Written questions by Maskell.

How many applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund are on hold as a result of the delay caused in announcing the funding for the current financial year.

Since the pause on accepting applications to the adoption and special guardianship support fund ended on 14 April, there are no applications on hold. Many of the applications received for funding which started in the previous financial year have continued into this year, and applications for this financial year are now being processed and approved.

How many complaints were (a) received and (b) upheld against Mott MacDonald in its role administering the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

The department has received no complaints regarding Mott MacDonald’s administration of the adoption and special guardianship support fund.

How many meetings he has had on (a) assisted dying and (b) palliative care since his appointment.

Department ministers have attended 16 meetings on assisted dying and palliative care since July 2024.These were a combination of introductory meetings to the policy area, meetings with the bill team and bill meetings with officials and the sponsor.

What guidance her Department issued to local authorities on the rules for applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to be carried over into the 2025 financial year.

Following an announcement on 1 April, the department is delighted to announce that £50 million has been allocated to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) for the 2025/26 financial year. No applications to the ASGSF made before 31 March 2025 have been rejected because no announcement had been made. Any applications which requested funding from April 2025 have either been returned for possible re-submission or held on the system. Transitional funding arrangements for 2025/26 were communicated to all local authorities and regional adoption agencies on 11 April 2024 and reiterated on 25 October 2024. This meant that we could accept applications which started in the 2024/25 financial year and continued into the 2025/26 financial year. However, they could not begin in the 2025/26 financial year. The department very much values the work of providers of therapy and recognises that this has been a challenging period. We hope the announcement will help providers, families and children prepare for the year ahead. We will provide additional details for the 2025/26 financial year shortly.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the availability of information on future funding for the adoption and special guardianship support fund on (a) therapy providers (b) levels of redundancies of therapists that specialise in supporting (i) adopted children and (ii) children in special guardianship and (iii) their families.

Following an announcement on 1 April, the department is delighted to announce that £50 million has been allocated to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) for the 2025/26 financial year. No applications to the ASGSF made before 31 March 2025 have been rejected because no announcement had been made. Any applications which requested funding from April 2025 have either been returned for possible re-submission or held on the system. Transitional funding arrangements for 2025/26 were communicated to all local authorities and regional adoption agencies on 11 April 2024 and reiterated on 25 October 2024. This meant that we could accept applications which started in the 2024/25 financial year and continued into the 2025/26 financial year. However, they could not begin in the 2025/26 financial year. The department very much values the work of providers of therapy and recognises that this has been a challenging period. We hope the announcement will help providers, families and children prepare for the year ahead. We will provide additional details for the 2025/26 financial year shortly.

How many applications made to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund before March 31st 2025 were rejected on the basis that no future funding announcement had been made.

Following an announcement on 1 April, the department is delighted to announce that £50 million has been allocated to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) for the 2025/26 financial year. No applications to the ASGSF made before 31 March 2025 have been rejected because no announcement had been made. Any applications which requested funding from April 2025 have either been returned for possible re-submission or held on the system. Transitional funding arrangements for 2025/26 were communicated to all local authorities and regional adoption agencies on 11 April 2024 and reiterated on 25 October 2024. This meant that we could accept applications which started in the 2024/25 financial year and continued into the 2025/26 financial year. However, they could not begin in the 2025/26 financial year. The department very much values the work of providers of therapy and recognises that this has been a challenging period. We hope the announcement will help providers, families and children prepare for the year ahead. We will provide additional details for the 2025/26 financial year shortly.

Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of teams promoted to from National League into the English Football League.

I recognise the strength of feeling within the National League regarding promotion arrangements to the EFL and understand the desire for greater opportunities for clubs to progress through the football pyramid. The competitiveness and sustainability of the league system are important considerations, and the Government appreciates the views of all stakeholders on this issue.While promotion and relegation structures are ultimately a matter for the leagues themselves, we remain engaged with the football authorities on broader discussions about the future of the game.

What the average waiting time for an NHS dental appointment was in (a) York Central constituency, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last ten years.

Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements. Patients unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.The responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the York Central constituency, this is the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB.

How many and what proportion of speech and language therapy posts are vacant in (a) each Integrated Care Board and (b) England.

The Department does not hold information on the number of speech and language therapist posts which are vacant.NHS England publishes quarterly NHS hospital trust vacancy and job advert data. This data identifies vacancy rates for total NHS staff and also separately for registered nurses and doctors at a national and regional level but is not detailed enough to identify vacancy rates for speech and language therapists.The vacancy statistics are published at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey

When the impact assessment for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will be published.

The Government expects to publish the impact assessment before Members consider the bill on Report.

How many families receive support under the Healthy Start scheme in York.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start. The number of people on the scheme in March 2025 in York was 595.

