Written questions by Morello.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the levels of under-occupied homes in West Dorset constituency.

Under-occupation is recorded in the English Housing Survey’s annual statistics.The choice to sell a home is ultimately one for the owner of the property to make.However, the government are taking steps to modernise the home buying and selling process, including through digital innovation.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 26 November 2024 (HCWS249), we are also giving careful consideration to the recommendations from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report.

What plans his Department has to increase support for learning disability services in West Dorset constituency.

Each integrated care board must have an executive lead for learning disability and autism. To make it easier for people with a learning disability and autistic people to use health services, there is work underway in NHS England to make sure that staff in health settings know if they need to make reasonable adjustments for people. This includes the development of a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag, which enables the recording of key information about a patient, including if a person is autistic or has a learning disability, and their reasonable adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.Under the Health and Care Act 2022, from 1 July 2022, Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. This helps to ensure that staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide safe and informed care. To support providers to meet the statutory training requirement, we have been rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, otherwise known as Oliver’s Training, to the health and adult social care workforce. A code of practice has been published to guide CQC registered providers on how to meet the statutory requirement for learning disability and autism training under the Health and Care Act 2022 which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oliver-mcgowan-code-of-practice

What discussions he has had with Dorset Integrated Care Board on (a) funding and (b) support for people with learning disabilities in West Dorset constituency.

The Government wants to better support disabled people, including those with a learning disability, to participate in society and access high quality care and support. Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out the actions we are taking to move care from hospitals to communities and prevent sickness rather than treat it. These reforms will support improved life outcomes for people with a learning disability through more holistic, personalised support. Specific action is also being taken to roll out mandatory training on learning disability for health and social care staff.My rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had specific discussions with the integrated care board (ICB) as described. NHS England typically direct relationships with ICBs.NHS Dorset has a Learning Disabilities budget of £99.18 million for 2025/2026. This budget covers the community services commissioned through their core contracts, non-contract activity, continuing healthcare commitments, support for individual patients, advocacy and support services, and some service development initiatives including the full implementation of a keyworker service.In addition, each ICB must have an executive lead for learning disability whose role includes: supporting the board in addressing health inequalities; supporting equal access to care across all health services; and improving overall health outcomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to strengthen enforcement of border checks to prevent illegal imports of products of animal origin following recent foot and mouth disease outbreaks in (a) Hungary and (b) surrounding countries.

Port health authorities and local authorities are responsible for checks on products of animal origin (POAO) at Border Control Posts (BCPs). Border Force is responsible for conducting checks to detect illegal imports of POAO outside BCPs. Following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Hungary, we advised BCP officials of the immediate suspension of imports from Hungary and Slovakia of untreated POAO from FMD susceptible animals. We also advised Border Force of the ban on personal imports of POAO from FMD susceptible species, from these two countries. Following the subsequent outbreak of FMD in Slovakia, we advised BCP officials of the immediate extension of the above restrictions to Austria. We also advised Border Force of the extension of the personal imports ban to Austria and subsequently to the European Economic Area, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Switzerland.

What assessment she has made of the level of risk of violence faced by children in West Dorset constituency.

The Government is determined to reduce violent crime in every area of the county including in West Dorset, and will continue to take action towards that goal through its Safer Streets Mission, and in particular its objective to halve crime over the coming decade.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) reduce the risk of violence to children in rural areas.

Keeping children safe is a top priority for this government. Statutory guidance, 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (2023), is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from outside their home should receive a multi-agency safeguarding response to keep them safe. It is important to recognise threats may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community.From April 2025, £500 million is being made available to local authorities to roll out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection, including where harm is outside the home. Furthermore, the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will strengthen multi-agency safeguarding arrangements so that opportunities to keep children safe are not missed.The government’s Young Futures programme will establish prevention partnerships which will identify those most at risk of violence and enable access to support. In the community, a new network of Young Futures Hubs is aimed at increasing access to opportunities for children and young people, improving mental health, and reducing vulnerability to violence and crime. Cross-government work to develop the programme is taking place with a large variety of stakeholders, including those who understand best practice in rural and urban areas.The department monitors a range of data related to children’s risk of violence, including education, social care and police national computer data. Our published dashboard allows local areas to understand factors in their area which result in vulnerability to crime and compare to their nearest statistical neighbours. This dashboard is available here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/childrens-social-care-and-offending/.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of existing border enforcement measures in preventing the illegal import of products of animal origin linked to foot and mouth disease risks.

Our assessments of the risk of foot and mouth disease incursions, which take account of disease prevention measures including the effectiveness of border controls in preventing illegal imports of products of animal origin, are available here.

What discussions she has had with (a) charities and (b) experts on the (i) recording and (ii) sharing of peer-on-peer violence by children online.

