Written questions by Moon.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to introduce a performance framework that (a) publicly tracks local authority delivery of affordable housing and (b) links it to future funding eligibility.

The new Local Government Outcomes Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out a priority outcome that everyone has access to a decent, safe, secure, and affordable home. The government has published twelve draft metrics measuring delivery of this outcome, including metrics to measure social housing demand, and number of homes held within council Housing Revenue Accounts. We expect to publish the final metrics for the framework alongside the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement later this year. Funding decisions for the Affordable Homes Programme are made on an individual basis and are made by our delivery partners, Home England and the GLA. All applications are expected to demonstrate how they meet the usual funding criteria, including value for money.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage partnerships between (a) councils, (b) housing associations and (c) community-led housing groups through matched funding or shared risk models.

As set out in our five-step plan for delivering a decade of renewal for the social and affordable housing, we are committed to strengthening social housing providers’ financial capacity to deliver new homes, including through our new ten-year, £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme. We also encourage providers to explore opportunities to extend their financial capacity further, and to enable delivery in sensitive, rural areas, by working together to deliver new homes through joint ventures. Where advice on how to make best use of these arrangements is required, councils, housing associations, and community led-housing groups outside of London can reach out to Homes England’s Self Commissioned Homes Delivery Unit. Councils in England can also seek specialist advice on all aspects of housing delivery from the Local Government Association’s Council Housebuilding Support Service.

If she will launch a public awareness campaign to support the integration of children’s social care services into local communities.

Through the Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme, the department is giving children and families access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families stay safely together. We recognise the crucial role that universal services and community-based early help play in identifying emerging problems and providing early and ongoing support at an early stage.The department’s reforms to Family Help will embed targeted support in the heart of communities, providing a non-stigmatising access point to a range of services to address the needs of the whole family. The FFP programme guide is clear that local areas should build on the strengths of their universal and community-based early help models when implementing Family Help, and we continue to share learning from the Families First for Children Pathfinder areas to support this.

What will be in the terms of the Carr Hill review.

The review will consider how health needs are reflected in the distribution of funding through the GP contract, drawing on a range of evidence and advice from experts.Arrangements for the Carr-Hill review are being finalised. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Whether she has had discussions with employers on (a) the adequacy of employer sick pay top-up schemes and (b) their role in supporting workers with long-term health conditions.

The government has engaged extensively, including with employers, on the impact of our plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay. While employers can choose to go further than their statutory requirements and provide more financial support to their employees when they are sick, and around 60% of all employees report they are eligible for this extra support, our engagement has not included the adequacy of contractual or occupational sick pay schemes. Those who need additional financial support while off sick are able to claim more help through the welfare system such as Universal Credit, depending on their individual circumstances. In our Get Britain Working White Paper, published November 2024, we committed support for employers to recruit, retain, and develop staff. As part of that, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead ‘Keep Britain Working’, an independent review to consider how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Following the discovery publication in March 2025, Sir Charlie and the review team engaged with a broad range of stakeholders, including employers. In total there were over 500 individual submissions and over 150 meetings and events through which evidence was submitted. Sir Charlie Mayfield will deliver a final report with recommendations in the autumn. The Disability Confident (DC) Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces and to support disabled people to get work and get on in work. It provides employers with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face. Officials have been discussing with stakeholders, including employers, the options for making the DC scheme criteria more robust. The Government is working towards announcing next steps for improving the scheme later this autumn

What assessment he has made of the market potential of shared ground loops.

Shared ground loops deliver highly efficient, low-carbon heating. They can be an effective solution, for example, for buildings with limited space for individual air source heat pumps. That is why shared ground loops are eligible for funding under government schemes including the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of continued IPP incarceration on the mental health of prisoners; and what steps he is taking to ensure appropriate psychological support is available to those affected.

It is right that Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences were abolished. We are committed to working at pace to support the progression of all those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that undermines public protection.The Government recognises that, for any prisoner serving an indeterminate sentence, the lack of certainty over a release date may adversely affect their mental health, as they are unable to plan for the future.We are committed to improving outcomes for offenders with mental health needs, including IPP prisoners, and recognise the importance of providing the right interventions at the right time. All people in prison have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.If a prisoner has a severe mental health need to an extent that detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be appropriate, they will be referred and assessed by qualified clinicians to determine whether a transfer to a mental health hospital is warranted.The refreshed IPP Action Plan, published on 17 July 2025, commits HM Prison and Probation Service to target support towards those who most need it and to further understanding the individual needs of those serving the IPP sentence.

