Written questions by Vickers.

What recent steps she has taken to increase staffing levels in the prison service.

We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure, and rehabilitative prisons. We remain committed to ensuring prisons are sufficiently resourced and that we retain and build levels of experience. The latest prison staffing numbers can be accessed in the HMPPS workforce quarterly publication: HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly: June 2025 - GOV.UK.Substantive recruitment efforts will continue at all sites where vacancies exist or are projected, with targeted interventions applied to those prisons with the most need. We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate and look to provide short-term support where needed. Where prisons consider that their staffing levels will affect stability or regime, they can draw on support from other establishments in the short term, through processes managed centrally by HMPPS.On 22 May, the Government accepted all 13 of the recommendations put forward by the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) for 2025/26. This year’s award represents an increase of at least 4% for all frontline prison staff, delivering another real-terms pay rise on top of the one provided last summer. This brings the starting salary for an entry-level officer (on the national rate, 39 hours with unsocial hours) from £34,494 to £35,875. The award was announced two months earlier than last year, recognising our commitment to accelerating the PSPRB timetable to deliver a timely pay award to staff.

What role is being played by UK Armed Forces in NATO exercises involving Eastern European allies.

UK Armed Forces routinely exercise with our NATO Allies, testing our interoperability across all domains and our responses to the threats we face.So far in 2025, Royal Navy patrol boats have participated in exercises including BALTOPS, NATO's premier maritime-focused annual military exercise in the Baltic region and on Exercise HEDGEHOG in Estonia, with over 2000 British Army personnel taking part alongside NATO allies and partners in this multinational defence drill focused on strengthening Estonia's defence posture.In addition, the UK's persistent presence in Estonia and Poland under Operation CABRIT provides regular opportunities to exercise alongside our NATO allies.

What recent progress he has made in digitising patient records in NHS trusts in Teesside.

University Hospitals Tees (UHT), comprising of the North Tees and Hartlepool and South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts, continues to progress its ambitions in digitising patient records across Teesside, North Yorkshire, and County Durham.A recent digital patient record success for UHT was the achievement of the BSI0008:2020 accreditation. This means that the scanning bureau at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust now holds the accreditation equivalent to that of major national and international organisations for storing patient information electronically.

What recent steps she has taken to help tackle organised crime networks operating in ports in the North East.

The Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime (SOC) across the United Kingdom, including criminal activity at and around our ports. The Home Office works closely with law enforcement partners, including the National Crime Agency (NCA), Border Force, and regional police forces, to disrupt organised crime groups operating in the North East and nationally.In November 2024, the Prime Minister announced an additional £58 million for the NCA’s core budget in 2025/26, representing a 9% increase from the previous year. On 11 June 2025, the Chancellor confirmed up to £280 million per year for the Border Security Command (BSC) by 2028–29. This investment supports the NCA’s expanded capacity to tackle organised immigration crime, including the recruitment of 100 new specialist officers, bringing the total dedicated full time employees close to 500.The BSC is working strategically across the border security system, alongside the NCA, police, and intelligence agencies, to dismantle smuggling gangs and disrupt their supply chains. It is also collaborating with international partners to pursue organised immigration crime groups operating across Europe and beyond, with recent operations resulting in widely publicised arrests.While the BSC continues to mature, it is already working closely with delivery partners across Whitehall to collect system-wide data on organised immigration crime disruptions. This will help track long-term impact, support operational delivery, and ensure a secure and effective border. This collaborative approach is designed to increase the number of criminal groups dismantled and reduce small boat crossings, with performance monitored to inform future strategy.The NCA also works with UK and international partners to tackle SOC at the border. For example, following a joint operation with Dutch authorities, an individual was sentenced recently to 17 years for conspiring to import 1.5 tonnes of Class A drugs through the Port of Immingham. The drugs, concealed in rolls of artificial grass, had an estimated street value of £120 million. This case demonstrates the NCA’s ability to disrupt high-harm criminal networks operating at UK ports.

