Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress she has made on the preparation of the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

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

The Department’s officials are scoping out options for the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, and the Department will say more on this in due course. The Department will consult stakeholders before the publication of the Strategy, as required by the 2015 Infrastructure Act, and will also report to Parliament later this year on the delivery of the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to develop programmes promoting active lifestyles for children and young people as recommended in the article by Sarah MacQuarrie and Alexandra Hennessey entitled Transforming children and young people’s futures through PE, school sport, and physical activity, published on 12 February 2025.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government values physical education (PE) and sport as a way to improve not only the health, but the wellbeing and lives of all children and young people. Existing government-funded programmes look to address this with the primary PE and sport premium and the School Games Organisers.

To address specific barriers, we have recently launched an open procurement for a new grant programme for up to 3 financial years (from April 2025 to March 2028 at up to £300,000 per year) to develop and deliver a programme that improves and increases PE, school sport and physical activity opportunities for pupils with SEND. The inclusive education hub, funded by the department through the inclusion 2024 programme is an online platform of bespoke resources to help schools make PE and sport more inclusive.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations within the article entitled Transforming children and young people’s futures through PE, school sport, and physical activity, published by the University of Manchester on 12 February 2025.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government values physical education (PE) and sport as a way to improve not only the health, but the wellbeing and lives of all children and young people. Existing government-funded programmes look to address this with the primary PE and sport premium and the School Games Organisers.

To address specific barriers, we have recently launched an open procurement for a new grant programme for up to 3 financial years (from April 2025 to March 2028 at up to £300,000 per year) to develop and deliver a programme that improves and increases PE, school sport and physical activity opportunities for pupils with SEND. The inclusive education hub, funded by the department through the inclusion 2024 programme is an online platform of bespoke resources to help schools make PE and sport more inclusive.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report by National Infrastructure Commission entitled Electricity distribution networks: creating capacity for the future, published on 21 February 2025.

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

The government welcomes the overall thrust of the National Infrastructure Commission’s study and its focus on supporting strategic investment in the distribution network. We are reviewing the detail of the study with our key delivery partners and will publish a response to the individual recommendations this spring. This will include how current policy work is addressing the recommendations and how we will build on this in the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 7 May 2024 to 24262, whether the Innovative Devices Access Pathway pilot will conclude in March 2025; and what his planned timetable is for assessing the findings of the pilot.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) pilot will conclude in March 2025. We are continuing to seek feedback from the pilot, which will capture key insights and learnings to help inform the feasibility and development of a future pathway. This will inform a wider evaluation of IDAP. We will complete this evaluation soon after the conclusion of the pilot and intend to publish a report in spring.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the public health risks associated with high levels of nitrogen oxide pollution from diesel vehicles.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Despite significant progress, air pollution remains a significant environmental threat to human health. Leading our Health Mission, the Department of Health and Social Care is working across Government, including with the Department for Transport, to promote a reduction in the health harms of air pollution.

Tackling the public health risks associated with air pollution involves reducing concentrations of pollutants where people live, work and play. Local authorities have an important role in identifying and implementing the local measures needed to achieve legal air quality limits and clean up the air we breathe. The NO2 programme has provided £575 million to support local authorities to address nitrogen dioxide pollution and achieve compliance with legal limits in the shortest possible time, supporting measures such as Clean Air Zones, traffic management improvements and vehicle upgrade schemes, and recently agreeing Greater Manchester’s £86 million Clean Air Plan.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 32531 on Active Travel: Finance, how much funding her Department allocated for active travel by (a) (i) capital and (ii) revenue funding and (b) funding for local authorities, (c) funding for non-governmental organisations and (d) funding for Active Travel England's operational costs in each financial year between 2020-21 and 2023-24.

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

The below table sets out capital and revenue funding allocations to (a) local authorities (LA) and (b) non-government organisations (NGO), alongside funding for Active Travel England’s (ATE) operating costs from financial year 20/21 to 23/24. Final payments may differ from funding allocations.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to publish the guidance entitled Manual For Streets 3.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department is working to bring together and update the Manual for Streets and Manual for Streets 2 to ensure the advice within them is still relevant and enables those designing streets to do so in a way that contributes to sustainable, healthy and active communities. A date for publication has not been set.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending Early Intervention in Psychosis services to include people with bipolar who do not experience psychosis.

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

Early Intervention in Psychosis services provide evidence-based, specialist interventions, and treatment for individuals presenting with psychosis. These services recognise that bipolar disorder diagnoses can be uncertain and are therefore available to individuals irrespective of their diagnosis, including individuals experiencing bipolar 1 and bipolar 2.

The aim is for individuals who experience psychosis as part of a manic episode to be seen by an early intervention in psychosis service within two weeks of referral. If an individual experiences mood disturbance over time, bipolar disorder may be identified and treated.

