Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of NHS menopause services in supporting women whose symptoms affect their ability to remain in work; if she will work with integrated care boards to ensure access to specialist menopause expertise in neighbourhood health services; and whether she plans to provide ringfenced funding for menopause care as a population health priority.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 11 September in response to Question 26409. The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy recognises the impact of menopause on women’s health, wellbeing, work, and quality of life.
The Government has made no assessment of the adequacy of National Health Service menopause services in supporting women whose symptoms affect their ability to remain in work, but the Hon. Member can find information about the work of the Government’s Women’s Employment Ambassador at the following link:
The Government has no plans to provide ringfenced funding for menopause care.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of offering updated dietary guidance to schools, hospitals and other public institutions, and ceasing to use the Eatwell Plate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 23 June in response to Question 9942.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the planned launch date for the single point of search tool that will allow all pet microchip databases to be searched.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Association of Microchip Database Operators has been working closely with commercial providers to develop a single point of search platform which is expected to go live this autumn.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to establish a compensation scheme for women harmed by pelvic mesh and sodium valproate; and if she will meet the Patient Safety Commissioner to discuss redress for affected patients.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 14 July to Question 16121.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of modernising the Forestry Act 1967 to support nature recovery and ecological targets.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no immediate plans to make changes to the Forestry Act 1967. We will continue to review whether making changes to the Act could help to meet our wider objectives. Any changes to the Act would require primary legislation. Government already has a substantial suite of statutory duties and policy commitments driving nature recovery, including legally binding targets under the Environment Act 2021.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s capacity to undertake the electoral reviews required as a consequence of local government reorganisation; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the Local Government Boundary Commission for England has sufficient resources to (a) undertake and (b) complete full electoral reviews of those authorities in time for the subsequent unitary elections in 2032.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England regarding the timetable for conducting electoral reviews of the proposed North Warwickshire and South Warwickshire unitary authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extreme heat and consecutive drought on tree planting and established woodland.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Forest Research (FR) has assessed that extreme heat and drought can reduce tree growth and increase tree mortality. Consecutive droughts may have cumulative impacts. Tree mortality will be recorded through the field work associated with FR’s National Forest Inventory; however, it will be challenging to attribute mortality to weather conditions in a particular year.
Newly planted trees are particularly vulnerable during establishment, while established woodland may become more susceptible to pests, diseases, wildfire and windthrow. FR continues to assess these risks and promote adaptation measures, including resilient species selection and greater species diversity.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of spatial targeting of tree planting in urban areas to help reduce social inequalities.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Trees Programme includes a number of schemes that support urban tree planting. Lower urban tree cover often correlates with higher socioeconomic deprivation. The Government supports urban tree planting through the Tree Council and England’s Community Forests. Both plant trees in and around urban areas to improve wellbeing, tackle climate change and create places for nature. The Community Forests planted over 1,800 Hectares in 2025/26.
In line with development of spatial targeting, informed by the Land Use Framework, we are exploring new datasets and tools to better target new trees and woodlands, including future support for urban trees, and how to prioritise areas of deprivation.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the extent to which non-traditional educational pathways affect access to (a) academic careers and (b) leadership positions within higher education institutions.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.
Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.
The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.