Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are plans to roll out Green Social Prescribing on the NHS across (a) Lancashire and (b) England.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Green social prescribing is commissioned locally, utilising community assets often in the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector. Primary care networks across England, including in Lancashire, provide access to social prescribing services.
The Department does not collate data on green social prescribing centrally.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of additional deaths (a) related to and (b) caused by extreme weather temperatures; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce that number.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon Member to the report published by the UK Health Security Agency on excess deaths linked to the heatwaves in May and June, available at the link below, and to the accompanying response from my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care:
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has for the restoration of wetlands, peatlands, floodplains and salt marshes as a flood defence mechanism.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has committed to investing £300 million in standalone natural flood management (NFM) schemes between now and 2036. Eligible schemes can include floodplain wetland and floodplain restoration and management, retaining water within peatland habitats, and saltmarsh management.
By 2030, we will also invest £85 million to restore and manage peatlands. Peatland restoration improves flood resilience by slowing water leaving headwater catchments and significantly reducing peak flows through measures such as improving surface roughness, grip and gulley blocking.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to ensure a safe and effective transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies; and what financial assistance and incentives will be provided to homeowners, private and social housing providers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are delivering on our ambitious plan to move our electricity system to clean power that we control – breaking our dependence on imported fossil fuels and protecting everyone from future price spikes. The Prime Minister and the Government is committed to delivering clean power because it gives us energy security, protects households and businesses from global price shocks, helps tackle the climate crisis and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs across Britain.
The Warm Homes Plan is the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history and includes an offer of support to every type of household. Those on low-incomes can access fully-funded grant support through the Warm Homes: Local Grant, delivered through local authorities, and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, delivered through social housing providers.
Universal grant support of up to £9,000 is available for heat pump installations through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and the Warm Homes Plan commits to a brand new scheme offering low interest, government-backed consumer loans backed with £2 billion of public funding. Renters will be supported by our plans to raise minimum energy efficiency standards on landlords for properties they rent out, which will help lift thousands of families out of fuel poverty.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 weather changes on food availability, flooding and fires; and what measures her Department will take to ensure that the risks associated with extreme weather changes will be mitigated.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government assesses climate risks through the Climate Change Risk Assessment process. Climate change is expected to result in warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers, and more frequent and intense weather patterns.
Our diverse and resilient food system, supported by domestic production and international trade, has historically responded well to localised production shocks. There is currently no indication that UK food security is at risk.
The Government is investing £10.5 billion in flood resilience between 2024 and 2036 to construct new flood and coastal erosion schemes and repair existing defences. Defra is strengthening its resource on wildfire and supporting MHCLG as the lead government department for wildfire through a cross-government programme of work covering risk assessment, prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. The Government is strengthening climate adaptation to ensure robust plans are in place to be resilient to a minimum of 2 degrees of global warming by 2050.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle food insecurity in relation to reducing food waste, improving agricultural food production and increasing climate resilience.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is taking action to support farmers that are facing pressure from this summer’s exceptionally dry conditions. This includes temporary adjustments to Environmental Land Management (ELM) agreements, so farmers affected by drought can continue to receive payments and take practical steps to protect livestock, crops and land; an increase in funding for Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026 Window 2; and action and funding to support building reservoirs.
Defra is also building greater long-term resilience to climate shocks, in line with the Farming Roadmap’s commitments.
In addition, Defra funded allocated £13.5 million through its farm surplus fund to help redistribution charities work with farmers in England to ensure more surplus fresh produce gets to those who need it most.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of data from ADR UK on multiple temporary exclusions of pupils and the criminal justice system, published in April 2026.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
We recognise the disproportionate impact repeated, preventable exclusion can have on pupils’ education and life chances. The findings published by ADR UK in April 2026 underline the importance of tackling repeat suspensions and ensuring vulnerable pupils receive the support they need to remain engaged in education.
To reduce lost learning, improve behaviour and strengthen inclusion, the Every Child Achieving and Thriving Schools White Paper, published February 2026, committed to reforming the exclusion system. We will consult on a new national framework for internal suspension, the introduction of Reintegration Support Partnerships and a requirement for schools to set schoolwork during the first five days of exclusion.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the recent heatwave on the punctuality of trains across the national rail network; and what steps she has taken to ensure passengers receive timely delay compensation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail uses a combination of proactive monitoring and investment in smart technologies to protect critical infrastructure and keep the railway running during periods of hot weather.
For safety reasons, during periods of extreme weather, trains operate at reduced speeds and to amended timetables, meaning journeys will take longer and be at risk of potential delays, cancellations, and last-minute alterations. Departmental officials, Network Rail and the wider rail industry worked together to assess and manage the impacts of the extreme heat and, as a result of the rail industry’s preparedness, approximately 82 per cent of planned services ran between 24-26 June.
Passengers who hold a valid ticket and are delayed because of disruption are entitled to claim Delay Repay from their train operator up to 28 days after their journey. Train operators are responsible for ensuring that information on disruption and compensation is communicated clearly and in a timely manner.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether alignment of EU and UK clean technology standards are a subject of discussion of the EU-UK Reset negotiations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The UK and EU are working together to support the development of clean energy technologies; the Electricity Agreement will cover the promotion of renewables, and the May 2025 Common Understanding welcomed continued technical and regulatory exchanges on new energy technologies.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to ensure that the planned social media ban for under-16s will have robust blocks in place to avoid circumvention.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the new social media restrictions are effective in practice and deliver meaningful protections for children. Through the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation, the government sought views and evidence on circumvention and the measures that could be used to address it.
The Government is carefully considering the consultation responses and will set out its approach to addressing circumvention in its full response shortly.