Written questions by Hobhouse.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of commissioning national training to support the workforce delivering eating disorder services for children and young people.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the workforce delivering eating disorder services for children and young people has the right skills and training.NHS England already has extensive eating disorder training in place for staff across both mental and physical health services, covering awareness and specialist up-skilling. This includes e-learning and simulation training for doctors, general practitioners, and primary care clinicians, nurses across all four branches, acute hospital staff, dietitians, and pharmacy teams.Following the 2017 Ombudsman report Ignoring the Alarms, NHS England worked with Beat and the Royal College of Psychiatrists to strengthen training on the safe medical management of eating disorders. More recently, NHS England has commissioned further specialist training, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Eating Disorders Credential, family-based therapies, cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders, and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder training.We will continue to work with NHS England to ensure that the workforce is appropriately trained and supported to deliver high-quality, evidence-based care.

What steps his Department are taking to help support the Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative UK, including to improve understanding of the genetic and environmental factors associated with such conditions and to develop more effective treatments.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care including eating disorders.Through the NIHR, the Department directly supports the Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative UK (EDGI), which is a collaboration between King’s College London, NIHR BioResource, and the eating disorder charity Beat. EDGI is the largest study of eating disorders ever conducted in England, aiming to collect psychological, medical, and genetic information of 10,000 people with experience of an eating disorder.The NIHR recently partnered with other mental health research funders (the Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and Medical Research Foundation) in a funding initiative that supports new collaborations in eating disorders research, bringing together eating disorders experts and researchers not previously involved in this field. Funded work includes studies that examine biological and environmental risk factors for eating disorders, and work that collaborates with the EDGI project.

With reference to the Royal College of Psychiatrists' report entitled National Audit of Eating Disorders Service Mapping Report 2025, published in December 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national access and waiting time standard for adults with eating disorders.

While no such specific assessment has been made, we recognise the devastating impact an eating disorder can have on someone’s life, and that the earlier treatment is provided, the greater the chance of recovery. We are carefully considering the findings of the National Audit of Eating Disorders Service Mapping Report 2025.We are working with NHS England to improve community-based eating disorder services, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, to boost outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay.

If he will take steps to help reduce geographic variation in waiting times for children and young people to start community eating disorder treatment.

The Government recognises that there is unacceptable geographic variation in waiting times for children and young people accessing community eating disorder treatment.We are reforming eating disorder services to ensure that children and young people can access timely, effective support when they need it, rather than after their condition has escalated. This shift towards prevention and stronger community-based support underpins the new National Health Service guidance for children and young people’s eating disorder services, published last month. The guidance makes clear that children and young people should receive timely, joined-up care delivered as close to home as possible.In addition to the updated guidance, NHS England has commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver a National All-Age Audit of Eating Disorders. The audit seeks to drive improvement of the identification and appropriate management of eating disorders and the quality and consistency of services for children and young people, adults of working age, and older adults. The audit covers both community and inpatient settings. A key part of this work is to produce a report that will map out eating disorder services in England and the care offered by them. In understanding what variation exists, we can begin to address the variation in care provision.To support this, the Government is recruiting 8,500 additional mental health workers across the NHS to increase capacity and ensure that help is available when and where it is needed. NHS England continues to work with integrated care boards to improve performance, reduce unwarranted variation, and ensure services meet national access standards so that all children and young people can access high-quality eating disorder care regardless of where they live.

Media and Sport, what her proposed timetable is for announcing current and future funding streams for the National Youth Strategy including Richer Young Lives, Youth Facilities and the Youth Workforce.

‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.This is backed by over £500 million of new youth funding over the next 3 years. The funding underpinning the first steps of the Strategy will be available from the next financial year 2026/2027.

Media and Sport, if she will review the inclusion of first aid education within Young Futures Hubs after the initial phase of early adopters.

Specific services and activities available in each hub will depend on the needs of the community and its young people, with a focus on upstream intervention. Some Young Futures Hubs may choose to include first aid education.

What steps his Department is taking to help (a) increase survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and (b) increase the availability of defibrillators in Bath.

In order to increase survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, NHS England has worked in partnership with St John’s Ambulance and others to increase access to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. Local ambulance trusts, charities including St John’s Ambulance, the British Heart Foundation, and private providers deliver CPR training and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme.The Government’s position is that local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating and maintaining automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Over 110,000 defibrillators are registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the independent AED database. Over 30,000 of these have been added in the past two years, many as a result of local community led action.

Media and Sport, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the contribution of uniformed and non-uniformed youth volunteering organisations to the aims of the National Youth Strategy.

On the 10th December 2025, the Government published ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’. It is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of. It includes 2 clear ambitions - by 2035:To have halved the participation gap in enriching activities between disadvantaged young people and their peers.For half a million more young people to have access to a trusted adult outside of their home. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport commissioned an independent provider (Ipsos) to conduct an evaluation covering the Uniformed Youth Fund from 2022 to 2025, which was published on 11th September 2025. The research found uniformed youth organisations (UYOs):contribute to the social and emotional development of young people by providing them with structured activities and supportive environments, enhancing young people’s cooperation skills, communication, and confidence;enhance education and career opportunities for young people by providing them with valuable skills for life and work and supporting their academic attainment through diverse activities;provide supportive and inclusive environments where young people feel safe, a sense of belonging for young people through their uniforms, and fostering trusted relationships with peers and adult leaders.The Department has a rich evidence base supporting the positive outcomes of youth organisations and young people's attendance of these. There’s a wide range of positive outcomes from youth interventions, such as on employability, skill development, and that it can be preventative in terms of crime.

