Written questions by Stephenson.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) business rates on private schools and (b) VAT on school fees on economic growth.

Economic impacts of the policy to apply VAT to private school fees are covered in the tax information and impact note (TIIN) that the government has published on GOV.UK. The publication can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has introduced the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill to remove eligibility to business rates relief from private schools that are charities. MHCLG has published an impact note alongside the Bill, and this can be found at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0129/ImpactNote.pdf.

Pursuant to the Answer to Written Question 26150 on General Practitioners: Bedfordshire, what assessment he has made of the impact of rurality on on a GPs workload.

We acknowledge the urgent challenge of ensuring rural areas, including Bedfordshire, have the resources to continue serving their patients. We are committed to training thousands more GPs across the country, including in rural areas. We have also committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs in 2024/25 through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which will increase capacity, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and alleviate the pressure on those currently working in the system.Through the Red Tape Challenge, we are also determined to bulldoze bureaucracy and cut red tape, ensuring GPs spend less time filling in forms and more time caring for patients. We recognise it is vital for roles to be satisfying, rewarding, and sustainable, so that our experienced GPs continue to contribute throughout their career.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to the NPPF on (a) Bedford Borough and (b) other councils that have a Local Plan at examination.

Transitional arrangements for implementing policies in the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December are set out in Annex 1 of it.

How many judicial reviews of (a) major infrastructure projects and (b) planning applications and (c) other issues have taken place in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on judicial review cases in England and Wales as part of the Civil Justice statistics quarterly bulletin (Civil justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK). The consolidated figures for all judicial review cases since 2000 are available at the “Civil Justice and Judicial Review data (zip file)” link.The table below sets out the number of judicial review cases categorised as (a) significant planning court claims, (b) other planning cases, and (c) all judicial reviews. Significant planning court claims include but are not limited to judicial reviews of nationally significant infrastructure projects provided for by the Planning Act 2008.Year (a) Significant planning court claims* (b) Other planning cases* (c) All judicial reviews* 2019401503,3852020381502,8362021621762,3322022371562,4502023311702,5362024 (to September)301272,255 *Includes Regional Offices of the Administrative Court, although most cases received were issued in London.

Communities and Local Government, whether she expects her reforms to local government to abolish the office of the elected Mayor of Bedford.

On the 5 February I invited unitary proposals from all two-tier councils and neighbouring unitaries and while Bedford Borough Council have not received this invitation, the White Paper is clear that Government will also facilitate reorganisation for those unitary councils where there is evidence of failure or where their size or boundaries are impacting on their responsibilities. The Government is open to discussions with all areas where structural change will help them get onto a more sustainable footing.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has conducted a lessons learned review over negotiations with AstraZeneca on proposed investment in Merseyside.

AstraZeneca’s decision not to invest in Speke is deeply disappointing. The Government regularly reviews it’s grant process and routinely seeks applicant feedback. The Government also continues to engage positively with AstraZeneca, including on the new Industrial Strategy and Life Sciences Sector Plan, due to be published in late Spring. This will set out a comprehensive plan of how the Government intends to drive growth in the sector. Support includes the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which will allocate up to £520 million to deliver economic growth and build health resilience.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25793 on Local Government: Employers' Contribution, what methodology her Department used to determine that £515 million of additional support would be required.

Additional funding for employer NICs has been determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff. The grant distribution methodology has been published in an explanatory note on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-explanatory-note-on-the-employer-national-insurance-contribution-grant-2025-to-2026.We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. That is why the government is providing an additional £2 billion of grant funding through the Settlement, which includes £502 million of additional grant funding to manage the impact of employer National Insurance Contributions changes on council budgets, and £13 million for combined authorities, totalling £515 million. The final Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring the ownership of balancing ponds owned by National Highways to Internal Drainage Boards, in the context of flood protection.

The Government recognises the important work Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) undertake to support farmers and rural communities. IDBs are local independent public bodies and they have permissive powers for managing water levels and reducing flood risk in rural and urban communities. In doing so they work closely with other risk management authorities (RMAs), including highways authorities. IDBs use a wide range of measures and assets to deliver their work, ensuring it is the right measure in the right place. IDBs can adopt assets from RMAs and other organisations. This will be on a case-by-case basis, and where they do the IDB will consider the benefits and costs, especially for the farmers and local authorities who fund them.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of median income for farmers in the 2024-25 financial year.

Data for the 2024/25 financial year is not yet available.

With reference to page 64 of the document entitled GM 701 Asset delivery asset maintenance, published by Standards for Highways in March 2020, if her Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of Highways England in meeting the standards for drainage and service ducts.

Under its Licence, National Highways must comply with its legal duties and other obligations to ensure the maintenance, resilience, renewal and development of the strategic road network (SRN), and must have due regard to any guidance, standards or specifications relevant to its statutory or other functions. This includes GM701 that the company authors and publishes. It details maintenance requirements to keep the SRN safe and serviceable by undertaking routine cyclical operations, including in areas such as maintaining drainage assets.As the independent Highways Monitor, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) holds National Highways to account in its effectiveness in operating the SRN, delivery of the road investment strategy and compliance with its Licence. ORR does not audit individual maintenance activities, rather it takes a proportional, systemic, approach focussed on holding the company to account for its drainage performance indicator. This indicator shows the susceptibility of the SRN to flooding and provides insight of drainage condition on the SRN.ORR publish an annual assessment of National Highways’ performance. Both ORR and National Highways work closely with the department to keep it informed of performance against areas such as maintenance.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to Central Bedfordshire Council to help support the transition from a three to a two-tier education system.

