Written questions by Chowns.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) Plan 5 student loan repayment threshold and (b) annual pay for someone on the minimum wage in a full-time job from 1 April 2025 on the net income of graduates with student loans.

In 2022, the department conducted a government consultation to assess the impact of policy reforms on higher education funding and finance, including changes to repayment thresholds from Plan 2 to Plan 5. More details on the consultation can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62223cfb8fa8f549071fc82c/Higher_education_policy_statement_reform_consultation_-_Equality_analysis.pdf.Comparing the previous threshold of £28,470 under Plan 2 with the new threshold of £25,000 under Plan 5, the monthly repayments under the new repayment plan would result in an individual who was previously earning £28,470 and not repaying their loan, to now repaying approximately £26 per month.From 1 April 2025, the National Minimum Wage has increased to £12.21 for workers aged 21 and over. If working a standard 37.5 hours per week, a minimum wage worker will earn £23,809.50, which is below the annual threshold for both Plans 2 and 5. This calculation is based on the average actual weekly hours of work for full-time workers.

What assessment she has made of the technical differences between co-operatives and credit unions which justify excluding credit unions from the exemption from audit requirements available to smaller co-operatives under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014; and whether the Government plans to review this distinction in light of forthcoming recommendations from the Law Commission’s review of the Act.

The Government recognises the important contribution of co-operatives and mutuals to the economy, serving local communities around the country and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector with their model of shared ownership. The Government is committed to unlocking the full potential of the mutual and co-operative sector to support inclusive growth. Co-operatives are diverse organisations that span a variety of different sectors. Credit unions are financial co-operatives which offer savings and loans to their members. As deposit-takers, credit unions are subject to specific regulatory requirements. The Government is funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 to help ensure that co-operatives legislation is meeting the needs of this sector. This review will consider ways to update and modernise the Act. The Government will carefully consider the findings of this review to understand whether reform of the legislation is needed to ensure these businesses are supported to grow and succeed into the future.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of facilitating the recycling of blister packs.

Through making producers responsible for the costs of managing the packaging they use; packaging extended producer responsibility incentivises producers to use less packaging and transition to re-usable or easy-to-recycle packaging. Defra has previously considered the merits of facilitating the recycling of harder to recycle packaging such as blister packs. This resulted in some currently difficult to recycle packaging, such as plastic films, being subject to kerbside collection and recycling requirements. For others, such as blister packs, we concluded that where they are separately collected by producers, via takeback schemes, and are then recycled at the producer’s cost, then producers would not need to pay pEPR fees on the tonnage which is recycled. In addition, for future years, a producer’s modulated fees may be reduced if the packaging they are using, such as blister packs, is part of an easy to access, UK wide takeback scheme, as it will improve their recyclability assessment outcome.

What progress she is making on implementing the findings of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, published by her Department in February 2021.

The Government agrees with the central conclusion of the Dasgupta Review that nature, and the biodiversity that underpins it, sustains our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing. It is therefore committed to integrating nature into economic and financial decision-making, and the institutions and systems that underpin it. The Treasury continues to make progress and explore ways to strengthen processes for assessing the climate and environmental impacts of fiscal decisions and improve the Green Book in line with emerging evidence and best practice. For example, building on the extensive guidance already provided for evaluating and monetising natural capital impacts, the Government has published updated supplementary guidance to the Green Book on Enabling a Natural Capital Approach, including additional guidance on valuing biodiversity. As set out in the Budget last October, the Government is continuing to invest in the natural environment, confirming £5 billion over two years to support the transition to a more productive and environmentally sustainable agricultural sector in England, and at least £400 million for tree planting and peatland restoration to protect soils, rivers and biodiversity.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of district heating schemes.

The Government believes that heat networks are an essential part of a decarbonised future energy system. In high density urban areas, they are often the lowest cost, low carbon heating option, and can use a range of low carbon energy sources such as waste heat from industry. This helps to reduce costs for consumers and strengthens the Uk’s energy resilience. The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050. We are implementing heat network zoning and funding low carbon heat networks to get to this scale.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 36460 on Litter, what steps he plans to take to support local authorities to tackle littering.

Littering is a crime that blights communities and the environment. Local councils are usually best placed to respond to littering and related problems, in a way tailored to the community in which they occur. They have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal including fixed penalty notices and prosecution. This Government is considering what further steps are needed to help local authorities reduce litter and keep their streets clean. Any new announcements will be made in the usual manner.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a scheme equivalent to Fuel Finder for the cost of charging electric vehicles.

The Government is committed to improving the transparency of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure costs. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, chargepoint operators are required to clearly provide the price of charging at public chargepoints in pence per kilowatt hour (or pound per kilowatt hour). These regulations also require operators to share open data on charging costs free of charge, among other data fields. Both these measures allow drivers to compare public chargepoint costs and choose the best rate.

With reference to the Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025, what criteria she plans to use to identify claimants with serious and lifelong health conditions to ensure they will never face reassessment.

