Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in Newbury constituency are waiting for an ADHD assessment; what the average waiting time is for ADHD assessments in Newbury constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for assessment and diagnosis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.
For the first time, NHS England published management information on ADHD waits at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan. NHSE England has also released technical guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) to improve recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waits data and publishing more localised data in future. NHS England has also captured examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services and is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.
NHS England established an ADHD taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the NHS, education, charity and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing services and support. An interim report was published on 20 June 2025, with the final report expected later this year, and we will carefully consider its recommendations.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to improve internet access in rural areas of Newbury constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, 99% of premises in the Newbury constituency can already access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps), and 90% can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection.
To improve this further, Openreach is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across West Berkshire. Approximately 1,150 homes and businesses in the Newbury constituency are currently set to benefit from this contract, with the vast majority located in rural areas. Additionally, premises in the constituency are expected to be connected by suppliers’ commercial rollout plans.
Ofcom also reports that 96% of rural areas in the Newbury constituency have 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, while 5G is available outside 72% of rural premises from at least one operator. Our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural communities, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030 and we will work closely with mobile network operators who are delivering this.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to lower the threshold for the number of poultry places permitted on a farm before an environmental permit is required.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has no current plans to lower this threshold.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department will make an announcement on the future funding arrangements for Stewardship schemes that were designed to replace the loss of direct payments.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. All our Environmental Land Management schemes (Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, and Landscape Recovery) will continue, and we will continue to evolve and improve them in an orderly way to make them work for farmers and nature.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the new iteration of the Stewardship scheme will be open to all farmers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament. All our Environmental Land Management schemes (Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier, and Landscape Recovery) will continue, and we will continue to evolve and improve them in an orderly way to make them work for farmers and nature.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new housing developments have sufficient grid capacity to meet net zero requirements.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To ensure there is sufficient grid capacity to meet net zero, the government is delivering a major expansion of electricity networks. We are working with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator to speed up delivery of new network infrastructure through reforms to planning, support for communities and strategic network design.
We are also working with Ofgem to ensure its price control framework supports proactive investment in the local distribution network. This will be informed by Regional Energy Strategic Plans, which will consider local requirements including ensuring timely reinforcement of networks for new housing developments.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to support local bus routes in rural areas in (a) Newbury constituency and (b) other areas.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering the better, more reliable bus services that passengers deserve throughout the country, including in rural areas. The government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of our ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders. The Bill includes a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the government allocated £955 million to support and improve bus services in 2025/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, this can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. West Berkshire Council was allocated £1.6 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, including expanding services and improving reliability.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the government confirmed additional funding per year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the mental health support needs of kinship carers and the children in their care; and what steps she is taking to improve their access to appropriate services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All children, including those in kinship care, are entitled to access universal and targeted mental health services, such as NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and mental health support teams in schools. Children in kinship care who were previously looked-after and are now subject to special guardianship or child arrangement orders may also be eligible for therapeutic support through the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which provides funding for essential services such as counselling, play therapy, and trauma support.
In October 2024, updated statutory guidance was published to clarify local authorities’ responsibilities in supporting kinship families, including access to appropriate services to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. Additional steps to support the wellbeing of kinship carers nationally include expanding peer support groups and delivering training for kinship carers.
The department continues to monitor feedback from those with direct experience to inform its approach to supporting kinship families.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will take steps with local authorities to end the use of (a) hotels, (b) bed and breakfasts and (c) hostels for homeless (i) single adults and (ii) families.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. The Government is looking at the issue carefully and is developing a new cross-Government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness.
We have already taken the first steps to getting back on track to ending homelessness, including making a £1 billion investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year, a £233 million increase on the previous year and the largest-ever cash boost in homelessness prevention services. The 2025 Spending Review protected this level of investment until 2028/29 and provided £100 million additional funding, including from the Transformation Fund, to fund increased homelessness prevention activity.
Where homelessness cannot be prevented, any temporary accommodation provided must be suitable for the needs of the household. The Homelessness Code of Guidance for local authorities sets out the factors to be taken into account when determining the suitability of accommodation.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that young people living in supported accommodation are not financially disadvantaged when increasing their working hours.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for young people living in supported and temporary accommodation, including the different income tapers used by each benefit.
We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. As funding is required to allow a change, any future decisions will take account of the current fiscal context.
It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.