Written questions by Chowns.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent.

I refer the hon. Member for North Herefordshire to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in ODA spending on the ability of recipient countries to respond to (a) resource scarcity and (b) food insecurity.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of new legislative measures to protect the welfare of farmed fish.

Current legislation already provides protection for farmed fish kept for the production of meat or other products whilst on farm and during transport. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any protected animal, including fish, or to fail to provide for the welfare needs of a protected animal, for which that person is responsible. Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing also requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations. The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was finalised in 2023. As a result of this a GB-wide joint government and industry working group on farmed trout has been examining the issues raised in the report to explore potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. This co-design work is making good progress. The Scottish Government is also working closely with the salmon industry regarding more detailed welfare at killing requirements. We are awaiting the completion of this group’s work and we will then explore all the potential next steps, including options for creating detailed guidance and new legislation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's Oral Statement of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, columns 631-634, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the level of Official Development Assistance to 0.3% of gross national income on the UK's global reputation for supporting global action on climate change.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA), including that the UK will continue to play a key role in tackling climate change. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in ODA spending on climate security.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA), including that the UK will continue to play a key role in tackling climate change. Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential reasons for health professionals leaving the NHS, to the lowest available data level; and what steps his Department is taking to promote improved staff retention.

NHS England publishes quarterly data on the broad reasons for staff leaving and staff movements in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations, support organisations, and central bodies in England. This is published as part of the NHS Workforce Statistics publication, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsIn addition, the latest timeseries data, which runs to September 2024, is available at the following link:https://files.digital.nhs.uk/CC/67A0A8/NHS%20Workforce%20Statistics%2C%20September%202024%20Reasons%20for%20Leaving.xlsxThe Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure the retention of our hardworking and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading the National Retention Programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts.Retention efforts are aligned with the NHS People Promise, which was co-developed with staff to reflect what matters to them. This ensures that trusts have access to proven retention strategies and data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

If she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of Government (a) subsidies and (b) support to fossil fuel companies in the last 12 months.

The UK does not give any subsidies to fossil fuel companies and follows the International Energy Agency’s definition of a fossil fuel subsidy.Where data is available, estimates of the cost of tax reliefs available to oil and gas companies are published on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-relief-statistics.

Whether his Department has plans to publish a plan for improving outcomes for people living with musculoskeletal conditions.

Over 17 million people in England live with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition, and improving their health and work outcomes will help deliver the Government's missions to build a National Health Service fit for the future and kickstart economic growth.The Get Britain Working white paper sets out the Government’s plans to reform employment, health, and skills support to tackle rising economic inactivity levels. MSK conditions are one of the leading conditions reported by people who are economically inactive due to long-term sickness in the United Kingdom, and in the white paper, the Government announced that we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First Time MSK Community Delivery Programme, which will work directly with integrated care boards to further reduce MSK community waiting times.

What support his Department is providing to women that are more likely to live with a musculoskeletal condition.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. Women’s health hubs have a key role in shifting care out of hospitals and reducing gynaecology waiting lists. As of December 2024, 39 out of the 42 integrated care boards reported that they had a women’s health hub. Reporting from integrated care boards to NHS England shows that the pilot funding has been used to open or expand a total of 88 hubs.The Government recognises that musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions disproportionately impact women, and we are working jointly with NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time team to deliver our MSK Community Delivery Programme to further reduce MSK community waiting times.We also know that more than one in three women, compared to one in five men, will sustain one or more osteoporotic fractures in their lifetime. On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan. This set out funding to boost bone density scanning (DEXA) capacity, to support improvements in early diagnosis and bone health. This is expected to provide an estimated 29,000 extra scans per year once all are fully operational. DEXA scans are a vital component of the early diagnosis of osteoporosis.

Whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the gender pain gap for women.

Through the call for evidence for the Women’s Health Strategy, women told us that they had not always been listened to by healthcare professionals and that more needs to be done to improve research, evidence, and data on women’s health. It is unacceptable that women’s pain is dismissed, as this can lead to unnecessary suffering or a delayed diagnosis.The Women’s Health Strategy for England sets out ambitions to boost the participation of women in all types of research, and for more research into women’s experiences. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has funded a range of research into women’s experiences. This includes a qualitative study into patient and healthcare professionals' experiences of the management, diagnosis, and treatment of endometriosis, which is available at the following link:https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR156216It also includes a study to develop a patient-reported outcome measure for prolapse, incontinence, and mesh complication surgery, which is available at the following link:https://www.fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR152187The NIHR expects to implement its sex and gender policy in spring 2025. This will ensure that research considers sex and gender across every stage of the research cycle, facilitating both an assessment of funding into topics that impact men and women and, crucially, a greater understanding of how women might be impacted differently.Work continues to implement the Women's Health Strategy. In the longer term, our priorities for delivering the strategy will be aligned with the 10 Year Plan and the Government's missions. The 10 Year Plan will set out how we tackle the inequities that lead to poor health, including for women.

For what reason the Government uses the marginal cost pricing system for electricity.

The wholesale electricity market, like most commodity markets worldwide, is based on marginal pricing. This reflects the value of consuming or generating an additional unit of electricity at any given time and ensures that generators increase or decrease their output to meet demand.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce health disparities amongst ethnic minority communities in the treatment of (a) arthritis and (b) musculoskeletal conditions.

