Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has provided to NHS dentists on monitoring patients on orthodontic waiting lists to ensure that their (a) oral health and (b) treatment priority status are kept under review.

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

Data on the average waiting times for National Health Service orthodontic treatment is not held centrally.

Integrated care board (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry and orthodontic services, to meet the needs of the local population.

To support ICBs in their duties, NHS England has published several documents, including clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity, to ensure that resources invested by the NHS in specialist care are used in the most effective way and provide the best possible quality and quantity of care for patients. The clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-standards-for-dental-specialties-orthodontics/

The Government invests approximately £3 billion in primary care dentistry every year. Dental budgets are ringfenced and NHS England reserves the right to direct that any unused resources are used to improve dental access. Exceptionally, the unspent allocation may be returned to NHS England.

The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate she has made of average waiting times for NHS orthodontic treatment for children and young people; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times.

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

Data on the average waiting times for National Health Service orthodontic treatment is not held centrally.

Integrated care board (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry and orthodontic services, to meet the needs of the local population.

To support ICBs in their duties, NHS England has published several documents, including clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity, to ensure that resources invested by the NHS in specialist care are used in the most effective way and provide the best possible quality and quantity of care for patients. The clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-standards-for-dental-specialties-orthodontics/

The Government invests approximately £3 billion in primary care dentistry every year. Dental budgets are ringfenced and NHS England reserves the right to direct that any unused resources are used to improve dental access. Exceptionally, the unspent allocation may be returned to NHS England.

The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how her Department plans to support integrated care boards to meet demand for NHS orthodontic services within existing budgets before April 2026.

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

Data on the average waiting times for National Health Service orthodontic treatment is not held centrally.

Integrated care board (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry and orthodontic services, to meet the needs of the local population.

To support ICBs in their duties, NHS England has published several documents, including clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity, to ensure that resources invested by the NHS in specialist care are used in the most effective way and provide the best possible quality and quantity of care for patients. The clinical policy to support the commissioning of orthodontic activity is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/clinical-standards-for-dental-specialties-orthodontics/

The Government invests approximately £3 billion in primary care dentistry every year. Dental budgets are ringfenced and NHS England reserves the right to direct that any unused resources are used to improve dental access. Exceptionally, the unspent allocation may be returned to NHS England.

The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) children and (b) adults who are accessing mental health support through artificial intelligence platforms after being unable to access statutory mental health services.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

No such assessment has been made. We recognise that people are facing unacceptably long waiting times to access mental health support. This is why we are transforming the current mental health system so that people can access the right support at the right time in the right place.

Building on the 10-Year Health Plan, the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework, published on 24 October 2025, sets targets for integrated care boards in 2026/27 to improve the quality of and access to mental health services. This includes expanding NHS Talking Therapies and expanding the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges.

This builds on the significant progress we’ve made since July 2024 to hire almost 7,000 extra mental health workers. And by spring next year, over 900,000 children and young people will have access to a Mental Health Support team in schools and colleagues.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of gender bias in policing responses to allegations of domestic abuse or related offences; and what steps she is taking to ensure parity of treatment for all parties under investigation.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The government recognises the devastating impact that domestic abuse can have for all victims, of any gender.

Domestic abuse is serious, and we expect police to take all allegations seriously from the point of disclosure. Every victim should be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution should be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

We are investing £13.1 million in a new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection, which will transform the way police respond to domestic abuse through strengthened training, support to forces and evidence-based practice.

We are committed to ensuring policing have the right skills and training to respond appropriately to all victims of domestic abuse, and we are working closely with the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to deliver this.

The government is absolutely committed to tackling domestic abuse in all its forms and achieving the best possible outcome for all victims.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of waiting times at the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Chamber) on claimants’ financial wellbeing.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.

The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance in the Social Entitlement Chamber.

The Ministry of Justice has not conducted assessments of the impact of tribunal waiting times on claimants but we recognise the potential negative impacts and uncertainty for individuals waiting for their appeal to be resolved.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for hearings at the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Chamber).

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.

The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance in the Social Entitlement Chamber.

