As of 8 September 2026, there are 486 playgrounds across the UK Defence estate.

Where replacement or refurbishment of playgrounds is required, works are delivered as individual projects under the Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts.

Under the FDIS contracts, routine inspections of playgrounds are undertaken which comprise weekly visual inspections and annual health and safety inspections

Over the last 12 months, nine playgrounds have been refurbished and a further two playgrounds are undergoing full refurbishment this Financial Year.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Young people must be seen and heard. We are giving 16 and 17-year-olds across the UK a vote in elections. We are working across Government and with our partners to prepare them to exercise that right, including through our £2.5 million Democratic Education Fund.

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I am delighted that Cherrywood in my hon. Friend’s constituency will receive up to £20 million over the next decade through the Government’s expanded Pride in Place programme. The Government have committed significant sums of money to equipping communities with the resources and power to drive local change, so that they can bring people together and restore a sense of pride in their area.

Medicine supply chains are complex and global, and the overwhelming majority of medicines remain in good supply. As set out in A guide to the systems and processes for managing medicines supply issues in England, we have a range of established tools to manage disruption and support contractors when issues arise. These include working with suppliers to expedite deliveries, issuing timely guidance to pharmacy contractors, supporting access to alternative strengths or formulations, and sourcing unlicensed imports where appropriate. A guide to the systems and processes for managing medicines supply issues in England is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/a-guide-to-the-systems-and-processes-for-managing-medicines-supply-issues-in-england/

Last August we also provided more information on the actions we are taking to protect patients from medicines shortages in the Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines publication, which includes actions that help pharmacy contractors affected by medicine supply issues. Managing a robust and resilient supply of medicines is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines/managing-a-robust-and-resilient-supply-of-medicines

Examples of specific tools directly relevant to pharmacy contractors include:

• Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) to manage and mitigate medicine shortages. An SSP enables community pharmacists to supply a specified medicine in accordance with a protocol rather than a prescription, without needing to seek authorisation from the prescriber; and

• if the market price of a medicine suddenly increases, concessionary prices can be granted in that month, increasing the reimbursement price above the published Drug Tariff reimbursement price. This arrangement helps ensure that pharmacy contractors can continue to obtain sufficient stock for their patients.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding to help people get active.

In addition, on 27 January, the Government announced that £85 million of the £400 million package for grassroots sport facilities will be invested in during 2026/27, funding the continuation of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. This funding is designed to increase participation opportunities and benefit the areas most in need, with 50% investment going to the 30% most deprived areas in the UK.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is putting exports at the heart of our growth mission to boost productivity and create skilled jobs across the UK. Through our Trade Strategy, we are removing barriers that hold UK businesses back from selling to the world by negotiating trade deals, tackling regulatory obstacles, and expanding export finance support.

For the first time, DBT has integrated its support in a single, accessible place - the Business Growth Service - helping firms build the capabilities needed to compete internationally. This includes tailored market advice, free Business Academy training, access to UK Export Finance and our on-the-ground network around the world.

The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan is our plan to secure growth, to back Clean Energy Industries and unlock billions more in private investment.

The Chancellor announced £61.9bn in capital funding for DESNZ during the Spending Review, underlining both her and the Prime Minister’s commitment to the Clean Energy Mission and net zero.

UK energy transition investment reached a record £65bn in 2025, a 32% increase in final investment decisions versus 2024. This investment is vital for achieving greater energy security and delivering economic growth across the UK, benefitting businesses and local communities.

Our modern Industrial Strategy will make British industrial electricity costs cheaper. From 2027, the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour (MWh) for over 10,000 manufacturing businesses in Industrial Strategy growth sectors and their foundational supply chains. The Government has also announced an additional payment for eligible businesses in 2027 to cover the 2026/27 period.

In addition to this, the British Industry Supercharger reduces electricity costs for eligible energy-intensive businesses by c.£65 – £87/MWh by exempting them from certain policy costs and offering 90% compensation for network charges through the Network Charging Compensation scheme.

In June 2025, the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy proposed increased support for British Industry Supercharger recipients by uplifting the Network Charging Compensation Scheme from 60% to 90% from 1 April 2026. This uplift reduced the gap between electricity prices in Great Britain and other countries by a further £8–10/MWh for around 550 energy intensive businesses.

For manufacturing companies ineligible for the Supercharger, the Modern Industrial Strategy also announced the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS). BICS is expected to support over 10,000 businesses, saving them up to £40/MWh from April 2027, with an additional payment in 2027 to cover the 2026/27 period.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises that high‑quality Single Living Accommodation (SLA) is essential to the welfare, retention and operational readiness of our Armed Forces personnel.

