Written questions by Dewhirst.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department had with farmers before freezing the capital grant scheme.

The Capital Grants scheme has been closed to new agreements following unprecedented demand this Autumn, which would use all the available funding. We are forecast to spend more on capital grants this year than ever before. This is only possible because we allocated the largest ever budget for sustainable food production through the farming budget. In the first week of December, we paid £343 million into the rural economy, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers. We currently are reviewing the Capital Grants offer to ensure funding goes further to improve outcomes for food security and nature conservation and will provide an update in early 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of accelerated changes to delinked payments on farming businesses.

The Government has committed to support farmers through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. Accelerating the phase out of Direct Payments will allow us to focus more of this funding on Environmental Land Management schemes, which will boost nature and sustainable food production. This will enable farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and resilient, including those who have been often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenant farmers. We publish regular statistics on farm income in England and other data related to farm businesses. For example, on 14 November 2024, we published our Farm Business Income statistics (Farm business income - GOV.UK), which looked at how farm business income has changed in 2023/24, including the contribution of Direct Payments and agri-environment payments to farm incomes, including analysis by farm type. Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance (Farming statistics evidence packs - GOV.UK). These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK, and the contribution of farm payments to farm incomes, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure. We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the delinked basic payment scheme on the profitability of farming businesses.

The Government has committed to support farmers through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. Accelerating the phase out of Direct Payments will allow us to focus more of this funding on Environmental Land Management schemes, which will boost nature and sustainable food production. This will enable farmers to make their businesses more sustainable and resilient, including those who have been often ignored such as small, grassland, upland and tenant farmers. We publish regular statistics on farm income in England and other data related to farm businesses. For example, on 14 November 2024, we published our Farm Business Income statistics (Farm business income - GOV.UK), which looked at how farm business income has changed in 2023/24, including the contribution of Direct Payments and agri-environment payments to farm incomes, including analysis by farm type. Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance (Farming statistics evidence packs - GOV.UK). These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK, and the contribution of farm payments to farm incomes, including analysis by sector, location in England and type of land tenure. We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.

What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the development of large-scale solar farms.

As outlined in the clean power action plan last week, solar power will be vital to meeting our mission and bringing down energy bills for good. Solar is one of the cheapest and most-readily available sources of energy we have, and whilst rooftop and other installations will play a role, we are clear that to protect families in the future, large scale solar will need to be built.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the overall (a) capital and (b) running costs are of the Inland Border Facility at Sevington; and what the budget is for that facility.

This is commercially sensitive information and therefore may not be released. We are planning to publish some information regarding operating costs in the near future. The information will be published on GOV.UK.

What information her Department holds on the firearms licensing departments that have taken a year or more to process applications for (a) grants and (b) renewals in each of the last five years.

The issuing of firearms certificates and the efficiency of police forces is a matter for individual Chief Constables, who are held to account by Police and Crime Commissioners.However, the performance of forces in this space is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing, Deputy Chief Constable David Gardner, and both he and his predecessor have been working actively with forces on performance related issues.

How many sound moderators are held on firearms certificates.

The Home Office collects and publishes information annually on the number of sound moderators.The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/firearm-certificates-in-england-and-wales.As at 31 March 2024, 33% of the 624,245 firearms covered by a firearm certificate in England and Wales were sound moderators.

If she will make it her policy to require General Practitioners to place a marker on the medical notes of firearms certificate holders.

It is a requirement that all applicants for a firearms licence must provide relevant medical information to the police with their application, and this is supported by a new digital firearms marker which is placed on the patient/licence holder’s medical record by their GP.The marker alerts the GP to the fact that their patient is a firearms licence holder if they are being seen or treated for a medical condition that might impact on their safe possession or use of a firearm.The digital marker has been rolled out to all GP surgeries in England and GPs are asked to place the medical marker on the licence holder’s medical records when a certificate is either issued or renewed.The marker enables GPs to alert the police should their patient who is a firearms licence holder begin to suffer from a relevant medical condition and this ensures that the police can then assess whether it is safe for the individual to continue to have access to firearms.

What information her Department holds on the number and proportion of GPs who have downloaded the IT update to allow the placement of markers on the medical notes of firearms certificate holders.

It is a requirement that all applicants for a firearms licence must provide relevant medical information to the police with their application, and this is supported by a new digital firearms marker which is placed on the patient/licence holder’s medical record by their GP.The marker alerts the GP to the fact that their patient is a firearms licence holder if they are being seen or treated for a medical condition that might impact on their safe possession or use of a firearm.The digital marker has been rolled out to all GP surgeries in England and GPs are asked to place the medical marker on the licence holder’s medical records when a certificate is either issued or renewed.The marker enables GPs to alert the police should their patient who is a firearms licence holder begin to suffer from a relevant medical condition and this ensures that the police can then assess whether it is safe for the individual to continue to have access to firearms.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) efficiency of the National Firearms Licensing Management System; and whether her Department plans to update the system.

We keep the effectiveness of the National Firearms Licensing Management System under review.The system was introduced in 2007 and we are now working with policing partners to consider options for updating it to provide police forces with enhanced functionality to improve the future efficiency of the firearms licensing function.

Whether she has had meetings with representatives of (a) police, (b) gun control groups, (c) British Shooting Sports Council and (d) British Association for Shooting and Conservation to discuss firearms licensing in England, Scotland and Wales.