Every year, the department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5 to 16 year-old pupils, from reception to year 11, in mainstream state-funded schools in England.In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and pupils’ characteristics. This allows funding distribution to be based on a fair and consistent assessment of need. The NFF is neutral to how schools are set up and schools are free to choose how best to spend the funding they receive.The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities to meet their statutory duty to provide sufficient school places. While this funding is not designed to fund transitions from a three-tier to a two-tier system, the funding is not ringfenced, subject to published conditions, and local authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities. Central Bedfordshire Council will receive just under £36.1 million for places needed between May 2022 and September 2026, paid across the five financial years from 2021/22 to 2025/26. This takes their total funding allocated between 2011 and 2026 to just under £121.3 million. Importantly, the decision to move to a two-tier system is one for the local authority to make.

What her planned timetable is for nationalising (a) London Northwestern Railway and (b) Thameslink.

The Department announced in December that South Western Railway’s services will be the first to transfer into public ownership in May 2025, followed by c2c’s services in July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in the autumn. The Department will issue an expiry notice to Greater Anglia in due course to confirm the exact transfer date. Ministers will take decisions on further transfers in due course, taking account of relevant circumstances prevailing at the time. The Department expects the transfer of all rail passenger services currently operated by private sector train operators under contract with the Department to complete over the next 3 years.

Whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in the US on levels of defence spending by the UK.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with Secretary Hegseth on 12 February. He explained that the UK has consistently met the 2% of GDP NATO Defence spending target and that we are also advocating for other NATO Allies to meet and surpass the target. The UK has already increased funding for defence this year by £3 billion and will set out the pathway to 2.5% this Spring.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.

The Department has not assessed the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity. The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The analyses do not estimate the impact of health on productivity at work but considers the economic output lost as a result of sickness absence. This found that lost output due to sickness absence cost the economy between £15 billion to £20 billion.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reaching his Department's target to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence in (a) 2030 and (b) 2032 on the effectiveness of the UK's defence capabilities.

To ensure the UK is prepared to deal with the changing threat, our Budget increased defence spending by £2.9 billion for next year and we are committed to setting a path to 2.5% of GDP on defence in the spring. The Strategic Defence Review is wide-ranging, ensuring we look hard at the threats we face and the capabilities we need to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

If he will make an estimate of the proportion of GDP that will be spent on defence by 2030.

To ensure the UK is prepared to deal with the changing threat, our Budget increased defence spending by £2.9 billion for next year. The future spending envelope for Defence will be set out in the usual way.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, updated on 28 January 2025, whether he has made a comparative assessment between (a) that data on surface water flooding and (b) flooded properties in 2024-25.

The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire and elsewhere. The EA is committed to a rolling programme of further data improvements starting from summer 2025. LLFAs are the lead organisations responsible for managing surface water flood risk. The EA anticipate that LLFAs will review data on surface water flooding, and properties flooded in 2024-25, as part of any ‘Section 19’ reporting they carry out (a requirement on LLFAs under the Floods and Water Management Act 2010). The EA does not have direct access to insurance claims information related to flooding, so have not undertaken any assessment of insurance claims information related to the data on surface water flood risk. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has regular discussions with the EA on a number of matters, including those relating to the new NaFRA. On 25 March 2025 the EA aims to publish the new NaFRA flood zone data on ‘Flood map for planning’ and on data.gov.uk.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the NaFRA2 flood zone data.

The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire and elsewhere. The EA is committed to a rolling programme of further data improvements starting from summer 2025. LLFAs are the lead organisations responsible for managing surface water flood risk. The EA anticipate that LLFAs will review data on surface water flooding, and properties flooded in 2024-25, as part of any ‘Section 19’ reporting they carry out (a requirement on LLFAs under the Floods and Water Management Act 2010). The EA does not have direct access to insurance claims information related to flooding, so have not undertaken any assessment of insurance claims information related to the data on surface water flood risk. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has regular discussions with the EA on a number of matters, including those relating to the new NaFRA. On 25 March 2025 the EA aims to publish the new NaFRA flood zone data on ‘Flood map for planning’ and on data.gov.uk.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, updated on 28 January 2025, whether he has made a comparative assessment between (a) that data on surface water flooding and (b) insurance claims for flooding in 2024-25.

The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire and elsewhere. The EA is committed to a rolling programme of further data improvements starting from summer 2025. LLFAs are the lead organisations responsible for managing surface water flood risk. The EA anticipate that LLFAs will review data on surface water flooding, and properties flooded in 2024-25, as part of any ‘Section 19’ reporting they carry out (a requirement on LLFAs under the Floods and Water Management Act 2010). The EA does not have direct access to insurance claims information related to flooding, so have not undertaken any assessment of insurance claims information related to the data on surface water flood risk. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has regular discussions with the EA on a number of matters, including those relating to the new NaFRA. On 25 March 2025 the EA aims to publish the new NaFRA flood zone data on ‘Flood map for planning’ and on data.gov.uk.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he reviewed the NaFRA2 flood zone data on surface water flooding before it was published.

The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire and elsewhere. The EA is committed to a rolling programme of further data improvements starting from summer 2025. LLFAs are the lead organisations responsible for managing surface water flood risk. The EA anticipate that LLFAs will review data on surface water flooding, and properties flooded in 2024-25, as part of any ‘Section 19’ reporting they carry out (a requirement on LLFAs under the Floods and Water Management Act 2010). The EA does not have direct access to insurance claims information related to flooding, so have not undertaken any assessment of insurance claims information related to the data on surface water flood risk. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has regular discussions with the EA on a number of matters, including those relating to the new NaFRA. On 25 March 2025 the EA aims to publish the new NaFRA flood zone data on ‘Flood map for planning’ and on data.gov.uk.