Written questions by Stephenson.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Flood Resilience Taskforce Model to consider wider resilience challenges.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five priorities. That’s why we set up a Floods Resilience Taskforce which is a new approach to preparing for flooding. It brings together representatives from national, regional and local Government, the Devolved Governments, emergency services, businesses and environmental interest groups. The Floods Resilience Taskforce is working on a range of actions including warning and informing and vulnerable groups. The Government has robust governance in place for improving the UK's national resilience. The Prime Minister established a dedicated Cabinet Committee on resilience, chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and the Cabinet Office is responsible for the coordination of resilience, civil contingencies planning, and crisis management working with Lead Government Departments like Defra and the Devolved Governments. Defra is responsible for a range of resilience challenges including flooding, water supply, animal and plant health, and food supply. There is frequent sharing of experience across Defra including on the model of the Floods Resilience Taskforce.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 30413 on Farmers: Income, if he will make an estimate of median income for farmers in the 2023-24 financial year.

Published data for England 2023/24 are based on mean average incomes, rather than medians and are available at: Farm business income - GOV.UK. These show that, in 2023/24, average (mean) Farm Business Income (in simple terms, the output generated by the farm business minus total farm costs) across all farm types was £45,300.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of AXA’s report entitled Extreme weather risks: An analysis of England’s vulnerability to flooding and heat.

Under the Third National Adaptation Plan, MHCLG has shared responsibility with Defra and DESNZ for addressing risks to buildings from extreme heat and flooding.On overheating, MHCLG introduced Part O of the Building Regulations in 2021, which requires that new buildings are built to mitigate the risk of overheating. Part O came into force in June 2022.On flooding, statutory guidance to the Building Regulations in Approved Document C, already promotes the use of flood resilient and resistant construction in flood prone areas.The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 also sets out that the planning system should take full account of all climate impacts, including overheating, storm and flood risk. Planning should help to ensure that development minimises vulnerability and improves resilience to the effects of climate change.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the recruitment of additional ecologists in local government.

Since November 2021, the Government has committed over £35 million to Local planning authorities (LPAs) to help them prepare for and implement biodiversity net gain. Defra has confirmed funding up to the end of 2024/25 and will confirm for 2025/26 shortly. Information on funding beyond 2025/26 will be provided following the spending review. Individual LPAs are best placed to decide how to use the funds in the most effective way, but recruitment of ecologists is one of the areas they could choose to allocate money to.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of ADHD assessments in identifying that condition in girls.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.NICE guidelines on ADHD, published and updated in September 2019, aim to improve the diagnosis of ADHD, recognising that ADHD may be under-diagnosed in women and girls, and to improve the quality of care and support that people of all ages who are diagnosed with ADHD receive.NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer.In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop an ADHD data improvement plan to inform future service planning. NHS England has also captured examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services and is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 27307 on Tourism: Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of increased local authority spending to promote UK tourism on (a) economic growth and (b) tax revenue.

Increased investment to promote UK tourism can, if well targeted, lead to an increase in economic growth, tax revenue and local prosperity.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that humanitarian support for Gaza cannot be used to further Hamas’ objectives.

I will refer the honourable member to our response to PQ 40467. We are aware of allegations that Hamas uses humanitarian aid for its own gain. We have encouraged Israel to share evidence with the UN/ International Non-Governmental Organizations. We have not seen clear evidence of systematic aid diversion to Hamas, and given the ongoing hostilities in Gaza we are unable to verify allegations through direct monitoring. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) humanitarian programmes in the Occupied Palestinian Territories operate with additional safeguards to manage the risk of aid diversion. Our emergency humanitarian response is delivered through trusted, credible partners to minimise risk. These partners operate in line with humanitarian principles, including neutrality, and have demonstrated their ability to deliver aid to the most vulnerable in the most challenging contexts. We remain in regular contact with partners regarding operational delivery, risk management and monitoring of delivery.

If she will make an estimate of the number of school students in Mid Bedfordshire constituency impacted by changes to funding for the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme.

Excellence in mathematics is one of the many skills needed to drive economic growth, and we are committed to ensuring all children and young people have opportunities to secure mathematical knowledge, regardless of background and socio-economic status.The Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP) is a vital government funded programme that continues to positively impact mathematics education across England. We are currently working with the AMSP supplier (MEI) to ensure that its important work evolves to better align with the government’s Opportunity Mission and skills for the future, such as AI and Data Science.More details on AMSP funding and the full offer for schools and colleges nationally and locally will be published in due course, on the AMSP website, which can be accessed here: https://amsp.org.uk/.

With reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 631-634, if she will make an estimate of the savings to the public purse by reducing the amount spent on official development assistance as a proportion of gross national income.

We are facing a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of Europe and must increase our security and defence spending now. To fund this increase, the government has taken the difficult decision to reduce Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the equivalent of 0.3% of GNI by 2027. Future ODA allocations will be decided at Phase 2 of the Spending Review and the ODA savings trajectory will be set out in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 29563 on General Practitioners: Finance, what his planned timetable is for confirming the allocations for integrated care boards.

Integrated care boards were informed of their allocations in the planning guidance issued on 30 January 2025. The final element to be confirmed is the operation of a small element of incentives funding.The Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund was announced during the 2024 Spending Review and provides new capital funding of £102 million for the 2025/26 financial year, to support improvements in the primary care estate.Systems have also received their indicative allocations relating to this specific fund through the planning guidance, and have submitted the priority schemes they wish to support to NHS England for assessment at the regional level. The assessments are due to completed by 31 March 2025, and the systems will be notified shortly afterwards about successful schemes.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda, published on 10 March 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of removing Sport England as a statutory consultee on grassroots sport.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda, published on 10 March 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of removing the Theatres Trust as a statutory consultee on the creative industries.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 29563 on General Practitioners: Finance, what his planned timetable is for confirming funding for GP surgery projects.

Integrated care boards were informed of their allocations in the planning guidance issued on 30 January 2025. The final element to be confirmed is the operation of a small element of incentives funding.The Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund was announced during the 2024 Spending Review and provides new capital funding of £102 million for the 2025/26 financial year, to support improvements in the primary care estate.Systems have also received their indicative allocations relating to this specific fund through the planning guidance, and have submitted the priority schemes they wish to support to NHS England for assessment at the regional level. The assessments are due to completed by 31 March 2025, and the systems will be notified shortly afterwards about successful schemes.

Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the economic contribution of live theatre to the creative industry.

This Government recognises the importance of theatre in providing high-quality culture and stimulating growth. DCMS economic estimates of GVA provide a measure of the contribution made by the DCMS sectors to the UK economy. The Arts subsector, of which theatres are part, contributed £9 billion GVA and supported around 230,000 filled jobs in 2023. DCMS economic estimates do not separately measure the contribution of live theatre to GVA. According to a 2023 study by SOLT & UK Theatre, the theatre sector as a whole generated £2.39bn in GVA and generated a total turnover of £4.44 billion. Data collection plays an integral role in how the Department for Culture, Media and Sport assesses the economic contribution of its sectors to the UK economy. DCMS publishes official statistics (DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates) including data on Gross Value Added, employment and business demographics, which are available at national and regional levels. These data can be found on the DCMS website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dcms-sectors-economic-estimates

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of call waiting times for emergency support for suicidal people in Bedfordshire.

People experiencing suicidal thoughts can access emergency support through a variety of services. These include accident and emergency, mental health crisis services via NHS 111, the police, mental health street triage services, ambulance services, general practitioners, and voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations.While waiting times data is published by NHS England across many of these services, information on the reason for the call is not available.

With reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 631-634, if she will provide a breakdown of the funding sources for the proposed increase in defence spending.

The Prime Minister’s announcement in February is fully funded - we are reducing ODA to the equivalent of 0.3% of GNI to fund the additional spend required to ensure we reach 2.5% of GDP on defence spending in 2027-28.

If she will make it her policy to introduce a ban on pavement parking in non-metropolitan areas.

The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the consultation in 2020 and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda, published on 10 March 2025, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport,on the potential impact of removing the Theatres Trust as a statutory consultee on the creative industries.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510).

What steps he is taking to ensure adequate support for people with postural tachycardia syndrome in Bedfordshire.

Improving health outcomes for people who live with long-term conditions, including postural tachycardia syndrome, is a key part of the Government's mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future.The integrated care boards (ICBs), including the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB, which serves Bedfordshire, are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their population. The Government expects ICBs to take account of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and other best practice in designing their services to meet the needs of their local populations.The NICE publishes guidance on the diagnosis and treatment of long-term conditions for use by healthcare professionals and commissioners. The NICE has produced a clinical knowledge summary on the clinical management of blackouts and syncope, which sets out how clinicians should assess and diagnose postural tachycardia syndrome.This was last updated in November 2023, and is available at the following link: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/

If she will make an estimate of the number of SEN children fined for school absences in the last academic year.

The information requested is not held by the department.The department collects aggregate data on penalty notices from local authorities in England through the annual ‘parental responsibility measures’ attendance census. Information is not collected on the characteristics of the children concerned.The available data are published in the following statistical release: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.The most recent data was published in January 2025.