Home Office Ministers and officials meet with representatives of the police, the shooting community, gun control groups and others from time to time and will continue to do so.This helps to ensure that all relevant views are taken into account in ensuring that our firearms controls are both proportionate and effective in keeping the public safe.

If he will make an estimate of the potential increase in incidents of (a) violent crime, (b) physical abuse and (c) verbal intimidation against shopkeepers as a result of a generational ban on tobacco sales.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability, and ill health. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will put us on track to a smoke-free United Kingdom, helping to reduce 80,000 preventable deaths, reduce the burden on the National Health Service, and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.The impact assessment for the bill was published on 5 November and is considered ‘fit for purpose’ by the Regulatory Policy Committee. Whilst the impact assessment was unable to provide an estimate for the number of incidents of abuse towards retail workers due to a lack of evidence, we will consider approaches to assess this specific impact, including using publicly available data, when evaluating the policy.To mitigate the risk that the smoke-free generation policy will increase the incidence of abuse towards retail workers, we are working closely with retailers and will continue to utilise the long lead-in time to best support retailers and the public in preparing for and implementing the changes to the legislation, which includes rolling out information campaigns for the public and retail workers.We will not stand for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Everyone has a right to feel safe on the job. The Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Whether she has had discussions with her Australian counterpart on the impact of excise tax for tobacco products on (a) consumer and (b) organised crime group behaviour.

No discussions have taken place with Australian ministers on these issues.

Whether the Government will take steps to support the mental health of shopkeepers responsible with enforcing the implementation of a generational ban on tobacco sales.

Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death, disability, and ill health. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will put us on track to a smoke-free United Kingdom, helping to reduce 80,000 preventable deaths, reduce the burden on the National Health Service, and reduce the burden on the taxpayer.The impact assessment for the bill was published on 5 November and is considered ‘fit for purpose’ by the Regulatory Policy Committee. Whilst the impact assessment was unable to provide an estimate for the number of incidents of abuse towards retail workers due to a lack of evidence, we will consider approaches to assess this specific impact, including using publicly available data, when evaluating the policy.To mitigate the risk that the smoke-free generation policy will increase the incidence of abuse towards retail workers, we are working closely with retailers and will continue to utilise the long lead-in time to best support retailers and the public in preparing for and implementing the changes to the legislation, which includes rolling out information campaigns for the public and retail workers.We will not stand for violence and abuse against shopworkers. Everyone has a right to feel safe on the job. The Government will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

What estimate he has made of the potential increase in illegal tobacco sales as a consequence of the implementation of a generational ban on tobacco sales.

Evidence shows that when we have previously introduced targeted tobacco control measures, they have had a positive impact on tackling the problems of illicit tobacco. Consumption of illicit cigarettes has gone from 15 billion cigarettes in 2000/2001 to 1.5 billion cigarettes in 2022/2023. When the age of sale was increased from 16 to 18 years old in 2007, this created 1.3 million more people who were no longer able to be sold cigarettes, and who in theory would be in the market for illicit cigarettes. However, in practice, the number of illicit cigarettes consumed fell by 25%, from 10 billion in 2005/06 to 7.5 billion in 2007/08.The Government is investing over £100 million over five years to boost HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force’s enforcement capabilities to tackle illicit tobacco, supporting their Illicit Tobacco Strategy. In 2025/26 we will invest £30 million of new funding in total for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards.

Whether she has been provided use of a vehicle for official Ministerial travel from outside the Government Car Service.

We do not comment on the specific arrangements in place for the Chancellor because of security.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Tax changes for non-UK domiciled individuals, published on 30 October 2024, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the non-domiciled tax regime on the UK's global competitiveness as a financial hub.

The Government is committed to improving the UK’s competitiveness internationally and securing economic growth. This reform has been specifically designed to make the UK competitive with a modern, simple tax regime that is also fair. It establishes a tax regime for new residents, which is more attractive to new arrivals than the current rules. The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note for this policy on 30 October. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-changes-for-non-uk-domiciled-individuals/reforming-the-taxation-of-non-uk-domiciled-individuals.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mitigations from proposed changes to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief for farmers over 70 years old.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected in 2026-27 by the changes to APR and BPR, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

How much Government departments have spent on procurement relating to both goods and services in total in the most recent year for which figures are available.

The Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA) that were published in July 2024 shows budget aggregates and spending for 5 years of outturn and one plan year up to 2024-25. Chapter 2 of PESA includes several tables that show departmental budgets broken down by economic category. Table 2.2 for example shows totals for ‘Gross current procurement in budgets’ whilst table 2.3 shows totals for ‘Gross capital procurement in budgets’. Here is a link to the PESA 2024 dataset:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-expenditure-statistical-analyses-2024 The Public Spending Statistics (PSS) dataset was also published in July 2024 is similar to PESA but only covers the five years of outturn up to 2023-24. Included within the July 2024 PSS dataset is a database and associated pivot table in Excel format. From the pivot table it is possible to obtain the gross current and capital procurement totals as seen in tables 2.2 and 2.3 broken down by department group. Here is a link to the July 2024 PSS dataset:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/public-spending-statistics-release-july-2024

With reference to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question HL2426 on Ministers: Official Cars, how many of those cars in each year listed were electric cars.

The number of electric vehicles in the Government Car Service operational fleet for the specified years is:1.2016: 42. 2023: 363.2024: 36