Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government response to the Child Maintenance: Improving the collection and transfer of payments consultation, published on 23 June 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing further information on next steps.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Primary legislation is required to make the change to remove Direct Pay and reform the collection fee structure, meaning these changes will be subject to detailed parliamentary scrutiny. Our intention is to implement these changes as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of administrative capacity to manage the volume of transitions from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit; and what steps she is taking to ensure that vulnerable claimants do not experience prolonged delays or shortfalls in payment due to outstanding actions as a result of these transitions.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Adequate resourcing for the transition is an important priority for the department.

The department has identified a small number of cases where the payments due have not all been paid in full in the first assessment period, due to delays in the process. The problem has been addressed by introducing additional automation, and increasing the resources to deal with these cases. DWP has also enhanced the identity verification identity process, reducing the requirement for customers to attend the office or receive a home visit.

We have robust plans in place to support the safe migration of cases onto UC. We will continue to monitor the position on these cases carefully through to the end of the migration activity, responding quickly if difficulties arise.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance the has issued to local authorities on encouraging preventative health behaviours among working-age adults with (a) caring and (b) parental responsibilities.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises the vital role that preventative health behaviours play in improving long-term health outcomes, including among working-age adults with caring and parental responsibilities.

The Government’s Health Mission sets out a plan to shift our National Health Service away from a model geared towards late diagnosis and treatment, to one where the NHS focuses on prevention, with more services delivered in local communities.

The Government’s Better Health Start for Life campaign provides resources for local authorities, as well as advice to parents and carers. This supports healthy behaviours for babies and children up to the age of five years old on a range of topics, from pregnancy and infant feeding to getting their child school ready.

Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tailor (a) guidance and (b) support for local authorities to help mitigate increasing demand on adult social care services due to demographic ageing.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government accounted for a wide range of pressures, including demographic changes through the 2025 Spending Review. The resulting settlement allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26, to support the sector in making improvements.

The Department also works closely with the sector to deliver a programme of universal and targeted support. For example, through the Partners in Care and Health contract, support is provided to local authorities and partners to develop commissioning and market sustainability strategies, helping them respond to increasing service demand, including that linked to demographic ageing.

Adult social care is part of our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service that shifts care from hospitals to communities, with more personalised, proactive and joined-up health and care services that help people stay independent for as long as possible. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered locally to create healthier communities, spot problems earlier, and integrate health into the social fabric of places.

In addition, we have also launched an independent commission into adult social care as part of our first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. The commission will make clear recommendations to define and build an adult social care system that will meet the current and future needs of our population.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of unpaid caring responsibilities on carers’ mental health.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department invests in research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR-funded research suggests that high intensity unpaid care, as measured by time spent caring per week, is associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing a range of poorer outcomes, including worse mental health, compared to people who do not provide unpaid care. The severity of these outcomes differs based on factors such as age, gender, and ethnicity.

Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires local authorities to deliver a wide range of sustainable, high-quality care and support services, including support for carers.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. We are transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach and increasing access to evidence based digital interventions. People will also get better access to mental health support and advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies, without needing a general practice appointment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered allowing local education authorities to open new maintained schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the government is removing the legal presumption that all new schools are opened as academies, allowing local authorities to welcome proposals for all types of school, and to put forward their own proposals where they choose to do so.

These changes will better align local authorities’ responsibility to secure sufficient school places with their ability to open new schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing schools currently managed by multi-academy trusts to return to local education authority control.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that there are no immediate plans to develop options that will enable academy schools to convert to local authority-maintained status.

The department’s priority is to ensure that all children receive the best possible education. Where the existing leadership of a school does not have the capacity to improve an underperforming school we will continue to intervene structurally. We are also strengthening our tools for school improvement through regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, who will provide mandatory, targeted intervention to drive improvements for schools.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) noise and (b) air pollution on public health in densely populated residential areas.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published the findings from a study that mapped the effects of transport noise on health and wellbeing across England. It was estimated that transport noise in England was responsible for the equivalent of 130,000 healthy life years lost in disability in 2018. The estimates are presented at local authority level to examine the spatial distribution of the health burden. This work was based on methods developed by the World Health Organization, and more information is available at the following link:

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/29/noise-pollution-mapping-the-health-impacts-of-transportation-noise-in-england/

Poor air quality is one of the largest environmental risks to public health in the United Kingdom. The mortality burden in 2019 was equivalent to between 29,000 and 43,000 deaths for adults aged 30 years old and over. Some people are more affected because they live in a polluted area or are exposed to higher levels of air pollution in their day-to-day lives. UKHSA is developing an air pollution vulnerability indicator tool that will demonstrate which areas are most at risk from exposure to air pollution. This tool will help health professionals identify areas where interventions are needed most and will contribute to addressing local health inequalities related to air pollution more effectively.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve access to healthcare for people experiencing rough sleeping.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including those experiencing homelessness.

