Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Older People’s Housing Taskforce entitled Our Future Homes: Housing that promotes wellbeing and community for an ageing population, published on 26 November 2024.

The government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. We are committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year. I regularly engage with my Ministerial colleagues to ensure that work across government delivers housing designed for specific groups, including older people.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of implementing a cross-Government approach to older people's housing.

The government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. We are committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year. I regularly engage with my Ministerial colleagues to ensure that work across government delivers housing designed for specific groups, including older people.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her statement of 30 July 2024 entitled, Building the homes we need, what steps she has taken to help ensure that the needs of an older population form part of her long-term housing strategy.

The government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. We are committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year. I regularly engage with my Ministerial colleagues to ensure that work across government delivers housing designed for specific groups, including older people.

If she will make an estimate of the number of (a) nurses, (b) teachers and (c) police offers that could be employed via an increase in spending equivalent to 0.2 per cent of GDP.

The Government values the vital contribution that public sector workers make across the UK, delivering the public services we all rely on. The Treasury does not hold information on how many additional public sector workers could be employed via a specific increase in spending, which would depend on a variety of factors, however the Government is committed to ensuring we can recruit and retain the right set of people to run our public services and has plans in place to do so. This includes a commitment to deliver 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel, deliver an additional 6,500 teachers, and refresh the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help promote age-appropriate homes.

The government is giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. We are committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy, which will be published later this year. I regularly engage with my Ministerial colleagues to ensure that work across government delivers housing designed for specific groups, including older people.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making Historic England a named body for the purposes of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

Defra has made no such assessment as the Department is neither responsible for Historic England nor for the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

What steps she is taking to review the organisations that carry out the assessment process for disability and long term sickness benefits.

The new Functional Assessment Services (FAS) contracts went live on 9 September 2024. The FAS suppliers are focused on embedding strong performance following the transition from the previous contractual arrangements. Based on strict assessment criteria and specific requirements regarding delivery and performance, the department awarded contracts to the bidders who indicated that they would provide the best service and the best value for money for the taxpayer. Each supplier is held accountable to the same service delivery performance standards set by DWP. The department will robustly manage and monitor the performance of the contracted FAS suppliers in order to obtain optimal performance. Contractual remedies and financial redress are available to the department should performance criteria not be met.

What steps she is taking to review the assessment process for disability and long term sickness benefits.

We are working to develop proposals to reform the system of health and disability benefits and will set these out in due course.This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do. We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term. The Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services to improve efficiency and customer experience. It will introduce a new option to apply online, improve how we gather health information, and tailor the process to the customer’s needs and circumstances.

What criteria her Department plans to use when reforming the system of disability and ill health benefits.

We are working to develop proposals to reform the system of health and disability benefits and will set these out in due course.This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do. We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term. The Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services to improve efficiency and customer experience. It will introduce a new option to apply online, improve how we gather health information, and tailor the process to the customer’s needs and circumstances.

What steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to assess (a) the social determinants of ill health and (b) the measures necessary to address any causes.

The Government’s Health Mission commits to building a National Health Service fit for the future, including through a shift from treatment to prevention. To support the mission, we are taking a range of action which will address the underlying causes of ill health. Relevant cross-Government activity includes work to develop a new fuel poverty strategy, beginning with a consultation which runs until 4 April, publication in December 2024 of a revised National Planning Policy Framework, giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate, the establishment of a cross-Government child poverty taskforce, and commitment we made in the English Devolution White Paper, published in December 2024, to introduce a new statutory health and health inequalities duty for strategic authorities. The Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care operate a Joint Work and Health Directorate, in recognition of the significant link between work and health, and to improve employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions.

What estimate she has made of the number of people of working age currently claiming sickness and disability benefits that would be unable to find gainful employment as a result of their disability or long-term sickness.

No estimate has been made of the number of people of working age currently claiming sickness and disability benefits that would be unable to find gainful employment as a result of their disability or long-term sickness

If she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential causes of the (a) disabilities and (b) long-term illnesses that have contributed to the trends in the number of working age people who are claiming sickness and disability benefits.

The number of working age people reporting long-term health conditions and disabilities had been growing steadily since at least the late 1990s, before accelerating since the COVID-19 pandemic. These increases are likely to be caused by a combination of changes in health and awareness, and have been reflected in higher numbers of people receiving incapacity and disability benefits. A number of health-related factors may have contributed to these increases, including: higher prevalence and recognition of health conditions, particularly mental health and neurodiverse conditions; the direct health impacts of the COVID-19 virus; indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns on physical health (through reduced activity) and mental health (through reduced social interaction and increased anxiety); impacts of subsequent labour market changes and cost of living pressures on health; and increases in NHS waiting times. In addition, a number of behavioural factors are also likely to have contributed to higher numbers claiming incapacity and disability benefits, including: cost of living pressures; greater awareness of disability benefits (in part due to cost of living); longer waits for NHS treatment; economically inactive people being more likely to report long-term illness or disability as their main reason for inactivity; and incentives in the benefit system that can encourage people to claim health-related benefits. In addition, further factors affecting incapacity benefits have been analysed in the publication Growth in numbers of Employment and Support Allowance Support Group or Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work and Work-Related Activity - GOV.UK

What estimate she has made of the number of appeals related to claims for disability and long term sickness benefits.

