Decisions on the assessment of further water fluoridation will be based on feasibility studies and other epidemiological data. Severn Trent Water has been commissioned to complete a study across the Midlands, which will finish by 31 March 2027. More information is available at the following link:

https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/056982-2026

The government recognises that supporting young people into education, training and employment is key to economic growth and improving living standards. In 2026, 6.9% of 16 to 17-year-olds in Leicester were not in education, employment or training (NEET) or their activity was not known, unchanged from 2025. This was above the East Midlands rate of 6.2% and the England rate of 5.8%.

The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over three years through the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, alongside measures to prevent young people from becoming NEET.

The East Midlands received £5 million as one of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers testing joined-up local approaches. In Leicester, the city council provides targeted prevention and re-engagement support through its Connexions service and is participating in the Adult Skills Fund Pathways to Devolution pilot. This will help strengthen local approaches to supporting young people into education, employment and training. Locally, Leicester College’s Launchpad programme supports young people furthest from the labour market.

In Lincolnshire, investment has been made to increase access to osteoporosis diagnosis and secondary fracture prevention. There are three dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scanners serving the county, and an additional scanner at Grantham, operational since March 2024, which has helped to reduce waiting times across the county by supporting patients to typically be seen within two to three weeks.

Alongside increased diagnostic capacity, the local service plans to provide bone mineral density scanning, bone health advice, therapy-compliance support, and bone health and falls assessments. With ongoing service development, the fracture liaison element aims to support patients by telephone or through outpatient clinics, with the aim of identifying people at risk following a fragility fracture and reducing the likelihood of further fractures.

At the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB), osteoporosis care is provided through the Osteoporosis and Fracture Liaison Service. The service is delivered by a multidisciplinary team comprising four consultant specialists and 3.9 whole-time equivalent clinical nurse specialists, who run both consultant-led and nurse-led clinics. Referrals are accepted from general practices, hospital specialties, and orthopaedic fracture clinics, ensuring patients can access specialist assessment following a fracture or where osteoporosis is suspected. Dedicated clinics are provided across the trust, including a monthly clinic at Queen's Hospital Burton.

The service offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment pathways, with DEXA bone density scanners available at multiple sites to support timely diagnosis. Once diagnosed, patients can access osteoporosis treatments through medical day case units at both hospital sites. When staffing allows, the team also delivers patient education sessions in community settings to help people better understand their condition and reduce their risk of future fractures.

UHDB has recently strengthened its diagnostic capability through the Department’s funding for a new state-of-the-art DEXA scanner for Queen's Hospital Burton. The trust has recently strengthened diagnostic capacity through the installation of a new DEXA scanner as part of the community diagnostic centre (CDC) phase 2 programme at Walton Hospital. This additional capacity is helping to improve access to diagnostic testing and support earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Performance data for July 2026 showed that 89% of patients received their DEXA scan within six weeks, helping ensure timely assessment and reducing waiting times for patients requiring investigation of osteoporosis and bone health conditions.

There is a hospital service for Mid-Nottinghamshire provided by Sherwood Forest Hospitals. This provides the diagnosis and initial treatment following fragility fracture and the more complex ongoing treatment, with primary care providing less complex ongoing treatment. In the city and south, Nottingham University Hospitals provide the initial diagnosis following a fragility fracture, and the more complex treatment is provided by Nottingham CityCare in the community, with primary care providing a service for less complex care.

The Government's ambition is to support good growth across all parts of the United Kingdom. As set out in the Prime Minister's recent Machinery of Government Statement, No10 North will be responsible for driving good growth through devolution and working in close partnership with local leaders, businesses, and communities to strengthen place-based growth.

We are also committed to fundamentally rewiring the way our country works, transferring greater powers, funding and accountability to the local leaders who know what it takes to drive growth and productivity in their areas.

The government has invested £10m into Team Derby – a city wide partnership between business and regional government designed to turn major national investments into local jobs, skills and regeneration opportunities. The wider East Midlands is receiving £2bn via the Transport for City Regions fund which will enable design of a new mass transit system to connect Derby and Nottingham and drive growth and productivity by better integrating transport networks.