We recognise the importance of reducing barriers to healthcare services for those experiencing homelessness. This is why we supported the development and implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance, code NG214, which provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng214

The Department has recently published a progressive 10-Year Health Plan. We are committed to reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest, an ambitious commitment that shows that the Government is serious about tackling health inequalities and addressing the social determinants of health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of infection diagnostics on (a) levels of inappropriate antibiotic use and (b) the policies set out in the policy paper entitled UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2024 to 2029, published on 8 May 2024.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle AMR. A core commitment of the NAP is supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them. Outcome four specifically relates to strengthening antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship by improved targeting of antimicrobials and diagnostic tools.

The Government is also working to deliver outcome six of the NAP, which commits to cross-sector working to develop diagnostics as a tool to tackle AMR. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has invested over £18 million of funding into AMR diagnostics research. The Department also funds the NIHR’s HealthTech Research Centres, which accelerate development of healthcare technologies, including diagnostics.

NHS England’s AMR Diagnostic programme is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP’s commitments. The programme aims to improve current practice, enhance the evidence base, improve engagement and training, and overcome barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests. The ambition is to drive innovation in diagnostics within the system to improve antimicrobial stewardship and reduce the burden of infection and AMR. As part of this programme, NHS England is undertaking Horizon Scanning for new innovations, supporting research into point-of-care tests for key infections, and continuing to work with industry.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that diagnostic stewardship is embedded across infection care pathways to ensure that clinicians are (a) supported to use infection diagnostics effectively and (b) reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The United Kingdom’s 2024 to 2029 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan (NAP), published in May 2024, highlights the importance of accurate diagnostic testing to guide effective antibiotic use and tackle AMR. A core commitment of the NAP is supporting clinicians to prescribe the right antimicrobials only to those that need them. Outcome four specifically relates to strengthening antimicrobial and diagnostic stewardship by improved targeting of antimicrobials and diagnostic tools.

The Government is also working to deliver outcome six of the NAP, which commits to cross-sector working to develop diagnostics as a tool to tackle AMR. The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), has invested over £18 million of funding into AMR diagnostics research. The Department also funds the NIHR’s HealthTech Research Centres, which accelerate development of healthcare technologies, including diagnostics.

NHS England’s AMR Diagnostic programme is taking a multifactorial approach to improving the roll out of innovative rapid diagnostics, aligning to the 2024 to 2029 AMR NAP’s commitments. The programme aims to improve current practice, enhance the evidence base, improve engagement and training, and overcome barriers for industry to support the development of diagnostic tests. The ambition is to drive innovation in diagnostics within the system to improve antimicrobial stewardship and reduce the burden of infection and AMR. As part of this programme, NHS England is undertaking Horizon Scanning for new innovations, supporting research into point-of-care tests for key infections, and continuing to work with industry.

Found: Health and Social Care Committee Member present: Dr Beccy Cooper.

Found: Health and Social Care Committee Member present: Dr Beccy Cooper.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Paulette Hamilton (Chair); Danny Beales; Ben Coleman; Dr Beccy Cooper

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Paulette Hamilton (Chair); Danny Beales; Ben Coleman; Dr Beccy Cooper

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Danny Beales; Ben Coleman; Dr Beccy Cooper; Jen Craft; Josh Fenton-Glynn

Found: _17 Graeme Downie Adam Jogee Chris Bloore Dr Beccy Cooper Christine Jardine Katrina Murray Patricia

Found: COMMITTEE STAGE Wednesday 9 July 2025 54 _17 Graeme Downie Adam Jogee Chris Bloore Dr Beccy Cooper

Found: Not called_17 Graeme Downie Adam Jogee Chris Bloore Dr Beccy Cooper Christine Jardine Katrina Murray

Submit Evidence (by 28 Aug 2025)

The Committee is holding an inquiry into food and weight management, including treatments for obesity.