Written questions by Morello.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of regulation to help tackle third-party resellers charging inflated prices for driving test appointments.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system. On the 18 December 2024, DVSA launched a call for evidence, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, including any potential future legislative changes. On the 23 April the Secretary of State announced that this consultation has been fast-tracked to May 2025.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing mandatory reporting requirements for retirement homes on staff departures and replacements.

The Department does not currently mandate reporting requirements for retirement homes on staff departures and replacements.The Care Act 2014 sets out local authorities’ legal duties when assessing people’s care and support needs. For workforce capacity, there is a duty to ensure that sufficient services are available for meeting the care and support needs of adults and their carers in the area.Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 states that providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) must deploy “sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to enable them to meet the needs of the people using the service at all times”. The CQC can take regulatory action if providers registered with them are in breach of any parts of this regulation, including if providers have an insufficient number of suitably qualified, skilled, and experienced persons deployed.The Department continues to monitor adult social care workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on funding for fire and rescue services assisting ambulance services with emergency entry to properties.

There have been no recent discussions about such funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 of April 2025 to Question 46588 on Abiraterone, what discussions she has had with NICE on its engagement with health authorities on the (a) appraisal and (b) use of abiraterone acetate for high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer.

The Department has had no such discussions. Abiraterone does not have a marketing authorisation for use in the treatment of high-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer and has not been evaluated for that indication by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The NICE makes recommendations for the National Health Service in England on the vast majority of new and significant licence indications, but does not evaluate medicines that are used outside their marketing authorisations or “off-label”.NHS England considered abiraterone as an off-label treatment for the treatment of hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer through its clinical policy development process in 2024/25. Through this process NHS England confirmed that there was sufficient supporting evidence to support the routine commissioning of abiraterone in this indication, but it has not been possible to identify the necessary recurrent funding to support the commissioning of abiraterone for this purpose, or any other treatments within the prioritisation round. Should the funding position change and a further prioritisation round take place, abiraterone for the treatment of hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer will be reconsidered.

Whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) the allocation of resident funds and (b) other aspects of the regulatory framework governing financial accountability in retirement homes.

The Care Quality Commission has regulatory powers to compel providers to be financially viable when delivering regulated activities and to protect service users from financial misappropriation.In addition, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is the independent complaints lead for adult social care and investigates complaints from those receiving social care, including on financial issues.Whilst there are no immediate plans to make an assessment of resident funds, the independent commission chaired by Baroness Louise Casey will have the scope to consider all aspects of adult social care, including financial matters, and will make recommendations on impactful reform as part of the first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.

Whether his Department plans to extend the Community Energy Fund to support additional eligible projects.

In 2025/26 Community Energy Groups will be able to access a share of £5 million in grant funding through the Great British Energy Community Fund. This extension of the Community Energy Fund will enable both rural and urban communities across England to continue accessing funding to develop local clean energy projects for investment. Once Great British Energy is fully operational it will develop its longer-term support offer for Community Energy Groups as well as for Local and Mayoral Strategic Authorities.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of research on the long-term effects of covid-19 on his Department's public health strategies.

In October 2024, the Department hosted a roundtable on long COVID research with the Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Lucy Chappell, discussing the relevance of the research to other post-viral syndromes and strategies to stimulate further research in the scientific community.The Department regularly reviews evidence on the health and economic impact of diseases and conditions. Where appropriate, this evidence is used to produce impact assessments which inform the development of new policies to address the needs of the population.The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation, remain committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for long COVID.Between 2019/20 and 2023/24, through the NIHR and the MRC, we have invested over £57 million on research into long COVID, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The funded projects aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical care.

Whether his Department provides funding to rural communities for the cost of connecting to the electricity mains.

The Department does not provide funding for connection costs specific to rural areas. Under Ofgem’s price control framework, network companies are investing in new electricity network capacity ahead of need. This should reduce both connection costs and timelines, including in rural areas.

What information his Department holds on the average cost of connecting to the electricity grid in (a) rural and (b) urban areas; and whether he plans to take steps to help reduce differences in the average cost.

The Department does not hold data on average connection costs for rural and urban areas. Under Ofgem’s regulation through network price controls, network companies are investing to provide new electricity network capacity ahead of need. This should reduce connection costs and timelines in both rural and urban areas.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support rural Dorset Council in managing rising fly tipping incidents.

This Government understands the difficulty that fly-tipping poses to all landowners. We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course. We encourage and support councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers to provide statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.

What support her Department has provided to rural police forces for the procurement of emergency equipment.

The Home Office does not hold the requested information.Decisions around procuring this type of equipment is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables, Police and Crime Commissioners or their Mayoral equivalents, to be taken in line with the needs of their local force.

Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish the consultation on access reform; and whether it will include provisions for enhancing public rights of way.

