Written questions by Dixon.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce (a) bus, (b) coach and (c) other transport costs for schools.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel, at the start and end of the school day. This is for children of compulsory school age, (5 to 16), who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so. At their discretion, some schools may choose to organise their own school travel, which they may or may not charge for. Local authorities may also choose to meet their statutory responsibilities for arranging school travel through local arrangements with schools in some cases. I am keen to understand how well home-to-school transport supports children to access educational opportunity and will be working with departmental officials on this.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the length of time it takes for cases to be reviewed by the Pensions Ombudsman.

In November 2023, DWP instigated a peer review of The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO), that considered organisational structure, performance, waiting times and efficiencies. Following the ensuing recommendations, TPO commissioned an internal review which has resulted in their Operating Model Review (OMR). TPO has begun implementing improvements to its Operating Model enhancing effectiveness and ensuring cases are closed as early as possible. Engaging and influencing the wider pensions industry remains a vital part of TPO strategy. The recent ‘How to avoid the Ombudsman’ session run by its Stakeholder Engagement team demonstrates TPO willingness to engage industry to reduce the number of complaints it receives. DWP has invested substantial additional funding to TPO’s baseline over the SR period to expand headcount to support the reduction in waiting times.

If he will take steps to prevent the sale of the CellAED personal defibrillator.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating the United Kingdom’s medical devices market and works to protect and promote public health and patient safety. We undertake safety and market surveillance of all medical devices in the UK to monitor both performance and safety. We also designate Approved Bodies to undertake conformity assessments of medical devices and award a UK conformity assessed marking to sell products.The MHRA acts on evidence and takes prompt action where necessary to protect public health. We communicate any actions taken to healthcare professionals and patients as appropriate. We encourage all users of medical devices to report any problems to us via the Yellow Card Scheme.We are aware of issues raised by stakeholders regarding the CellAED device and we are investigating these concerns with the manufacturer.Typically, when concerns are identified we have a number of regulatory options available to protect the public including, but not limited to, working with manufacturers to address safety concerns, negotiating a voluntary suspension of sales pending the conclusion of a safety and performance investigation, producing safety communications, or taking compliance action to prevent sales when required.Interactions between medical device manufacturers and the MHRA are confidential. This is to promote transparent, accurate and timely flow of information to allow appropriate regulatory decisions to be made from evidence provided.

What steps his Department is taking to help support the financial sustainability of community pharmacies.

Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. Previous plans did not go far enough. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.The consultation with Community Pharmacy England on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25 has not yet been concluded, and we are looking into this as a matter of urgency.

What steps he is taking to increase solar power generation.

The Government recently announced the re-establishment of the Solar Taskforce and publication of the Solar Roadmap will follow shortly, setting out recommendations on how we and industry will work together to achieve our ambition to radically increase deployment by 2030. Alongside that, Government recently concluded its latest Contracts for Difference round, where a record 3.3GW of solar capacity was secured.