Written questions by Anderson.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that new mental health staff are deployed in areas of greatest demand in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government is recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to help ease pressure on busy mental health services across the NHS, including in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. More than 6,700 extra mental health workers have been employed since July, as per the latest data.We are working with NHS England to deliver a refreshed workforce plan, which will revolve around the three shifts to deliver our 10-Year Health Plan: moving more care from hospitals to communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it.Responsibility for the onward commissioning of mental health services sits with integrated care boards (ICB). It is the role of local ICB decision-makers to consider the implications of mental health services, specific to each geography and including the perspectives of healthcare professionals, patient advocacy groups, and local authorities.

Whether his Department has made an estimate of the NHS dental workforce that will be required in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in each of the next five years.

We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan and will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

Whether she has considered the potential merits of mandating the Listings Taskforce to consider sector-specific listing challenges for those priority areas identified in the Industrial Strategy.

The government is taking forward an ambitious programme of reforms to reinvigorate capital markets and ensure the UK is the best place for all firms to start, scale and list. As the Chancellor announced at Mansion House on 15 July, the government will establish a Listings Taskforce to support businesses to list and grow in the UK. HM Treasury will work in partnership with the Office for Investment, and industry, to ensure the UK attracts the best and brightest businesses from around the world, and right here in the UK, to list on UK markets.

What steps he is taking to ensure consistency in his planning decisions on applications for solar farm with proposed generating capacity above 50 MW.

Decisions on consent applications for ‘nationally significant’ projects are made in accordance with legislation set out in the Planning Act 2008, and the relevant National Policy Statement made in accordance with that Act. For solar, this is the Renewable Energy National Policy Statement, which sets out how nationally significant solar projects should be assessed. For solar farms with a generating capacity below the ‘nationally significant’ threshold, planning decisions are made by Local Planning Authorities in line with the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The threshold for solar projects is currently 50MW but is increasing to 100MW from 31 December 2025.

What comparative assessment he has made of the average time taken for planning decisions for solar farm applications in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) nationally.

Nationally Significant Infrastructure decisions are taken by this department and the majority of solar farm applications have been taken within the statutory deadline, although extensions are occasionally required. This department does not hold information on the time taken for solar application decisions taken by Local Authorities.

What discussions she has had with (a) the Financial Policy Committee and (b) Prudential Regulation Committee on their roles in ensuring macro-financial stability during the transition to a nature-positive economy.

The Government is committed to integrating nature into economic and financial decision-making. The Financial Policy Committee’s latest remit, as set out by the Chancellor in November 2024, sets out that the Committee should continue to consider the materiality of nature-related financial risks in relation to its primary objective of protecting and enhancing financial stability. The remits for the Financial Policy Committee and Prudential Regulation Committee also make clear that they should support the Government’s approach to accelerate the transition to a climate resilient, nature positive, and net zero economy. The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England meet regularly to discuss the outlook for UK financial stability.

What plans she has to evaluate the impact of sustainable finance policies on the distribution of capital flows across UK regions.

As outlined in the Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy, the government is taking steps to maintain the UK’s international leadership in sustainable finance. While the government has not made a specific evaluation on the impact of sustainable finance policies on the distribution of capital flows across UK regions, we expect our approach to sustainable finance to increase capital flows in the UK and maintain our position as the leading sustainable finance hub. As set out in the Clean Energies Sector Plan, the government is committed to spreading investment in clean energy in clusters across the UK's nations and regions. In October 2024, the Chancellor also launched the National Wealth Fund (NWF) with £27.8 billion of capital to catalyse and mobilise additional private investment across the UK. The NWF is uniquely positioned to support regional and local strategies with commercial and financial advisory and lending support throughout the investment cycle to deliver on local priorities, supporting them with early-stage project development.

What steps she is taking to align the National Wealth Fund’s investment mandate with emerging international definitions of transition finance.