What recent assessment he has made of the level of capacity with the NHS for (a) ADHD and (b) autism assessments.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published September 2024, highlighted that demand for assessments for ADHD and autism have grown significantly in recent years, and highlighted the severe delays for accessing such assessments.The report noted that nationally the growth in demand for ADHD assessments over recent years has been so significant that it risks completely overwhelming the available resources. NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer.In respect of autism, the latest Autism Waiting Times Statistics published by NHS England show that, in December 2024, there were 212,964 patients with an open referral for suspected autism. Of these, 191,656 had a referral that had been open at least 13 weeks. On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. This guidance aims to help ICBs and the NHS to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to publish legal advice on the licensing of arms sales to Israel.

The Government has published a summary of the international humanitarian law (IHL) process used to assess and review Israel's compliance with IHL. This summary, informed by legal advice, alongside the Foreign Secretary's Oral Statement outlined the decision and where we have deemed there are risks that UK arms might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL. This is more transparent than any government has previously been about a decision of this nature.[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summary-of-the-international-humanitarian-law-ihl-process-decision-and-the-factors-taken-into-account#:~:text=The%20government%20has%20conducted%20a%20thorough%20review%20of%20Israel%E2%80%99s%20compliance].

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on (a) (i) autism and (ii) ADHD assessments and (b) other functions of the Patient Choice department.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for all patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the NHS Payments Scheme on access to assessment for (a) autism and (b) ADHD.

The consultation on the Payment Scheme proposed requiring commissioners to set a payment limit for elective services, and all services paid for on an activity basis, based on the value of planned levels of activity. Providers would not be paid for activity above this limit.Following consideration of consultation feedback, this proposal has not been implemented. As in previous years, providers will be paid prices for all activity delivered, subject to any activity management restrictions contractually applied by commissioners.Activity management provisions in the Contract will be strengthened, subject to consultation, to allow commissioners to plan affordable activity levels to meet key standards and to manage provider activity in line with their plan. The provisions in the Contract would be much more collaborative than the proposed payment limit. Commissioners would be required to engage with providers to a much greater extent and undertake analysis and discussion before any limits are applied. The escalation route would also ensure that, where needed, impartial expertise will help ensure appropriate plans are put in place.NHS England has allocated all elective funding to integrated care boards (ICBs) and there will be no additional funding available during the year. Local ICBs are responsible for planning service provision in their local area, including for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism assessments. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, considering how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on the potential merits of introducing a special envoy on the freedom of religion or belief.

The UK is committed to championing freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.The appointment of David Smith MP as the UK Special Envoy for FoRB in December 2024 is a clear signal of the UK's ongoing commitment to the promotion of this right around the world. Many of our European partners, including the EU itself, have also appointed envoys focusing on FoRB. The UK Envoy works closely with his international counterparts, including through the Article 18 Alliance, to promote FoRB for all.

If she will consider extending funding for disabled bus passes to include journeys made before 9:30am.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the travel time criteria, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. The government recently conducted a review of the ENCTS, which included considering travel times for disabled passholders and is currently considering next steps. Currently, local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as extending the travel time criteria for the ENCTS. The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has been allocated £12.7 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available in the local area.

What assessment has she made of the contribution of the Holidays and Activities Fund (a) nationally and (b) in York.

Since 2022, the department has invested over £200 million each year in free holiday club places for children from low-income families, through the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme, with all 153 local authorities in England delivering during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.The HAF programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and improving socialisation.Since 2022, the HAF programme has provided 15.6 million HAF days to children and young people in this country. Across the 2023/24 academic year, almost five million HAF days were provided during winter, Easter, and summer delivery.Over summer 2024, local authorities reported that over 628,000 children and young people attended the HAF programme. Of these participating children, over 511,000 were funded directly by the HAF programme and over 433,000 were receiving benefits-related free school meals (FSM). The reports showed that over 9,700 clubs, events or organised activities operated across the country over the summer.Over Easter 2024, local authorities reported that over 377,000 children attended the programme, of which over 324,000 were funded directly by the HAF programme and over 276,000 were receiving benefits-related FSM.Based on reporting data published on York local authority’s website, over 4,700 children attended the programme during HAF delivery periods in 2023. New data that will include numbers for Easter, summer and Christmas 2024 should be published by the local authority later this year.

What steps she is taking to provide continuity of the Holdiay and Activities Fund after 31 March 2025.

The government announced over £200 million funding for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for 2025/26, as part of the 2024 spending review and set out in the Autumn Budget 2024. The future of the HAF programme beyond 31 March 2026 is subject to the next governmental spending review, which is due to take place later this year.

Whether it is his policy to support nuclear disarmament.

The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life. It will remain essential for as long as the global security threat picture demands it. This Government's commitment to our nuclear deterrent maintained on behalf of the UK and our NATO allies is unshakeable. The UK Government believes that the best way to achieve global nuclear disarmament is through a gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step-by-step approach which takes account of the international security environment and is under the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.