Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on developing and publishing a detailed national implementation plan for the rollout of fracture liaison services to achieve 100% coverage across England by 2030.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need. 13 new DEXA scanners were announced in May 2025. Beyond that, 20 new DEXA scanners funded in 2025 to 2026 were announced on 1 March 2026, as set out in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030. Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the difficulty in selling retirement flats on families inheriting properties; and whether he plans to take steps to support people affected.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 95245 on 5 December 2025.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68230, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of making misogyny a hate crime; and what impact the cross‑Government Strategy on violence against women and girls has had on the Government’s policy on this matter.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to extend the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to cover hostility relating to disability, sexual orientation, transgender identity and sex.
This makes clear, in law, that offences motivated by hostility towards a victim’s sex or presumed sex will be treated just as seriously as those motivated by hostility towards the other range of protected characteristics in the hate crime regime.
This approach complements our wider mission to tackle violence against women and girls, set out in Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-cutting strategy, published 18 December 2025.
The VAWG Strategy makes it clear that tackling misogyny, both online and offline, is central to our mission to halve VAWG within a decade and that achieving this requires a whole‑society approach. We are therefore working across government, public services, the private sector and charities to deliver our ambitions.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant UIN 82150 what assessment her Department has made of the availability of discretionary transport support for children with special educational needs and disabilities who are not yet of compulsory school age, what guidance is provided to local authorities on exercising this discretion, and what potential impact variations in local authority budgets have on access to such support.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s ‘Home-to-school travel’ statutory guidance makes clear that discretionary travel need not be limited to children of compulsory school age. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what challenges his Department has identified in reducing waiting times for psychological therapy, and what assessment has been made of how these affect access for people seeking support to stay in or return to work.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
Support to improve employment outcomes is embedded within NHS Talking Therapies services. Employment advisers are available in all NHS Talking Therapies services in England and work alongside therapists to provide tailored employment support alongside psychological therapy. In general, people referred for employment support should be able to access this within four weeks, and where appropriate, employment support can be provided alongside therapy, or earlier where there is an urgent work‑related issue.
For people with more severe mental illness, we are also expanding Individual Placement and Support, so that 73,500 people can access this evidence‑based programme by March 2028. More widely, we recognise that the fit note process is not working as effectively as it should in supporting people to manage health conditions at work. Through initiatives such as the WorkWell Primary Care Innovation Fund, local areas are piloting improved ways of connecting people to appropriate work and health support, helping to support earlier returns to work and reduce avoidable pressure on psychological therapy services. Wider work to better join up health and employment support includes initiatives such as Health and Growth Accelerators, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-boost-to-support-patients-to-stay-in-and-return-to-work
We keep waiting times for psychological therapies under regular review through national performance oversight and engagement with NHS England and local systems. This includes assessing whether further system‑level measures are required where waits remain longest and understanding how these affect people’s ability to stay in, or return to, work.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps his Department plans to take to reduce waiting times for people seeking psychological therapy to support their employment efforts; and what assessment his Department has made of whether additional measures are required to further reduce waiting times for psychological therapy services.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
We recognise that some people experience long waits to access National Health Service mental health support, including psychological therapies that help people stay in, or return to, work. NHS Talking Therapies are the main national psychological therapy service for people with common mental health conditions. While the NHS is meeting the national access and waiting time standards of at least 75% of people starting treatment within six weeks of referral and at least 95% within 18 weeks, we know that waits within pathways, including between the first and second appointment, can be significant in some areas.
Meeting national access standards is important, but we recognise that this alone will not address all delays experienced within psychological therapy pathways. Reducing waiting times requires a sustained and more systematic approach that focuses on increasing capacity, improving flow through services, and better integration with wider support, such as for people whose mental health is affecting their ability to work. That is why, for example, we have recruited over 8,000 additional mental health workers since July 2024.
We are also strengthening NHS Talking Therapies with a greater focus on reducing waits within pathways, improving completion rates, and supporting better mental health and employment outcomes. This is supported by enhanced NHS England oversight to ensure funding is used to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.
Progress on access and waiting times is monitored through existing NHS Talking Therapies national access standards and routine performance management. We have no plans to set additional targets specifically for employment related access to psychological therapies beyond the existing standards.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what action his Department plans to take to reduce waiting times for psychological therapy to support employment, and what targets or timetable have been set for improving access.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
We recognise that some people experience long waits to access National Health Service mental health support, including psychological therapies that help people stay in, or return to, work. NHS Talking Therapies are the main national psychological therapy service for people with common mental health conditions. While the NHS is meeting the national access and waiting time standards of at least 75% of people starting treatment within six weeks of referral and at least 95% within 18 weeks, we know that waits within pathways, including between the first and second appointment, can be significant in some areas.
Meeting national access standards is important, but we recognise that this alone will not address all delays experienced within psychological therapy pathways. Reducing waiting times requires a sustained and more systematic approach that focuses on increasing capacity, improving flow through services, and better integration with wider support, such as for people whose mental health is affecting their ability to work. That is why, for example, we have recruited over 8,000 additional mental health workers since July 2024.
We are also strengthening NHS Talking Therapies with a greater focus on reducing waits within pathways, improving completion rates, and supporting better mental health and employment outcomes. This is supported by enhanced NHS England oversight to ensure funding is used to increase capacity and reduce waiting times.
Progress on access and waiting times is monitored through existing NHS Talking Therapies national access standards and routine performance management. We have no plans to set additional targets specifically for employment related access to psychological therapies beyond the existing standards.