Written questions by Goldsborough.

How much staff time, in hours, was lost to sick leave in (a) the open estate, (b) the secure estate and (c) Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.

Sickness is measured across the Civil Service in working days lost rather than the number of hours lost.The number of working days lost to sickness is published in the HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly publication which is available here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-prison-probation-service-workforce-statistics.The number of days lost in each prison annually from 1 April 2019 to 30 June 2025 is available in Table 21 of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/689f34791fedc616bb133a86/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-jun-2025_final.ods.Data from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019 is available in Table 21 of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64dcd3e0c8dee4000d7f1db2/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-jun-2023_final.ods.The prison categories are available in this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6889f68876f68cc8414d5b6a/Chapter_10_Tables___Staff_in_post.ods.Data for 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2017 is included in the attached spreadsheet. This also includes the average staff in post and average working days lost for context to enable comparisons over time.

How many psychologists have been employed on (a) the secure estate, (b) the open estate and (c) young offenders’ institutions in each of the last 10 financial years.

The requested information is published in Table 15 of the HM Prison & Probation Service Workforce Statistics, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-prison-probation-service-workforce-statistics.Psychologists in HM Prison and Probation Service are organised into regional teams. Although each is based at an individual establishment, they work across sites, depending upon demand.A breakdown of establishments by category can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers.

If her Department will make an assessment of the proportion of inmates on the women’s estate who have immediate access to menstrual products in their cells.

All women in prison have access to menstrual products, which are typically stored in locations that allow women to collect items themselves as needed. They are then able to store them in their cells. In circumstances – such as overnight – where a woman is confined to her cell and does not have access to menstrual products, she can alert a member of staff, who will ensure that appropriate provision is made without delay.

Communities and Local Government, if her Department will initiate an external assurance review following Norfolk County Council's application for Exceptional Financial Support.

Any support agreed through the Exceptional Financial Support framework is usually agreed in-principle and may be subject to conditions, including ensuring there is appropriate assurance around the circumstances of the request. My department is continuing to engage with Norfolk County Council on their request for support.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the proportion of funding for commercial early years providers that comes from voluntary contributions.

As the entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important that they remain accessible and affordable for families.Providers can ask parents to pay for consumables. However, in line with a recent High Court judgment, charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place.The department publishes data on the proportion of income providers get from parent-paid fees, entitlement funding and other income in our annual provider finances report. The most recent report is for 2023 and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673b14b8fc572967fe66a92e/Providers__finances_Evidence_from_the_2023_Survey_of_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Providers.pdf.

What proportion of eligible families are receiving support through the Healthy Start scheme in South Norfolk constituency.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start and does not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for Healthy Start. In addition, the NHSBSA does not hold data on local constituencies. The number of people on the digital scheme in the local authority of South Norfolk as of 23 May 2025 is 423.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the updated school food standards promote the procurement of food from local producers and growers.

The department is engaging with stakeholders on revising the school food standards, to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. Schools can voluntarily follow the government's buying standards.Additionally, The National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February 2025, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, which we believe our high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.Alongside this, the government’s wider food strategy will create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, boosting our food security, improving our health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.As with all aspects of the school food standards review, we will consider our approaches to procurement of locally grown produce.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of community ownership to businesses in rural areas.

This government is committed to doubling the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector. Diverse business models are important, not only in terms of our growth mission, but also to support our communities to thrive. That is why we welcomed the independent Co-operatives and Mutual Business Council, formed in March, to help us explore how working together, we can fulfil our ambition to grow the sector. And, earlier this month DBT and HMT Ministers hosted a reception at No.10 Downing Street to celebrate the Co-operatives and Mutuals sector and set out the Government’s next steps – including launching a Call for Evidence later this year, on how we can continue to support co-operatives and mutual businesses to start, grow and scale, as well as support existing businesses transition to become a co-operative or mutual. We are also delivering on the pledge to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right to Buy’ for Assets of Community Value, creating a clearer route to community ownership.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to support community ownership of businesses.

This government is committed to doubling the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector. Diverse business models are important, not only in terms of our growth mission, but also to support our communities to thrive. That is why we welcomed the independent Co-operatives and Mutual Business Council, formed in March, to help us explore how working together, we can fulfil our ambition to grow the sector. And, earlier this month DBT and HMT Ministers hosted a reception at No.10 Downing Street to celebrate the Co-operatives and Mutuals sector and set out the Government’s next steps – including launching a Call for Evidence later this year, on how we can continue to support co-operatives and mutual businesses to start, grow and scale, as well as support existing businesses transition to become a co-operative or mutual. We are also delivering on the pledge to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right to Buy’ for Assets of Community Value, creating a clearer route to community ownership.

What steps her Department has taken to compare best practice in (a) the UK and (b) other countries in the development of its policies on early years provision.

The department meets with Ministers and officials from across the UK and other nations to discuss developments, approaches and best practice in the provision of early education and childcare. International evidence, such as the OECD’s Education at a Glance publication, is used to identify high performing and innovative early years systems and inform policy development. England is a member of the British-Irish Council, in which we actively engage to collaborate on a wide range of education matters, including early education and childcare across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

If she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of early years education in (a) schools and (b) non-school sites on educational outcomes.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.

What information her Department holds on the number of full-time early years places at school-based nurseries.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.The 2024 Department for Education Provider Survey shows that there were 322,000 registered places at school-based nurseries in 2024.School-based nurseries are one part of this country's childcare and early years market.Nurseries located on a school site can operate under different delivery models, such as nursery classes run by the school, a private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nursery leasing space on a school’s premises or operating on the school’s behalf, or provision run by a childminder, or group of childminders, leasing space on a school premises.School-based nurseries are more likely to be led by graduate qualified staff, which is associated with higher quality provision for children. Additionally, the benefits of school-based nursery provision, including transition to school, were highlighted by many teachers working in schools with a nursery in the Kindred Squared school readiness report.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enabling parents to be paid their childcare funding using their government tax-free childcare account.

Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides parents with financial support with the aim of allowing parents to work and earn more. It enables parents access funding of up to £2,000 per child for children up to 11 years-old (16 and up to £4,000 if the child is disabled). In addition to this, TFC caters to self-employed parents, and parents that work irregular hours and may be unable to access traditional childcare provisions.Since its introduction in 2017, take-up of TFC has consistently increased. For the Financial Year 2024-25, approximately 826,000 families used TFC for 1,085,000 children. In March 2025, 580,000 families used TFC for 709,000 children, higher than any previous month since TFC began.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to regulate water companies operating in protected landscapes to help prevent environmental harm.

This Government will continue to work with regulators to hold water companies to account on poor performance and drive improvements which benefit customers and the environment. The Water (Special Measures) Act delivers on our manifesto commitment to put water companies under special measures by strengthening regulation to clean up our waters. Through water resource management plans and regional water resources plans we are addressing unsustainable abstraction and protecting the environment from climate change over the next 25 years and beyond. These plans include action to protect England’s precious and unique chalk stream habitats, reducing abstraction by nearly 3 billion litres a day by 2050. Nutrient pollution from wastewater is one of the key pressures affecting our rivers, lakes, and seas. There is a legally binding target under the Environment Act 2021 to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80% by 2038 against a 2020 baseline. We will require water companies to upgrade 440 wastewater treatment works by 2030, to meet stricter phosphorus permit limits, reducing harmful nutrient pollution from treated wastewater. In Price Review 2024 final determinations, Ofwat has allowed £4.795bn of investment to improve water quality by reducing phosphorus pollution in England and Wales. Furthermore, as part of the record £11bn of investment to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows in England and Wales during Price Review 2024, with 75% of such High Priority Sites needing to be improved by 2035 and the rest by 2045. By 2050, we expect no storm overflow spill to cause any adverse ecological harm and spill no more than 10 times per year.

How her Department calculated the funding rate for each (a) child and (b) age group for early years provision.

The hourly funding rate for the early years entitlements varies to reflect the costs of delivering provision to different ages. The department knows, from listening to the sector and from our own regular research, that the cost of delivery is highest for younger children due to tighter staffing ratios and, consequently, higher staff costs, as staffing makes up the most significant proportion of provider costs.Each local authority receives an hourly rate for each entitlement, determined by the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF). The EYNFF targets funding to local authorities where it is needed most, reflecting the relative needs of the children and costs of delivering provision in that area. Local authorities are responsible for setting individual provider funding rates in consultation with their providers and schools forum, and fund providers using their own local funding formula.Further details of how early years entitlements funding is distributed, including a detailed methodology document on the EYNFF and operational guidance, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-funding-2025-to-2026.

How many prosecutions under the Single Justice Procedure have been reopened via the statutory declaration process in each of the last 10 years.

Data on the number of prosecutions under the Single Justice Procedure which have been reopened via the statutory declaration process is not held centrally and could only be collated at disproportionate cost.

If she will list the offences for which the Single Justice Procedure can be used.

We do not have a list of the offences prosecutable under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). It can be used to deal with any non-imprisonable summary-only offence in cases which are non-contested and where the prosecutor considers it appropriate. In all SJP cases, the defendant has the option to choose for their case to be heard in open court rather than through the SJP process.Our consultation on the Oversight and Regulation of Private Prosecutors, which closed on 8 May 2025, looks at the operation of the SJP generally. We are analysing the responses which will inform future work in this area, including the need for reforms to ensure the SJP operates in a fair and transparent manner.

Media and Sport, how much Youth Investment Fund money has been allocated to (a) organisations, (b) authorities and (c) other entities with premises within South Norfolk constituency in each year since applications were open.

This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in this Government's National Youth Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector, and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.Over £120,000 has been invested in South Norfolk and an additional £1.4 million in the wider Norfolk County through the Youth Investment Fund.The Secretary of State’s Written Statement, of 15 May 2025, sets out the Department’s 2025/26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.The package of funding includes £79.4 million of reprofiled Youth Investment Fund Phase 2 to ensure the successful delivery of projects scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) projects.

Media and Sport, what proportion of funding allocated through the Youth Investment Fund has been allocated to (a) Town and (b) Parish Councils in each year applications were open.

This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in this Government's National Youth Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector, and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.Over £120,000 has been invested in South Norfolk and an additional £1.4 million in the wider Norfolk County through the Youth Investment Fund.The Secretary of State’s Written Statement, of 15 May 2025, sets out the Department’s 2025/26 funding for youth programmes - an investment of over £145 million - to provide stability to the youth sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities, as we transition to the new National Youth Strategy.The package of funding includes £79.4 million of reprofiled Youth Investment Fund Phase 2 to ensure the successful delivery of projects scheduled for completion in 2025/26. This includes the pipeline of 25 Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) projects.

How many people were prosecuted under the single justice procedure by offence in each month of 2024; and what the plea rates were for offences charged under the single justice procedure in the same period.

The requested information is provided in the attached table.The Government is concerned about the consistency in standards of private prosecutors, including those who use the Single Justice Procedure. This is why we launched a consultation on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors and safeguards in the Single Justice Procedure. The consultation closed on 08 May and we are considering our response carefully.