Written questions by Norris.

What fiscal steps she is taking to help increase incomes of working families in North East Somerset & Hanham.

On 1 April 2025, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased to £12.21 per hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over. This represents a pay rise of £1,400 per year for a full-time worker and has benefitted around 3 million low-paid workers. Living standards, as measured by Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) per capita, are 2.1% higher than before the election. This means that the average person’s disposable income is £800 higher now than just before the election in real terms.

What progress his department is making on its target to reduce the time taken for cancer diagnoses.

The Department is supporting the National Health Service to meet the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), for 75% of patients to be diagnosed or have cancer ruled out within 28 days of being referred urgently by their general practitioner for suspected cancer. NHS England collects and publishes monthly FDS performance data nationally and for individual cancer groups.To achieve the FDS, NHS England rolled out public awareness campaigns of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlined referral routes for different cancer types, and is increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres.NHS England has also achieved full roll out of non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with vague and non-site-specific symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type.Between October 2024 and September 2025, approximately 193,000 more patients got a cancer diagnosis or the all-clear on time than in the year from July 2023 to June 2024.

What progress his department is making on delivering new jobs for North East Somerset & Hanham in clean energy industries.

Our Clean Energy Jobs Plan sets out how the number of jobs supported by clean energy industries is estimated to grow from around 440,000 jobs in 2023 to support 860,000 jobs across the UK by 2030. In South-West England, the demand is estimated to reach up to 35,000 direct jobs by the end of the decade, which is an increase of up to 15,000 jobs. This is driven by projects in the wider area, such as Hinkley Point C, which will have at least 25,000 jobs during construction, 900 jobs during operation, 1,000 apprenticeships, and adult training placements.

What progress is being made to ensure women in North East Somerset & Hanham have access to menopause treatments on the NHS.

The Government recognises that women suffering from symptoms of menopause have been failed for far too long, and we acknowledge the impact it has on women’s lives, relationships, and participation in the workplace. The number of women in Bath and North East Somerset receiving hormone replacement therapy, commonly used to relieve menopause symptoms, has increased by approximately 85%, from 15,770 women in 2021/22, to 29,140 in 2024/25. The Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire integrated care board (ICB) has also commissioned its general practices (GPs) to provide testosterone replacement to menopausal women, who are affected by low libido as a result of ongoing hormone replacement therapy treatments. Hanham falls within the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System area, within which seven primary care networks are trialling the use of group education and group consultations for menopause. Over 1,000 people have attended a group education session. The University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust Menopause Service is running a training clinic for six GPs with additional qualifications in menopause, to upskill further in menopause care and help reduce waiting lists.

Media and Sport, what steps her department is taking to increase access to grassroots sport facilities in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport facilities. They provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live.That is why, we are investing £98 million through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Fund and have committed a further £400 million through this Spending Review period into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK. This funding will be invested in new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities that promote health and wellbeing and remove the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.Over the last four years, the constituency of North East Somerset and Hanham has received a total of £621,712.80 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Fund to fund sixteen projects.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the delivery of youth services in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. This is why we are developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. This strategy will cover youth services, provision and policy at local, regional and national levels. We will publish the Strategy later in the year.Additionally, outdoor learning providers in North East Somerset and Hanham were eligible to apply for this year’s Adventures Away from Home fund. This £4.7 million investment is delivered by UK Youth and supports organisations to deliver outdoor learning experiences for disadvantaged or vulnerable young people.

If he will set out his Department’s plans to provide support to help sick and disabled people into work.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, WorkWell and NHS Health and Growth Accelerators. In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. In recognition of employers’ vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the independent Keep Britain Working Review. The Report was published on 5 November. In partnership with the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting Sir Charlie’s key recommendations into action from day one. Additionally, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Directorate has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health. The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan states our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It also outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

If he will make an assessment of the expected financial impact on families of the Warm Homes Discount this winter.

The Government recognises that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. 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 this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bills.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of rough sleeping.

The government has increased funding for homelessness services by £316 million to a total of more than £1 billion this year to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This includes an additional £69.9 million announced last month for the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, taking total investment through this grant to more than £255 million this year. We will publish our cross-Government homelessness strategy later this year which will set out the actions needed across central and local government and the homelessness sector to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Communities and Local Government, what progress he is making in supporting local authorities to build social housing in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58440 on 17 June, the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771), and the Social and Affordable Homes Programme policy statement published on 7 November which can be found on gov.uk here.

What measures her Department is implementing to improve support for children in mainstream schools who have special educational needs and disabilities.

The government has been clear that a more inclusive education system is needed to give children and young people opportunities they need to achieve and thrive. All schools have a duty to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Our new RISE teams will work with mainstream schools to help them become more inclusive places as one of four priority areas for improvement. Settings will be held to account for their support for pupils with SEND through Ofsted, who are focusing on inclusion in their new approach to inspection. Their renewed education inspection framework sets out how leaders should be aware of and responsive to some pupils’ increased likelihood of needing help, including those with SEND, and should ensure appropriate reasonable adjustments for pupils with disabilities.

What steps his Department is taking to support (a) pubs, (b) bars and (c) venues.

We recognise that hospitality businesses are at the beating heart of communities, providing not just a place to socialise but essential services and local jobs. That’s why we’re investing £440,000 with Pub is The Hub to help rural pubs diversify, aiming to support rural communities, create new jobs and services.In April, we launched a Taskforce to review premises licensing and develop proposals for a more balanced system that safeguards communities while supporting responsible businesses. These reforms form part of the Small Business Strategy, which is designed to tackle late payments, improve access to finance and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.We are also creating a fairer business rates system, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. We continue to work closely with the sector through the Hospitality Sector Council to address challenges.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on improving flood defences.

This Government is investing at least £10.5 billion until 2036 – the largest flood programme in history – a record investment that’s projected to better protect nearly 900,000 properties. We are already making a difference. We delivered 151 schemes in our first year in government and we redirected £108 million into urgent flood and coastal defence maintenance to halt the decline of flood asset condition following years of under-investment. Following consultation in October, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of Government investment go further. The government also set up its Floods Resilience Taskforce, providing oversight of national and local flood resilience, and improve preparedness ahead of the autumn and winter flood season.

Media and Sport, what plans he has to extend the rollout of Young Futures Hubs.

In order to start the roll-out of Young Futures Hubs, up to £2m is being made available for 8 Early Adopters Local Authorities, so that the first Young Futures Hubs will be operational later this financial year.As the Prime Minister stated in his speech on 15th July, we have plans to open 50 hubs over the next four years. The design and implementation of the programme will be informed by our work with early adopters, and they will be located where they will have the most impact.

What steps she is taking to increase access to higher technical qualifications and degree courses by low-income students.

The Post-16 White Paper sets out our vision for a reformed system that helps everyone with the desire and aptitude to access higher education (HE), breaking down barriers to opportunity and supporting growth.Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are a key route into HE for disadvantaged learners. At Level 5, 54% of learners come from the 40% most deprived areas. As of September 2025, 281 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across 13 occupational routes, and the growth of HTQs will help to address key skills gaps.We aim to reform regulation of Access and Participation Plans, allowing the Office for Students (OfS) to be more risk-based. There will be greater accountability for providers lagging behind in supporting disadvantaged students, and reduced bureaucracy for those doing well, with a greater focus on continuous improvement.We will introduce targeted maintenance grants to support students from low-income households studying courses at Levels 4 to 6, including technical qualifications and degrees, aligned with the government’s missions and the Industrial Strategy. The department is also introducing the lifelong learning entitlement, to help people study flexibly in a way that suits their needs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made in developing an evidence base to consider whether decapods should have greater protection.

Defra has commissioned research to address a knowledge gap about how live decapods move from sea to plate. This is due to finish in 2026. In addition, a project on the welfare of decapod crustaceans across the supply chain is included in the Animal Welfare Committee’s current work plan.

What progress she is making on supporting people that want to use electric vehicles.

The Government is investing over £4.5 billion to help industry and consumers transition to zero emission vehicles. The £650 million Electric Car Grant has supported around 30,000 drivers to choose an electric vehicle since its launch in July. As of 1 October 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 86,021 publicly available charging devices (including 17,354 rapid charging devices), an increase of 23% year on year. In September 2025, battery electric vehicles represented over a fifth (23.0%) of new UK car registrations, and the UK now has the largest market share for electric cars of any major European economy.

What recent progress his Department has made on protecting people from cyber threats.

I refer to my answer for UIN 80985, tabled on 10 October 2025.

What steps he is taking to improve cross-Government coordination on preparedness for a future pandemic.

The Government is committed to improving pandemic preparedness. As the response to Module One of the Covid-19 inquiry made clear, the Cabinet Office is playing a greater role in preparedness for cross-cutting catastrophic risks. Our preparedness for future pandemics has been stepped up through Exercise Pegasus, the largest ever national pandemic response exercise. The exercise will test national to local coordination arrangements, and lessons from the exercise will help strengthen pandemic preparedness at national and local levels.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the progress made by her Department on improving biodiversity.

We are committed to improving biodiversity by delivering on our four legally binding targets for species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration. These targets are driving significant action for nature recovery, alongside statutory targets on tree canopy and woodland cover, water and air quality, marine protected areas, and resource efficiency. We are investing in protected sites and landscape-scale action through delivery of a Nature Recovery Network and our 30by30 commitment and taking action to increase the adoption of nature-friendly farming. Through our Landscape Recovery scheme, we have supported 56 projects to work alongside farmers, landowners and environmental organisations to develop strategies for long-term nature recovery. These projects will restore over 600 km of rivers, restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, sustainably manage more than 20,000 hectares of woodland, and benefit more than 160 protected sites. We have also commissioned an evaluation framework which will strengthen our understanding of progress towards meeting our biodiversity targets.