What steps her Department is taking to improve community (a) understanding and (b) acceptance of (i) residential and (ii) support services for vulnerable children (A) in the community and (B) in the criminal justice system.

The Children’s Social Care National Framework acknowledges that receiving help from children’s social care can be a stigmatising experience and encourages practitioners from first interactions to tackle stigma, build strong relationships with children, young people and families, and communicate clearly and effectively.Through the Families First Partnership Programme, we are giving children and families access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families to stay safely together. Our reforms to Family Help will embed targeted support in the heart of communities, providing a non-stigmatising access point to a range of services to address the needs of the whole family.We are determined to address the stigma and discrimination faced by children in care and care leavers and ensure they are supported. We are prioritising extending corporate parenting responsibilities to all government departments and relevant public bodies, through measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This will ensure that policies and services take account of the challenges they face, and remove barriers and provide opportunities for them to achieve and thrive.

What assessment she made of the adequacy of the UK 261 regulation in ensuring that passengers affected by short flight delays (a) late at night and (b) at any time are protected from (i) financial and (ii) logistical consequences.

No assessment has been made of the adequacy of Regulation 261/2004 in protecting passengers from financial and logistical consequences caused by short flight delays. The Regulation sets out passenger rights in cases of denied boarding, long delays (at least two hours), and cancellations. Airlines are required to provide care and assistance for delays of at least two hours, depending on flight length, including refreshments and overnight accommodation if necessary.Passengers whose flights arrive at their final destination three hours or more later than scheduled may be entitled to compensation, depending on the cause of the delay.

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) timely and (b) equitable access to effective migraine treatments, in the context of reports of (i) long waiting times, (ii) inconsistent access to newer medications and (iii) ongoing medicine shortages.

The three shifts outlined in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan will support people with long-term conditions, including those with migraines, to better manage their conditions and access services closer to home. For example, it will empower them to access their medical history and allow them to book and manage their appointments and medication.In addition, by 2028/29, neighbourhood health teams will be organised around the needs of their patients. The plan will create joined-up working across hospitals and into community settings, with multi-disciplinary teams which can provide wrap-around support services.By 2030, one million patients with long-term conditions will be offered Personal Health Budgets, which will enable them to use National Health Service resources and determine the care that best suits their needs.Patients will be able to self-refer to services where clinically appropriate through the My Specialist section on the NHS App. This will accelerate their access to treatment and support. The NHS App will provide access to advice, guidance, self-care support, and appointment management. Patients will be able to manage their care in one place, giving them direct access and preference over the services they need.As part of the NHS App, the My Medicines section will enable patients to manage their prescriptions, and the My Health section will enable patients to monitor their symptoms and bring all their data into one place.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using smaller geographic units in assessing deprivation at local levels.

The indices of deprivation provide an assessment of deprivation at the lowest possible spatial level for which data is available, this is the lower super output level. These are aggregated up into functional spatial outputs for users of the Indices to use. The Indices provide the most granular assessment of local area deprivation across all the domain indicators included for which data exists. The methodology for the Indices of Deprivation has been consulted upon, as it is a national statistic, and reflects the best fit to respond to the range of different needs from users.Further details of the methodology behind the Indices of deprivation are found on gov.uk here.

Whether his Department has considered reforming the Carr-Hill Formula in the context of GP practices which pay a higher proportion of the global sum on staff costs.

The Carr-Hill formula includes the staff market forces factor within the unavoidable costs adjustment. This was designed to account for the higher cost of employing staff in some parts of the country.We know that the Carr-Hill formula is considered outdated. This is why we have committed to review the formula to ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed.As part of this review, the effectiveness of the market forces factor will be considered alongside other factors which are taken into account by the Carr-Hill formula. Further detail will be confirmed in due course.

What discussions she has had with energy companies on the potential merits of policy cost rebalancing on energy bills to incentivise the uptake of low-carbon technologies.

Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sector, including energy companies, on an ongoing basis.

What steps is his Department taking to improve access to ADHD medication.

The Department of Health and Social Care has worked closely with industry stakeholders on this issue. Following extensive collaborative efforts, previous issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, atomoxetine oral solution, guanfacine prolonged-release tablets and methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets are now available.We continue to support the NHS England ADHD taskforce, which brings together expertise from the NHS, education, and justice sectors to coordinate a system-wide response to rising demand. In collaboration with NHS England’s national ADHD data improvement plan, we are developing future growth forecasts to support improved demand planning. These forecasts will be shared with industry to help ensure a more responsive and sustainable supply of ADHD medicines.In parallel, we are also engaging with new suppliers for ADHD medicines to increase supply capacity and resilience.The Department also maintains and regularly updates a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) website. This resource supports prescribers and dispensers in making informed decisions with patients. The list is available at the following link: www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd

What steps his Department plans to take to sustain the independent contractor status of GP partnerships through the 10 Year Health Plan.