The SLA and Overseas Accommodation Review launched earlier this year is focused on identifying recommendations to enhance SLA, which will inform future investments.

All Front-Line Commands have prioritised SLA condition, reinforced by proactive senior leadership engagement, and have plans to eliminate their worst accommodation. Improving the standard of SLA remains a key priority.

The MOD has provided new and refurbished single rooms using a common design and modular off-site construction aiming to reduce build-times and deliver value for money. Their energy-efficient designs minimise operational energy consumption and running costs as well as enhancing the lived experience and thermal comfort.

The Government is committed to rebuilding neighbourhood policing and restoring the vital link between police forces and the communities they serve.

By the end of this Parliament there will be 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales. This year we have provided £200m to support forces to deliver 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026. We are on track, with forces having already delivered almost 2,400 additional neighbourhood officers in just 6 months.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and restore the trust of parents. We will do this by ensuring schools have the tools to better identify and support children before issues escalate. We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper early this year, building on the work we have already done to create a system that is rooted in inclusion.

To support the development of the reforms, we are drawing on insights from experts, including the department’s Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion and the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, who were established to provide an expert view and make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings.

The department has also launched a further period of listening and engagement to strengthen co-creation, listening to children and young people, parents, experts, and education professionals across the country, so that lived experience and partnership are at the heart of the solutions.

At the spending review in 2025, we announced record investment to kick-start social and affordable housing at scale across the country. Alongside regulatory certainty and stability and measures to rebuild the capacity of registered providers after their weakening over the previous 14 years, we are ensuring that communities in Aldershot will get the social and affordable housing they need.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. I have met the Patient Safety Commissioner this month to work up the Department’s plans to address her recommendations, and the Government will provide an update in due course.

In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel considered the reasons why neurodivergent people (including autistic people) have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate. This included reflections on the challenges autistic people face. We will consider its findings alongside the work of the Keep Britain Working Review, which has now entered its Vanguards Phase to test new employer-led approaches to improving support for individuals to stay in work.

Employers already have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, including workplace flexibilities, where a disabled person or person with a long-term health condition would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage. This includes chronic and fluctuating health conditions and disabilities. DWP provides tailored guidance through its Support with Employee Health and Disability online service and the Disability Confident Scheme encourages employers to create disability inclusive workplaces including guidance on flexible working.

DWP policies also help neurodivergent people into work. Our new supported employment programme - Connect to Work - provides a dedicated specialist employment support adviser who works alongside participants to understand their career goals and help them to address any specific barriers to employment. Connect to Work has a specialist pathway that is dedicated to supporting those with particularly complex barriers.

We are also training DWP staff to better understand the needs of autistic people. In September 2023, DWP’s Learning Delivery and Design Team introduced autism learning for all of our Jobcentre staff, including Disability Employment Advisors and Work Coaches.

I am pleased to report that both access to general practice and patient satisfaction with general practice have improved since Labour came to office. Over 75% of patients find it easy to contact their practice —an improvement of 14 percentage points since the general election. Not only have we recruited an extra 2,500 GPs; crucially, more patients are receiving continuity of care, backed by an additional £1.1 billion. Lots done, lots to do, and certainly a long way to go, but general practice is on the road to recovery.

We recognise the vital role and value of not-for-profit providers in delivering adult social care. As of November 2025, 8.1% of Care Quality Commission regulated social care organisation locations are registered as charities.

Local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care markets to meet the diverse needs of all local people under the Care Act 2014. Local authorities are encouraged to commission a range of different approaches to services to ensure people have a genuine choice. This includes supporting and commissioning different types of service provider organisations, including third sector, voluntary, and community-based organisations.

We recognise the role and value that not-for-profit providers play in delivering adult social care (ASC). As of November 2025, 8.1% of Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated social care organisation locations are providers with a charity number. Of these locations, 89.1% are rated “Good” or “Outstanding” compared with 83.8% of other providers, of which the vast majority are for-profit. Overall, 84.3% of ASC providers are rated “Good” or “Outstanding”.

Filled posts working for independent sector employers cannot be accurately split into “private” and “voluntary”, as this information is not reported by the CQC. Estimates from the ASC workforce dataset suggests that approximately 74%, or 1,000,000, of the filled posts working for independent sector employers were in private sector establishments, which is approximately 63% of all posts, and 26%, or 345,000, were filled posts in voluntary/charity sector establishments, which is approximately 22% of all posts.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research funded Adult Social Care Research Unit is researching the impact of provider ownership type, including not-for-profit status, on care outcomes and workforce outcomes, including pay and turnover. The project will conclude in June 2026.