The Ministry of Justice has not conducted assessments of the impact of tribunal waiting times on claimants but we recognise the potential negative impacts and uncertainty for individuals waiting for their appeal to be resolved.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review housing allocation guidance to ensure that care leavers’ (a) welfare and (b) community ties are taken into account when determining (i) local connection and (ii) housing priority.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities have discretion to manage their housing registers (waiting lists) and are free to develop solutions that make best use of their social housing stock.

Many local authorities have adopted a residency or local connection test for social housing which requires people to have a well-established local association or to have lived in the area for a certain period before they can put their name on the housing waiting list. Statutory guidance also makes clear that local authorities are expected to take proper account of special circumstances, by making provision for appropriate exceptions.

We recognise that not all care leavers wish to settle in areas that they have a local connection to. As a result, we laid regulations to exempt care leavers under 25 from local connection or residency tests in order to access social housing. These regulations came into force on 10 July 2025.

Statutory guidance was also updated to strongly encourage local authorities to give the same level of priority to those care leavers who have been placed in their authority area and wish to stay, as their own care leavers whom they have a duty to provide support and assistance up to age 25. Local authorities should also consider exempting care leavers more broadly to recognise that a lack of family stability and their experiences whilst in or leaving care might mean that some care leavers may not have a tangible connection to an area.

The guidance on social housing allocations, which the government keeps under review, can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that care leavers are able to remain in areas they have (a) links to and (b) family connections in.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities have discretion to manage their housing registers (waiting lists) and are free to develop solutions that make best use of their social housing stock.

Many local authorities have adopted a residency or local connection test for social housing which requires people to have a well-established local association or to have lived in the area for a certain period before they can put their name on the housing waiting list. Statutory guidance also makes clear that local authorities are expected to take proper account of special circumstances, by making provision for appropriate exceptions.

We recognise that not all care leavers wish to settle in areas that they have a local connection to. As a result, we laid regulations to exempt care leavers under 25 from local connection or residency tests in order to access social housing. These regulations came into force on 10 July 2025.

Statutory guidance was also updated to strongly encourage local authorities to give the same level of priority to those care leavers who have been placed in their authority area and wish to stay, as their own care leavers whom they have a duty to provide support and assistance up to age 25. Local authorities should also consider exempting care leavers more broadly to recognise that a lack of family stability and their experiences whilst in or leaving care might mean that some care leavers may not have a tangible connection to an area.

The guidance on social housing allocations, which the government keeps under review, can be found on gov.uk here.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) residents where housing developments cannot be adopted because developers have gone into liquidation.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 81305 on 24 October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for the adoption of (a) highways and (b) drainage infrastructure on completed housing developments.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 81305 on 24 October 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support provided to care leavers transitioning to independent living (a) in general and (b) housed outside their home local authority.

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

The move to independence is a critical milestone in any young person’s life. Care leavers should expect the same level of care and support that others would expect from a parent.

The local authority responsible for their care should make sure they have the skills, confidence, support and opportunities to thrive. This includes offering them more than one chance as they grapple with the responsibilities of adulthood.

Ofsted is responsible for assessing the adequacy of support for care leavers in each local authority and, as part of its inspection of local authority children’s services, has a specific remit to set out the key strengths and areas for improvement on the experiences and progress of care leavers.

We recognise the additional challenges faced by young people who are placed into care outside their home local authority area. This can leave them with few local connections to either the area they are currently living in, or the area they are expected to return to, and has restricted their access to social housing upon leaving care. We have introduced an exemption to address this so that, as of July 2025, the local area connection test no longer applies to care leavers.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to support the development of new hydroelectric projects in the North West.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Officials continue to engage with the British Hydropower Association regarding the future role of the UK’s remaining small-scale hydropower resource, estimated to be a maximum technical potential of around 1.5GW, in supporting the UK energy system. This includes consideration of opportunities in regions such as the North West.

