Every death by suicide is a tragedy that has a devastating and lasting impact on families, friends, and communities. We are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which aims to reduce suicide rates and address the risk factors contributing to suicide, as well as improving support for those who have self-harmed or are bereaved by suicide.

To strengthen access to suicide prevention support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Work is also underway to ensure crisis support is available via text, to widen access for people who may find voice calls difficult.

We are also making £473 million of capital funding available over the next four years, which we encourage systems to invest in new care models such as community-based mental health centres and new mental health emergency departments, also known as crisis assessment centres.

In Cheshire and Merseyside, partners are taking forward a range of suicide prevention activity, supported by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative. This includes work to strengthen crisis care services, improve access to mental health support in local communities, and develop coordinated prevention plans informed by local data and partnerships. In addition, the Local Government Association is undertaking a rapid review of suicide prevention arrangements across the sub-region to identify priorities for action, share good practice, and support a strengthened system-wide approach to preventing suicide.

Every death by suicide is a tragedy that has a devastating and lasting impact on families, friends, and communities. We are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which aims to reduce suicide rates and address the risk factors contributing to suicide, as well as improving support for those who have self-harmed or are bereaved by suicide.

To strengthen access to suicide prevention support, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. Work is also underway to ensure crisis support is available via text, to widen access for people who may find voice calls difficult.

We are also making £473 million of capital funding available over the next four years, which we encourage systems to invest in new care models such as community-based mental health centres and new mental health emergency departments, also known as crisis assessment centres.

In Cheshire and Merseyside, partners are taking forward a range of suicide prevention activity, supported by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Collaborative. This includes work to strengthen crisis care services, improve access to mental health support in local communities, and develop coordinated prevention plans informed by local data and partnerships. In addition, the Local Government Association is undertaking a rapid review of suicide prevention arrangements across the sub-region to identify priorities for action, share good practice, and support a strengthened system-wide approach to preventing suicide.

The following table shows the latest available National Health Service workforce data from NHS England’s Electronic Staff Record for trust-employed, whole time equivalent (WTE) mental health (MH) staff in the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board area:

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) administrator to issue Remediable Service Statements (RSS) and reduce outstanding volumes as quickly and accurately as possible. To date, this has included increasing administrative resource, implementing automation to reduce manual processing, and reallocating the workforce to allow staff to focus on the most complex cases. Regular reviews are conducted with the scheme administrator to monitor progress and improve throughput.

The MOD is finalising the timetable for completion of RSS issuance and will communicate confirmed timescales to affected members once available.

Regular progress updates continue to be published in the AFPS Quarterly Digest and at the following link on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans#remediable-service-statement-delivery-update

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) administrator to issue Remediable Service Statements (RSS) and reduce outstanding volumes as quickly and accurately as possible. To date, this has included increasing administrative resource, implementing automation to reduce manual processing, and reallocating the workforce to allow staff to focus on the most complex cases. Regular reviews are conducted with the scheme administrator to monitor progress and improve throughput.

The MOD is finalising the timetable for completion of RSS issuance and will communicate confirmed timescales to affected members once available.

Regular progress updates continue to be published in the AFPS Quarterly Digest and at the following link on the gov.uk website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans#remediable-service-statement-delivery-update

The EU Batteries Regulation applies directly in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. We will shortly publish guidance for businesses in Northern Ireland to help them comply with these new requirements.

Through stakeholder engagement, we understand that batteries placed on the UK market, whether sold separately or incorporated into appliances, are generally manufactured to meet EU requirements.

Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn.

Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn and will use this consultation to assess transitional needs, including a reasonable minimum sell-through period for manufacturers and retailers.

No assessment has been made of the potential risk of Great Britain becoming a market for lower-specification or less sustainable batteries as a result of divergence with EU Regulation 2023/1542. While some obligations have already come into force in EU Regulation 2023/1542 (which also applies in Northern Ireland), others phase in over a period of time with some provisions, for example, set to apply in 2028.

Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn.

In the meantime, the existing producer responsibility regime will continue to operate which places obligations on producers to collect waste batteries, promoting reuse, recycling and recovery as well as environmentally sound disposal. The current regime also restricts hazardous substances used in batteries.

Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, my officials held a series of workshops with industry earlier this year to explore the impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn and will use this consultation to assess transitional needs, including a reasonable minimum sell-through period for manufacturers and retailers.

Last year this government published our Modern Industrial Strategy, setting out our long-term approach to strengthening domestic capability. The complimentary Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan outlines both sector-specific and cross-cutting measures designed to support manufacturers grow and thrive – including on skills, access to finance and tech adoption. This is underpinned by £4.3 billion government funding over 5 years, alongside £4 billion from the British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital and £27.8 billion available from the National Wealth Fund to help manufacturing business access the finance they need to expand.

We have also enhanced and expanded the Office for Investment to target advanced manufacturing investors.

From 2027, The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 10,000 eligible manufacturing businesses. This will help bring electricity costs more in line with other European economies and drive business investment and economic growth across British manufacturing businesses in the Industrial Strategy frontier manufacturing sectors and foundational manufacturing industries that supply key inputs to the Industrial Strategy frontier sectors.

A detailed assessment of the scheme's impact on business investment will be published alongside legislation in the Autumn.

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. The strategy sets out over 100 actions across the Government and wider organisations, all aimed at saving lives, providing early intervention, prevention initiatives, and supporting anyone who might find themselves at crisis point.

We have made substantial progress at the strategy’s mid-point. This includes NHS England’s publication of the Staying Safe from Suicide guidance and e-learning for mental health staff, the introduction of the Near Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance System to identify emerging trends more quickly, and action to tackle harmful suicide and self-harm content as the Online Safety Act is implemented. We have also committed up to £3.6 million in targeted suicide prevention support for middle-aged men, a priority group identified in the strategy.

Suicide prevention requires action across the Government and society. We continue to work closely with departments, including the Department for Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Department for Work and Pensions to deliver actions in schools, prisons, probation settings, and frontline public services. We recognise that there is more to do and will continue to drive delivery of the strategy. The Government is also developing a new cross-Government mental health strategy for England, with a core focus on early intervention, prevention, and supporting people before they reach crisis point.

I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Government has available for disclosure, except those being withheld at the request of the Metropolitan police.

On the 1st June, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister outlined the need not to prejudice the ongoing investigation which prevents the government from answering questions relating to specific documents. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister outlined the broad categories the documents being withheld fall into: national security vetting material, conflict of interest process material and relevant internal correspondence with Peter Mandelson.

The Government continue to implement those leasehold reforms that are already in statute and to progress the wider set of reforms necessary to end the feudal leasehold system for good. In respect of the latter, the King’s Speech confirmed our intention to introduce the substantive commonhold and leasehold reform Bill, which will include fixes to the small number of specific but serious flaws in the previous Government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

My hon. Friend has considerable expertise on leasehold reform, and he is right to press for clarity on this important matter. To commence the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act’s enfranchisement provisions, we unfortunately do need to fix the flaws he refers to through new primary legislation, and we will do so in this Session. In the interim, we will need to establish what capitalisation and deferment rates to set, and I am pleased to tell him that I am aiming to launch a consultation on those in the coming weeks.

I am delighted that my hon. Friend has submitted that expression of interest. We are now assessing proposals against criteria that include: a fit with our national neighbourhood health strategy; sound estate planning; deliverability; sustainability; and, critically, local need. We will be prioritising areas where there is low life expectancy and higher deprivation. I would be delighted to meet him to talk about his expression of interest and about our programme for revolutionising care in our country through the shift from hospital to community.