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 provide a long-term sustainable funding model for palliative and end of life care providers in the 10 Year Health Plan.

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

The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift.

As part of the work to develop the 10-Year Health Plan, we will be carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, including those in the hospice sector.

In February 2025, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, and long-term sector sustainability, within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan, was discussed at length.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what accountability mechanisms are in place for local authorities that miss statutory deadlines for Education, Health and Care plans processes after being required to produce a Written Statement of Action.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

As set out in the current Area SEND Inspection Framework, local areas with a Written Statement of Action that were not revisited by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission under the previous framework will have a full inspection within the first three years of the new inspection cycle, meaning that they should receive a full inspection under the current framework by the end of 2025.

As part of Area SEND inspections, inspectors assess the extent to which the local area partners are complying with relevant legal duties relating to arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

For any local area that has an active Written Statement of Action, the department works to monitor, support and challenge local authorities as needed, working closely with NHS England to tackle any weaknesses that sit with health partners. Where a council does not meet its duties, including around timeliness of education, health and care plans, we offer a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through departmentally-managed programmes, such as our sector led improvement partners, which provides peer-to-peer tailored support. Councils identified as having issues with 20 week timeliness specifically are subject to additional monitoring by the department. Where we have concerns about their capacity to make the required improvements, we secure specialist SEND advisor support to help identify barriers and improve the service.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support (a) small businesses and (b) independent retailers.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. The Government has a wide range of business support offers aimed at independent retailers, engaging directly and through key trade associations. We will be launching the Business Growth Service later this year to support small businesses further with productivity and growth working closely with Growth Hubs in England. We are also taking measures to tackle late payments, reform business rates, improve access to finance and encourage tech adoption for all businesses and independent retailers. Key growth-driving programmes such as Help to Grow: Management help businesses unlock their potential through bespoke support and resources.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of access to CAMHS services for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) children in Huddersfield.

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

We know that too many children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are too long across England, including in Huddersfield. We are determined to change that.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, introduce open access Young Futures hubs in communities, and recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for the funding of children’s hospices once NHS England is dissolved.

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

The Department has provided the biggest investment in a generation for hospices, with £100 million to help hospices this year and next, to provide the best end of life care to patients and their families in a supportive and dignified physical environment. Hospices for children and young people will also receive a further £26 million of revenue funding for 2025/26 through what until recently was known as the Children’s Hospice Grant.

The decision to bring NHS England and Department together into one team will have no impact on this, or future funding decisions around hospices.

Ministers are working with the new transformation team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead this transformation. Hospices will continue to have a clear point of contact within the centre.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of Japan to respond to longstanding correspondence relating to the sinking of the SS Tilawa.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The sinking of the S.S. Tilawa is a tragedy that has touched the lives of so many. Alongside the Prime Minister, I reiterate my heartfelt condolences to all the victims and families affected. On the 80th Anniversary of VEVJ Day this year, the UK will honour the lives lost in all conflicts, including those from the S.S. Tilawa on its important 83rd Anniversary. I cannot comment on the subject of correspondence to the Government of Japan regarding S.S. Tilawa, which is a private and reserved matter.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to mark the 83rd anniversary of the sinking of the SS Tilawa.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The sinking of the S.S. Tilawa is a tragedy that has touched the lives of so many. Alongside the Prime Minister, I reiterate my heartfelt condolences to all the victims and families affected. On the 80th Anniversary of VEVJ Day this year, the UK will honour the lives lost in all conflicts, including those from the S.S. Tilawa on its important 83rd Anniversary. I cannot comment on the subject of correspondence to the Government of Japan regarding S.S. Tilawa, which is a private and reserved matter.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children with (a) SEND and (b) mental health needs to return to school after a period of absence.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

​​School absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and young people. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, limiting their opportunity to succeed.

The department recognises that some pupils, such as pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or mental health problems, may face additional challenges to attendance. We expect schools to have the same attendance ambitions for these pupils as they do for all pupils, and to put support in place where required to facilitate their attendance.

To support children and young people to attend school, the department has introduced statutory guidance which sets clear expectations for schools, trusts and local authorities. The guidance is clear that schools and local authorities should take a sensitive, ‘support-first’ approach to enabling attendance, working with the child and their family to remove any barriers to attendance. For pupils with SEND or mental health needs this may include:

• Considering informal reasonable adjustments to policies and practices.
• Making formal reasonable adjustments under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 where a pupil has a disability.
• Where applicable, ensuring the provision outlined in a pupil’s education, health and care plan is accessed.

After a period of absence, schools may also consider phased returns if needed, as well as offering support to catch up on missed learning.

This government is also committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. As of April 2024, NHS-funded Mental Health Support Teams covered 44% of pupils and learners in schools and further education in England and are expected to cover at least 50% by April 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is (a) for a neurodevelopmental assessment, (b) to access CAMHS services and (c) for speech and language therapy services for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) children in Kirklees.

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

The data is not held centrally in the format requested, but some relevant information covering waiting times for these services for all children and young people is available. Neurodevelopmental assessments can include, but are not limited to, assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Autism Waiting Time Statistics published by NHS England show that there was a total of 5,385 patients aged zero to 17 years old with an open suspected autism referral in December 2024, the latest available data. The median waiting time of patients in this ICB with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 257 days in December 2024 for those aged under 10 years old, and was 239 days for those aged 10 to 17 years old. Caution should be used when interpreting these statistics since they are experimental rather than official statistics.

In respect of ADHD, there is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis for ADHD nationally or for individual organisations or geographies in England.

The latest available data for the NHS West Yorkshire ICB shows that in the period of November 2024 to January 2025, the median waiting time between referral and first contact for children and young people, those aged under 18 years old, supported through National Health Service funded mental health services, was 14 days. This data is published in the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, which is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-services-monthly-statistics

For speech and language therapy services in Kirklees, following an initial triage or screening, it can take between seven and 32 weeks for a full assessment.

Found: present: Jim McMahon, in the Chair Mark Ferguson Kevin Hollinrake Gen Kitchen Tessa Munt Harpreet Uppal

Found: Navendu Mishra MP Deputy Prime Minister, and Housing, Communities and Local Government Harpreet Uppal