Written questions by Chowns.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the detailed criteria his Department uses to calculate avian flu compensation payments for industrial poultry units.

Compensation paid for birds culled by the Government for disease control purposes is designed to promote prompt reporting of suspicion of disease and is only payable for healthy birds as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981. There is no compensation available for sick birds or birds that have died. Compensation is not paid for consequential losses, including business interruption caused by control measures, nor for eggs or poultry meat. The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) makes its assessment of the disease status of the birds based on clinical inspection and veterinary judgment. The amount of compensation is established by APHA using the relevant valuation rate card (or for specialist stock by a specialist valuer). The valuation rate cards are updated by APHA five times per year (in January, March, June, September and November) to ensure rates are in line with average market values for the types of birds.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of moving home (a) in the lead up to and (b) during GCSE exams on care-experienced young people’s (i) educational attainment and (ii) future opportunities.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

What assessment his Department has made of whether UK (a) company and (b) public sector supply chains are involved in (i) environmental harms and (ii) human rights abuses (A) in the UK and (B) overseas.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains.The review will be a neutral, objective appraisal of policy, led by officials in my department. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices. It will have due regard to costs on business and the approaches taken by our trading partners. Throughout the review, we will harness the insights and expertise of businesses, investors, trade unions, academia and civil society.We have also established the Office for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), to replace the UK's National Contact Point. This enhanced office will support industry to integrate responsible business practices and help victims of corporate malpractice through continuing to operate a non-judicial complaints mechanism for alleged violations of the OECD Guidelines on RBC.

With reference to the press notice by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of that charity's findings that 17% of children in care moved school during Key Stage 4.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

With reference to the press release by Become entitled New research shows shockingly high numbers of children in care being moved during GCSEs and A-levels, published on 24 June 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of children in care who moved school during their GCSE period.

The department is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. We recognise the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, a child’s social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised and any transitions well-planned and supported. Where a change to a child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their Personal Education Plan should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.The government is introducing measures, including through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to rebalance the market, improve regulation and commissioning of placements, and bring greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying. This includes a focus on addressing the barriers that prevent homes from being established where they are needed.Through our Plan for Change, we’re also investing £2 billion over this Parliament to give more children a safe, loving home, including expanding the children’s home estate, delivering more foster care placements and helping keep families together by providing targeted support before problems escalate.These measures will provide greater placement availability, stability and ensure that, where it is in a child's best interests, they are placed closer to home.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing funding for community preventive health initiatives through the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan.

The 10-Year Health Plan has set out how we will reinvent the National Health Service through the radical shifts, namely hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. These are the core components of our new care model. To support the scale of change we need, we ensure the whole NHS is ready to deliver these three shifts at pace: through a new operating model, by creating a new workforce model with staff genuinely aligned with the future direction of reform, through a reshaped innovation strategy and by taking a different approach to NHS finances.

What steps her Department has taken to merge highway records into a single digital record to simplify conveyancing highways searches.

The Department for Transport (DfT) recognises the value of improving access to highways information for the purposes of conveyancing. For the Strategic Road Network, National Highways has taken significant steps to simplify its own land ownership records. Conveyancing highways searches are received through the National Highways Customer Contact Centre, before being directed to the relevant regional spatial planning team. To further support transparency, National Highways has created a spatial highway boundary dataset, updated weekly using data from HM Land Registry, Ordnance Survey, and its own asset data. This assured dataset is available to the public through the National Highways Open Data Portal and allows users to easily identify National Highways’ land ownership. For local roads, the records most relevant to conveyancing searches are owned, maintained and published by local highway authorities. At present, DfT has no plans to consolidate this data into a single digital record.

How people who are responsible for funeral costs and in receipt of a qualifying benefit have an application for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment refused because of the family tests in the eligibility criteria in each of the last five years.

