Written questions by Morello.

Whether his Department consulted (a) consumer groups and (b) energy providers on the reduction of off-peak tariff periods associated with smart meters.

The Government recognises the importance of time of use tariffs, and we are putting in place reforms such as Smart Metering and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement to support the growth of these products. Tariff setting is a matter for suppliers, and is regulated by Ofgem, including through the price cap which already has a variant to accommodate multi-rate tariffs such as Economy 7. I regularly engage with stakeholders, including consumer groups and energy suppliers, to ensure that the sector meets the differing needs of consumers.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential financial impact on (a) households reliant on Economy 7 and (b) other households using time-of-use tariffs of the reduction of off-peak periods to seven hours.

The Government recognises the importance of time of use tariffs, and we are putting in place reforms such as Smart Metering and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement to support the growth of these products. Tariff setting is a matter for suppliers, including the setting of peak and off-peak tariffs, and is regulated by Ofgem, including through the price cap which already has a variant to accommodate multi-rate tariffs such as Economy 7. I regularly engage with stakeholders, including consumer groups and energy suppliers, to ensure that the sector meets the differing needs of consumers.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing off-peak tariff periods from 12 to seven hours on households reliant on overnight energy use.

The Government recognises the importance of time of use tariffs, and we are putting in place reforms such as Smart Metering and the Market-wide Half Hourly Settlement to support the growth of these products. Tariff setting is a matter for suppliers, including the setting of peak and off-peak tariffs, and is regulated by Ofgem, including through the price cap which already has a variant to accommodate multi-rate tariffs such as Economy 7. I regularly engage with stakeholders, including consumer groups and energy suppliers, to ensure that the sector meets the differing needs of consumers.

What her timeline is for the establishment of Great British Railways; and what key milestones she expects to reach in the next 12 months.

The King’s Speech confirmed legislation – the Railways Bill – will be introduced to create Great British Railways in the first Parliamentary session. The consultation on this legislation will be published around the turn of the year. We anticipate GBR to be set up over the following 12 months after the legislation receives Royal Assent.

What steps her Department plans to take to help support the transition to Great British Railways.

While primary legislation is required to establish Great British Railways, the government has begun delivering improvements for passengers and freight users straight away. That is why the main organisations responsible for the operational railway (Network Rail, the Rail Services group in the Department for Transport, and the DfT Operator) have begun working together in closer collaboration to establish a Shadow Great British Railways bringing together track and train ahead of legislation.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken to establish Great British Railways on long-term (a) investment and (b) planning in the rail industry.

The stand up of Great British Railways will happen in parallel to the continued operation of the railway, therefore not impacting long-term investment. As for the passenger service business planning, this won’t change and Network Rail still have the Control Period funding settlement.

What steps her Department is taking to replace end-of-life rolling stock on South Western Railways.

South Western Railway has procured 750 new Class 701 vehicles to replace the older Class 455 units. The first trains have entered passenger service, with a gradual roll out expected over the next two years.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of water bill increases on coastal communities that are affected by sewage dumping.

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways. As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat will therefore publish their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which will set company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. During its first week of office, the Government announced funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will therefore ensure when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that people who live in coastal areas that experience high levels of sewage dumping do not face higher water bills as a result.

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population, and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways. As the independent economic regulator, it is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat will therefore publish their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December, which will set company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. During its first week of office, the Government announced funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will therefore ensure when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of (a) the potential merits of compensating coastal communities disproportionately affected by sewage discharges for the environmental and economic damage caused and (b) whether such compensation could be funded through the water company regulatory framework.

Ofwat, the independent economic regulator, sets specific performance targets for companies in the five-yearly price review. Where companies fail to meet these targets, including pollution incidents, they must reimburse customers through lower water bills. Additionally, under new proposals set out by this government on the Guaranteed Standards Scheme, households and businesses will be entitled to higher payments from water companies when basic services are not met. This includes payments for incidents of internal and external sewer flooding to a customer’s property. On 23 October, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Government launched an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation, in what is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. These recommendations will form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good.

