In the financial year ending 2025, 8% of households in the South East of England were food insecure, meaning that they had either low or very low food security. This compares to 9% in the UK. The requested information is available on GOV.UK here.

The department supports Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts through the funding arrangements agreed when contracts were signed. This includes revenue support grant funding (RSG) paid to local authorities over the contract term. RSG funding forms part of the overall affordability package for these projects, alongside contributions from local authorities and schools.

Further support is provided through the schools national funding formula PFI factor, and Slough will receive £1.1 million in the 2026/27 financial year through the PFI factor.

The department works with local authorities to assess affordability, determine appropriate levels of support and review PFI factor funding.

The Government is supporting earlier diagnosis of osteoporosis through the NHS Elective Reform Plan and the 10-Year Health Plan, including improving access to diagnostic services such as DEXA scanning and supporting integrated fracture liaison services (FLS), which identify and assess people at risk of osteoporosis after a fracture.

Recent steps have been taken to strengthen the early diagnosis and management of osteoporosis for residents in Slough through the introduction of a dedicated FLS at the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. The service proactively identifies people aged 50 years old and over who have sustained a fragility fracture, recognising that these patients are at significantly increased risk of future fractures if osteoporosis is not diagnosed and treated promptly. Patients are systematically identified using the trust's Epic electronic patient record system, enabling the service to capture patients presenting with fractures and arrange timely assessment, including DEXA scanning, blood tests, and falls risk evaluation where appropriate. This ensures that underlying osteoporosis can be diagnosed earlier and appropriate treatment initiated to reduce the risk of subsequent fractures.

The trust has also strengthened case identification through enhanced use of digital systems. Non-vertebral fragility fractures are identified through Epic reporting, while vertebral fractures can be detected through radiology reporting processes, with further opportunities to expand early diagnosis through the use of artificial intelligence-supported identification of vertebral fractures. Patients requiring bone density assessment can access DEXA scanning through Frimley Health services, with the nearest DEXA scanner to Slough located at St Mark's Hospital in Maidenhead, alongside additional provision at Aldershot. The FLS service follows the evidence-based model developed with the support of Public Health England and National Health Service partners.

The Government and NHS England are taking steps to improve access to mental health services and assessments across the country, including in Slough.

Locally, a range of initiatives have been introduced to help people access support more quickly. These include the Safe Haven service, which provides same-day, walk-in access to support from trained mental health professionals for people suffering a mental health crisis, alongside the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.

Additional voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector staff have also been introduced at Wexham Park Hospital, to work alongside the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine Service and strengthen the multidisciplinary response for people requiring mental health assessment and support.

In addition, the local mental health trust has introduced a text messaging service for its crisis service to improve accessibility and make it easier for people to seek support.

The Government and NHS England are taking steps to improve access to mental health services and assessments across the country, including in Slough.

Locally, a range of initiatives have been introduced to help people access support more quickly. These include the Safe Haven service, which provides same-day, walk-in access to support from trained mental health professionals for people suffering a mental health crisis, alongside the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.

Additional voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector staff have also been introduced at Wexham Park Hospital, to work alongside the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine Service and strengthen the multidisciplinary response for people requiring mental health assessment and support.

In addition, the local mental health trust has introduced a text messaging service for its crisis service to improve accessibility and make it easier for people to seek support.

While data is not available for Slough alone, in 2025, there were 280 reported cases of postpartum haemorrhage of 1,500 millilitres or more at the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which serves patients in Slough and the wider area.

Annual trust data on reported postpartum haemorrhages of 1,500 millilitres or more between 2022 and 2025 is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/maternity-and-neonatal-equalities-dashboard

The reported data may not represent all postpartum haemorrhages of 1,500 millilitres or more due to variations in data quality between trusts and over time. Monthly data back to April 2019, including more detailed information on data quality, is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/maternity-services-monthly-statistics

To tackle leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity, we have launched a Maternal Care Bundle to set clear standards across all services, focused on the main causes of maternal death and harm. It will codify best practice already in use and support more consistent care, and we expect it to help reduce deaths and serious harm, especially among higher-risk groups, as well as reduce inequalities in maternal mortality.

We recognise that, nationally, demand for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays in accessing such services.

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment services. The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for ADHD assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.

The Thames Valley ICB and the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have undertaken work to improve ADHD services in Slough and East Berkshire. This includes redesigning referral and triage pathways, increasing assessment capacity through additional commissioned providers, introducing digital support and self-management tools, and improving the information and support available to families. A wider transformation programme is also underway across Thames Valley to improve the consistency and quality of assessment pathways, provide support before, during, and after assessment, and strengthen collaboration between health, education, local authorities, and voluntary organisations. The programme aims to reduce waiting times, improve patient experience, and ensure people can access support based on need, rather than diagnosis alone.

The Government announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. The final report, due in the summer, will inform our new approach, so people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place. The review’s interim report, published at the end of March, sets out the evidence reviewed so far on prevalence, describes the impact of rising demand for diagnosis and support, identifies where the evidence is uncertain, and outlines the key questions for the next phase.

We are committed to delivering the five-year cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, which sets out over 100 actions to save lives. We will continue to explore opportunities to go further.

To strengthen access to urgent mental health 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 Slough, local urgent and emergency care referral data, including referrals to Wexham Park for suicidal ideation and self-harm or overdose, helps inform the understanding of the local need for crisis and suicide prevention support. In the Slough area, Safe-Haven, run by Mental Health Matters working in partnership with the Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, supports people with suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm. Residents can walk in for access to one-to-one emotional support from trained mental health professionals.