Early Intervention in Psychosis services are not affective disorder services. It would therefore not be appropriate to extend services to individuals who are not experiencing psychosis. Individuals with bipolar 2 who do not experience mania or psychosis will receive support and treatment from primary care and community mental health teams as appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help establish specialist care pathways for people with bipolar to (a) improve treatment and (b) reduce the levels of misdiagnosis

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

We recognise that there can often be a long time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder because of under-reporting, the episodic nature of the condition, and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in individuals.

We are committed to increasing access to community mental health services for people with severe mental illness, including those with bipolar disorder. The community mental health framework, developed by NHS England, sets out the National Health Service’s vision for transforming community mental health services. This includes ensuring that services are needs led and that individuals do not require a specific diagnosis or care pathway to access care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the average time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder in line with early intervention targets for other conditions

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

We recognise that there can often be a long time taken to diagnose bipolar disorder because of under-reporting, the episodic nature of the condition, and the prevalence of comorbid conditions in individuals.

We are committed to increasing access to community mental health services for people with severe mental illness, including those with bipolar disorder. The community mental health framework, developed by NHS England, sets out the National Health Service’s vision for transforming community mental health services. This includes ensuring that services are needs led and that individuals do not require a specific diagnosis or care pathway to access care.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of children in England with undiagnosed dyslexia; and what steps she is taking to help reduce that number.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40829.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of early dyslexia screening on literacy outcomes in primary school children.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40829.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that teachers are adequately trained on identifying dyslexia in the early years of primary education.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40829.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a right to roam for waterways.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors including blue spaces for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. This is why we have set out our ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, including onto unregulated inland waterways, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders to reduce barriers preventing people from accessing green and blue spaces.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support she is providing to maintain the roles of (a) parish and town clerks and (b) responsible financial officers on local councils.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Town and parish council clerks and responsible financial officers do vital work which enables councils to represent their communities. The department supports town and parish council officers by establishing clear frameworks for councillor standards and council finances, which allow them to excel in their roles. To stay abreast of evolving requirements of these roles and provide support, the department collaborates closely with the Society for Local Council Clerks and the National Association of Local Councils.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish rates of sectioning under the Mental Health Act 1983 by diagnosis of (a) bipolar and (b) other mental health conditions for each of the last five years.

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

An individual is detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 if they pose a serious risk to themselves or others and they require care in a hospital setting. Detentions are not made based on diagnoses of severe mental health conditions.

NHS England is currently exploring a methodology to analyse diagnoses of individuals detained under the Mental Health Act and initial results are expected to be published in May 2025. Therefore, the information requested is not available for the last five years.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is provided to early intervention in psychosis teams on (a) recognising and (b) supporting people with bipolar.

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

We recognise how important it is for individuals with bipolar to get the right care and support they need. NHS England commissions training for staff working in early intervention in psychosis services to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy for both psychosis and bipolar disorder.

Mental health professionals are required to complete core training as part of their roles, which includes information on awareness of bipolar disorder and how it presents. The comprehensive assessment of at-risk mental states is an assessment tool used by mental health professionals and researchers to identify individuals who are at high risk of developing psychosis.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of Arriva Cross Country under the terms of its contract.

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

CrossCountry performance was not good enough in 2024. A Remedial Agreement was in place from August 2024 to March 2025 when the operator took steps to improve services. The operator was monitored closely. In 2025 CrossCountry cancellations are now lower and punctuality better. The operator is aware there is more to do, particularly on Sundays.

Based on the most recent information available, CrossCountry has been meeting its contractual benchmarks since 5 January 2025.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help accommodate excess domestic renewable power within local power networks.

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

The Government is working to accelerate network infrastructure build, which will reduce constraints on the network by allowing low-cost renewables onto the system more quickly.

We are also taking steps outlined in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan to support deployment of electricity storage technologies, including domestic and grid-scale batteries, which allow excess renewable generation to be saved up for when the system most needs it.

Fibrenest and Persimmon homes

Rural bus services

Public libraries

Chalk stream river protection

Fife Carers Centre

Abduction of Ukrainian children

Radiotherapy (No. 2)

Snares

Found: meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Catherine Atkinson; Olly Glover

Found: meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Catherine Atkinson; Olly Glover

Found: Catherine Atkinson (Labour; Derby North) Mrs Elsie Blundell (Labour; Heywood and Middleton North) Olly Glover

Found: Catherine Atkinson (Labour; Derby North) Mrs Elsie Blundell (Labour; Heywood and Middleton North) Olly Glover

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Catherine Atkinson; Olly Glover

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Catherine Atkinson; Olly Glover

Found: Resolved, That Mr Steff Aquarone, Dr Scott Arthur, Catherine Atkinson, Mrs Elsie Blundell, Olly Glover

Found: Not selected_NC11 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover

Found: Not selected_NC11 Steve Darling Sarah Gibson Daisy Cooper Clive Jones Munira Wilson Olly Glover