What support is available to police forces tackling rural crime in (a) County Durham and (b) North Yorkshire.

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector. That is why this Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas. Under our Safer Streets Mission reforms, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping. This financial year we are providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit, a national policing unit which help forces tackle rural crime priorities and is a great example of farmers and police working together at national and local level. We are also working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, to ensure the Government’s Safer Streets Mission benefits every community. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses. This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by Spring next year, as part of our ambition to deliver 13,000 neighbourhood officers into police forces across England and Wales by the end of this parliament.

What recent assessment she has made of employment support services for over-50s in the North East.

DWP currently offers employment support for eligible customers of all ages, through the network of Jobcentres across the UK, and through contracted employment programmes. We provide tailored support for those older jobseekers affected by low confidence, menopause, health and disability or caring pressures, and out of date skills or qualifications. Through Midlife MOTs, delivered in Jobcentres across the UK, and online, we support older people to assess their health, finances and skills. The Government is reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new jobs and careers service that will enable everyone, including the over-50s, to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them progress in their careers. This includes an enhanced focus on skills and careers advice. As part of the national jobcentre work, in the North East, Employer and Partnership Teams work with a range of employers and partners to enhance the skills and employment support available locally for customers. Economic Inactivity Trailblazer areas have received a share of £80 million of funding in 2025/26 to design and test new interventions to support economically inactive people into the labour market. Across their interventions, the North East Combined Authority Economic Inactivity Trailblazer aims to support over a 1000 residents, including specific testing to support people over the age of 50.

What proportion of benefit claimants in the North East have been subject to sanctions in the last 12 months.

The Department regularly publishes monthly Universal Credit sanction rate statistics for Great Britain as part of the benefit sanction statistics. The latest statistics to May 2025 are available in table 2.1 of the latest benefit sanction statistics tables. Users can use the UC Sanction Rates dataset on Stat-Xplore to produce the same information for lower-level geographical breakdowns. After selecting the required geographies, firstly produce a table containing the monthly statistics for the total number of UC claimants in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied, i.e. "searching for work", "planning for work" and "preparing for work", and include those people with unknown conditionality regime too. Then produce a separate table containing the monthly statistics for the number of Universal Credit (UC) claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction using the sanction indicator. Note, the second table should be produced for all people, regardless of conditionality regime. After retrieving these separate tables from Stat-Xplore, calculate the sanction rate, which is the number of people on UC with a sanction, as a proportion of all people on UC in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied, both counted at the same point in time. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

How many and what proportion of NHS estates are in need of (a) major repairs and (b) replacement in the North East.

National Health Service trusts are legally responsible for managing and maintaining their estates using their operational capital allocations, and as part of this, they regularly assess the physical condition of their estate.The NHS England Estates Related Information Collection (ERIC) survey collects data from trusts on the condition of their estate annually, including backlog maintenance, and the projected cost of bringing all the buildings on each NHS site into acceptable condition. The latest ERIC data, from 2023/24 and including trusts in the North East, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection/management-information---provisional-summary-figures-for-2023-24Repairing and rebuilding our NHS estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan. The Government’s recently published 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy set out ten-year maintenance budgets for the public estate, confirming £6 billion per year for the maintenance and repair of the NHS estate up to 2034/35.

What support is available for communities in the North East experiencing repeated incidents of arson.

The Government is committed to tackling and preventing arson. We know the serious impact that arson can have on both individuals and the wider community.We are committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their vital work and to keep the public safe from fires, including those caused by arson. Decisions on how their resources are best deployed to meet their core functions are a matter for each fire and rescue authority.

Communities and Local Government, what additional resources have been allocated to Cleveland Fire Brigade in the last three financial years.

