Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has identified links between menopause and a heightened risk of suicide; and what support his Department provides to safeguard the mental health of women reaching menopause.

Answered by Preet Kaur Gill

Menopause can have a significant impact on a woman’s mental health, and low mood and anxiety are recognised symptoms that some women may experience during the perimenopause and menopause.

The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that women experiencing menopause can access appropriate healthcare and mental health support. Any woman concerned about her mental health should seek advice from her general practitioner or another healthcare professional. Women can also self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide support for common mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy identifies menopause as a core women’s health priority and recognises its impact on women’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life. The strategy will improve access to menopause care through neighbourhood women’s health services, women’s health hubs, and specialist regional centres, while improving information and awareness so women can access evidence-based support and treatment.

As announced in October, local authorities will be asked to include menopause in the NHS Health Check from 2026, supporting eligible women to access high-quality information about menopause symptoms, their management, and where to seek support.

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 support the mental health of women going through (a) menopause, (b) perimenopause and (c) hormonal treatment related to menopause.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Government recognises the impact menopause can have on women’s lives.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy identifies menopause as a core women’s health priority, recognising its impact on women’s health, wellbeing, work, and quality of life. The strategy shifts menopause care into primary and community settings, including neighbourhood women’s health services and women’s health hubs, making care easier to access and closer to home.

Each region will have a specialist centre to support group-based clinics in women’s health, including menopause services, improving access, peer support, and consistency, with early rollout focused on areas of highest need. The strategy also commits to improving information and awareness so that women know their symptoms can be effectively managed, including through evidence-based treatments.

Menopause can have a significant impact on a woman’s mental health, with low mood and anxiety among the possible symptoms. It is important that all women experiencing perimenopause, menopause, or symptoms associated with menopause treatment can access high-quality healthcare support.

Any woman concerned about her mental health should seek advice from her general practitioner or another healthcare professional. Women can also self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies services, which help people experiencing common mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, and depression.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of single points of access for non-urgent gynaecology referrals, specialist ultrasound and community diagnostic routes on reducing diagnostic times for suspected endometriosis; and whether he plans to support wider adoption of such models across Integrated Care Boards.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

From October 2026, all providers, supported by integrated care boards, are expected to ensure that all appropriate requests and referrals flow through a Single Point of Access (SPoA) model, to support patients to receive rapid specialist assessment and a clear next step. By embedding timely specialist clinical review at the start of the pathway, including for non-urgent gynaecology referrals, the model improves access to the right clinic, diagnostic service, or care setting, the first time.

Patients with suspected or diagnosed endometriosis will benefit from SPoA for gynaecology referrals, alongside wider work through the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy which commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for conditions including endometriosis.

Clinical pathways for heavy periods and pelvic pain, including endometriosis, will be redesigned to reduce repeat appointments, unnecessary referrals, and long waits. This will support systems to meet local need and enable more appropriate care to be delivered in community settings.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing multi-year funding for Active Travel England grants.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Following publication of the Devolution White Paper in 2024, the majority of grants to local authorities are consolidated and are provided on a multi-year funding basis, including Active Travel England funding. This reduces burdens on authorities and allows greater flexibility to spend on local priorities. This funding is now paid out as part of wider integrated and consolidated funding arrangements for 2026/27 onwards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the proportion of short stages in towns and cities in England that are currently walked and cycled.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Estimates of the proportion of short stages in towns and cities in England that are walked and cycled are obtained from the National Travel Survey. In 2024, 48% of stages of less than 5 miles made by residents of towns and cities in England were walked or cycled.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publication of the cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson

The Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) is being finalised to ensure it reflects the strongest available evidence and is due to be published soon.

The CVD MSF will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care whilst fostering innovation across the cardiovascular disease pathway.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the findings of the National Literacy Trust’s report on ‘Children and young people’s reading in 2026’ relating to children’s reading enjoyment.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a wide range of benefits, from increased wellbeing, confidence and empathy to better vocabulary and aptitude for learning. That is why this government, in collaboration with our delivery partner, the National Literacy Trust (NLT), has declared 2026 the National Year of Reading (NYR), a UK-wide campaign to inspire a love of reading, combining a universal campaign with a targeted focus on priority groups who are least likely to read for pleasure. We are pleased to see that the NLT’s recent report shows children’s reading enjoyment increased in 2026 for the first time in five years.

Since the launch of NYR in January, the campaign has attracted significant attention and momentum, including 2.1 million children across the UK engaging in NYR events and activities, and over 6,000 schools and 11,000 teachers across the UK registering to get their schools involved in the NYR schools and settings offer, which includes exciting activities, resources, events and continuing professional development webinars.

This government has also committed £12.5 million to provide a library in every primary school in England by the end of this Parliament, alongside £5 million for secondary schools to purchase books and reading material to support reading for pleasure.

Carbon monoxide alarms

South Yemen

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations

Found: David Stirling (Lay member) Carys Williams (Lay member) Paula Barker (Labour; Liverpool Wavertree) Gill Furniss

Found: (100.0%) Paula Barker (Labour, Liverpool Wavertree) (added 28 Oct 2024) 6 of 7 (85.7%) Gill Furniss

Found: (96.7%) Paula Barker (Labour, Liverpool Wavertree) (added 28 Oct 2024) 28 of 30 (93.3%) Gill Furniss

Found: MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice Clive Jones MP, Richard Quigley MP, Gill Furniss