Appeals are the responsibility of His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service who publish information on tribunal outcomes by benefit type here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. In particular please refer to Main Tables ODS file and tables SSCS_1 to SSCS_3.

What estimate she has made of the number of appeals that are subsequently successful related to claims for disability and long term sickness benefits.

Appeals are the responsibility of His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service who publish information on tribunal outcomes by benefit type here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. In particular please refer to Main Tables ODS file and tables SSCS_1 to SSCS_3.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of returning the assessment process for disability and long term sickness benefits in-house.

Delivery of functional assessments to support health and disability benefit processing has been outsourced by DWP since 1998. New five-year contracts for these services commenced in September 2024. In advance of the procurement of these contracts, a delivery model assessment was carried out in line with commercial best practice, which determined that outsourced delivery remained the best way of achieving value for money and service stability. A further delivery model assessment will be carried out in due course to inform decisions on future service delivery, beyond the current contracts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce and (b) replace the use of dogs in testing required under plant protection product legislation.

The UK Government is committed to maintaining a rigorous regulatory system which ensures that animal research and testing is carried out only where no practicable alternatives exist and under controls which keep suffering to a minimum. The GB pesticides regulation (assimilated EU Regulation 1107/2009) requires that any testing on vertebrate animals is undertaken only where no other methods are available and that duplication of tests and studies on vertebrates must be avoided. It is an offence to carry out animal tests in contravention of the regulations. The HSE implement and enforce these requirements as the competent authority for the GB pesticide regulations, acting on behalf of the UK and Devolved Governments in Scotland and Wales.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing plant protection product testing to remove the need to use dogs for testing.

GB pesticides regulations contain rules that require sharing of tests and studies involving vertebrate animals between pesticide companies to ensure that such testing is minimised. The assimilated regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 requires that testing on vertebrate animals shall be undertaken only where no other methods are available and that duplication of tests and studies on vertebrates undertaken for the purposes of pesticides regulation must be avoided.It is an offence to carry out animal tests in contravention of the regulations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) implement and enforce these requirements as the competent authority for these regulations, acting on behalf of the UK and Devolved Governments in Scotland and Wales.The Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations state that approved pesticide active substances are to be regarded as fully registered and therefore there is no occasion for additional testing of pesticides for the purposes of REACH registration.

What comparative assessment he has made of the processes in place for dentists from overseas who wish to set up in (a) private practice and (b) the NHS.

The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent regulator of dentistry in the United Kingdom. Only dentists and dental care professionals registered with the GDC can legally practise dentistry, both within the National Health Service and privately, in the UK. Routes to registration as a dentist in the UK are set out in the GDC’s legislation, The Dentists Act 1984. In 2023, the Department introduced legislative changes to give the GDC greater flexibility to expand and improve its registration processes for overseas-qualified dentists.In 2024, the Department consulted on introducing legislation that would give the GDC powers to provisionally register overseas-qualified dentists. Individuals holding provisional registration would be able to work as a dentist under supervision whilst seeking to demonstrate the required knowledge and skill for full registration. Our position on this proposal will be set out in due course.To work under an NHS primary care dental services contract, a dentist must join the NHS Dental Performers List (DPL). All dentists wishing to join the DPL in England must show they have either completed UK Dental Foundation Training or demonstrate equivalence to foundation training via the competence assessment route. In 2023, the competence assessment route was streamlined, enabling individuals to practise NHS dentistry more quickly by providing for applicants’ specific clinical knowledge and skills to be assessed, and for more tailored support to be put in place. Dentists providing private treatment are not required to be on the DPL.The Government plans to expand access to NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and to recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, and increase access to NHS dental care, the Government plans to reform the dental contract with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a requirement for health professionals to spend at least three years in the NHS following training before they can practice privately.

The Department consulted on a tie-in to National Health Service dentistry for graduate dentists in 2024. We are considering the responses and will set out our position in due course. No assessment has been made for other healthcare professionals.

Whether she is taking steps to simplify the process whereby anyone seeking to change gender in the UK must get approval from a panel of doctors and lawyers.

In our manifesto, we committed to modernising, simplifying, and reforming gender recognition law while upholding the Equality Act and its provisions on single-sex exceptions. We will remove indignities for trans people whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor.