Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish figures on the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children arriving in Kent each month since January 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office publishes data on the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. This data is published on a quarterly basis and is not broken down by location. As such, figures on the number of UASC arriving specifically in Kent each month are not routinely published.
Published data does show:
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
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 to assess the effectiveness of NHS health checks to ensure a) they are targeted at the right patients and b) checking for the correct conditions.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The NHS Health Check is designed to assess the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and refer people to further support through behavioural interventions, for example weight management, clinical assessment, and treatment where appropriate.
Programme guidance encourages commissioners and their providers to adopt a proportionate universalist approach, to ensure that checks are delivered in a way that prioritises resources and effort towards engaging people at higher risk of CVD.
A 2021 review found that the NHS Health Check programme had largely achieved its aims, reaching two in five eligible people, including those at higher risk of CVD, and delivering better outcomes for attendees.
In response to the review recommendations, the Department has prioritised improving access to and uptake of the programme through the ongoing development of the NHS Health Check Online and the piloting of CVD checks in workplace settings during 2025.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
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 to raise awareness of the link between obesity, kidney disease and heart disease amongst health care professionals and the public.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government recognises the importance of raising awareness about the interconnectedness of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and kidney disease amongst healthcare professionals and the public.
To tackle unwarranted variation, support consistent, high-quality care across the cardiovascular disease pathway, and to support the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) shortly. In developing the CVD MSF, we are reviewing evidence and engaging stakeholders on a range of pathway areas and risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
The NHS Health Check programme, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme, aims to detect people at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease in those aged between 40 and 74 years old. The programme plays a key role in raising awareness and assessing the top risk factors associated with these conditions and refers people for further support through behavioural interventions, for example weight management, clinical assessment, and treatment where appropriate.
The NHS Health Check Best Practice Guidance assists healthcare professionals to understand, identify, and manage cardiovascular disease risk factors alongside National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, and how to communicate meaningful advice to patients following their health check.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the upcoming Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework will consider the impact of obesity and kidney disease on cardiovascular disease.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government recognises the importance of raising awareness about the interconnectedness of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and kidney disease amongst healthcare professionals and the public.
To tackle unwarranted variation, support consistent, high-quality care across the cardiovascular disease pathway, and to support the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) shortly. In developing the CVD MSF, we are reviewing evidence and engaging stakeholders on a range of pathway areas and risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
The NHS Health Check programme, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease prevention programme, aims to detect people at risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease in those aged between 40 and 74 years old. The programme plays a key role in raising awareness and assessing the top risk factors associated with these conditions and refers people for further support through behavioural interventions, for example weight management, clinical assessment, and treatment where appropriate.
The NHS Health Check Best Practice Guidance assists healthcare professionals to understand, identify, and manage cardiovascular disease risk factors alongside National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, and how to communicate meaningful advice to patients following their health check.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure that children and young people are able to contribute their views to the consultation on updating the School Food Standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
We know that children and young people’s own experiences are key to shaping effective school food standards. To support this, we have been engaging with children and young people to understand what they eat at school, what they enjoy, and what they would like to see improved. We are working with youth organisations, such as the Food Foundation’s Young Food Ambassadors, to ensure that the consultation responses they submit capture the views of children and young people, helping us build a rounded picture of what matters to children in their day-to-day school life.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timetable is for the publication of a government consultation regarding the health reporting requirements and targets for large businesses under the healthy food standard policy announced as part of the 10-year health plan for England.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to introducing mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector by the end of this Parliament. The plan also committed to introducing new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.
We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our proposals.
Specific implementation dates will be determined following consultation, and the intention is that the policy will be finalised and legislation laid so that reporting comes into force before the end of this Parliament, no later than 2029.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to announce a timeline for the implementation of the healthy food standard policy announced as part of the 10-year health plan for England.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to introducing mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector by the end of this Parliament. The plan also committed to introducing new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.
We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our proposals.
Specific implementation dates will be determined following consultation, and the intention is that the policy will be finalised and legislation laid so that reporting comes into force before the end of this Parliament, no later than 2029.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department plans to provide to support the improvement of playground facilities in England.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
To support the improvement of playgrounds, the Government is providing the £18 million playgrounds fund. This fund is a targeted programme to improve children’s access to safe, inclusive, high‑quality local play spaces in communities where it has fallen furthest behind. £18 million over two years will support local authorities to buy new or refurbish up to 200 playgrounds across England, prioritising areas with high child deprivation and poor access to safe, local play space.
While the playgrounds fund is a dedicated pot, other sources of funding could be used for this purpose. This includes local authorities being able to draw from the most recent local government financial settlement, which is our most significant step yet to make English local government more sustainable. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities. We are delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade.
The Government’s Pride in Place Programme will also provide up to £5.8 billion over ten years to support 284 neighbourhoods identified as most in need. Each neighbourhood under the programme will be given up to £20 million of flexible funding and support. In each place, the local neighbourhood board will work with the community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in local regeneration projects such as parks and playgrounds where these reflect local priorities.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to respond to the letter from Target Ovarian Cancer and 33 hon. Members of 18 November 2025.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
We have received and since responded to the Hon. Member’s correspondence.
Asked by: Jim Dickson (Labour - Dartford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to support the delivery of cardiovascular prevention services within neighbourhood health settings.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
To accelerate progress on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next ten years, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) this spring. This will support consistent, high quality, and equitable prevention, diagnosis, and care across the cardiovascular pathway, including in neighbourhood health settings where care is planned and delivered around shared local populations.
Alongside the CVD MSF, as announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, Prevention Accelerators will focus on high-impact cardiovascular disease and diabetes interventions, and their impact on population health and demand for National Health Services, including elective and general practice appointments.
Beyond these initiatives, the Government and NHS England have also invested heavily in hypertension case-finding for those over 40 years old in community pharmacies. As part of the service, pharmacies have delivered nearly 4.2 million blood pressure and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring checks since October 2021.