The Chancellor has announced that the Green Book discount rate will be reduced from 3.5% to 3.0%, in line with recommendations from independent academics. This will place greater value on the long-term benefits of investment and strengthen the case for transformational projects that drive growth – wherever they take place.

At Budget, the government will publish a fiscal devolution roadmap which will set out a path to replacing grants from central government with a share of local income tax for every mayor beginning in 2028, such that where a region grows its tax base, it benefits from the increased receipts. This will sit alongside greater retention of the revenue from business rates for local councils and strategic authorities. The long-term certainty of funding via taxation will provide more flexibility and enable greater investment to fund interventions that will deliver a return.

Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) is the department’s school improvement programme. It provides universal support for all schools and targeted support for those facing the greatest challenges.

All Mansfield schools can access universal support, which connects leaders with effective practice, expert advice and opportunities to learn from other schools. This includes English and maths hubs, attendance and behaviour hubs, Reception-year networks, professional development and regional conferences. Further programmes will help schools strengthen literacy, key stage 2 and key stage 3 education, and support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, with details announced shortly.

In Mansfield, three schools are receiving targeted RISE support through RISE advisers, improvement partners and funding to secure sustainable improvement and pupils outcomes. Further details of RISE support in the East Midlands can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rise-east-midlands/rise-east-midlands.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer she was provided on 8 September in response to Question 22549.

The Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework, published in July, sets a clear direction for how the health and care system should accelerate progress on the Government’s ambition to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within a decade.

Cardiovascular disease is a major focus within the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and Northamptonshire health systems. It is one of three strategic transformation priorities within the Five-Year Strategic Commissioning Plan, 2026/27 to 2030/31.

The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, published in April, sets out how we will improve women's health outcomes over the next decade, through systemic changes that will help tackle leading causes of death amongst women, including cardiovascular disease. As part of this prevention-focused approach, menopause will soon be included in routine NHS health checks for over 40 year olds, helping women understand menopause symptoms, including its links to cardiovascular health, and access appropriate support.

The Home Office provides financial support to local authorities, including those in the East Midlands, through the Asylum Dispersal Grant. This funding helps local authorities meet costs associated with accommodating and supporting asylum seekers and responding to local service pressures arising from asylum accommodation. Funding arrangements for local authorities are subject to continuous review. Local authorities were informed of the 2026/27 asylum accommodation funding model, which includes an initial payment of £1,200 per occupied bedspace as of 30 March 2026, along with quarterly uplift payments for additional bedspaces utilised throughout the year.

The Government is committed to ending the use of asylum hotels and is working closely with local authorities, Strategic Migration Partnerships and accommodation providers to increase the use of dispersal accommodation and other sustainable accommodation options. Local authorities in the East Midlands are eligible to receive asylum grant funding in line with published funding instructions where accommodation is provided in their area.

Regional growth is a core objective of the Industrial Strategy. This includes supporting significant strengths in the Industrial Strategy growth-driving sectors across the East Midlands. The Strategy has committed up to £20m investment each in both the East Midlands and Greater Lincolnshire combined authority areas from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, is launching a new Technical Excellence College in Lincoln and Derby to address skills shortages including defence and construction, strengthening support for the East Midlands and Humber Freeports, and uplifting the Network Charging Compensation Scheme to support supply chains and foundational industries in the region.

The Home Office does not hold centrally verified data on the number of closure orders issued against high street retailers operating illicit trade in the East Midlands during the 2025-26 financial year.

Closure orders are local powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and decisions on their use are made by local agencies and the courts according to the circumstances of each case.

As part of our wider work to strengthen the response to anti-social behaviour, the Crime and Policing Act introduces a mandatory anti-social behaviour data reporting duty. This will support more consistent national data collection on the use of anti-social behaviour powers and improve transparency and accountability across local agencies.

Innovation is central to delivering good growth in every part of the UK. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) invested £596 million in the East Midlands in 2023/24, including £172 million in Leicestershire, Rutland & Northamptonshire.

Up to £20 million has been allocated to the East Midlands through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, supporting manufacturers to scale up clean energy and advanced production technologies.

Government is also backing Midlands Mindforge, the investment company dedicated to supporting university spin-outs in the Midlands, helping unlock an initial £30 million of capital.

