Written questions by Cane.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of harmonising gambling tax rates on the horseracing industry.

The Government consultation on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and a response to the consultation will be published at Autumn Budget 2025.If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts.

Whether he has considered introducing multi-year NHS funding for the health elements of children's palliative care.

Palliative care services, including for children, are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.The Department and NHS England are looking at how to improve the access, quality and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10 Year Health Plan. The Government and the National Health Service will closely monitor the shift towards strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that the future state of services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to help tackle animal beatings in Cambridgeshire.

Enforcement of animal welfare standards is primarily delivered through the powers available under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amended the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty. Anyone who is cruel to an animal face being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both. Local authorities have powers under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to intervene where an animal is suspected to be suffering on any land, public or private.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the Vet Times's article entitled Animal beating reported ‘once every 15 minutes’ – RSPCA, published on 22 August 2025.

Cruelty to animals is unacceptable. The Government keeps animal welfare policy under review and is committed to ensuring that animals are protected from unnecessary suffering. Enforcement of animal welfare standards is primarily delivered through the powers available under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amended the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty. Anyone who is cruel to an animal faces being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective prosecution of people who commit spiking.

Administering a substance to a person without their consent – commonly known as ‘spiking’ – is a serious criminal offence. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to prosecuting spiking cases effectively where they are referred to us by the police. We have seen a 40% increase in the number of spiking related offences the CPS have charged between 2022/23 to 2024/25.The CPS has undertaken work to improve prosecutions for violence against women and girls (VAWG), which can include spiking. Through initiatives such as the National Operating Model for Adult Rape and the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan with policing, the CPS is embedding a suspect-focused approach to VAWG offending. This means that prosecutors examine the behaviour and actions of the suspect before, during, and after the alleged assault. Spiking may form part of a wider pattern of predatory behaviour, and identifying this is key to building a strong prosecution case.The CPS is also promoting closer collaboration between prosecutors and police to ensure that key aspects of the evidence-gathering process – such as a forensic strategy – are agreed at an early stage in the investigation.This Government is proposing to introduce an updated offence of spiking through the Crime and Policing Bill. This would streamline the legislative framework – which is currently spread across several provisions in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 – and support prosecutors in identifying the most appropriate charge.We recognise spiking is an under-reported crime, and strongly encourage anyone who has been a victim of this offence to report it to the police.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to employ people with autism.

In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), government committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace. This includes autism. In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise andexperiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. The panel have reviewed the workplace barriers neurodivergent people encounter in getting into or remaining in employment and will be making their recommendations later this autumn. The work of the expert panel will also be shared with the Keep Britain Working Review on healthy and inclusive workplaces, being led by Sir Charlie Mayfield.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage farmers to farm sustainably.

The Government is backing British farming. We are prioritising investment that supports the government’s Plan for Change and building on the Secretary of State’s work to reform Defra to drive growth while maintaining a steadfast commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery. We are providing farmers and land managers with the support needed to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security and build resilience to climate change. There are currently record numbers of farmers taking part in farming schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive. As of April 2025, these schemes supported 885,000 hectares of arable land being farmed without insecticides; 330,000 hectares of low input grassland being managed sustainably; and 85,000 kilometres of hedgerows being protected and restored. In the recent spending review, we committed to carrying on the transition towards paying to deliver public goods for the environment, with over £7 billion directed into nature’s recovery between 2026 and 2029. This includes environmental farming schemes (£5.9 billion), tree planting (£816 million) and peatland restoration (£85 million).

What plans he has to assess land use changes in applications for new energy infrastructure.

The implications of land use change are already considered as part of the examination and determination of all applications for new energy infrastructure. In future, optimal locations for energy infrastructure will be identified by the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP). We are ensuring that, in its development, the SSEP considers wider demands on land and sea, including (but not limited to) food production, transport, water supply, nature recovery and fisheries. The SSEP’s recommendations will not take precedence over other land uses but will exist alongside other sectoral spatial plans and frameworks.

What steps he is taking to safeguard critical energy infrastructure against the extreme summer temperatures.

Great Britain’s electricity infrastructure is highly resilient and designed to operate in a wide range of conditions. The risks to GB's electricity system from extreme heat are low, but in the unlikely event of any impacts, the energy sector has long-standing plans and procedures to minimise disruption to customers, as set out in the National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity. Government works closely with industry to minimise the risk of unplanned outages and in line with licence conditions, the National Energy System Operator is required to assess network operators’ resilience to a range of weather events, including extreme temperatures.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of abolishing residential leaseholds.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past. We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, for which we plan to publish for consultation in the coming autumn. Whilst led by Defra, this is a cross-government effort based on close collaboration between departments and the governments of the Four Nations of the UK. Reflecting this collaborative and whole-economy approach, officials are working closely with other government departments with strong interests in the delivery of a circular economy, in particular, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Department for Transport and HM Treasury to ensure that government is maximising the opportunities to be had from properly joining up and integrating circular economy activity across a range of departments.

What steps he is taking to provide funding for renewable energy sources.

The Government has proposed a number of reforms to the next allocation round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, to ensure the auction can deliver significant renewable electricity capacity at a fair price to consumers. Great British Energy and Great British Energy – Nuclear will together invest more than £8.3 billion over the parliament in homegrown clean power. This includes a total £180 million investment from the Government and GBE to install rooftop solar panels on schools and hospitals, and £1 billion investment for clean energy supply chains. Through the government’s Warm Homes Plan, schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will also continue to provide upfront grants for property owners to make the transition to low carbon heating.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act on small high-street businesses.

The Non-Domestic Rating (Private Schools and Multipliers) Act gained Royal Assent on 3 April, giving the Government powers to introduce the new multipliers announced at Autumn Budget 2024, and removing charitable rate relief for private schools. The new multipliers include permanently lower tax rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values below £500,000 from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties on 2026/27 – those with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The rates for these new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to protect nature through the planning process.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear about the importance of conserving and enhancing the natural environment. Planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures and incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats, and hedgehogs. We are considering using a new suite of national policies for decision making, which we will be consulting on later this year, to require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings, unless there are compelling reasons that preclude their use or that would make them ineffective. As an interim step ahead of the planned consultation, we published updated Planning Practice Guidance setting out how swift bricks are expected to be used in new developments. Under the new statutory framework for Biodiversity Net Gain, every grant of planning permission (subject to some exemptions) is subject to the condition that the development must deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value relative to the pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat. When it comes to development and the environment, we know we can do better than the status quo, which too often sees both sustainable housebuilding and nature recovery stall. Instead of environmental protections being seen as barriers to growth, we want to unlock a win-win for the economy and for nature. Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces a new Nature Restoration Fund that will unlock and accelerate development while going beyond neutrality to unlock the positive impact development can have in driving nature recovery.

What steps he is taking to support high street businesses.

This government is committed to supporting high street businesses. DBT is working across government to reform business rates, empower local authorities to address vacant properties through high street rental auctions and to tackling anti-social behaviour and crime in town centres through the Crime and Policing Bill.We also provide a range of existing services to SMEs. This includes Growth Hubs – run in Cambridgeshire by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority – providing local businesses with access to advice and support.Our forthcoming SME Strategy will set out the government’s plan to do more to support small businesses across key areas, including thriving high streets.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure that new housing developments have adequate access to infrastructure.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period. The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund. The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course. Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes various provisions designed to streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure.

What steps he is taking to help support businesses to take up digital technologies.

The SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will shortly publish its final recommendations to accelerate digital adoption among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and we are launching pilots to test delivery of support.Our Industrial Strategy set out ambitions, informed by the Technology Adoption Review, to increase digital adoption in growth-driving sectors. This includes expansion of Made Smarter Adoption up to £99m for manufacturing SMEs.This complements existing support like Help to Grow: Management which offers training to business leaders (including on digital), National Cyber Security Centre guidance, and implementation of the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Act 2025 on small and medium sized businesses.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.

What steps she is taking to help support businesses to invest in skills and training.

The department’s Industrial Strategy sets out the interventions we will make to help tackle barriers to employer engagement with the skills system. This includes introducing shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in priority sectors, the introduction of short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy from April 2026, and skills packages targeted at skills needed in multiple Industrial Strategy sectors, such as digital, engineering, and the defence sector, in addition to the £625 million construction skills package to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers across this Parliament.This investment will be underpinned by deeper employer partnerships, including launching Technical Excellence Colleges to develop pipelines of skilled workers for local businesses.The Chair of Skills England, in partnership with the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will explore how employers, individuals and local and central government work together to address national skills needs, to support jobs of the future in the growth-driving sectors, and in particular opportunities for further business engagement and investment into the skills pipeline.