The Government recognises the importance of access to nature for health and wellbeing and is committed to ensuring it is safe, inclusive, and appropriate. We’re delivering on our ambitious manifesto commitment to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.Further details on the next steps will be provided later this year, following the outcome of the Spending Review and the publication of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor imports of queen bees from Ukraine for the presence of Tropilaelaps mites.

Protecting our country from pests and diseases is a key priority and that is why we have stringent monitoring processes in place to detect pests and diseases. Imports of honey bee queens must be inspected and certified as free from certain pests and diseases before they can be exported to the UK and they can only come from pest free areas. Honey bee queens from Ukraine must enter the UK via a border control post where they are inspected. The Department is working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU) to prevent Tropilaelaps species, a serious pest of honey bees from entering the UK and harming our bee population. As well as the import controls, there is an extensive surveillance programme in place for invasive pests and the NBU provide training and guidance on pest recognition to all UK beekeepers.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to increase penalties for repeat fly tipping offences.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess they have created. This will build on the sanctions already available which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing and crushing of vehicles and prosecution which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment. There are no plans to increase the fixed penalty levels for repeat fly-tipping offences at this time. The Defra chaired National Fly-tipping Prevention Group has produced a guide on how local authorities, and others, can present robust cases to court. This is available at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers to provide statutory guidance on fly-tipping enforcement. We have also announced a review of council powers to seize and crush the vehicles of suspected fly-tippers, to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of ongoing investigations into institutional failings related to group-based child sexual exploitation.

The Government continues to focus on delivering meaningful change for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including group-based child sexual exploitation.The National Crime Agency (NCA) and police forces can investigative any criminal activity, including offences that have occurred in relation to institutional failings in cases of group-based child sexual exploitation. We have significantly strengthened the National Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to support police investigations into group-based child sexual exploitation across the country, and we have asked all 43 police forces in England and Wales to work with the Taskforce to review historic cases where 'No Further Action' was taken and to pursue new lines of inquiry, where appropriate, to get justice for more victims and to get more perpetrators behind bars.We are awaiting Baroness Casey's national audit into group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and will set out any further work in due course.

Whether her Department has considered establishing a dedicated National Crime Agency unit to investigate institutional failings in cases of group-based child sexual exploitation.

The Government continues to focus on delivering meaningful change for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including group-based child sexual exploitation.The National Crime Agency (NCA) and police forces can investigative any criminal activity, including offences that have occurred in relation to institutional failings in cases of group-based child sexual exploitation. We have significantly strengthened the National Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to support police investigations into group-based child sexual exploitation across the country, and we have asked all 43 police forces in England and Wales to work with the Taskforce to review historic cases where 'No Further Action' was taken and to pursue new lines of inquiry, where appropriate, to get justice for more victims and to get more perpetrators behind bars.We are awaiting Baroness Casey's national audit into group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and will set out any further work in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that appropriate biosecurity checks are conducted on (a) vehicles and (b) goods arriving in the UK from France, following the introduction of restrictions on personal imports of meat and dairy products.

This Government has stepped up measures to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease (FMD), following a further confirmed case in Hungary, close to the Austrian border. The Government has already banned personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pig meat as well as dairy products, from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year in response to confirmed outbreaks of FMD in those countries. We recognise the risk posed by illegal imports via personal imports. Border force officers are responsible for detention and seizure of any illegal Products of Animal Origin (POAO) goods at points of entry and Defra is working closely with authorities at points of entry to help control the illegal movement of POAO into Great Britain in personal imports. Current policy reflects our experience of responding to past outbreaks of animal disease and is in line with international standards of best practice for disease control.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has raised concerns with his French counterpart on the lack of visible (a) controls and (b) public information at French ports of departure on the new import restrictions.

The Government communicated the ban on personal imports of meats and dairy products from EU countries introduced on 12 April 2025, via a press release and information on social media and on GOV.UK. It has also published updated posters for operational partners to display. As part of our national mission to protect our food sector and farmers, Defra has written to ports, airports and travel operators requesting that they take further steps in communicating the new rules to travellers as a matter of urgency. Defra has also written to Ministers from the Department for Transport, Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Ministers asking for their help with making travellers aware of the new rules.

Whether her Department is taking steps with dental schools to develop apprenticeship programmes to help expand the dental workforce.

There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the development of the dental workforce, including Level 3 Dental Nurse, Level 4 Dental Practice Manager and Level 4 Orthodontic Therapist.NHS England has been supporting dental schools to encourage delivery of the Level 6 Dental Hygienist apprenticeship standard, and the department continues to make it easier for providers to offer and deliver apprenticeships, including cutting red tape through reforms to the payment system.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential merits of introducing dental apprenticeships as a pathway to becoming a qualified dentist.

Ministers regularly meet with Cabinet colleagues to discuss a range of issues.Dental apprenticeships are available for roles such as dental nurses and technicians but are not available to become a qualified dentist. These apprenticeships provide skills and experience, combining work-based training with a degree.We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. A core part of the 10-Year Health Plan will be our workforce and how we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities.