Written questions by Smith.

What plans her Department has to publish an evaluation framework for the regulatory approval of supervised autonomous vehicle technologies, including indicative timelines.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (the Act) provides the powers to regulate the safe use of automated vehicles. Full implementation of the Act, including provisions for authorising self-driving vehicles, is on-track for the second half of 2027. The regulatory framework will be implemented through secondary legislation and guidance and will include a requirement for the Secretary of State to monitor and assess the general performance of authorised automated vehicles. This report must be published on an annual basis following implementation of the Act and the granting of the first authorisation.

What progress his Department has made on (a) agreeing a way forward on the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme and (b) considering the transfer of its investment reserve to its members.

The Department is engaging with HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members. The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.

Food and Rural Affairs, what coordination processes are in place between (a) the Rural Payments Agency, (b) the Animal and Plant Health Agency and (c) other arms-length bodies of her Department to (i) reduce administrative pressures on and (ii) enable simultaneous inspections of farmers.

Our arm’s-length bodies are implementing more risk-based approaches for inspections and increasing use of remote monitoring tools, reducing administrative burdens on farmers who are doing the right thing. We are also implementing a more advice-led approach, supporting farmers to meet regulatory requirements. To further reduce administrative pressures, arm’s-length bodies have created online systems, such as the Animal Disease Movement Licensing Service. This enables livestock keepers to submit movement license applications online for bluetongue and avian influenza, streamlining the process and reducing paperwork. We support our regulators to share intelligence. For example, we rolled out an app for field officers to share information on regulatory issues. Additionally, RPA and APHA co-ordinate regulatory visits where possible. Cattle identification visits are aligned when possible with TB tests, and where sheep identification visits coincide with APHA work, these are completed by APHA. These actions aim to ease burden on farmers with fewer visits overall.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) levels of rurality, (b) local average temperature and (c) average age of housing on the implementation of the Warm Homes Plan.

The UK government is committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind in the transition to Net Zero, supplying solutions that work for all buildings regardless of age or location. Therefore, research was commissioned by the Department to develop a definition for housing stock for which the presence, and combination, of attributes and contextual factors can add complexity to improving energy efficiency and utilising low carbon heating solutions. The government is currently carefully considering the findings of the research, which can be found at: (www.gov.uk/government/publications/defining-and-identifying-complex-to-decarbonise-homes.) For tailored recommendations on home upgrades consumers should visit the government’s home retrofit tool on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency.

What steps his Department plans to take to support rural properties to improve their energy efficiency.

This government is investing £13.2 billion in the Warm Homes Plan to upgrade up to 5 million homes, including £500 million to be delivered from 2025-28 through the Warm Homes: Local Grant. The WH:LG provides energy performance measures to low-income homes with EPCs band D-G on or off the gas grid across England. For most rural homes, decarbonising heat will involve installing a heat pump. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants offer £7,500 for heat pumps, and £5,000 for biomass boilers in specific rural cases. For tailored recommendations on home upgrades consumers should visit the government’s home retrofit tool on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency

How solar schemes that contribute to residential energy efficiency are accounted for when measuring energy performance certificate ratings.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) is currently reflected in the domestic Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, which is based on energy costs. Electricity generated by PV is assigned a value and deducted from the property’s energy cost, improving the EPC Rating. Government is reforming EPCs to better align them with our Clean Power and Net Zero objectives. Our December 2024 consultation proposed moving from one metric to four complementary metrics, together highlighting the main aspects of a home’s energy performance. Alongside retaining an energy cost metric, this includes a Smart Readiness metric that would reflect a home’s ability to generate electricity, such as from solar PV. A response to the consultation will be published in due course.

What assessment he has made of the level of readability of the correspondence sent by his Department when setting out how a constituent's New State Retirement Pension has been calculated (a) when considering contracted-out National Insurance contributions and (b) in general.

Individuals enrolling in a private pension scheme should receive clear and accessible information from their pension provider or employer about how the scheme may affect their State Pension entitlement. They can forecast their State Pension entitlement using the 'Check Your State Pension' service on GOV.UK, the HMRC app, or by requesting a paper statement with form BR19. The Department is committed to making communications clear, understandable and accessible for all customers. DWP Customer Communications are tested regularly to ensure they continue to meet customers’ needs. For example, Easy Read products are specifically created to help and support disabled customers. MENCAP test our Easy Read products before publication.

How much and what proportion of the funding for the Warm Homes Plan will be made available for (a) social and (b) private landlords; and how they will be able to access that funding.

The £13.2 billion investment in the Warm Homes Plan includes funding for the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) and the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) with more information at www.gov.uk/government/collections/find-energy-grants-for-you-home-help-to-heat. For example WH:LG allows private landlords to claim 100% grant fundings towards energy performance upgrades for one eligible privately rented home, with subsequent eligible homes in their portfolio requiring a 50% cost contribution. Landlords can access support and guidance through the Gov.UK page ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in your Home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), which provides users with tailored recommendations for home improvements to increase energy efficiency and clean heat.

When he plans to publish the research commissioned on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes.

The Government commissioned research to gather data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes, including the use of alternative low-carbon heating solutions where appropriate. The results of this research are expected to be received by the end of the year, and we aim to publish findings by Spring/Summer 2026. This research supports the Warm Homes Plan which will be published by the end of the year. We are working across government on a comprehensive plan which aims to upgrade up to five million homes by accelerating the installation of efficient new heat technologies.

Whether he has had discussions with Ukrainian egg farmers on improving the welfare standards of imported eggs.

Ministers have not had direct discussions with Ukrainian egg farmers or with Ukrainian counterparts on egg production standards. However, as set out in the UK’s Trade Strategy, the Government will not lower food standards and will uphold high animal welfare standards. All agri-food products must comply with our import requirements in order to be placed on the UK market.Government officials regularly meet with Ukraine counterparts to discuss trade as part of the Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of an agreement with Ukraine on egg imports on domestic egg production,.

Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026.We consistently consider the views and impact on our domestic industry, and this is reflected in our approach to tariff liberalisation support for Ukraine. We will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.

Whether he considered including people suffering from Long Covid within the Clinical risk group eligible for the covid-19 vaccination in the Autumn 2025 vaccination programme.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.The focus of the JCVI advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.On 13 November 2024, JCVI published advice on who should be offered vaccination in autumn 2025. On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to the following groups:adults aged 75 years and over;residents in care homes for older adults;individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book).The Government has no plans to change eligibility for autumn 2025. It has accepted the JCVI advice for this campaign in full. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) are responded to within the appropriate time frame; how many complaints have been recorded against the RPA each year for the past five years; and what processes the RPA is putting into place in order to deliver the next generation of the Sustainable Farming Incentive effectively.

The Rural Payments Agency RPA) are supporting Defra as they continue to develop the reformed Sustainable Farming Incentive. This includes fully considering deliverability and opportunities to simplify scheme administration. The RPA administers a wide range of services, including applications for Grants and subsequent payments, applications for cattle documentation to support animal traceability requirements and applications for licences. Performance is reported each year within the RPA Annual Report and Accounts within the Performance Overview section. This provides the most recent public information across all areas of the Agency’s delivery. The table below shows the number of complaints received by the RPA over the last 5 years. YearNumber of Complaints Received*2020 / 20216572021 / 20224972022 / 20234402023 / 20243492024 / 2025322 *Between 01/04 and 31/03 of each year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that supermarkets are required to use packaging that is recyclable through household recycling systems; and whether she has considered taking legislative steps to promote the use of such packaging.

The Government is taking several steps to incentivise the use of use or recyclable packaging by supermarkets and other producers.Under the UK wide Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme, which came into effect on 1 January 2025, producers are incentivised to reduce their material footprint and use easier to recycle packaging by being required to bear the end-of-life costs associated with packaging that they place on the market. The Scheme Administrator, PackUK, can modulate (increase or decrease) the household packaging waste disposal fees for each category of packaging a producer supplies. This will reflect the environmental sustainability of the packaging and provide an incentive to the producer to use more environmentally sustainable packaging.Additionally, under Simpler Recycling, every household and workplace (such as businesses, schools, and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic: paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). This includes cartons (as part of the plastics recyclable waste stream). More consistent collections will help reduce contamination, improve material quality and boost recycling rates.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies on China of the case of Carmen Lau.

Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.The Government, working alongside operational partners, keeps potential threats to the UK and its residents, including from China, under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these.Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures as appropriate.Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact the police via 101, a local police station or dial 999 in an emergency.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the influence of the Chinese state on British residents.

Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.The Government, working alongside operational partners, keeps potential threats to the UK and its residents, including from China, under constant review and, where necessary, we use all the tools at our disposal to mitigate these.Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures as appropriate.Where individuals have concerns for their safety, they are advised to contact the police via 101, a local police station or dial 999 in an emergency.

Media and Sport, how community sports teams can become youth hubs; and how they can access funding for community sports facilities.

Sports facilities provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live.On 20 June 2025, the Culture Secretary announced that following the Spending Review, £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs, including for children and young people, and will then set out further plans.DCMS funding for youth spaces is delivered through the Better Youth Spaces (BYS) fund. This is £30.5 million of capital funding for small scale capital equipment to help youth organisations to better support the young people they work with across England. DCMS also has responsibility for Young Futures Hubs. The first eight of 50 hubs will be operational by the end of this financial year, with a remaining 42 to be established where they will have the most impact by March 2029.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with the Palestinian Authority to support a two-state solution.

I refer the Hon Member to the announcements made by the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary on 21 September, further details of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-formally-recognises-palestinian-state.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking in response to the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 3 September to question 71442.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing economic sanctions on Israel in relation to the expansion of settlements in the West Bank.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 17th September to Question 74580.