Written questions by Dance.

If she will hold discussions with LINK on the adequacy of (a) its assessment process for approving banking hubs in rural areas and (b) its considerations of the need for in-person banking services beyond access to cash when approving banking hubs.

Banking has changed significantly in recent years with many customers benefitting from the ease and convenience of remote banking. The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 220 hubs have been announced so far, and over 135 are already open. Where a branch closure is announced or a community has submitted a cash access assessment request, LINK, the independent industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments, assesses a community’s access to cash needs, and will recommend appropriate solutions where it considers that a community requires additional cash services. The FCA’s rules require designated firms to consider a range of factors in their assessments which will account for challenges in cash access faced in rural areas. For example, firms are required to consider the actual travel times and costs to reach cash access facilities and identify gaps in provision where these are unreasonable, which may be particularly the case in rural areas. Whilst the government meets with LINK to discuss a variety of matters, any decisions on changes to LINK’s independent assessment criteria are a matter for LINK, the financial services sector, and for the FCA, which oversees the access to cash regime.

What plans she has to increase local authorities' powers to ensure the immediate permanent reinstation of roads by utility companies near (a) high-traffic areas, (b) hospitals, (c) schools and (d) other critical locations.

Utility companies can put temporary reinstatements in place following works to re-open roads to traffic whilst, for example, waiting for specialist materials which may be specified by local authorities such as a particular type of paving stone. Permanent reinstatements must be put in place within 6 months. The DfT has no plans to change these arrangements.

What plans she has to ensure that at least 50 per cent of the revenue from the lane rental scheme is reinvested in (a) road resurfacing and (b) pothole repairs.

Charges for works that overrun are already set at up to £10,000 per day. The Government announced in December that we will apply overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays. We also announced that local authorities operating lane rental schemes will be required to spend 50% of surplus lane rental charges on highway maintenance, The regulations implementing these changes will be laid later in 2025. They will also double the level of fixed penalty notices available for some street works offences.

What steps she plans to take to increase the level of overrun charges for utility companies responsible for delayed road repairs.

Charges for works that overrun are already set at up to £10,000 per day. The Government announced in December that we will apply overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays. We also announced that local authorities operating lane rental schemes will be required to spend 50% of surplus lane rental charges on highway maintenance, The regulations implementing these changes will be laid later in 2025. They will also double the level of fixed penalty notices available for some street works offences.

What steps she plans to take to introduce overrun charges for utility companies undertaking road repairs on weekends and bank holidays.

Charges for works that overrun are already set at up to £10,000 per day. The Government announced in December that we will apply overrun charges to weekends and bank holidays. We also announced that local authorities operating lane rental schemes will be required to spend 50% of surplus lane rental charges on highway maintenance, The regulations implementing these changes will be laid later in 2025. They will also double the level of fixed penalty notices available for some street works offences.

For what reason she removed the five year settled status pathway for Ukrainians living in the UK.

We continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under review to ensure they continue to meet the needs of Ukrainians in the UK.We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. It is important our approach respects these wishes. This is why we have always been clear that the Ukraine schemes provide temporary sanctuary, and not a route to permanent settlement in the UK. There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements.

If she will make it her policy to enable Ukrainians living and working in (a) Yeovil Constituency, (b) Somerset, and (c) the South West of England to stay in the UK if there is peace in Ukraine.

We continue to keep the Ukraine Schemes under review to ensure they continue to meet the needs of Ukrainians in the UK.We recognise the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. It is important our approach respects these wishes. This is why we have always been clear that the Ukraine schemes provide temporary sanctuary, and not a route to permanent settlement in the UK. There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support Ukrainians staying in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset, and (c) the South West of England in the long term.

Councils receive integration funding of £5,900 per Homes for Ukraine arrival to support guests to rebuild their lives and fully integrate into communities. All councils have the flexibility to use this funding as best suits the local area and the specific needs of the Ukrainian guests that they support. This could include measures to support guests to access employment, develop their English language skills, and access privately rented accommodation.The Department for Education supports adults aged 19+ in England who do not have English as a first language to access ESOL provision via the Adult Skills Fund. Thank-you payments to sponsors of Homes for Ukraine guests have also been extended for 18-months under the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme, to support guests who wish to remain in sponsorship and provide enough time for guests and sponsors to plan for next steps. All Ukraine visa holders have rights to work, live and study as well as access to healthcare and welfare support in the UK.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the application window for the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme to three months.

The 28-day window for applications to be submitted helps ensure effective operational planning and sufficient biometric enrolment capacity across all visa routes, which ultimately allows us to deliver the most efficient service for customers.Those who apply before their current permission expires will retain the conditions of their current visa while their application is under consideration, enabling them to continue to exercise their rights to work, study, and live in the UK.As with all aspects of our service delivery, this will continue to be monitored.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing financial support for nurse-led arts and crafts groups for patients (a) with and (b) recovering from cancer.