GP partnerships are independent businesses, contracting with the NHS to deliver primary care services. We recognise that the GP partnership model has many strengths, including efficiency, innovation and continuity of care, and GP partnerships deliver high-quality care to patients all over the country. As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, where the GP partnership model is working well, it should continue. The 10-Year Health Plan also introduces two new contracts enabling GPs to work over larger geographies, with the aim of supporting the neighbourhood health model, providing resilience and allowing economies of scale, in order to secure the sustainability of general practice into the future. The first will create ‘single neighbourhood providers’ that deliver enhanced services for groups with similar needs over a single neighbourhood (c.50,000 people). The second will create ‘multi-neighbourhood providers’, which will deliver care that requires working across several different neighbourhoods (250,000+ people). Multi-neighbourhood providers will also be responsible for unlocking the benefits of at scale working, including offering improvement support to practices, easing administrative burdens through shared back-office functions and overseeing digital transformation and estate strategy.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the position of children in social care in Camborne and Redruth constituency.

The department has announced the biggest overhaul to children’s social care in a generation, and this will ensure opportunity for all children, including those in Camborne and Redruth. Our reforms include significant new investment in children’s social care and landmark legislation through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.The local government finance settlement for 2025/26 grants councils in England access to over £69 billion in funding, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024/25. The settlement for 2025/26 includes a new children’s Social Care Prevention Grant, worth £270 million. In June, we announced that the total investment in children’s social care over the forthcoming spending review period will reach over £2 billion.The Families First Partnership programme is rolling out national reforms to Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making from April 2025, to help more children and families to stay safely together. These reforms are backed by over £500 million of funding in 2025/26 and we are providing all local authorities, including Cornwall, with a flexible support offer, targeted to local needs, as they transform their children’s services.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the clean energy workforce strategy on UK jobs in critical mineral supply chains.

Critical minerals underpin the UK’s Industrial Strategy and the Government’s clean energy goals. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs will publish a full Clean Energy Workforce Strategy shortly setting out further actions to support delivery of the clean energy workforce and ensure that the jobs created across the country are high quality.The Department for Business and Trade is working closely with industry and partners such as the Critical Minerals Association to identify and to help address workforce gaps across UK critical mineral supply chains.

Communities and Local Government, whether assessment of local housing needs includes (a) share of second homes, (b) prevalence of short-term lets and (c) local house-price-to-income ratios.

The government’s revised standard method for assessing local housing need, introduced in December 2024, uses a baseline of local housing stock, adjusted for affordability using median workplace-based affordability ratios. The affordability adjustment directs more homes to where they are most needed. As set out in the government’s response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, the revised standard method does not adjust the housing stock baseline to account for vacant and second homes. Local authorities have powers available to respond to locally specific concerns related to vacant and second homes.

Media and Sport, when her Department plans to release the £400 million announced in the Spending Review for grassroots sports facilities; and what proportion of this funding will be allocated to support (a) local leisure centres, (b) swimming pools and (c) gyms at risk of closure.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure centres and swimming pools, which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities across the country.The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level, with funding levels set as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.In June, we committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK over the next four years, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We will ensure that this funding promotes health, wellbeing and community cohesion and helps to remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need, before setting out further plans on how future funding will be allocated across the UK.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training in (a) Cornwall and (b) Camborne and Redruth constituency.

The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England, however, these estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET rates for young people aged 16 to 24 in Cornwall and Camborne and Redruth constituency are not available. Statistics for England can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.Data showing the number of young people aged 16 and 17 years old who were known to Cornwall local authority and the number and proportion of those NEET or activity not known is accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5dbec461-d6ee-4ee3-19fd-08dde95206d2. These statistics are published as transparency data so some caution should be taken when using these figures.Additionally, 16 to 18 destination measures are published, showing the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16 to 18 study, that is six months of continual activity. The latest publication includes destinations in 2022/23 by parliamentary constituency boundaries at that time, and data for Cornwall local authority and Camborne and Redruth parliamentary constituency can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5994cbf5-1e91-4af3-19ff-08dde95206d2.