Adults can also be referred to the East Berkshire Psychological Medicine service if they are being treated at an emergency department or have been admitted to hospital because of a mental health crisis or there is evidence of self-harm.

The Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team can also provide crisis response for people in a serious mental health problem or mental health crisis, and they have recently begun offering a crisis text service.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) does not currently hold data on the number of fires caused by lithium-ion battery failures attended by Fire and Rescue Services in Slough, or elsewhere in England.

MHCLG collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs), with this data including the cause of the fire and the source of the ignition. This data is published in a variety of publications, available here. This does not yet include data on whether fire incidents attended were caused by lithium-ion failures.

The Fire and Rescue Analysis Platform (FaRDaP) is now used for the collection of fire and rescue incident data, and work is ongoing to update the data it will collect, with data covering lithium-ion batteries’ role in fire incidents potentially able to be included in the future.

In addition, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) conduct research into product safety risks associated with lithium-ion batteries and are working closely with MHCLG and other Government Departments to develop this knowledge base. A report from January 2025 by the OPSS that covers the root causes of fire incidents often associated with lithium-ion battery failures is available here.

Everyone working in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe at work. Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place measures, including security, training, and emotional support, for staff affected by violence.

In April 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced that the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling and reducing violence, part of the 2023 Agenda for Change pay deal, had been accepted in full. This includes measures to improve data and reporting, strengthen risk assessment, and improve training and support for victims. These have been bolstered by the introduction of a new set of staff standards, including one that focuses specifically on tackling violence, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government is prioritising patient safety and a learning culture in the NHS. The changes we are making as part of the 10-Year Health Plan and Dr Penny Dash’s report on the patient safety landscape will improve quality and safety by clarifying where responsibility and accountability sit at all levels of the system. We also plan to develop a new, updated NHS Patient Safety Strategy later in 2026 to continue our focus on improving patient safety.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 July 2026 to Question 14412.

The government is committed to ensuring every young person aged 16 – 24 has support and opportunities to enter work or education. We are investing over £2.5bn to help young people build skills, gain experience and progress into earning or learning through the Youth Guarantee and additional investment in apprenticeships via the Growth and Skills Levy over the next three years. This will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn.

Youth Hubs are a core component of the Youth Guarantee. We are expanding Youth Hubs to over 360 areas across Great Britain, underpinned by a core blueprint for minimum service standards. This will make support more accessible and better integrated with other local services in line with local needs and partnerships, ensuring young people can access joined-up employment, skills, housing and wellbeing support in their communities.

Slough is included in the expansion plans for year 2 (2027–28) of the rollout programme.

Local engagement will form an important part of establishing a Youth Hub in Slough. Members with an interest may wish to engage with their local jobcentre Service Leader to understand local plans. Collaboration between Jobcentres, local authorities and community organisations will help ensure young people can access joined-up employment, skills and wider support.

Defra works closely with the Environment Agency (EA) at every level to assess its performance, ensure it is equipped to carry out its functions effectively, and deliver for the public and the environment.

The EA has received pollution incident reports and complaints related to odour and dust from Simpsons Environmental Services Ltd, Simpsons Way, Slough. This is a waste management business that the EA regulates. The EA has regularly inspected the site and undertaken amenity monitoring; odour and dust pollution has not been substantiated as originating from the site. The EA continues to undertake proportionate regulation of the site.

Under the Environment Act 1995, local authorities have a duty to assess local air quality and to take action to reduce pollution where air quality objectives are exceeded.

Slough Borough Council is working with local stakeholders to improve air quality through its Air Quality Action Plan for 2024 to 2028. As a statutory consultee, Defra appraises all action plans and reviews progress annually through the Council’s Annual Status Reports, providing feedback to ensure measures remain effective.

As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, Government is committed to supporting local authority delivery and reducing the time and investment needed to act on air quality at a local level. To help with this, we are refreshing guidance, webinars and materials for air quality officers.

The Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is the provider of maternity services to the residents of Slough, through community midwifery, Frimley Park Hospital services, and Wexham Park Hospital services.

Since March 2026, a Day Assessment Unit has been in place to provide surveillance for high-risk pregnancies within a midwifery-led setting. This operates as a seven-day service and supports the availability of maternity triage services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for those presenting with acute concerns.

Service users at Wexham Park Hospital are able to access all areas of the maternity service via a dedicated telephone triage system, the MAMAS Line, introduced in 2022. Women are triaged using the nationally recognised Birmingham Symptom-Specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS). The trust continues to strengthen its application, including undertaking a BSOTS health check in May 2026 to ensure women are assessed according to clinical urgency and seen by the most appropriate clinician.

Uptake data is not collected or reported at constituency level.

Slough is covered by the Thames Valley Cancer Alliance. Since the start of the Targeted Lung Health Check programme in the Alliance area, 97,462 invitations have been issued and 45,492 people have attended a Lung Health Check appointment, representing an uptake rate of approximately 47%.

In the most recent 12-month period, uptake across the Thames Valley Cancer Alliance has improved to 53%.

Under the Environment Act 1995, local authorities have a duty to assess local air quality and to take action to reduce pollution where air quality objectives are exceeded.

Slough Borough Council is working with local stakeholders to improve air quality through its Air Quality Action Plan for 2024 to 2028. As a statutory consultee, Defra appraises all action plans and reviews progress annually through the Council’s Annual Status Reports, providing feedback to ensure measures remain effective.

As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, Government is committed to supporting local authority delivery and reducing the time and investment needed to act on air quality at a local level. To help with this, we are refreshing guidance, webinars and materials for air quality officers.