We are working to enhance our understanding of how social media platforms are being used by gangs and violent offenders, and how online content translates to ‘real-world’ violence. We know from 2024 survey results published by the Youth Endowment Fund that 70% of young people had encountered real-world violence online in the past 12 months. The most frequently observed content was footage of fights involving young people.We are working with police and investing in targeted law enforcement capabilities to disrupt gangs and violent criminals operating online and to reduce the crime and harms they bring to our communities. The National Crime Agency is also working in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally to map and target key offenders operating online, including the darknet markets.We have also formed the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime which brings together campaign groups, charities, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation. This Coalition is working with the Government to help identify risks and design policy based on the best possible evidence. This will include considering the challenges and risks presented online.The Online Safety Act 2023 is a key mechanism to monitor and tackle illegal content online. It requires providers within the scope of the Act to implement measures to remove illegal content, including that related to inciting violence. If providers fail to abide by their duties under the Act, Ofcom, as the independent regulator, can now enforce against the illegal content duties and have already launched several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance with the regime.The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and is committed to ensuring it delivers the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment and tackle illegal content.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of targeted subsidies for small businesses in rural constituencies.

This Government recognises that rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. Over half a million business are registered in rural areas, with SMEs accounting for 99% of registered rural enterprises. The Department for Business and Trade provides a range of existing offers that rural SMEs may wish to access. This includes support via the Business Support Service, Gov.uk, the network of 41 local Growth Hubs across England, and the Help to Grow: Management scheme to help improve leadership and management capabilities. Later this year the Government will publish the SME Strategy Paper. This will set out the Government’s intentions on supporting small businesses across key areas, including thriving high streets, making it easier to secure finance, accessing overseas and domestic markets, encouraging entrepreneurship and building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment. This will complement the Government’s forthcoming Industrial and Trade Strategies On targeted subsidies, Defra funds capital projects for small businesses and community infrastructure in rural areas through the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). The fund will have provided up to £143 million of funding to eligible local authorities between April 2023 and March 2026.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) early and (b) accurate assessments of learning disabilities in children.

The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources.The department knows that effective early identification and intervention can reduce the impact that SEND may have on individuals in the long term. The Early Years Foundation Stage two-year old progress check and the Healthy Child Programme development review offer two valuable opportunities to identify additional needs for children aged two to three and put the right support in place for the children who need it.The department has also introduced additional resources for early years educators to support children with developmental differences and needs, including a free online training module and SEND assessment guidance and resources.To support settings to identify need early, the department is also strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. The department has commissioned evidence reviews from University College London, which will highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people (age 0 to 25) with different types of needs.

Whether her Department plans to increase levels of support to help schools in rural constituencies meet the needs of pupils with learning disabilities.

The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to the number of pupils in a school. In addition, eligible small, rural primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.Where the cost of additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, Dorset County Council is being allocated over £60 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £4.1 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.

What discussions she has had with (a) local police and (b) police and crime commissioners on the (i) recording and (ii) sharing of peer-on-peer violence by children online.

We are working to enhance our understanding of how social media platforms are being used by gangs and violent offenders, and how online content translates to ‘real-world’ violence. We know from 2024 survey results published by the Youth Endowment Fund that 70% of young people had encountered real-world violence online in the past 12 months. The most frequently observed content was footage of fights involving young people.We are working with police and investing in targeted law enforcement capabilities to disrupt gangs and violent criminals operating online and to reduce the crime and harms they bring to our communities. The National Crime Agency is also working in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally to map and target key offenders operating online, including the darknet markets.We have also formed the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime which brings together campaign groups, charities, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation. This Coalition is working with the Government to help identify risks and design policy based on the best possible evidence. This will include considering the challenges and risks presented online.The Online Safety Act 2023 is a key mechanism to monitor and tackle illegal content online. It requires providers within the scope of the Act to implement measures to remove illegal content, including that related to inciting violence. If providers fail to abide by their duties under the Act, Ofcom, as the independent regulator, can now enforce against the illegal content duties and have already launched several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance with the regime.The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and is committed to ensuring it delivers the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment and tackle illegal content.

What plans her Department has to allocate new funding to help schools improve support for pupils with learning disabilities.

The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to the number of pupils in a school. In addition, eligible small, rural primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.Where the cost of additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, Dorset County Council is being allocated over £60 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £4.1 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of children (a) recording and (b) sharing incidents of peer-on-peer violence online.

We are working to enhance our understanding of how social media platforms are being used by gangs and violent offenders, and how online content translates to ‘real-world’ violence. We know from 2024 survey results published by the Youth Endowment Fund that 70% of young people had encountered real-world violence online in the past 12 months. The most frequently observed content was footage of fights involving young people.We are working with police and investing in targeted law enforcement capabilities to disrupt gangs and violent criminals operating online and to reduce the crime and harms they bring to our communities. The National Crime Agency is also working in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally to map and target key offenders operating online, including the darknet markets.We have also formed the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime which brings together campaign groups, charities, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation. This Coalition is working with the Government to help identify risks and design policy based on the best possible evidence. This will include considering the challenges and risks presented online.The Online Safety Act 2023 is a key mechanism to monitor and tackle illegal content online. It requires providers within the scope of the Act to implement measures to remove illegal content, including that related to inciting violence. If providers fail to abide by their duties under the Act, Ofcom, as the independent regulator, can now enforce against the illegal content duties and have already launched several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance with the regime.The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and is committed to ensuring it delivers the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment and tackle illegal content.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the (a) recording and (b) sharing of peer-on-peer violence by children online.

We are working to enhance our understanding of how social media platforms are being used by gangs and violent offenders, and how online content translates to ‘real-world’ violence. We know from 2024 survey results published by the Youth Endowment Fund that 70% of young people had encountered real-world violence online in the past 12 months. The most frequently observed content was footage of fights involving young people.We are working with police and investing in targeted law enforcement capabilities to disrupt gangs and violent criminals operating online and to reduce the crime and harms they bring to our communities. The National Crime Agency is also working in partnership with policing colleagues across the UK and internationally to map and target key offenders operating online, including the darknet markets.We have also formed the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime which brings together campaign groups, charities, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation. This Coalition is working with the Government to help identify risks and design policy based on the best possible evidence. This will include considering the challenges and risks presented online.The Online Safety Act 2023 is a key mechanism to monitor and tackle illegal content online. It requires providers within the scope of the Act to implement measures to remove illegal content, including that related to inciting violence. If providers fail to abide by their duties under the Act, Ofcom, as the independent regulator, can now enforce against the illegal content duties and have already launched several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance with the regime.The Government is closely monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and is committed to ensuring it delivers the necessary protections to ensure a safer online environment and tackle illegal content.

Whether her Department plans to increase the level of support available to help schools meet the needs of pupils with learning disabilities in West Dorset constituency.

The department recognises the essential role that small, rural schools play in their communities. The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges, including those of providing for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The NFF lump sum for the 2025/26 financial year is set at £145,100 and provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to the number of pupils in a school. In addition, eligible small, rural primary schools attract up to £57,400, and eligible secondary or all-through schools attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26 through the NFF.Where the cost of additional support for a pupil with SEN exceeds £6,000 per annum, the local authority provides the school with extra funding from its high needs budget. The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs funding to over £12 billion, to help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting their pupils with complex needs. Of that total, Dorset County Council is being allocated over £60 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £4.1 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs NFF.

What guidance her Department has issued to schools on managing incidents in which children have (a) filmed and (b) disseminated footage of other children being harmed by their peers.

All pupils and staff should feel safe and protected at school, and nobody should face violence or abuse.Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the 2024 ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance. Evidence from the Children’s Commissioner published in April 2025, shows over 90% of schools are restricting the use of phones during the school day. The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.Schools should make clear to pupils that good behaviour does not end at the school gates and that, even though the online space differs in many ways, the same standards of behaviour are expected online as offline, and that everyone should be treated with kindness and respect.In cases where pupils do misbehave outside school premises, including online bullying and abuse, schools can apply sanctions to the appropriate pupils. The school behaviour policy should set out how the school will respond to any non-criminal misbehaviour off the school premises or online.All schools and colleges are also under a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and must have regard to ‘Keeping children safe in education’ which is the department’s statutory safeguarding guidance. Any criminal behaviour should be appropriately escalated and reported to police.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to Integrated Care Boards to support people with learning disabilities.

NHS England is responsible for setting funding allocations for integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs primarily pay for learning disability and autism services from their general allocation to provide healthcare for their population. In 2024/25, ICBs spent £3,323 million of their total allocation on learning disability and autism services and an additional £130 million on transformation programmes, including community/children and young people keyworkers, autism, and partnerships in neurodiversity in schools.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the supply of nutrient neutrality credits for housing development in West Dorset constituency.

In December 2023, the previous government awarded Dorset council £4.63m in Round 1 of the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund to support the delivery of local nutrient mitigation schemes that would provide mitigation and unblock stalled development.The present government awarded Poole Harbour a further £100,000 in Nutrient Support Funding in Autumn 2024.These funds are intended to be used and recycled locally in a way which helps to unlock housing while mitigating the effects of nutrient pollution.The government has not made an assessment of the potential impact of the scheme on affordability.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to introduce regulations requiring the disclosure of future maintenance liabilities through asset management plans during property transactions.

Providing essential information upfront during the home buying and selling process is important in supporting potential buyers to make informed decisions about whether a property is suitable for them. There is already a requirement under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 that any property information that would help a prospective homebuyer to make an informed decision is not hidden or omitted. On 9 February, the government announced action to improve the availability of property information. Improving access to key home buying and selling data will help transactions run more smoothly by ensuring all parties are able to access the information they need at the right time. We recognise the benefits to leaseholders of Asset Management Plans. As per my Written Ministerial Statement of 21 November 2024 (HCWS2440), the government will consult on new reforms to the section 20 ‘major works’ procedure that leaseholders must go through when they face large bills for such works. We continue to work with stakeholders across industry, government, and the public sector to understand the most effective way of supporting buyers to make the right decisions.