What guidance and support are provided to schools to meet basic first aid requirements in the curriculum, including CPR and defibrillator awareness.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education and it is good practice to follow the statutory Health Education curriculum.The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries and pupils. In secondary schools, pupils are taught additional first aid such as how to administer CPR, or the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.The guidance sets out that it is for schools to decide how they teach RSHE topics, including first aid, including how to draw on expertise available to them locally.The government has commissioned Oak Academy to make lesson materials freely available.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of including heat batteries for central heating on the list of Energy Saving Materials.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following tests: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; relieving the technology of VAT must be a cost effective lever for encouraging installations; and it must be practical for business to operate and for HMRC to administer.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure school staff have access to training and resources to identify and support pupils at risk of developing an eating disorder.

Education staff’s daily contact with pupils enables them to identify those who may need support and make timely referrals to the appropriate services.To support them, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources to help them identify children in need of extra support. For example, a resource hub for mental health leads and a toolkit to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.The government has committed to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. Work is also under way to enhance the capability and capacity of MHST staff, including through investing £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff, so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs such as disordered eating.

When the Nuclear Liabilities Financing Assurance Board last met; and whether the minutes from previous meetings in the last 10 years will be published.

The NLFAB last met on 27 November 2025. Due to commercial sensitivities the NLFAB minutes are not published. However, the full NLFAB report and supplementary Annexes which were issued to the Secretary of State to inform his decision on the Sizewell C Funded Decommissioning Programme has been published on Gov.uk - www.gov.uk/government/publications/sizewell-c-funded-decommissioning-programme-fdp

Whether she will set out the reasons for the reduction in the Fair Access Limit for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund from £5,000 to £3,000 from April 2025; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this reduction on the provision of therapeutic support for adoptive families and special guardians.

The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access support. So far this year, nearly 14,000 applications have been approved. The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes and is engaging with stakeholders.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she intends to publish the Circular Economy Growth Plan; and what opportunity stakeholders will have to formally respond to plan.

This Government remains committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and driving economic growth. This is why we will publish our Circular Economy Growth Plan in the new year that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. The Circular Economy Taskforce has undertaken extensive engagement with industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders to ensure that the circular transition reflects the needs and insights of all. We will engage stakeholders, including through consultation, on the interventions set out in the Growth Plan after publication.

If his Department will publish modelling undertaken by Ofgem on how suppliers may respond to projected Transmission Use of System charge increases over the 2026-31 price control period.

Ofgem, as the independent regulator, sets funding and investment allowances for gas and electricity transmission, and gas distribution networks through its RIIO-3 price control process. Final Determinations for RIIO-3 will be confirmed by Ofgem in December. Ofgem has a statutory responsibility to maintain security of supply while incentivising efficiency and protecting consumers from excessive costs. Following the energy crisis, Ofgem introduced capital adequacy rules to strengthen the financial resilience of suppliers and the stability of the retail market. The Department will continue engaging with Ofgem to ensure RIIO-3 delivers the investment needed to maintain energy security through this period.

Whether they have made an assessment of the adequacy of the four-month notice period given to suppliers to recover additional costs under RIIO-3.

Ofgem, as the independent regulator, sets funding and investment allowances for gas and electricity transmission, and gas distribution networks through its RIIO-3 price control process. Final Determinations for RIIO-3 will be confirmed by Ofgem in December. Ofgem has a statutory responsibility to maintain security of supply while incentivising efficiency and protecting consumers from excessive costs. Following the energy crisis, Ofgem introduced capital adequacy rules to strengthen the financial resilience of suppliers and the stability of the retail market. The Department will continue engaging with Ofgem to ensure RIIO-3 delivers the investment needed to maintain energy security through this period.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Ofgem’s RIIO-3 draft determinations for the electricity transmission, gas distribution and gas transmission sectors on the (a) financial resilience of energy suppliers and (b) risk of market disruption.

Ofgem, as the independent regulator, sets funding and investment allowances for gas and electricity transmission, and gas distribution networks through its RIIO-3 price control process. Final Determinations for RIIO-3 will be confirmed by Ofgem in December. Ofgem has a statutory responsibility to maintain security of supply while incentivising efficiency and protecting consumers from excessive costs. Following the energy crisis, Ofgem introduced capital adequacy rules to strengthen the financial resilience of suppliers and the stability of the retail market. The Department will continue engaging with Ofgem to ensure RIIO-3 delivers the investment needed to maintain energy security through this period.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Ofgem’s RIIO-3 draft determinations for the electricity transmission, gas distribution and gas transmission sectors on energy bills from April 2026.

Ofgem, as the independent regulator, sets funding and investment allowances for gas and electricity transmission, and gas distribution networks through its RIIO-3 price control process. Final Determinations for RIIO-3 will be confirmed by Ofgem in December. Ofgem has a statutory responsibility to maintain security of supply while incentivising efficiency and protecting consumers from excessive costs. Following the energy crisis, Ofgem introduced capital adequacy rules to strengthen the financial resilience of suppliers and the stability of the retail market. The Department will continue engaging with Ofgem to ensure RIIO-3 delivers the investment needed to maintain energy security through this period.

What steps his Department has taken to ensure that participants in the Contracts for Difference auction process do not source solar panels or components linked to forced labour in the Uyghur Region.

The Government is committed to tackling forced labour in solar supply chains, including in Xinjiang. The Government is strengthening due diligence requirements through the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 and by reviewing Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act. In addition, the Solar Roadmap, published in the summer, outlines actions to build ethical, resilient supply chains, including support for the Solar Stewardship Initiative, which is conducting independent audits of manufacturers. CfD Projects over 300MW must submit a Supply Chain Plan demonstrating steps to prevent modern slavery and labour exploitation, which the Department monitors throughout delivery.

Which Minister in his Department is responsible for eating disorder services.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women’s Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron) has ministerial responsibility for eating disorder services.