Written questions by Morello.

What steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for horse riders in West Dorset constituency.

In my answer of 28 April 2025 to WPQ-45414, WPQ-45415 and WPQ-45416 on horse rider safety, I stated that The Highway Code was updated in 2022 to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse riders.The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK!, ran campaigns to alert road users of the changes as they came into effect and broader behaviour campaigns to encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Results from the last campaign showed that by September 2023 93% of drivers agreed it was their responsibility to give space to vulnerable road users. We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act (RTA) 1988 puts a 'statutory duty' on the local authorities to provide a safe local road network. This includes road construction, accident investigation and analysis, traffic calming and setting speed limits. The Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness and provides local authorities with guidance on road safety measures, but it should be noted that it is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their statutory duty.

Whether her Department has conducted public awareness campaigns on the dangers of mobile phone use while driving.

THINK! is the Government’s flagship road safety campaign, which aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by addressing a range of issues, including mobile phone distraction. In 2022, the Government ran a THINK! Campaign targeting 17-24 year old men and women, which coincided with the broadening of the legal offence of using a handheld phone while driving. The campaign led to 75% of young men agreeing that it is always dangerous to use a handheld phone when you are at the wheel, with between two thirds to 80% of the audience taking action to change their behaviour after seeing the campaign’s short films. Previous THINK! campaigns have addressed the role of passengers in distracting drivers, including through mobile phone use. Mobile phone campaigns also ran in 2017 and 2018 after the 2017 increase in penalties for driving while using a handheld phone. A radio advert asking drivers to ‘Put your phone away’ runs throughout the year via the Fillers service, through which radio stations run public service adverts at no cost.

Whether her Department plans to introduce stricter penalties for mobile phone use while driving.

Government keeps motoring offences under review, and is considering possible interventions.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending 20mph zones in rural villages in West Dorset constituency.

Decisions on making local speed limits on roads in England rest with traffic authorities who have responsibility for roads in local areas. The Department for Transport issues best practice guidance to assist authorities setting local speed limits, designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local circumstances.The guidance suggests that while government policy is that a 30mph speed limit should be the norm through villages, it may be appropriate to consider 20mph limits in built-up village streets that are primarily residential in nature, or where pedestrian and cyclist movements are high, where there is a safety case and local support.The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the potential merits of extending 20mph limits or zones in rural villages in West Dorset constituency.

What criteria her Department uses to determine speed limits in villages.

Decisions on making local speed limits on roads in England rest with traffic authorities who have responsibility for roads in local areas. The Department for Transport issues best practice guidance to assist authorities setting local speed limits, designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local circumstances.The guidance suggests that while government policy is that a 30mph speed limit should be the norm through villages, it may be appropriate to consider 20mph limits in built-up village streets that are primarily residential in nature, or where pedestrian and cyclist movements are high, where there is a safety case and local support.The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the potential merits of extending 20mph limits or zones in rural villages in West Dorset constituency.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of mobile phone usage while driving on the number of road accidents in the past five years.

Statistics on road collisions are available based on data reported to the Department by police forces via the STATS19 data collection system. Within STATS19, reporting officers can record up to 6 factors which they consider may have contributed to the collision occurring. The number of reported road injury collisions in Great Britain where a police officer attended and assigned ‘driver using mobile phone’ as a contributory factor are shown in the table for the last 5 years for which data are available. YearNumber of collisions with ‘driver using mobile phone’ as a contributory factor20194202020368202144020224682023463

What steps her Department is taking to facilitate the carriage of (a) e-scooters and (b) e-bikes on rural train services.

It is for individual train operators to decide whether e-scooters and e-bikes are accepted on their trains, following risk assessments to determine the safety of accepting these vehicles onboard. In general, e-scooters are not permitted on train services, whilst e-bikes are permitted provided they meet certain conditions. This includes being road-legal, stored in a designated area and not charged on trains.In terms of wider public transport, the government recognises the benefits that e-scooters and e-bikes can bring and published guidance to public transport operators in February 2024, aimed at ensuring that responses to fire risks are appropriately targeted, effective, and proportionate, so that the potential of these forms of transport is not unnecessarily limited.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of supporting driving instructors with operational costs.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not employ driving instructors and so has no power or control over what they charge for their services, including lessons. Fees charged by Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) for driving lessons anywhere in the country, including rural areas are a commercial business arrangement. The department has not offered any form of financial support to ADIs since the register's inception and there are no plans to change this.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) support Community Speed Watch schemes and (b) deter (i) antisocial driving and (ii) street racing in rural areas.

Community Speedwatch schemes are initiatives coordinated by the police working with local volunteers to target speeders, and decisions on whether to operate local schemes are operational matters for the police.  The Department for Transport agrees that these schemes can be a useful way of monitoring speeds and encouraging drivers to stay within speed limits.  However, it has not made any assessment of the effectiveness of the programmes in the West Dorset constituency. Turning to the deterrence of antisocial driving and street racing in rural areas, the Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament in February, includes proposals to give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

What steps he plans to take to ensure that GPs continue to receive (a) funding and (b) support following the dissolution of NHS England.

We inherited a broken National Health Service which penalises hard working staff by hampering them with layers of bureaucracy, unclear lines of accountability, and a fragmented, duplicative system. It is a bad use of taxpayers’ money to have two national organisations doing the same jobs. This has left patients worse off and staff unable to do their jobs properly.Creating a more efficient, leaner centre will free up capacity and help deliver significant savings of hundreds of millions of pounds a year which will be reinvested in frontline services and cutting waiting lists.We remain committed to fixing the front door of the NHS, building on the progress to date to deliver meaningful reform to establish a modern general practice (GP) at the heart of a neighbourhood health service.We are investing an additional £889 million in GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade. The 7.2% boost to the GP Contract is faster than the 5.8% growth to the NHS budget as a whole, helping to reverse the decade-long trend of GPs receiving an ever-decreasing percentage of NHS funding.GPs will continue to be a core element of the future of the NHS during and after the integration of NHS England into the Department.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of NHS ear wax removal services in West Dorset constituency.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local populations. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal. When ICBs exercise their functions, including commissioning healthcare services such as ear wax removal, they have a duty to reduce inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access health services, and to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services.Guidance for general practitioners (GPs) on ear wax removal is provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the NICE due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so GPs will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.

Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a statutory duty for fire and rescue services in England to respond to flooding.

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this Government. In Autumn 2024, as the Minister previously responsible for fire, the Rt Hon Dame Diana Johnson asked officials to undertake further work alongside Defra and other relevant partners to understand in more detail if there are gaps in the fire and rescue services flooding response and resilience system. Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their core functions in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework. At this time, a clear rationale for introducing a statutory duty has not been determined. However, MHCLG officials and representatives of fire and rescue services will continue to work with Defra, as the lead government department for flooding, and its partners to understand the challenges that fire and rescue services face and consider how best to ensure that all partners involved in flood response have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

If she will make an assessment of the legislation enabling domestic firearms companies to sell firearms to Europe.

Exports of firearms are controlled by the Export Control Order 2008 and Regulation (EU) No 258/2012. Only once an export licence has been issued can the export proceed.We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (SELC). The SELC provide a thorough risk assessment framework for export licence applications and require us to carefully consider the impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with the SELC.The SELC were announced to Parliament on 8 December 2021 by the then International Trade Secretary. The full written ministerial statement can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-12-08/hcws449.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) service delivery and (b) patient care standards in dental practices are maintained following the dissolution of NHS England.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to lead the formation of a new joint centre. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds. The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.The responsibility for commissioning primary care, including dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards across England.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) service delivery and (b) patient care standards are maintained in community pharmacies following the dissolution of NHS England.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the NHS, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.All services delivered within a community pharmacy are delivered under the supervision of a pharmacist who are regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The GPhC is the independent regulator of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and registered pharmacy premises in Great Britain, and will remain unaffected by any changes to NHS England. GPhC sets standards for the education and training of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy support staff, inspects pharmacies to ensure standards are met and acts if there are concerns about a registered pharmacy or pharmacy professional.

What guidance his Department provides to general practitioners on the provision of ear wax removal services to patients in West Dorset constituency.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local populations. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal. When ICBs exercise their functions, including commissioning healthcare services such as ear wax removal, they have a duty to reduce inequalities between persons with respect to their ability to access health services, and to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of health services.Guidance for general practitioners (GPs) on ear wax removal is provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the NICE due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so GPs will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help provide (a) support and (b) resources to farmers to protect their livestock from dog attacks.

This government recognises the distress livestock worrying can cause animals and their keepers. This Government is supporting a Private Members’ Bill which will amend and update the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953. The Bill will modernise definitions and scope, strengthen police powers and increase the maximum penalty from a fine of £1,000 to an “unlimited” fine to act as a deterrent.

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of current domestic firearms production in meeting the needs of the UK's armed forces.

The strategic aim of this Government's Defence Industrial Strategy is to make sure the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned. The Defence Industrial Strategy will signal to industry the areas we want to grow our onshore production capability, and where we will work with allies. This will ensure the UK has the industrial base needed to meet the potential threats of the future, as well as maximise economic benefits to the UK, ensuring UK suppliers get more value out of our procurement spend. All Ministry of Defence procurement decisions are carefully considered, taking into account not only the capabilities of the equipment but also the wider economic impact and the need to maintain operational sovereignty.

What steps he is taking to increase the domestic manufacturing of firearms.

The strategic aim of this Government's Defence Industrial Strategy is to make sure the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned. The Defence Industrial Strategy will signal to industry the areas we want to grow our onshore production capability, and where we will work with allies. This will ensure the UK has the industrial base needed to meet the potential threats of the future, as well as maximise economic benefits to the UK, ensuring UK suppliers get more value out of our procurement spend. All Ministry of Defence procurement decisions are carefully considered, taking into account not only the capabilities of the equipment but also the wider economic impact and the need to maintain operational sovereignty.

What steps his Department is taking to provide (a) support and (b) compensation for veterans who left the Armed Forces before 1987 and have since developed health conditions linked to their service.

The War Pension Scheme (WPS) provides no-fault compensation for all ex-service personnel where illness, injury or death is caused by Service before 6 April 2005. Compensation is paid for injuries or illnesses that arise as a result of Service or are made worse by Service. The scheme awards a disablement percentage between 0% and 100%, with those awarded at 20% - 100% receiving an ongoing weekly war pension, and those awarded at 1% - 19% receiving a one-off gratuity payment. The WPS is also open to Veterans diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos during their military service prior to 6 April 2005, offering either a lump sum or regular payments. The Ministry of Defence delivers a range of services to Veterans and their families. This includes the administration and payment of Armed Forces pensions and compensation, the provision of tailored advice and assistance through the Veterans Welfare Service, Defence Transition Services and the Integrated Personal Commissioning for Veterans.