The National Wealth Fund is represented on the Strategic Steering Group of the Transition Finance Council which is considering how to build the UK’s transition finance market, including guidelines for credible transition finance. In the Statement of Strategic Priorities issued to the National Wealth Fund on 19 March 2025, the Chancellor set Growth and Clean Energy as key priorities. Blended finance solutions are being explored alongside the NWF’s standard financial instruments to effectively use public capital to crowd in private investment and support the transition to a low carbon economy.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the development of solar skills training programmes delivered through further education institutions based in Buckinghamshire.

The government is committed to the UK becoming a clean energy superpower, achieving clean power by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Skills have a crucial role to play in achieving this mission. The department is working to ensure the English skills system supports learners, workers, and employers to prepare for jobs in renewable energy.The department has provided over £500,000 to support the development of a brand-new Green Skills Energy Hub at the Aylesbury campus of the Buckinghamshire College Group. This facility will increase the number of people entering the construction sector and develop the skills of the workforce, closing the green skills gap within Buckinghamshire. The project includes capital funding for specialist, industry standard equipment, supporting training in renewables including solar power, electric vehicle chargers and heat pump engineering.

What plans she has to evaluate the effectiveness of the Sustainable Finance Education Charter in building domestic capacity to develop transition-aligned financial products.

The Sustainable Finance Education Charter (the Charter) is a partnership between the government, the Green Finance Institute and thirteen leading global professional bodies, who consider how best to embed skill requirements for sustainability into their professional qualifications. The Charter group meet regularly and independently of government to better ensure that finance professionals are equipped to assess climate-related and wider environmental and social sustainability risks and apply their professional skills and judgements to innovate and address these. The Charter signatories respond to the needs of the industry, and this includes the increasing importance of transition finance. One of the recommendations from the Transition Finance Market Review (TFMR) called on bodies from the Charter to produce a forward-looking plan for the development of transition plan assurance skills and methodologies. The Charter’s 2024 progress report sets out the details of how they are meeting this recommendation.

What assessment his Department has made of the resilience of energy storage infrastructure co-located with solar energy developments in Buckinghamshire.

The Department has made no specific assessment on this. We have outlined our plans for the deployment of battery storage in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan and will work with industry, NESO and Ofgem to build on those actions through the Low Carbon Flexibility Roadmap announced in the Clean Power Action Plan. This will include actions to enable the deployment of batteries, on their own and co-located with generation.

What discussions she has had with institutional investors on the barriers to scaling transition finance in priority sectors of the UK economy.

The government is prioritising the growth of the transition finance market to seize the opportunities for UK financial services firms and support decarbonisation. The Transition Finance Market Review (TFMR) identified a number of barriers to scaling transition finance, including unlocking defined contribution pension investment in the transition. Building on the TFMR, the government set out the actions it has taken to promote the growth of this market in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. This included reforms to unlock institutional investment in transition assets following the Pensions Investment Review. The government also launched the National Wealth Fund with additional capital, risk appetite and resources to proactively explore blended finance solutions. The government is actively engaged with the Transition Finance Council, which the Chancellor co-launched with the City of London Corporation in November 2024. The Council brings together key stakeholders to discuss transition finance, including institutional investors. The government is also supportive of the Financial Conduct Authority’s work, in partnership with the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Green Finance Institute, to spearhead a transition finance pilot – an innovative way to engage with the market on practical matters relating to scaling transition finance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards on the development of international sustainability reporting frameworks.

The government was a strong supporter of the establishment and development of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) as a global standard setter for sustainability reporting at COP26 to drive international alignment. The ISSB published international standards on sustainability disclosures in 2023, known as S1 and S2. On 25th June 2025, the government published its consultation on the draft UK-endorsed standards, which will be known as UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) and are based on the ISSB standards. These standards aim to support long-term, sustainable decision-making by the business and investment community by providing high-quality and comparable information about the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that businesses face. Greater use of these standards internationally will reduce the costs to businesses of reporting on sustainability matters in multiple jurisdictions and maximise the consistency of information for investors, allowing them to deploy their funding to maximum effect and support economic growth.

What assessment she has made of the regulatory impact of integrating nature-related financial risks into mandatory financial disclosure requirements.