Table 1 shows the number of applicants responsible for funeral cost who were receipt of qualifying benefits but were refused a Funeral Expenses Payment due to the family test reasons below:There is a surviving partnerThere is a closer relativeThey are not a partner, friend or relative Table 1: Funeral Expense Payments- Refusals linked to the Family Test 2020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25Number of Refusals1,1009001,2001,2001,000 Notes:- These figures have been estimated using unaudited internal DWP Management Information which is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics.- These applicants are assumed to have been responsible for funeral costs and to have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit.- Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Where an application for a Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment is refused because another family member of the person who died is not in receipt of a qualifying benefit, what assessment her Department makes of that person’s (a) ability and (b) willingness to take responsibility for the funeral costs.

The eligibility criteria for Funeral Expenses Payments are designed to ensure the scheme is fair for taxpayers while supporting the most vulnerable with these costs. The Funeral Expenses Payment regulations provide for those cases where there is more than one person who could be responsible for a funeral. Where one of these individuals is not in receipt of a qualifying benefit, the Department does not provide a Funeral Expenses Payment. We do not assess the ability or willingness of this individual to take responsibility for the funeral. If there is no one able or willing to pay for the funeral, Local Authorities can arrange a public health funeral.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a target for the number of homes funded by the Affordable Homes Programme that are available for social rent.

The 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme has a target to deliver at least 40,000 social rent homes. My Department published an update on targets in that programme on 30 July 2024 which can be found on gov.uk here.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to mark UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture; and what steps he plans to take at the UN General Assembly 2025 to press for international regulations on goods that could be used for torture.

The UK Government remains committed to preventing torture and tackling impunity for those who torture others. It is essential for safeguarding our security and integral to a fair legal system and the rule of law.At the UN General Assembly, we will continue to work with allies to encourage all states to uphold their international human rights obligations. As a member of the Global Alliance on Torture Free Trade, the UK supports the initiative to stop the trade of goods used for capital punishment and torture. Goods are subject to export restrictions if they can be used for torture, capital punishment, or cruel and inhuman treatment. Export licence applications are considered against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. The Government will not grant a licence for items where we determine there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of excess sewage sludge on river pollution.

Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 (SUiAR) supported by the Sewage Sludge Code of Practice provide environmental and health protections from sludge spreading. The Government is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for spreading sludge. We recognise that effective and proportionate regulations are an essential tool to improve the water environment. The Independent Water Commission’s Call for Evidence, published in February 2025, highlighted the Environment Agency’s recommendation to strengthen the regulatory framework for sludge application on land by incorporating the Sludge Use in Agriculture Regulations 1989 into the Environmental Permitting Regulations 2016. A set of recommendations will be delivered by Q3 of this year. The UK Government will then respond and consult on proposals we intend to take forward.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of land-spreading sewage sludge on soil contamination.

The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 (SUiAR) supported by the Sewage Sludge Code of Practice provide environmental and health protections from sludge spreading. The Government is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for spreading sludge. We recognise that effective and proportionate regulations are an essential tool to improve the environment. The Government has been working with water companies under their Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), to improve the evidence base on the behaviour and fate of contaminants in during treatment processes. CIP phase 4 will include a Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids investigation. This will be looking at the fate and behaviour of multiple chemical compounds, including PFAS substances, to establish whether detected substances pose a risk to long-term soil health, groundwater quality ansd the wider environment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49999 on Holiday Activities and Food Programme, whether she plans to continue the provision of funding for the Holidays and Activities Programme beyond the 2025-26 financial year.

The government remains committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. We are currently working through the outcomes of the Spending Review and will share further information in relation to the future of the HAF programme in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy for all new homes to be built without a gas connection.

The government recognises that we need to move away from fossil fuel heating to meet our commitment to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Future Homes Standard (FHS), to be introduced through the Building Regulations in autumn this year, will effectively preclude the use of gas boilers in new homes. We would therefore expect the majority of new homes to be built without a gas connection. However, the FHS will not set standards for the fuels used, or emissions from, gas cookers or hobs. While most FHS homes are likely to be built with electric cooking (since, as set out above, developments are unlikely to be connected to a gas main), this will ultimately be a choice for individual developers.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish updates to the Farming Rules for Water.