The Race Equality Foundation’s report, Musculoskeletal conditions and Black, Asian and minority ethnic people: addressing health inequalities, commissioned by what was then Public Health England, identified that some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in the United Kingdom are disproportionately represented due to the risk factors for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. MSK pain is more widespread among people in minority ethnic groups that may reflect social, cultural and psychological differences. The report is available at the following link:https://raceequalityfoundation.org.uk/health-and-care/musculoskeletal-conditions-and-black-asian-and-minority-ethnic-people-addressing-health-inequalities/We have set a Health Mission with the aim of tackling the social determinants of health such as those described in the report, focusing on prevention, and ensuring that everyone lives longer, healthier lives. We have also committed to delivering a 10-Year Health Plan, which will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from the hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, including for people from minority ethnic groups.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local population, including for MSK conditions such as arthritis. Under the Health and Care Act 2022, ICBs have a duty to consider reducing inequalities with respect to people’s ability to access services within the National Health Service and the outcomes achieved for them by the provision of those health services, including for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

What additional funding she plans to provide to local authorities in rural areas for road repairs.

This Government takes the condition of our country’s roads very seriously and is committed to supporting both rural and urban authorities in maintaining and renewing their highway networks. We have announced a £500 million highway maintenance funding uplift for the 2025/26 financial year, which will allow local highway authorities across England to do the equivalent of fixing an additional seven million potholes. Funding for local highway maintenance is based on the assets for which local highway authorities are responsible. The Department allocates capital funding based on a formula that includes the length of roads each authority is responsible for as well as the number of structures they are required to maintain. Rural authorities are generally responsible for more miles of roads than urban authorities, and this is reflected in their funding allocations. Herefordshire County Council is the local highway authority responsible for the condition and maintenance of roads in the North Herefordshire constituency, and the Department for Transport has allocated it £22.9 million to help it carry out its local highway maintenance responsibilities in 2025/26. This is £6.1 million more than in the current financial year, or an increase of around 37%. It is Herefordshire County Council’s responsibility to decide how that funding is used, based on local needs and priorities.

What discussions he has had with the BBC Board on the broadcasting of public information films to promote public health.

Ministers engage regularly with a variety of stakeholders to discuss a range of topics, including but not limited to the promotion of public health. A partnership between the Department and the BBC promotes physical activity through the Couch to 5K app. Since its launch in 2016, it has been downloaded over 7 million times, with over 9 million runs completed last year alone.The Department promotes public health through the Better Health range of websites, apps and support tools which were visited over 20 million times in the last year.

What steps she plans to take to improve road safety in North Herefordshire constituency in the 2025-26 financial year.

Local authorities often use Integrated Transport Block funding for road safety improvements: the Department hopes to announce ITB allocations for 2025/26 for Herefordshire and other authorities shortly. This will allow Herefordshire County Council to decide how best to use the available funding: the Department does not get involved in local authority decision making of this sort. On highways maintenance, all local authority allocations for highway maintenance block capital funding in 2025/26, including for Herefordshire County Council, were announced by the Secretary of State for Transport on 20 December 2024 and are published on gov.uk. Herefordshire County Council will be receiving an uplift of over £6.1 million compared to the current financial year, taking its total funding for the year to nearly £23 million.

What additional funding she plans to provide to local authorities in rural areas to improve road safety.

We have awarded local authorities £185.8 million of funding between 2017 and 2024 through the Safer Roads Fund to improve the safety of England's most high risk 'A' roads. To date, it has funded 445.3 miles of rural roads which make up 62.4% of all funded routes. We acknowledge there is more that can be done; therefore, my Government is developing a road safety strategy, the first in over ten years, and we will set out more details in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the frequency and reliability of rail services to stations in Herefordshire.

The Department works with all its Train Operating Companies on the frequency and reliability of services, including those in Herefordshire, where it also liaises with Transport for Wales on its services through the county. We are aware that West Midlands Trains (WMT) services to Birmingham have suffered reliability issues and shorter trains in recent months, and WMT is implementing a focused set of initiatives to mitigate this.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 to Question 24912 on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, whether the measures to implement the provisions needed to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty will be complete by the UN Ocean Conference in June 2025.

The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation to implement the BBNJ Agreement will be introduced as soon as the legislative timetable allows.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2024 to Question 17264 on Children: Epilespy, what steps her Department is taking with governing bodies to ensure that all schools (a) develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions, (b) ensure the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and (c) ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented.

Governing bodies must ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This includes the duty under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions and the duties under the Equality Act 2010. The effectiveness of a school is assessed through inspection by Ofsted.

With reference to the document by NHS England entitled 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance, published on 30 January 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the NHS target for completion of annual health checks for people with a learning disability on health inequalities for people with learning disabilities in Herefordshire.

The NHS Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance for 2025-26 addresses the urgent challenges facing the NHS, as highlighted by the Darzi investigation. My Rt. Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, recently announced a series of reforms to the NHS operating model to move power from the centre to local leaders. In keeping with these reforms, we are giving systems greater control and flexibility over how funding is deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.NHS England recognises the importance of the learning disability annual health check. The NHS Operational Planning Guidance for 2025/26 still requires integrated care boards to report on the number of people on the quality outcome framework learning disability register aged 14 years old or over who receive an annual health check during the quarter. The planning guidance is not a catalogue of everything the NHS does, nor is it the sole evidence of our priorities. It remains important that people with a learning disability and autistic people have the right, tailored support in place.