Rail investment plays an important role in supporting regional connectivity. Published allocations for Leicestershire County Council total £251,836,827 for 2026/27 to 2028/29 (2029/30 for capital). These settlements give individual local transport authorities greater freedom and flexibility to make strategic decisions to develop and fund the priorities that best impact their local areas.

Proposals for schemes including the Ivanhoe Line may be brought forward by local authorities for potential Government investment. Such proposals would need to take account of affordability, value for money, and alignment with our strategic priorities.

In line with its commitment to devolution, the government is giving local areas greater control over the delivery of Skills Bootcamps, which are available to adults aged 19 and over, enabling them to tailor the offer to the needs of local employers and their priorities for the economy.

To support young people to start training sooner and gain skills for employment more quickly through earlier access to courses, we have changed the programme’s minimum age eligibility so from 1 August 2026 all learners can enrol from their 19th birthday, rather than requiring a learner to have been 19 at the start of the academic year.

Skills Bootcamps data, including starts, completions and outcomes by age, employment status and Universal Credit status, is published here: Skills bootcamps starts, completions and outcomes - GOV.UK.

The Government is determined to ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence are felt in every part of the country, including Leicestershire and the wider East Midlands. Through AI Skills Boost we are providing free AI training for all, with over 1.7 million AI training courses delivered across the UK since June 2025. We remain committed to equipping 10 million workers across the UK with AI skills by 2030 and making the UK the fastest adopting AI country in the G7. This national upskilling offer is available to all to workers and businesses across the East Midlands.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out UK-wide commitments rather than for individual regions. That plan is delivering. By January 2026, we met 38 of the Action Plan’s 50 commitments, driving AI adoption, progress across public services and the foundations for economic growth. A dashboard setting out progress is here.

This is giving people the skills to thrive in an AI-enabled economy, modernising public services, and building the economic foundations for long-term growth. Communities, public services and businesses in Leicestershire, the East Midlands and across the UK can continue to benefit from this Government delivering on the Action Plan.

All local transport authorities – including Leicestershire County Council – are provided with multi-year consolidated local transport funding settlements by my Department. This funding is largely allocated by formula to provide suitable funding to all areas.

Published allocations for Leicestershire County Council total £251,836,827 for 2026/27 to 2028/29 (2029/30 for capital).

These settlements give individual local transport authorities greater freedom and flexibility to make strategic decisions to develop and fund the priorities that best impact their local areas.

My Department will monitor the programmes as they are delivered, and evaluate their impact.

The Government set out a comprehensive package of measures in April 2025 to tackle long waiting times across the whole of Great Britain, aiming to deliver around 10,000 additional tests per month. A key step was reintroducing overtime incentives. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conducted 1.99 million tests between April 2025 and March 2026, a record and 8.6% (159,000) higher than the previous year.

DVSA has also made changes to make the booking system fairer, as well as continuing to run national recruitment campaigns for driving examiners (DE) across the country.

From recent recruitment in the East Midlands, including for test centres serving Leicestershire and the Leicester East constituency, DVSA currently has 10 potential new DEs booked onto training courses, with a further 22 potential new DEs undergoing pre-employment checks.

The third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3), published in March 2026, included a series of improvements to the A5 as part of the pipeline of future planned enhancement schemes to be delivered in the 2030s. These schemes, should they pass the necessary business case and other approvals in due course, would improve the performance of the A5 as a key strategic route connecting the East and West Midlands and would represent a significant investment for the region.

All local transport authorities – including those in the East Midlands – have been provided with multi-year consolidated local transport funding settlements over the current Spending Review Period (2026/27 to 2028/29 for resource funding and 2029/30 for capital funding). This funding is largely allocated by formula to provide suitable funding to all areas.

Local transport funding allocations beyond this time period will be considered as part of work led by HM Treasury at a future Spending Review.

Let me be clear that these proposals will be consulted on. The A38 Derby junctions and the A46 Newark bypass schemes are not in contract and are not scheduled to start main construction until the second half of the third road investment strategy. They are not as far progressed as RIS3 enhancement schemes elsewhere, meaning that the implications of potentially cancelling them would have a less significant impact compared with schemes that are further progressed.