Written questions by Davies.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with (a) Gavi and (b) the Global Fund on the adequacy of their funding.

On 12 September, I [Minister for Development] met with the CEO of Gavi to discuss Gavi's recent Investment Case launch and replenishment timings. FCDO hosted the annual strategic dialogue with the Global Fund on 17 September, which focused on the UK's priorities ahead of the eighth replenishment.The UK is working with the international community to coordinate efforts and ensure sustainable resources for all upcoming global health replenishments; including for Gavi, the World Health Organization, and the Global Fund. Effective coordination across the Global Health Initiatives will be needed to deliver for the global health challenges ahead.

Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) help build new grassroots football facilities and (b) renovate existing pitches for grassroots football in Colne Valley constituency.

High-quality, inclusive facilities help clubs to get more people active and by backing these clubs, the Government will support more people to get onto the pitch wherever they live.Colne Valley constituency has benefitted from £40,798 of DCMS investment across five sites under the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme to date.The Government will invest £123 million throughout 2024/25 to build and upgrade pitches and facilities UK wide. Funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is invested in England through Sport England and our delivery partner, the Football Foundation.The Football Foundation plans their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs). These plans have been developed in partnership with local authorities and are in the process of being refreshed to reflect the current landscape. The existing LFFP for Colne Valley, Kirklees can be found by visiting the Football Foundation’s website.Should a constituent have an enquiry about prospective investment at a specific facility, they can get in touch with the Football Foundation directly via enquiries@footballfoundation.org.uk.

What his planned timetable is for implementing the proposed changes to (a) vision rehabilitation services and (b) professional recognition.

We do not currently have plans to regulate Vision Rehabilitation Specialists. The Care Act guidance advises that local authorities should consider securing specialist qualified rehabilitation and assessment provision, whether in-house, or contracted through a third party, to ensure that the needs of people with sight loss are correctly identified and their independence maximised.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) UNAIDS, (b) UNITAID, (c) the Global Fund and (d) the Robert Carr Fund on tackling HIV and AIDS.

The FCDO regularly engages with key partners including the Global Fund, UNITAID, UNAIDS and grassroots organisation the Robert Carr Fund, as part of our ongoing commitment to the HIV response and advocacy for sexual and reproductive health and rights, including for vulnerable groups. This includes through our Board representation, bilateral dialogue and programmatic funding.

What steps he plans to take to improve the integration of services between secondary and social care settings to ensure a seamless route into vision rehabilitation.

The Department understands the importance of having effective rehabilitation services available when people need them to help them recover and return to their day-to-day activities and regain their quality of life.People who have sight loss to the degree they are certified as blind or partially sighted will receive a certificate of visual impairment (CVI). With the patient’s permission the CVI form is shared with a person’s local authority to help facilitate access to social care support. In accordance with the Care and support statutory guidance, local authorities should offer to carry out a needs assessment with a view to providing a care and support plan aimed at meeting any identified needs. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidanceStatutory integrated care systems are partnerships of organisations which come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services. An integrated approach to person-centred care can enable a seamless route for patients coming out of hospital into social care. This helps to make sure people get the right support from health and social care services to return home as soon as possible, including patients requiring vision rehabilitation.

If he will take steps to ensure that vision rehabilitation services are subject to the same (a) regulation and (b) monitoring as other adult social care services.

Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities in England have a legal duty to support people with sight loss to develop practical skills and strategies to maintain independence.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is now assessing how local authorities are meeting the full range of their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. These assessments identify local authorities’ strengths and areas for development, facilitating the sharing of good practice and helping us to target support where it is most needed. This will also facilitate the development of national standards as part of our steps towards creating a National Care Service.Therefore, although CQC is not currently required to assess vision rehabilitation services as regulated activities under Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, sensory services, including vision rehabilitation, do form part of CQC’s overall assessment of local authorities’ delivery of adult social care. In that context, CQC will report on sensory services when there is something important to highlight, for example, something being done well, innovative practice or an area for improvement.Our new Client Level Data collection requires local authorities to collect person-level information covering most of their activity under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014. Information on visual impairments is voluntary at this stage, but this will be kept under review.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the Football Association on increasing funding for drainage works on grass pitches.

The Government is committed to helping all sports adapt to the impacts of climate change and works closely with the Football Association to improve the drainage facilities for grassroots football pitches. The Football Foundation, funded by the Government, the FA, and the Premier League, provides grants to help grassroots facilities improve pitch drainage and respond to the impacts of heavy rainfall.

What steps his Department is taking to improve prostate cancer (a) screening and (b) awareness in Colne Valley constituency.

Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees. This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA). A PSA-based screening programme could harm men, as some of them would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects.NHS England runs Help Us Help You campaigns to increase knowledge of cancer symptoms, address barriers to acting on them to encourage people to come forward as soon as possible to see their general practitioner. The campaigns focus on a range of symptoms as well as encouraging ‘body awareness’ to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers at an earlier point.

What assessment her Department has made of the importance of banking hubs in rural areas.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to ensure that 350 banking hubs are delivered across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 80 banking hubs are already open and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 100 hubs to be open by Christmas. The specific location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network. Criteria that LINK considers includes whether another bank branch remains nearby, local population, number of cash-accepting businesses and the financial vulnerability of the community. An alternative option for accessing face-to-face banking services in rural areas is via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, cash cheques, and check their balance at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support the sharing of best practice at the (a) Peak District and (b) South Pennines fire operation groups on moorland fires.

Fire Operation Groups (FOGs) and similar networks across the country play a vital role in mitigating, preventing and responding to the risks and realities of wildfire. The government applauds the work they do. Defra supports the promotion of shared learning and professional development through its membership of established forums and networks.

How many and what proportion of people that applied for Pension Credit in each of the last five years were in receipt of Universal Credit at the time of their application in Colne Valley constituency.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of developing a specific Action Plan for (a) cancers of the (i) brain, (ii) liver, (iii) lung, (iv) stomach, (v) oesophagus and (vi) pancreas and (b) other less survivable cancers.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the National Health Service, and the need to improve cancer waiting time performance and cancer survival. The report will inform the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS, including further detail on how we will improve outcomes for cancer, including less survivable cancers.The Government’s Health Mission aims to reduce lives lost to the biggest killers, including cancer, and we recognise the importance of tackling less survivable cancers as part of that Mission.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) raise awareness of and (b) tackle stigma associated with (i) loneliness and (ii) mental health challenges among men.

Raising awareness of loneliness across society and reducing the associated stigma for all groups at risk of loneliness, including men, is a core part of the Government’s current approach to tackling loneliness. This includes providing loneliness advice as part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign.The Department for Culture, Media and Support is also supporting organisations which can play a role in reducing loneliness stigma amongst men through the tackling loneliness hub, an online platform that connects professionals from across sectors working to reduce loneliness.Men with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health so that men can be confident of accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. We will modernise the Mental Health Act and we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays, provide faster treatment and help ease pressure on busy mental health services.We have committed to tackling suicide as one of the biggest killers of men and, as part of this, the new mental health workers will be specially trained to support people at risk of suicide.We will also continue to work with the wide range of voluntary community and social enterprise organisations such as Men’s Sheds, ANDYSMANCLUB and the Campaign Against Living Miserably which play such an important role in supporting men at risk of mental ill health and suicide.