Written questions by Morello.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Andersons' report Andersons Outlook 2025, published on 5 November 2024, whether he has made an assessment of the reasons for the decline in dairy producers between April 2023 and April 2024; and what steps he is taking to support the sustainability of dairy farms.

This Government recognises that food security is national security, and that it requires a resilient and healthy food system that works with nature and supports farmers. That is why we are introducing new deals for farmers to boost rural economic growth and strengthen food security. While the Andersons Outlook 2025 report highlights that dairy producer numbers in Great Britain declined by 5.8% to 7,130 between April 2023 and April 2024, it also shows that UK milk production remained largely unchanged at around 15b litres per annum. Industry consolidation and productivity gains have kept milk production broadly stable despite declining producer numbers. Ensuring fairness in supply chains is key for UK dairy farmers in supporting the sustainability of the sector. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 apply to new dairy contracts from 9 July 2024 and all dairy contracts from 9 July 2025. These regulations improve fairness and transparency, requiring clear terms on pricing, termination, and prohibiting unilateral changes. In addition, the Dairy Export Taskforce, an industry/government partnership, is focused on boosting export growth in the dairy sector. This included the organisation of a successful Government funded dairy showcase for international buyers in the autumn of 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect the highest quality agricultural land from development pressures.

This Government places great importance on the value of our agricultural land. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions. The Framework is clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. How this is applied is a matter for local planning authorities in the first instance, through their plans and decisionsEngland has limited land with growing demands being made of it – building 1.5 million homes, constructing energy infrastructure, growing food and protecting nature. The Government has published a 12-week consultation on land use. The consultation will inform the publication of a Land Use Framework, planned for later in the year.

What steps her Department has taken to prevent parcel thieves taking parcels which have already been delivered to people’s homes.

This Government is committed to reducing crime and restoring public confidence in policing and we are getting on with this through our Safer Streets Mission, including through delivery of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. As part of this, each neighbourhood will have a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues that communities are experiencing.In January 2025, the Government announced £200 million in the 2025/26 financial year to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 neighbourhood personnel, ensuring the police are visible in every community, deterring and preventing crime.A key part of making acquisitive crime, including theft, less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. We are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the ability to profit from this criminality.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) support home educators and (b) protect children removed from mainstream schools for malicious reasons.

The department is introducing the first ever duty on local authorities to provide support for home educating families as part of the Children not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The support duty ensures an established baseline level of support across all English local authorities, to ensure that wherever home educating families live they can have access to a reliable level of support from their local authority, if they choose to access it.The department’s existing elective home education guidance for parents already sets out to help parents understand their obligations and rights in relation to elective home education.This government is clear that any form of off-rolling is unacceptable, and we will work with Ofsted to tackle this. We are committed to strengthening accountability through reforming Ofsted to enhance the inspection regime by replacing a single headline grade with a new report card system, telling parents clearly how schools are performing, and introduce a new annual review of safeguarding, attendance, and pupil movement, including off-rolling.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure long-term stability in the agricultural budget.

In the October 2024 budget, we committed £5 billion for farming over two years, including £1.8 billion for our environmental land management schemes - the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers and nature, and we have more than half of farmers in an ELM scheme, putting us on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. Spending on farming in future financial years will be confirmed as part of the next spending review.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prevent the establishment of pop-up campsites in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and (b) ensure that such developments do not negatively impact the local environment and biodiversity.

A nationally set permitted development right allows for the temporary use of land for recreational campsites for up to 60 days per calendar year.Where it is necessary to protect the local amenity of an area, the local planning authority can consult the local community on removing a permitted development right by making an Article 4 direction. Planning applications would then be required, and the local planning authority can determine them in accordance with its local plan and in consultation with neighbours.The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure parcel delivery companies are held to account when they have (a) extremely low satisfaction rates and (b) poor reviews.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.Ofcom’s approach to protecting consumers is to include a condition that all postal operators must establish, make available, and comply with transparent, simple, and inexpensive procedures for dealing with consumers’ complaints about the services they receive.Ofcom is committed to ongoing monitoring of operators’ performance and will consider enforcement action or further regulation to protect consumers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers to adapt to (a) flooding, (b) droughts and (c) other impacts of climate change.

Farming and food security are the foundations of a healthy and resilient economy, local community, and environment. That is why we have allocated £5 billion for the farming budget over two years, of which £1.8bn is ringfenced for our Environmental land Management schemes (ELMs) in 25/26. This is the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. We are prioritising direct investment to ELM schemes, which will remain at the centre of our offer for farmers to make our country more sustainable and resilient to climate change, boosting nature and sustainable food production. We already have more than half of farmers in an ELM scheme, putting us on the path to a more resilient and sustainable farming sector. ELMs and Government grant payments create incentives for land managers to adopt sustainable farming practices, which provide benefits for agricultural productivity, biodiversity and resilience to climate events. For example, we are providing funding for farmers to implement natural flood management measures on their land, boosting resilience and supporting flood preparedness. Funding for soil health actions can help reduce the impacts of drought and flooding. The Government has invested £50 million to internal drainage boards (IDBs) as part of the one-off £75 million IDB Fund to support greater resilience for farmers and rural communities in the long term. The IDB Fund will accelerate IDBs’ recovery from the winter 2023-24 storms and provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade assets that protect agricultural land and rural communities. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. That’s why we set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. This Taskforce brings together Defra Ministers and officials with representatives from MHCLG, Home Office, Cabinet Office, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, Local Resilience Forums, Lead Local Flood Authorities, Mayoral Offices, emergency responders and the National Farmers Union, among others.