The assessment process is an important part of claiming PIP and WCA to ensure that people receive the right level of support. However, for some people with very severe health conditions and disabilities, by the time they come to make a claim, they have already undergone intensive assessments and provided detailed evidence about their condition to receive support from other services. That is why in PIP, we are also exploring ways in which we could use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe health conditions to undergo a full PIP functional assessment. For example, for young people with very severe long-term conditions who have already been assessed for and awarded support from Disability Living Allowance for children before claiming PIP for the first time. For those on UC with the most severe, life-long, conditions who we know will never be able to work, we will aim to exempt them from ever needing to be reassessed.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with representatives of the horticultural industry on an alternative to the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.

The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security remains steadfast. Our proposed approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. This includes developing a 25-year Farming Roadmap, which will involve government and the industry working together to identify solutions to challenges to make the sector more profitable in the decades to come. We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector, and Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers from across the sector, (including a number of Producer Organisation members), to discuss a wide range of issues to help us understand how best to support sector.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the UK's ability to meet its binding climate and nature targets.

The measures contained in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, including a new Nature Restoration Fund and streamlined consultation requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, will help deliver the government’s climate and nature commitments.

What progress the Competition and Markets Authority has made on its investigation into misleading environmental claims, announced on 26 January 2023.

Following the closure of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products, the CMA does not currently have any open investigations into misleading environmental claims.The CMA remains interested in the issue and may take further enforcement action where this is warranted and appropriate, based on intelligence and its published prioritisation criteria.

If he will make it his policy to require NHS hospitals to operate pay on exit parking.

The NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts states that trusts should consider installing ‘pay on exit’ or similar schemes so that drivers pay only for the time that they have used.National Health Service organisations should continue to work with their patients and staff, local authorities, and public transport providers to make sure that users can get to the site, and park, if necessary, as safely, conveniently, and economically as possible. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles/nhs-patient-visitor-and-staff-car-parking-principles

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 37932 on Gambling Commission, in what month this year she expects the Gambling Commission to concludes its investigation on allegations under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 relating to bets placed on the date of the 2024 General Election.

The Gambling Commission is continuing its investigation into potential criminal offences of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005 in relation to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 General Election. Responsibility for specific timings related to this investigation are a matter for the Gambling Commission and it would be inappropriate to comment whilst the matter is ongoing.

What steps she is taking to reduce the time taken to reach decisions on Attendance Allowance applications.

Attendance Allowance is currently undergoing a significant modernisation through the piloting of an online digital claim process. We are using customer feedback to design a transformed application that is shorter and easier, which focuses on collecting only the information we need to make a decision. This pilot will also support decision makers to handle claims more quickly with a significant reduction in requests for further information from customers.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals in this Session to create a right of responsible access to the English countryside.

The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. That is why we have set out ambitious manifesto commitments to create nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England, expanding access to the great outdoors. We have also announced plans to remove the 2031 cut-off date for the recording of historic rights of way to enhance public access to nature. This will ensure that the public can continue to use these routes for years to come, with the change being formally enacted when parliamentary time allows.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to help prevent price differentials for different types of users of EV charging points.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. The Government are aware of the cost differential between those who can and cannot install a dedicated EV charger at home and continue to work with Ofgem and others on measures to keep the cost of EV charging affordable for consumers.

What progress the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has made on their investigation into misleading environmental claims made in relation to fast moving consumer goods announced in January 2023; and when he expects the CMA to report publicly on any findings.

Following its compliance review into environmental claims, in December 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) opened an investigation into certain claims made by Unilever in relation to some of its fast-moving consumer goods, which include everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products. In November 2024 the CMA announced its decision to close the investigation. In making this decision, the CMA took into account a range of factors, including changes Unilever had made to claims on some of its products and the wider impact of the CMA’s programme of work tackling misleading green claims.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the adequacy of support for children in kinship care.

The department is taking a number of steps to ensure that children in kinship care get the support that they need to thrive. This includes promoting their educational and mental health needs and supporting the people who care for them.From September 2024, the department expanded the role of virtual school heads on a non-statutory basis to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care, ensuring that more children in kinship care receive the help they need to thrive at school. The department is now mandating this through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.In addition, the department is providing over £3 billion of pupil premium funding to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England, including looked after and previously looked after children. Schools can direct pupil premium spending where the need is greatest, including to pupils with other identified needs, such as children in kinship care. Schools can also use pupil premium on whole class approaches that will benefit all pupils, such as on high quality teaching.Some children in kinship care will be able to access the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which helps adoptive and special guardianship order children and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.Children in kinship care will also benefit from this government’s commitment to improving mental health support for all children and young people. The government will deliver on this commitment through providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. We will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.The steps the government is taking to improve support for kinship carers will also improve the support children living in kinship care receive. In October, the department announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. This pilot will test whether paying an allowance will help support more children to live and thrive with a kinship carer.In addition, the government has provided over 140 peer support groups and a package of training and support for all kinship carers to access across England. The increased financial support, emotional support and training kinship carers receive should help them in their role as carers and enhance the support they give the children in their care.

How many products have been investigated in detail by the Competition and Markets Authority as part of its fast-moving consumer goods investigation announced in January 2023.

In January 2023 the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced a compliance review into the Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector – these include essential everyday items such as toiletries and cleaning products. Over the period following that announcement, the CMA carried out an initial review of hundreds of products.

When he plans to set a new date for cross party talks to discuss the work of the Independent Commission on social care.

Baroness Casey will be contacting all party groups to set dates with parties across the House very shortly. She will commence her commission in April 2025.