What steps her Department plans to take to help fund the replacement of end-of-life rolling stock on South Western Railways. in the context of the planned establishment of Great British Railways.

South Western Railway has procured 750 new Class 701 carriages to replace older Class 455 units. The first trains have entered passenger service, with a gradual roll out expected over the next two years. The Government is in the early stages of formulating a rolling stock strategy. Once established, Great British Railways will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs and helping to secure better value from the private rolling stock market.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of women’s grassroots football in West Dorset constituency.

This Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport, including grassroots football, and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport.The Government is providing £123 million of funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25 alongside our ongoing investment into Sport England. This includes long term investment of £26.1 million into the FA to invest in community football initiatives that will benefit everyone, including women and girls, across the country, including in West Dorset.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance contributions rise on the provision of fast-track care to patients applying for Continuing Healthcare funding.

The employer National Insurance contributions rise will be implemented in April 2025. The Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help provide accommodation for homeless people in rural areas.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This Government recognises the devastating impact this can have on those affected. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25) and brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Allocations for individual local authorities in England will be set out later in December, which will include Slough, West Dorset, the Thames Valley region and wider rural communities.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness and deliver long-term solutions to end all forms of homelessness, including rural and child homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across Government to develop a long-term homelessness strategy.We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.The department also has a lived experience forum to ensure the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness are reflected in the homelessness strategy.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.The Government is also abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps she has taken with cabinet colleagues to tailor homelessness prevention strategies for (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other rural communities.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This Government recognises the devastating impact this can have on those affected. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25) and brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Allocations for individual local authorities in England will be set out later in December, which will include Slough, West Dorset, the Thames Valley region and wider rural communities.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness and deliver long-term solutions to end all forms of homelessness, including rural and child homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across Government to develop a long-term homelessness strategy.We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.The department also has a lived experience forum to ensure the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness are reflected in the homelessness strategy.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.The Government is also abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Media and Sport, what representations has she received from religious organisations about extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond March 2025.

My officials and I have met with a range of heritage bodies since July and this has included discussions on the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.The Department has received correspondence from religious organisations regarding the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and the views of their congregations and communities as a result of funding. A couple of Church of England bishops have also approached me at events and mentioned the scheme.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with religious organisations on the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on religious buildings.

My officials and I have met with a range of heritage bodies since July and this has included discussions on the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.The Department has received correspondence from religious organisations regarding the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and the views of their congregations and communities as a result of funding. A couple of Church of England bishops have also approached me at events and mentioned the scheme.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on requiring drugs manufacturers to include additional labelling on the front of boxes of medications containing a potentially addictive substance.

The legislative requirements for the labelling of medicines are set out in Schedules 24 and 25 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The regulations are continually under review and updated as and when a need is identified. It should be noted that the current legislative framework already provides for the presentation of ‘any special warning applicable to the product’ on the outer carton of a medicine, which would enable product-specific safety information to be presented on the pack if considered necessary.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of living costs on homelessness rates; and what steps she is taking to mitigate that potential impact.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This government recognises the devastating impact this can have on those at risk of, or affected by, homelessness.The Household Support Fund (HSF) is a scheme providing discretionary support to those most in need towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available to those in receipt of Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who need additional help with rent or housing costs. Both schemes are delivered via local authorities.The Government is investing £1 billion in extending the HSF by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026 and extending DHPs into 2025/26. Additional funding for the Devolved Governments will be provided through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. As announced at Autumn Budget we are also introducing a Fair Payment Rate for Universal Credit customers with deductions to retain more of their benefit award.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term homelessness strategy.

What steps his Department is taking to address shortages in NHS dentists in rural areas; and what his timeline is for tackling such gaps.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas. 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. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.Integrated care boards have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most, for three years. As of 7 November 2024, 629 Expressions of Interest have been received, 308 of which have been approved for participation in the Dental Recruitment Incentive Scheme. 64 posts have been advertised, with five dentists commenced in post.