What discussions she has had with the motor insurance sector on trends in the level of insurance prices for first-time drivers.

The cross-Government motor insurance taskforce, launched in October, is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. The taskforce has been set up to support the Government’s missions to grow the economy and break down the barriers to opportunity for drivers of all ages, by acting on the cost pressures facing industry. We will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.

What discussions she has had with the Sentencing Council on the adequacy of the sentencing tariff for perpetrators of disability hate crime.

Disability hate crimes are completely unacceptable, and this Government is committed to tackling these appalling crimes. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target disability.Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts, who are required to take into account statutory aggravating and mitigating factors and follow sentencing guidelines developed by the independent Sentencing Council unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so. As an independent body, the Sentencing Council decides its own priorities and work plan for producing guidelines. Parliament is responsible for the sentencing framework, including statutory aggravating and mitigating factors, and setting the maximum penalty for offences.Under Section 66 of the Sentencing Code for England and Wales, the court must treat as an aggravating factor the fact that an offender demonstrated hostility towards the victim based on his or her disability (or presumed disability); or the offence was (wholly or partly) motivated by hostility towards persons who have a particular disability. An aggravating factor makes an offence more serious and must be considered by the court when deciding the length of a sentence.Additionally, the Government has committed to ensuring parity of protection for disabled and LGBT+ people under aggravated offences and will implement this change in an appropriate legislative vehicle in due course.The Government has delivered on a manifesto commitment to bring sentencing up to date and ensure the framework is consistent by launching an Independent Review of Sentencing, chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke. The Review will examine options following three core principles: sentences must punish offenders and protect the public, sentences should encourage prisoners to turn their backs on a life of crime, and we must expand and make greater use of punishment outside of prison.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure continued access to in person banking services in West Dorset constituency.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets in Dorset and across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with banks to roll out 350 banking hubs, which will provide local residents and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services. Over 100 banking hubs are already open. FCA guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and put in place alternatives where reasonable. This seeks to ensure that branch closures are implemented in a way that treats customers fairly. Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on transport companies who provide services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 13 November which sets out the impact of the employer NICs changes on employers. At Autumn Budget 2024 and the recent provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the Government announced £2 billion of new grant funding for local government in 2025-26. This includes £515m to support councils with the increase in employer National Insurance Contributions. The £515m of additional funding made available to compensate local government for the impact of changes to employer NICs has been determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff across the public sector. However, this funding is unringfenced and it is for LAs to determine how to use this funding across relevant services and responsibilities.

Whether her Department has had discussions with Lloyds Bank on the potential impact of the planned closure of its Dorchester branch on (a) local residents and (b) businesses.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets in Dorset and across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with banks to roll out 350 banking hubs, which will provide local residents and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services. Over 100 banking hubs are already open. FCA guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and put in place alternatives where reasonable. This seeks to ensure that branch closures are implemented in a way that treats customers fairly. Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of car insurance costs on the ability of young people to access employment.

The cross-Government motor insurance taskforce, launched in October, is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. The taskforce has been set up to support the Government’s missions to grow the economy and break down the barriers to opportunity for drivers of all ages, by acting on the cost pressures facing industry. We will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.

What her Department's planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to make disability hate crime an aggravated offence.

We have committed to ensuring parity of protection for disabled and LGBT+ people under the aggravated offences and will implement this change in an appropriate legislative vehicle in due course.The College of Policing is responsible for police training in England and Wales and publishes operational guidance for police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), on how to deal with different types of crimes and incidents, including hate crimes. The College of Policing keeps its APP is under review.The Government funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of support provided by employers to their employees with ADHD.

Neurodivergent people bring many positive benefits to businesses but face particular barriers to employment, which is reflected in a poor overall employment rate. As a government, we want to support all forms of neurodiversity in the workplace, including ADHD, by encouraging employers to adopt neuro-inclusive working practices so that everyone can thrive at work. On 29th January, the Government launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work.In keeping with the Government’s pledge to bring disabled voices closer to decision-making, at least half of the panel are neurodiverse themselves. The panel will consider the reasons why neurodivergent people have poor experiences in the workplace, and a low overall employment rate. They will make recommendations in the Summer which consider likely mechanisms for change. In parallel, we are working with other areas of government to promote awareness of neurodiversity amongst employers, and we recently announced Keep Britain Working, a major independent review of the employer’s role in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces, led by the former Chair of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of support provided by the NHS to people with ADHD after they have left full-time education.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nationally or for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England has established to look at ADHD service provision and support across sectors, and their impact on patient experience. The taskforce is bringing together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, including timely access to services and support.Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

What steps her Department has taken to support the electrification of the Salisbury to Exeter railway line.

Future rail infrastructure investment will be considered as part of the current Spending Review, which will be concluded in June 2025.

Whether her Department plans to take steps to upgrade the Salisbury to Exeter railway line from a single track with passing points to a double-track system.

Future rail infrastructure investment will be considered as part of the current Spending Review, which will be concluded in June 2025.

What steps she is taking to ensure police training is updated so that victims of disability hate crime are appropriately supported.

We have committed to ensuring parity of protection for disabled and LGBT+ people under the aggravated offences and will implement this change in an appropriate legislative vehicle in due course.The College of Policing is responsible for police training in England and Wales and publishes operational guidance for police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), on how to deal with different types of crimes and incidents, including hate crimes. The College of Policing keeps its APP is under review.The Government funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.