii) including James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough in the MND-SMART trial.

Decisions on site selection for clinical trials rest with the study sponsor, shaped by the design and requirements of the trial.No discussions about the MND-SMART trial have been held with the Department. However, while we are not directly involved in these decisions, the Department works through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to ensure a fair and transparent process for site identification.The NIHR’s United Kingdom-wide site identification service enables National Health Service organisations, including the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, to express interest and suitability to host research. This provides an inclusive and transparent process that ensures opportunities are shared equitably across the country, with decisions guided by the real-time capacity and capability of sites.The Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with motor neurone disease, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of teacher recruitment and retention incentives on teacher recruitment and retention in areas of high deprivation in the (a) North East and (b) England.

As part of our Plan for Change, the government is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges, over the course of this parliament.Delivery is already under way. We agreed a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25 and a 4% pay award for 2025/26, meaning teachers and leaders will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years. In 2024/25, we drove forward teacher recruitment and retention, backed by an investment of around £700 million across schools and further education, including targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax to teachers teaching in the most disadvantaged schools.We are already seeing positive signs our investment is delivering. The workforce has grown by 82 full-time employed (FTE) in the North East and 2,346 in England between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of trends in air weapon attacks on domestic animals; what steps he is taking to improve data collection of these incidents.

Defra does not hold data on cases of domestic animals being attacked with air weapons. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare, may be banned from owning animals. They may also face an unlimited fine, be sent to prison, or both. The Government keeps animal welfare policy under review and is committed to ensuring that animals are protected from unnecessary suffering.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with animal welfare organisations on tackling the misuse of air weapons against pets.

Defra regularly engage with animal welfare organisations on a range of issues. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare, may be banned from owning animals. They may also face an unlimited fine, be sent to prison, or both.

What support is available to help people with long-term health conditions return to work in high-deprivation areas.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. To achieve an 80% employment rate, it is key that we have an employment support system that is tailored to local labour markets, with high quality vacancies available in all areas of the country matched by employment and skills support tailored for the needs of the local population in each area Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. In our March Green Paper, we set-out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030 and a total of £2.2 billion by over four years. Our £2.2 billion Pathways to Work investment brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The Plan will break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Restart Scheme in regions with persistently high unemployment.

The Department is currently undertaking a quantitative impact evaluation of the Restart Scheme. This evaluation will assess the overall effectiveness of the scheme nationally, including areas of high unemployment, but will not necessarily be able to draw conclusions about these areas in isolation, we aim to publish the findings by the end of this year. In addition, the Restart Scheme Evaluation, published in May 2024 The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme – May 2024, provides analysis of delivery across different Contract Package Areas.

What progress she has made on integrating (a) employment and (b) health services for people out of work long-term.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. The Department also provides a range of support to help individuals to access, retain, and thrive in employment. This includes referrals to financial assistance, workplace adaptations, and personalised guidance. Our teams support customers with Access to Work to ensure customers have reasonable adjustment, specialist equipment, support workers and more to ensure that customers have all the necessary tools to get into and maintain work. It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health. Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In our March Green Paper, we set-out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030 and a total of £2.2 billion by over four years. Our £2.2bn Pathways to Work investment brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people.

What progress she has made in upgrading court buildings in the Tees Valley.

Historical underfunding has resulted in challenges across the court and tribunal estate. That is why this Government has announced a boost in court capital maintenance and project funding from £120 million last year, to £148.5 million for 2025/26. In 2025, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has so far completed upgrades to the security systems, fire systems and lift alarm systems at Teesside Justice Centre, as well upgrades to the lift alarm system at Teesside Combined Court. HMCTS is planning to undertake a range of refurbishment works, such as redecoration, carpeting and furnishing at Darlington County Court, Darlington Magistrates’ Court, Teesside Justice Centre and Teesside Combined Court. HMCTS is also exploring the cost and feasibility of replacing the heating systems at Darlington Magistrates Court and is considering proposals to replace the windows and exterior cladding at Teesside Justice Centre.

Whether he has had recent discussions with local authorities on health inequalities in Stockton-on-Tees.

The United Kingdom faces significant health inequalities, with life expectancy and healthy life expectancy varying widely across and between communities. The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain, to ensure people can live well for longer, and spend less time in ill health, regardless of where they are born or their financial circumstances.The Department’s Office of Health Inequalities and Disparities North East and Yorkshire Regional Team collaborates with partners to provide system leadership for public health and to reduce health inequalities. The team facilitates the delivery of national and local public health priorities, providing expert advice. It also works with directors of public health in local authorities, integrated care systems, mayoral combined authorities, NHS England, and the wider National Health Service.North East local authorities received a total of £256 million in Public Health Grant funding for 2025/26, of which Stockton on Tees received £16.762 million. This funding provides services such as stop smoking, drug and alcohol treatment, health visiting/school nursing, and sexual health, among others, all of which contribute to addressing health inequalities.The Tees Valley Combined Authority also works to secure investment, create jobs, and grow the economy, helping to create the conditions in which health inequalities can be reduced.

What plans he has for (a) Admiral Nurses and (b) other dementia specialist nurses in the delivery of the proposed neighbourhood health service.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and so they could include dementia specialist nurses. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services may look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses/admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.Under the 10-year plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.  We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.