On 3 February, the Ministry published the 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) which sets out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities. to support their operational and capital needs.These allocations, which include the National Insurance Contribution Grant, will see standalone fire and rescue authorities including Cleveland Fire Brigade receiving an increase in core spending power of £69.1 million in 2025/26. This is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.For 2025/26, Cleveland Fire Brigade will have a core spending power of £36.1 million, an increase of £1.2 million (3.4%) compared to 2024/25.In addition to the annual funding Settlement, the Government has allocated a number of extra resources to Cleveland Fire Brigade including the Fire Pensions Grant, the Protection Grant and the Fire New Dimension Grant.

Whether she has considered reviewing controls on the (a) purchase and (b) possession of air weapons, in the context of recent trends in attacks on animals.

The possession and purchase of air weapons is subject to statutory controls. Higher powered air rifles that are over 12 foot pounds, must be held on a firearm certificate and air pistols over 6 foot pounds are prohibited weapons.Although lower powered air weapons can be possessed without a firearm certificate in England and Wales, they are still subject to control. For example, it is an offence to carry an air weapon in public without reasonable excuse, or for an air weapon pellet to be fired beyond the boundary of the land or dwelling where permission has been given to shoot. It is also an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill a pet animal or knowingly cause a pet animal to suffer unnecessarily, which could be committed by shooting at a domestic cat.We keep the law in this area under close review.

What steps he is taking to help support Integrated Care Boards to improve patient access in areas with high levels of deprivation.

Ensuring that funding for core services, provided via integrated care boards, are fairly allocated across practices nationwide is crucial and we recognise the importance of prioritising areas with high levels of deprivation. This is why we have committed to reviewing the general practice (GP) funding formula, so that resources are directed where they are needed most to improve patient access.Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a GP. We will end the 8:00am scramble for appointments, train more doctors, and will guarantee consultations within 24 hours for those who need one. In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of 2,000 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. The new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 practices across England. This investment will deliver more appointments and improve patient care.

What steps she is taking to improve access to face-to-face Jobcentre services in rural areas.

The majority of our current service provided by Jobcentres is through face-to-face appointments through a network of more than 630 jobcentres, spread across England, Scotland and Wales. As part of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are testing changes to Jobcentre Plus, including alternative delivery of our services. This includes Jobcentre Vans which are testing new ways of supporting people, providing advice and support for all customers, not just those claiming benefits. Vans are currently being tested in three communities in both rural (Northeast Scotland and North and Mid Wales) and urban settings (Bolton, Greater Manchester), delivering some Jobcentre services via locations within the community, selected to best meet customer needs. As part of our test and learn approach to create the new Jobs and Careers Service, we will incorporate the learnings from these tests into the design of the new service and will continue to work closely with key partners to deliver solutions based on local needs.

What steps she is taking to reduce the number of young people classed as NEET in Teesside.

​​I refer the hon. Member for Stockton West to the answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69622.​

What steps he is taking to increase the defence sector’s contribution to net zero targets.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains fully committed to contributing to the UK achieving its legal commitment to be Net Zero by 2050. Between Financial Year 2019-20 and Financial Year 2023-24, the MOD as a Department has reduced its overall emissions from 3,650,000 tCO2e to 3,012,000 tCO2e. A more detailed breakdown of Defence energy use and associated carbon emissions can be found in Annex D of the MOD Annual Report and Accounts. The wider Defence sector must comply with Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 006 Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts, requiring Carbon Reduction Plans, to be published online at supplier selection stage for procurements valued at £5 million (ex VAT) or more per year, where relevant and proportionate. MOD are encouraging the application of PPN 016: Carbon Reduction Contract Schedule which provides standard terms to support decarbonisation objectives, including Greenhouse gas emissions reporting, reduction targets, and monitoring through supplier Carbon Reduction Plans. Additionally, when procuring infrastructure, the MOD must adhere to Joint Services Policy 850 to ensure energy efficiency and carbon emissions reduction.

What recent estimate he has made of defence procurement spending in the (a) Tees Valley and (b) North East.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) publishes annual statistics on expenditure with industry and commerce by UK region. On the 11 September 2025 the Department will publish the next edition which will be found here: MOD regional expenditure with industry: index - GOV.UK and will cover MOD for expenditure with commerce and industry for Financial Year 2024-25. This will include a breakdown of spending by region, including a breakdown for the North-East but we are unable to disaggregate that to the Tees Valley as this represents a sub region. The Department system currently captures data at regional level.

What discussions he has had with local authorities on Ministry of Defence estate (a) disposal and (b) redevelopment.

As part of ensuring defence’s role as an engine for growth, the Ministry of Defence holds frequent discussions with Local Authorities across the country when formulating plans for the disposal of sites for which there is no further Defence requirement, and plans for redevelopment on the operational estate. These discussions cover a wide range of policy matters ranging from town planning, environmental and heritage matters, to transport and ecology.

What steps he is taking to improve the retention of social care workers in areas with a high rate of vacancies.

English local authorities have responsibility under the Care Act 2014 to meet social care needs, and statutory guidance directs them to ensure there is sufficient workforce in adult social care. Skills for Care data suggests the adult social care workforce is growing. Skills for Care data shows in 2024/25 there were 1.6 million filled posts, an increase of 52,000, or 3.4%, from 2023/24. Skills for Care data also shows that the turnover rate decreased from 25.8% in 2023/24 to 24.7% in 2024/25 in the independent sector. The Government is committed to a well-supported adult social care workforce who are recognised as the professionals they are. Those with the opportunity to develop and progress in their role are far more likely to remain within the adult social care workforce. That is why we are delivering an ambitious programme of reforms with the aim of attracting people to join and remain in the sector, help professionalise the workforce, and improve the quality and experience of those receiving care. These include delivering the first universal career structure for the whole adult social care sector, a Learning and Development Support Scheme backed by up to £12 million funding in 2025/26, and introducing a Fair Pay Agreement.

Whether he plans to include specialist assessments by dementia nurses as standard evidence in NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility decisions.

There are no plans to update NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) guidance regarding mobility assessments or specialist assessments by dementia nurses. The CHC assessment process is supported by the Decision Support Tool. This provides practitioners with a way to bring together and record an individual’s needs in the twelve ‘care domains’, including mobility. The assessment should consider the ways in which an individual’s needs interact with one another, for example how cognition impacts on mobility.Eligibility for CHC is not determined by diagnosis or condition but is assessed on a case-by-case basis considering the totality of an individual’s needs, ensuring a person-centred approach. Someone with specialist knowledge of an individual’s condition, for example dementia, should be involved in the process. Assessments should take into account evidence from a comprehensive range of assessments relating to the individual. For individuals with dementia, this could include specialist assessments by dementia nurses.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS Continuing Healthcare for people with (a) young onset dementia and (b) other forms of dementia.

Our national statutory guidance, the National framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, outlines that access to NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessment, care provision, and support should be fair, consistent, and free from discrimination. This national statutory guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-framework-for-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-careEligibility for CHC is not determined by diagnosis or condition. Individuals can be identified and referred for CHC assessments by a variety of health or social care practitioners who have been trained and are known to the individual. Individuals and families can also request a CHC assessment from a health and care practitioner.Integrated care boards should make the CHC Public Information Leaflet available to members of the public, for example through local National Health Service websites, hard copies on hospital wards, through primary care outlets, local care homes, and local voluntary sector organisations. This Public Information Leaflet containing further information on CHC is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care-public-information-leaflet/public-information-leaflet-nhs-continuing-healthcare-and-nhs-funded-nursing-care--2NHS England has also commissioned an information and advice service for CHC, supplied by Beacon, which individuals and their families might find helpful, and which is available at the following link:https://beaconchc.co.uk/how-we-can-help/free-information-and-advice-on-nhs-continuing-healthcare/