The government welcomes the continued progress on developing sustainability standards by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and welcomes the ISSB’s ongoing research on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services. On 25th June 2025, the government published its consultation on the draft UK-endorsed standards, which will be known as UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) and are based on the ISSB standards. The UK government is supportive of companies building their capacity on nature through the UK Consultation Group of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

What recent estimate her Department has made of the availability of childcare places for children under two years of age in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

Local authorities are legally responsible for securing sufficient childcare to meet the needs of parents in their area, under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006. The Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance (Part B) further requires them to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty and to make these reports accessible to parents.The department provides local authorities with a range of tools and data to complement local assessments and help them plan strategically for sufficiency. This includes:National-level modelling of childcare usage and workforce needs, using data from Ofsted-registered providers and national surveys.Estimates of future demand, including the impact of population growth and housing development.Indicative forecasts of the number of places and staff required to meet the expanded entitlements rolling out through to September 2025.There are over 5,800 more providers delivering childcare entitlements than last year, the first increase in five years, and the biggest increase since data became available in 2018. This comes alongside an 18,000 increase in the number of staff delivering the entitlements in private, voluntary and independent providers. This is backed by significant government investment totalling over £8 billion for early years entitlements in 2025/26.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure the alignment of Best Start Family Hubs with the rollout of Neighbourhood Health Services in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

The department will launch a new Best Start in Life campaign in autumn which will guide parents, from pregnancy through their child's journey to starting school and beyond. It will be followed by a new Best Start digital parenting hub. Discussions around design and timelines for launch are ongoing. We are committed to ensuring it meets parents' needs and will share further updates as the work progresses.We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. Through local commissioning, we will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, childminders and colleges, ensuring support for young children’s health and development is available and accessible in communities.

What assessment she has made of the capacity of childcare providers in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes to meet demand for free childcare from September 2025.

Local authorities are legally responsible for securing sufficient childcare to meet the needs of parents in their area, under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006. The Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance (Part B) further requires them to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty and to make these reports accessible to parents.The department provides local authorities with a range of tools and data to complement local assessments and help them plan strategically for sufficiency. This includes:National-level modelling of childcare usage and workforce needs, using data from Ofsted-registered providers and national surveys.Estimates of future demand, including the impact of population growth and housing development.Indicative forecasts of the number of places and staff required to meet the expanded entitlements rolling out through to September 2025.There are over 5,800 more providers delivering childcare entitlements than last year, the first increase in five years, and the biggest increase since data became available in 2018. This comes alongside an 18,000 increase in the number of staff delivering the entitlements in private, voluntary and independent providers. This is backed by significant government investment totalling over £8 billion for early years entitlements in 2025/26.

What plans her Department has to (a) pilot and (b) test Best Start digital services in (i) Buckinghamshire and (ii) Milton Keynes.

The department will launch a new Best Start in Life campaign in autumn which will guide parents, from pregnancy through their child's journey to starting school and beyond. It will be followed by a new Best Start digital parenting hub. Discussions around design and timelines for launch are ongoing. We are committed to ensuring it meets parents' needs and will share further updates as the work progresses.We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. Through local commissioning, we will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, childminders and colleges, ensuring support for young children’s health and development is available and accessible in communities.

What recent discussions her Department has had with (a) Buckinghamshire Council and (b) Milton Keynes City Council on the use of data sharing improvements set out in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The department has not held formal bilateral discussions with Buckinghamshire Council or Milton Keynes City Council specifically on the data sharing provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. However, all local authorities as well as multi-agency practitioners, were invited to national webinars held in June and July this year which engaged over 400 practitioners. The department will continue to engage with the sector throughout the implementation of these measures to ensure local perspectives are reflected.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with major UK-based foundations on aligning private giving with national social impact priorities.

This government is committed to putting local people, communities and places first, supporting philanthropic growth across the country is an important route to mobilise more private capital to deliver public good.In partnership with the Chief Secretary of the Treasury, DCMS’ Secretary of State, established the Social Impact Investment Advisory Group earlier this year to advise on how impact capital, including philanthropy, can support the national missions. The group brings together government, socially motivated investors, representatives from civil society and social investment and philanthropy experts. Major UK-based foundations are represented on both the Advisory Group and its working groups.