The updated and amended Farming Rules for Water were published on 18 June and we are continuing to support the EA to work with farmers to meet their legal obligations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage landowners in river catchments to transition toward nature-led farming.

We are investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%. This funding is available to all farmers, includes this in river catchments. We have more farmers than ever in nature friendly farming schemes and are reforming SFI to target funds fairly and effectively towards food, farming and nature priorities. We will announce further details later this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support restoring (a) natural processes to river corridors within river catchments and (b) (i) native vegetation, (ii) floodplain connectivity and (iii) wetland habitats; and if he will take steps to work on these restoration projects with (A) local authorities, (B) environmental groups, (C) farmers and (D) catchment partnerships.

The England Woodland Creation Offer provides 100% of standard woodland creation capital costs and further incentivises the restoration of native riparian vegetation for water benefits through stackable supplementary payments for woodlands that improve water quality, reduce the risk of flooding, and riparian buffers that improve water habitat. This year (2025/26) Defra have committed £10.9 million of capital Water Environment Improvement Funding (WEIF), administered by the Environment Agency (EA), which is designed to help achieve the Environment Improvement Plan goal of achieving clean and plentiful water. The primary objective is of the fund is to address “orphaned” water environment issues where the polluter pays principle does not apply. Typical WEIF projects include river restoration, wetland habitat restoration and creation, floodplain connectivity, removal of barriers for fish and eel migration. WEIF projects are developed through Catchment Partnerships and are primarily delivered by local delivery partners, including eNGOs and Local Authorities. The EA is also accelerating investment in Natural Flood Management (NFM) through the £25 million NFM fund. NFM protects, restores, or emulates the natural functions of rivers, floodplains, catchments, and the coast to reduce flooding and coastal erosion. Projects being delivered through the fund involve a range of stakeholders including wildlife and rivers trusts, local authorities, landowners, farmers, and local communities. Additionally, the EA also carries out large scale habitat creation projects through its Habitat Compensation and Restoration Programmes. These programmes compensate for impacts to protected sites due to human activity and have created approximately 1,600 hectares of intertidal habitat.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support the removal of barriers to keystone species reintroduction projects (a) in England and (b) over devolved boundaries.

The Government supports species reintroductions including keystone species, where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conversations Translocations. The Code states that, while it is specific to England, cross-border co-operation and engagement with relevant authorities and stakeholders is essential where releases occur close to England’s neighbours or involve a reintroduction of a species to Great Britain. We would therefore expect any reintroduction project to carry out cross-border coordination as part of the planning phase of their reintroduction project.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to increase the amount of funding available to support (a) rewilding and (b) natural process-led grazing at landscape scale along (i) river and (ii) the river Wye catchments.

This Government is making the largest investment into nature in history, with over £7 billion directed into nature’s recovery. This includes environmental farming schemes (£5.9 billion), tree planting (£816 million) and peatland restoration (£85 million). In a joint initiative worth up to £1 million, Defra and Welsh government will fund comprehensive cross-border research to understand pollution and other pressures and develop plans to tackle these issues in the Wye catchment. This funding will ensure farmers, environmental campaigners, citizen scientists and other local experts, can help us gather essential evidence about what is causing this iconic river to be so polluted, and chart a course towards improving water quality and restoring nature across the catchment. The Landscape Recovery scheme has two projects in development on the River Wye and within the Wye catchment: these are ‘Wye Valley – Ridge to River’, and ‘Wyescapes – Food, Nature and Water’, respectively. The ‘Wye Valley’ vision is for a resilient, multi-functional landscape, where a mosaic of woodlands, parkland, meres, farmland, and floodplains provide food, boost biodiversity and protect water whilst contributing to climate mitigation and social value. It aims to create and connect wildlife rich habitat and to farm regeneratively to increase carbon storage, reduce emissions and nutrient losses. ‘Wyescapes’ aim is to recover priority habitats and species, reduce nutrient runoff, restore hydrological/ecological function and resilience, and reduce CO2e emissions. The project consists of riverside land and adjacent farmland, where the managing farmers will be supported to reduce intensity of existing practices and create new wetlands, floodplain meadow, and woodland.