Furthermore, the Smart Export Guarantee, which came into force on 1 January 2020, requires major electricity suppliers to offer a tariff for electricity exported by small low-carbon generators, including small-scale hydro.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 to protect internet users from (a) suicide and (b) self-harm content on artificial intelligence platforms.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Every death by suicide is a tragedy, and the government is deeply concerned about the role that online content can play in facilitating suicide and self-harm. This government is committed to keeping people safe online. For the first time, platforms now have a legal duty to ensure that they are protecting users from illegal content and, in particular, safeguarding children from harmful content. But we have gone further still. We have made self-harm and cyber-flashing, and now strangulation, priority offences. We will go further still by backing Ofcom to make sure that enforcement is robust too.

Some chatbots, including live search and user-to-user engagement, are in scope of the Online Safety Act 2023, and we want to ensure that enforcement against them, where relevant, is robust. The Secretary of State has commissioned work to make sure that, if there are any gaps in the legislation, they will be looked at fully and robust action will be taken too.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to update guidance for police forces on the investigation of (a) false and (b) malicious allegations as potential criminal offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 sets out that wasting police time is a criminal offence, which includes by knowingly making a false report.

Furthermore, the Common Law offence of perverting the course of justice could also be considered by police and the Crown Prosecution Service when investigating and making a decision on whether an offence has been committed.

The Home Office has no plans to amend or update any existing guidance in use by police in relation to these matters.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to hold discussions with (a) fireworks industry stakeholders, such as Fireworks Impact Coalition, and (b) animal welfare focused charities on the adequacy of fireworks legislation.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues.

The insights from these discussions, as well as other evidence gathered on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people will guide future action. They also helped to inform the public safety campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season.

The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review the adequacy of fireworks legislation to determine whether it is fit for purpose and protects animals and vulnerable people.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues.

The insights from these discussions, as well as other evidence gathered on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people will guide future action. They also helped to inform the public safety campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season.

The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing compensation schemes for small businesses affected by prolonged or disruptive roadworks.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government remains committed to supporting small businesses across the country and helping them thrive. While we recognise the importance of minimising disruption, essential works do need to take place from time to time, and many businesses will ultimately benefit from the improvements these works deliver. Responsibility for road works on local roads rests with the relevant local highway authority. Decisions on whether to offer compensation to affected traders are entirely a matter for the local council. In some cases, when street works are carried out by gas or water companies, small businesses may be able to claim compensation for losses incurred. Business owners should contact the utility company directly in such circumstances. There are currently no legislative provisions requiring electricity or telecoms companies to provide compensation for works, and the Department for Transport has no plans to change the existing compensation arrangements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of feeder schools taking priority in school admissions on the average distance that pupils have to travel to school.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

It is for admission authorities to set the oversubscription criteria which are most suitable for their schools according to their local circumstances. The School Admissions Code allows admission authorities to give priority within their oversubscription criteria to pupils attending a named feeder school. The selection of a feeder school or schools as an oversubscription criterion must be transparent and made on reasonable grounds.

Admission authorities must consult on any change to their admissions arrangements, including introducing a new feeder school, to ensure that any local impacts are considered. Once set, anyone who believes a school's admission arrangements are unfair or unlawful can object to the Independent Schools Adjudicator.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any assessment has been made of the potential impact of allowing academy trusts to prioritise feeder schools within their own trust in their admissions policy on the average distance that children have to travel to school.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The School Admissions Code permits a trust naming another school in the trust as a feeder school. As with any selection of a feeder school, the trust must ensure that the named school is chosen on reasonable grounds, and the arrangements must be lawful and fair according to local circumstances.

Admission authorities must consult on any change to their admissions arrangements. Once set, anyone who believes a school's admission arrangements are unfair or unlawful can object to the independent schools adjudicator.

In its 2015/16 annual report, the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) noted an increasing trend for trusts to name all trust primaries as feeders for a secondary school, for reasons including promoting continuity and reflecting trust-wide links.

The report noted some objections to feeder school arrangements were upheld as unfair where distant feeders were prioritised over local children, resulting in longer journeys. However, where priority for distant feeders came after priority for local children, this was unlikely to be found unfair.

President Trump’s 20-point peace plan

Tackling van and tool theft

Local government and social care

Fireworks anti-social behaviour and regulation