Written questions by Chowns.

What assessment has been made of whether UK-made components used in the Tomahawk missile systems may have been involved in the strike on the Shajareh Tayyerbeh girls’s school in Minab on 28 February 2026.

We are appalled by all reports of civilian deaths – in both Iran and the region. Innocent civilians should never be caught in the crossfire. The UK works closely with the US on many defence priorities, and our supply chains are of course both complex and intertwined. As part of longstanding convention, we do not comment on military operational details. The Business and Trade Secretary is responsible for licensing the export of military goods. In his decisions he draws on advice from the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary. All licences are assessed in line with the robust Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and are kept under careful and continual review as standard.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with small farmers on improving the new Sustainable Farming Incentive.

Defra has engaged over 30 stakeholder organisations on the policy design of the SFI26 offer. This engagement included farmer representatives such as the National Farmers Union and the Tenant Farmers Association, ensuring the views of smaller farm businesses were fully considered. Defra has utilised the insight gathered from this engagement to develop options and proposals for the new iteration of the scheme. Later this year Defra will open the Sustainable Farming Incentive offer in two windows: the first from June 2026 for small farms and also farms without existing Environmental Land Management revenue agreements; the second from September for all farms.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is planning to take to ensure that practices around River Friendly Farming are included under the new Sustainable Farming Incentive.

SFI includes a number of actions to support rivers, such as BFS6 (“6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses”). The Government is also supporting river restoration through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), Landscape Recovery (LR), and ELM Capital Grants: CSHT provides a number of grants which support farmers/land managers to enhance their environmental habitats, including watercourses, such as CSW25, which directly supports the management of riparian and water edge habitats.Round 1 of LR includes a core aim of restoring England’s streams and rivers: this Round is taking forward 22 projects and providing funding for them to develop their proposals for the long-term restoration of nature within their respective landscapes.Defra will reopen the Capital Grants offer in July. This new round will make £225 million, 50% more than in 2025, available to farmers to buy equipment or services that help them make farming and environmental improvements across England.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including incentives for river friendly farming in the new Sustainable Farming Incentive.

SFI includes a number of actions to support rivers, such as BFS6 (“6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses”). The Government is also supporting river restoration through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), Landscape Recovery (LR), and ELM Capital Grants: CSHT provides a number of grants which support farmers/land managers to enhance their environmental habitats, including watercourses, such as CSW25, which directly supports the management of riparian and water edge habitats.Round 1 of LR includes a core aim of restoring England’s streams and rivers: this Round is taking forward 22 projects and providing funding for them to develop their proposals for the long-term restoration of nature within their respective landscapes.Defra will reopen the Capital Grants offer in July. This new round will make £225 million, 50% more than in 2025, available to farmers to buy equipment or services that help them make farming and environmental improvements across England.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to increase funding for River Friendly Farming practices under the new Sustainable Funding Incentive.

SFI includes a number of actions to support rivers, such as BFS6 (“6m to 12m habitat strip next to watercourses”). The Government is also supporting river restoration through Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT), Landscape Recovery (LR), and ELM Capital Grants: CSHT provides a number of grants which support farmers/land managers to enhance their environmental habitats, including watercourses, such as CSW25, which directly supports the management of riparian and water edge habitats.Round 1 of LR includes a core aim of restoring England’s streams and rivers: this Round is taking forward 22 projects and providing funding for them to develop their proposals for the long-term restoration of nature within their respective landscapes.Defra will reopen the Capital Grants offer in July. This new round will make £225 million, 50% more than in 2025, available to farmers to buy equipment or services that help them make farming and environmental improvements across England.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the current Sustainable Farming Incentive break clause on farmers’ ability to effectively plan environmental improvements.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) does not include a break clause.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring think tanks that seek to influence public policy to disclose their sources of private funding.

Electoral law already requires transparency where think tanks make political donations, campaign during elections, or work with political parties on regulated activity, and there are further restrictions on think tanks which have charitable status. The Government also takes seriously the risk of improper or foreign financial influence on UK democracy. Philip Rycroft’s independent review is examining the wider framework for countering these risks across the political system and will inform the Government’s next steps.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to attend the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in April and May 2026.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided by the Minister of State for Defence in the House of Lords, Lord Coaker, on 10 December 2025, Official Report, vol. 851, cols. 235-238. We will confirm details of representation at the conference in the usual way in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made on the programme to roll out badger vaccination as part of the strategy to eradicate bovine TB; and when she plans to publish the new bovine TB strategy.

In March, following a successful procurement, the Government awarded a contract to establish a new badger vaccination field force. Vaccination is already being carried out by APHA field teams in several areas and through a community‑led programme in East Sussex, demonstrating that large‑scale vaccination is practical, including in areas previously subject to culling. Further work includes a new NFU‑led project now underway in Cornwall to test scalable, cost‑effective vaccination approaches. The Government expects the outcome of the co‑designed bovine TB strategy to be presented later in the spring.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase humanitarian access for INGOs operating in Sudan.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 5 February following her recent visit to the Chad-Sudan border.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending permitted development rights to listed buildings for the installation of green technologies.

Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of renewable energy equipment on or within the curtilage of buildings. Certain rights do not apply within the curtilage of a listed building as proposals for development in such areas can be better considered through a planning application so any potential impacts can be considered on a case-by-case basis. We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.

What assessment he has made of the trends in the level of the proportion of standard continuing healthcare applications assessed as eligible in comparison to fast-track applications.

Integrated care boards (ICBs), with oversight from NHS England, are responsible for operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).Fast Track CHC supports individuals with a rapidly deteriorating condition who may be entering a terminal phase by putting a care package in place quickly. Eligibility is established through completing a Fast Track Pathway Tool (FTPT), with clear reasons why the individual fulfils the criteria evidenced. ICBs must accept a properly completed FTPT as sufficient to establish eligibility for CHC.Standard CHC supports those with high ongoing needs and is assessed through a two-stage assessment process beginning with screening via a Checklist. The Checklist criteria is set deliberately low to ensure that anyone who may be eligible for Standard CHC is fully assessed for eligibility through the completion of a Decision Support Tool.Due to the different eligibility criteria used in the assessment processes, it is not appropriate to directly compare the proportion of individuals assessed as eligible for Fast Track and Standard CHC. The latest published data on CHC eligibility is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-chc-fnc/

With reference to her Department’s recent announcement that Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme applicants will be able to apply up to 90 days before their current UPE permission expires, when she plans to confirm the start date for the new 90 day period.

The 90 day application window will come into effect through a change to the Immigration Rules this spring.The Home Office has stated that updates on the implementation of the new 90‑day period will be published on the official guidance page. The most up‑to‑date information is located here: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, what his expected timetable is for publication of the Future Homes Standard.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 108610 on 4 February 2026.

When HMRC will publish the detailed guidance firms will need in order to comply with the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers'.

HMRC has published guidance on GOV.UK to support tax advisers who are required to register with HMRC. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-and-when-you-need-to-register-as-a-tax-adviser-with-hmrc Further guidance will be published before May 2026 and HMRC is working with key industry stakeholders to get the detail of this guidance right.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on the smooth functioning of the property market, of the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers'.

The government has consulted extensively with stakeholders about plans to require the registration of tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. This includes the 2024 consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ and a technical consultation on draft legislation published in summer 2025. HMRC will continue to work with the industry ahead of implementation and consider concerns raised by stakeholder groups, including conveyancers. HMRC has released a tax information and impact note on GOV.UK. The note details how the measure is expected to affect businesses that provide professional tax services and interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-tax-adviser-registration-with-hmrc/tax-advisers-to-register-with-hmrc-and-meet-minimum-standards

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers' on costs for consumers.

The government has consulted extensively with stakeholders about plans to require the registration of tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. This includes the 2024 consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ and a technical consultation on draft legislation published in summer 2025. HMRC will continue to work with the industry ahead of implementation and consider concerns raised by stakeholder groups, including conveyancers. HMRC has released a tax information and impact note on GOV.UK. The note details how the measure is expected to affect businesses that provide professional tax services and interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-tax-adviser-registration-with-hmrc/tax-advisers-to-register-with-hmrc-and-meet-minimum-standards

What consideration has been given to the potential risk that the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers' may mislead consumers to assume their conveyancer or solicitor is providing full tax advice, which they are not authorised to give.

Guidance on whether you need to register as a tax adviser is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-and-when-you-need-to-register-as-a-tax-adviser-with-hmrc

Whether the assessment of the number of estates impacted by the changes to Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits (published in the relevant Policy Paper on 21 July 2025) took into consideration the increase in asset values over the coming years.

Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to some pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions The Government will continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement, with ongoing tax reliefs on both contributions into pensions and on the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. Pensions continue to benefit from very significant tax benefits, with gross income tax and National Insurance contributions relief costing £78.2 billion in 2023-24. It is therefore crucial to ensure that tax reliefs on pensions are being used for their intended purpose – to encourage saving for retirement and later life – rather than for passing on wealth free of inheritance tax Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth As is standard practice, the costing and the assessment of the number of estates expected to be impacted by the reforms take account of the forecasts for changes in asset values. For example, pension wealth is grown over time using the equity prices determinant from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic forecast. The OBR published detailed information on 30 January 2025 and this is available at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-on-pensions-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf.

What assessment she has made of the potential risk that changes to Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits could discourage private savings for pensions.

Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to some pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions The Government will continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement, with ongoing tax reliefs on both contributions into pensions and on the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. Pensions continue to benefit from very significant tax benefits, with gross income tax and National Insurance contributions relief costing £78.2 billion in 2023-24. It is therefore crucial to ensure that tax reliefs on pensions are being used for their intended purpose – to encourage saving for retirement and later life – rather than for passing on wealth free of inheritance tax Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth As is standard practice, the costing and the assessment of the number of estates expected to be impacted by the reforms take account of the forecasts for changes in asset values. For example, pension wealth is grown over time using the equity prices determinant from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic forecast. The OBR published detailed information on 30 January 2025 and this is available at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-on-pensions-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf.