Written questions by Smith.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of waiting times for processing (a) applications to and (b) the release of funds from the Farm Equipment and Technology Fund in the past year.

a) The application window for Productivity and Slurry FETF 2024 grants closed on the 07 April 2024; the application window for Animal Health and Welfare FETF 2024 closed on the 01 May 2024.The majority of Productivity applicants received their Grant Funded Agreement offer on 24 May 2024 totalling a wait time of approximately 7 weeks.The majority of Slurry applicants received their Grant Funded Agreement offer on 23 May 2024 totalling a wait time of approximately 7 weeks.The majority of Animal Health and Welfare applicants received their Grant Funded Agreement offer on 29 May 2024 totalling a wait time of approximately 4 weeks. b) More than 70% of all FETF 2024 claims paid to date have been processed within 30 working days.

What steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that eligible families have access to the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme.

Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children (SFDC) programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is pleased to support the SFDC programme and we expect applications to the scheme to re-open shortly.

What progress he has made on reform to the British coal staff superannuation scheme.

I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on this matter and we will continue to work closely with His Majesty’s Treasury on aspects related to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the homelessness sector on tackling youth homelessness.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment between (a) young adults and (b) other age groups experience of homelessness; and if she will help support young adult's needs in the homelessness strategy.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.

If she will have discussions with her US counterpart on the impact of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on the privacy rights of UK citizens who have US citizenship but have never resided in that country.

US law subjects all US citizens to US taxation, regardless of where they reside. This can include US citizens who were born in the US but who may have left at a young age and have few remaining ties with the country. US tax policy is a matter for the US, and it is not within the power of the UK government to change this. In 2010, the US introduced the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to combat tax evasion by US tax residents using foreign accounts. FATCA does not create new tax liabilities nor change the basis of US taxation; it is rather a reporting mechanism. In September 2012, the UK Government signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the US to implement FATCA in the UK. As such, HMRC requires UK financial institutions to report information to HMRC on account holders who are US resident or US citizens and exchanges this information with the IRS annually. In return HMRC receives information about UK tax residents’ accounts in the US. All of the information exchanged is covered by the secrecy provisions of the UK/US Double Taxation Convention.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of steps taken by the (a) Scottish Government, (b) Northern Ireland Executive and (c) Irish Government to commit to using renewable liquid fuels as part of their decarbonisation strategies.

I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 6 March 2025 to my hon Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth to Question UIN 35113.

What support is provided to people with mental health issues who are serving IPP sentences.

NHS England Health and Justice commissioned healthcare providers deliver both primary and secondary care mental health services to all individuals within the custodial estate, irrespective of their detained status. Each individual will be assessed, their care formulation will be agreed, and appropriate clinical treatment, interventions, and support will be provided. If the individual requires transfer to hospital, the transfer to hospital process will be initiated.

What the longest period is that a person is in prison over their minimum tariff; and what the original tariff length was for that person.

We believe that disclosing the exact tariff information for a single person would be likely to lead to the individual concerned being identified. For this reason, we have chosen to provide figures for the ten prisoners who have served the longest period over their minimum tariff.The table below shows ten unreleased prisoners that have served the longest period over their tariff, broken down by their tariff length, as of 31 December 2024. All ten prisoners have served 35 years or more over their minimum tariff. Minimum tariff lengthNumber of prisonersLess than or equal to 10 years6Greater than 10 years to less than or equal to 20 years4 Notes:1. Tariff length is the time between date of sentencing and tariff expiry date and does not take into account any time served on remand.2. Figures only include those with recorded tariff information.Where a request is made for information and the total figure amounts to five or fewer, we must consider whether this would be likely to lead to the identification of individuals and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and/or the Data Protection Act 2018.

How many people took their own life in prison while serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence in 2024.

There were four self-inflicted deaths of those serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection in 2024. This information can be found in Table 1.7 of the 'Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2024. Self-inflicted deaths are any deaths of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life irrespective of intent. This not only includes suicides but also accidental deaths as a result of the person’s own actions.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to consult young people on the homelessness strategy.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20894 on 19 December 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to include youth homelessness in the cross-government homelessness strategy.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20894 on 19 December 2024.

If she will review the Minimum Income Floor for self-employed farmers on Universal Credit.

Universal Credit treats all forms and sectors of self-employment in the same way, focusing on the level of a customer’s earnings rather than the sector in which they work. The Minimum Income Floor (MIF) encourages self-employed customers to progress in work and grow their earnings to a sustainable level. The Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit. Further details will be provided in due course.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of public ownership on rail fares on the East Coast mainline.

Whilst it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers, and the railway.

What steps she is taking to improve enforcement on people riding e-scooters illegally.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Government will give police the powers they need to take illegal, dangerous and antisocial vehicles off the streets for good by more quickly seizing vehicles from offenders. We will set out more information in due course.Enforcement of road traffic law, including in relation to the illegal use of e-scooters, is an operational matter for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.

When her Department last made an estimate of the proportion of pupils who are eligible but not registered for means-tested free school meals.

The new government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers....

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people have functioning smart meters in (a) North Northumberland constituency and (b) other rural areas.

The Department is working closely with industry to make sure they are addressing meters across GB that are not providing automatic readings. Statistics on meters not providing automatic readings are published at a GB wide level only (at: https://www.gov.u...

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s affected by State Pension age changes in (a) North Northumberland constituency and (b) Northumberland.

ONS population estimates suggest that in 2021 there were approximately 7,630 females born in the 1950s currently resident in the North Northumberland constituency, and 23,639 females currently resident in Northumberland.

Whether she has had discussions with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the contents of it's report entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, pu

The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman since the report into Women’s State Pension age was published on 21 March 2024. As Pensions Minister, on behalf of the ministerial team, I had a meeting wit...

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to ensure her Department's policies are trauma-informed; and what guidance her Department issues women fleeing domestic abuse.

This Government is committed to tackling the horrendous crime of domestic abuse, in line with our manifesto commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, with improved support for victims.Since 2021, councils in England have a duty...