We are committed to ensuring that all cancer patients are offered a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer, and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.We are supporting those experiencing cancer with access to psychosocial support, which can include NHS Talking Therapy services and evidence-based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression. In addition, NHS England has published service specifications for providers of children and young people’s cancer services, including reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment.We recognise the importance of using the voluntary and community sector to provide a range of holistic support offers for patients’ wellbeing and mental health. Social prescribing is a key component of the National Health Service’s Universal Personalised Care and is a way for general practices or local agencies to refer people to a Social Prescribing Link Worker. Social prescribing link workers focus on ‘what matters to me’ and connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support, including arts-based activities.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of using arts and crafts groups to help support cancer (a) treatment and (b) recovery.

We are committed to ensuring that all cancer patients are offered a Holistic Needs Assessment and Personalised Care and Support Planning, ensuring care is focused on what matters most to each person. This is being delivered in line with the NHS Comprehensive Model for Personalised Care, empowering people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer, and maximise the potential of digital and community-based support.We are supporting those experiencing cancer with access to psychosocial support, which can include NHS Talking Therapy services and evidence-based psychological therapies for people with anxiety disorders and depression. In addition, NHS England has published service specifications for providers of children and young people’s cancer services, including reducing physical, emotional, and psychological morbidity arising from treatment.We recognise the importance of using the voluntary and community sector to provide a range of holistic support offers for patients’ wellbeing and mental health. Social prescribing is a key component of the National Health Service’s Universal Personalised Care and is a way for general practices or local agencies to refer people to a Social Prescribing Link Worker. Social prescribing link workers focus on ‘what matters to me’ and connect people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support, including arts-based activities.

What plans he has to improve early interventions for young people with severe mental health issues.

We recognise the importance of early intervention, and that too many children and young people, including those with severe mental health issues, are not getting the support or care they need. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across child and adult services, to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, whilst also helping to ease pressure on the busy mental health services.We will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school, so that mental health conditions can be identified early on and prevented from developing into more serious conditions in later life.In addition, NHS England is currently refreshing guidance on children and young people's eating disorders. The refreshed guidance will highlight the importance of awareness and early recognition of eating disorders within schools, colleges, primary care, and broader children and young peoples’ mental health services.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing funding for level 7 apprenticeships on the number of chartered town planners in local government.

I refer the hon. Member for Yeovil to the answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 23140.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing funding for level 7 healthcare apprenticeships on skills shortages in the NHS; and what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on that funding.

I refer the hon. Member for Yeovil to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 39819.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing funding for level 7 healthcare apprenticeships on the NHS long-term workforce plan.

I refer the hon. Member for Yeovil to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 39819.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing funding for level 7 healthcare apprenticeships on the number of advanced clinical practitioners in the NHS.

I refer the hon. Member for Yeovil to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 39819.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will reconvene the Responsible Dog Ownership Working Group.

Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. We are currently considering the best way to take forward the Responsible Dog Ownership Taskforce.

What plans she has to improve the (a) mental health and (b) wellbeing of teachers in Somerset.

I refer the hon. Member for Yeovil to the answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29516.

What plans she has to improve teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention in Somerset.

High quality teaching is the most important in-school factor to a child’s educational outcomes. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers, get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges and tackle retention issues. To deliver this pledge we are resetting the relationship with the sector to ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.We agreed a 5.5% pay award for teachers this year, 2024/25, and we have increased the funding available for bursaries for trainee teaches to £233 million from 2025/26, to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in some shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’, and the further education teacher recruitment campaign ‘Share your Skills’.A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy, and in addition to recruiting high quality teachers, we want to ensure teachers stay and thrive in this profession. New teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing in the first five years of their careers will now receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000, after-tax, if working in disadvantaged schools. There are six schools in the Yeovil constituency where teachers are eligible for targeted retention incentives.The department has also taken steps to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing, to support retention and help re-establish teaching as an attractive profession. This includes opportunities for greater flexible working, such as allowing planning, preparation and assessment time to be undertaken remotely, and making key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers​.The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, ensuring schools are capturing the benefits of flexible working, whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time.Malmesbury School of the Athelstan Trust is the flexible working ambassador school providing local, tailored peer support for Yeovil schools.High quality continuing professional development is also key to ensuring the retention of an effective teaching workforce. Through the revised Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework, new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across initial teacher training and into their induction. The department has also launched an updated suite of national professional qualifications (NPQs) for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts. Teaching School Hubs play a significant role in delivering the initial teacher training, the early career framework and NPQs. The Five Counties Teaching School Hubs Alliance is a partnership of Teaching School Hubs supporting teacher training and development across Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath and Bristol.

What estimate she has made of the number of inmates with dyslexia in prisons in (a) Somerset, (b) the South West and (C) the UK.

His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) offers screening to prisoners upon entry to prison to help identify any additional needs they may have, including those associated with dyslexia. We would not attribute any additional needs that are identified during the screening process to a specific clinical condition but do encourage individuals to self-declare any conditions or needs they consider themselves to have.HMPPS held data does not distinguish the specific types of learning needs of prisoners, so cannot identify those with dyslexia from other learning needs. However, the data from initial screening offered upon entry to prison, which indicates the number of learners in prison with a learning difficulty or disability can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-education-and-accredited-programme-statistics.