Written questions by Hamilton.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 32775 on Swifts: Conservation, what recent progress has been made in those discussions; and what steps she is taking to help increase uptake.

Defra policy officials continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government colleagues on swift brick policy, alongside wider nature and planning matters. As part of our work to develop a set of national planning policies for decision making, the Government intends to consult on changes which require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings unless there are compelling reasons which preclude their use, or which would make them ineffective. This would strengthen significantly the planning policy expectations already in place, meaning – for example – that we would expect to see at least one swift brick in all new brick-built houses. As an interim step ahead of the consultation, we have published updated Planning Practice Guidance setting out how swift bricks are expected to be used in new development, and signposting to further guidance including the British Industry Standard, Part 2 of the National Model Design Code, the Future Homes Hub Homes for Nature Guidance, and the RSPB’s Guide to Nestboxes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) farmers and (b) exporters are protected from unfair supermarket practices not covered by the (i) Groceries Code Adjudicator and (ii) Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.

The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) is responsible for enforcing regulations developed under the Agriculture Act 2020 'Fair Dealing' powers (section 29). Regulations introduced using these powers promote fair contractual dealing and contribute to a more equitable relationship between producers and purchasers. To date, the powers have been used to create the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 and the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025. The ASCA can investigate relevant complaints around compliance with these regulations. This is distinct from the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), which regulates the relationship between large retailers and their direct suppliers. The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to regulating the supply chain and providing opportunities to assess the effectiveness of the approach.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 74995 on Covid: Vaccination, for what reason (a) spousal household contacts aged under 75 years of immunosuppressed individuals and (b) other household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals are not eligible for the NHS covid-19 autumn booster programme during the autumn and winter of 2025/26.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of severe illness, involving hospitalisation and/or death, arising from COVID-19.The JCVI’s advice for autumn 2024 noted that in the era of high population immunity to COVID-19, and with all cases due to highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants, any protection offered by the vaccine against the transmission of infection from one person to another was expected to be extremely limited. On this basis, the JCVI did not advise offering vaccination to any household contacts. The Government accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2024, with both the advice and the Government’s response available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-accepts-advice-on-2024-autumn-covid-vaccine-programmeHousehold contacts were therefore not offered vaccination in the autumn 2024 campaign. On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme covering vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026. In line with its advice for the autumn 2024 campaign, the JCVI did not advise COVID-19 vaccination for household contacts. This advice is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026-jcvi-advice/jcvi-statement-on-covid-19-vaccination-in-2025-and-spring-2026#:~:text=the%20JCVI%20webpage.-,Advice%20on%20vaccination%20in%20spring%202025,care%20home%20for%20older%20adults(opens in a new tab)The Government accepted the JCVI’s advice on eligibility for the spring and autumn 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme. The Government is considering the advice for spring 2026 carefully, and will respond in due course.

What steps he has taken to improve (a) oversight and (b) enforcement of performance standards in the Civil Service Pension Scheme administration.

The government has taken significant steps to improve both the oversight and enforcement of performance standards in the Civil Service Pension Scheme administration, primarily through the new contract with Capita and enhanced internal controls. Capita has been contracted to assume full administrative responsibilities from 1 December 2025.

Whether the forthcoming Schools White Paper will include specific measures to improve access to speech and language support in schools in line with the Government’s commitment to early language interventions.

The forthcoming Schools White Paper will set out an ambitious vision for improving outcomes for all pupils. The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).As the department sets out in ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, we will continue to ensure every reception class in state-funded schools benefits from fully funded access to proven programmes such as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI). In July 2025, the department announced that funded support for the 11,000 schools registered for the NELI programme would continue for a further four academic years until the end of the 2028/29 academic year. Reception staff will also be able to access specialist early language leads.In addition, the department has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, in partnership with NHS England, to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.

When the pension remediation work under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 will be completed.

The McCloud remedy under the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 took effect from October 2023 and will deliver a full remedy to all affected public service pension scheme members. As part of this, all affected members are receiving a remediable service statement setting out the details of their pension entitlements. Pensioner members can make their remedy choice on receipt of this statement, while active and deferred members will make their choice at the point at which they retire. Schemes are currently working hard to ensure the remedy is delivered to all affected members as quickly as possible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress she has made on negotiations with the (a) British Council and (b) Treasury on the future of the British Council’s loan; and what steps she is taking to help protect the British Council.

While the British Council's Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for the British Council's financial sustainability, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and British Council's shared objective is for the British Council to be financially sustainable so it can continue delivering soft power in the long term.The FCDO is working closely with the British Council to support implementation of a Turnaround Plan to achieve this objective, and continues to work with British Council and HM Treasury to explore viable options for the loan.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 51809 on Enforcement Conduct Board, when he plans to set out his Department's approach to ensuring appropriate oversight of (a) enforcement firms and (b) agents operating under the Taking Control of Goods procedure.

The Government will strengthen the oversight of enforcement firms and agents that use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on how to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should play any role in accrediting enforcement agents. The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the quality of (a) education, (b) skills and (c) work provision in prisons.

The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS are committed to improving the quality of education, skills and work provision in prisons to support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We have introduced key roles such as the Head of Education, Skills and Work, and Neurodiversity Support Managers.We are supporting prisoners into skilled work while in custody through vocational training, complementing governor-commissioned vocational courses with an apprenticeship programme which can now be accessed in both the open and closed estates and a Future Skills Programme which provides sector specific training to prisoners nearing release resulting in guaranteed interviews with employers.We continue to work closely with the New Futures Network, the prison service’s specialist employment team, to expand job and training opportunities both in custody and on release. We are also prototyping a new ‘working week’ initiative which aims to increase the volume of work in prisons and strengthen community business links to boost employability.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to support (a) campesino, (b) Indigenous and (c) Afro-descendent communities facing (i) land dispossession and (ii) forced evictions in Honduras.

The UK recognises the importance of addressing land dispossession and forced evictions in Honduras. Our Embassy in Guatemala City, which maintains our relations with Honduras, closely monitors cases of criminalisation, intimidation, and defamation against human rights defenders working on environmental issues, as well as communities at risk of eviction or already displaced. Officials at our Embassy and in London maintain regular contact with civil society organisations on this issue. The UK publicly supports the efforts and struggles of these communities and engages in diplomatic advocacy with the authorities in Honduras.

What steps he is taking to ensure that bereaved parents have equal access to specialist psychological support following (a) pregnancy and (b) baby loss.

Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support.As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are now available in all areas of England. These services provide specialist psychological support for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.All trusts in England are also signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway. This pathway is designed to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care for parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss.We also recognise the importance of maternity bereavement services being available at all times. Seven day a week bereavement services are in the process of being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that companies comply with section 830 of the Companies Act 2006 on dividend payments; and whether he plans to (a) strengthen enforcement and (b) introduce disclosure requirements.

Under section 830, companies may only pay a dividend if they have sufficient accumulated realised profits to make the payment. The Government intends to give the audit regulator responsibility for issuing guidance on how companies calculate their realised profits for such purposes as part of wider plans to introduce an Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill when Parliamentary time allows. Additionally, the Government intends in the coming months to consult on options to modernise the corporate reporting framework, which will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to give feedback on how to simplify and reduce reporting as well on possible additional disclosure requirements around realised profits.

Whether the Government plans to revise the document entitled The Principles governing intelligence sharing to include an explicit prohibition on authorising cooperation where there is a real risk of torture, published on 18 July 2025.

Your question to the Secretary of State for the Home Department has been passed to me for reply. ‘The Principles relating to the detention and interviewing of detainees overseas and the passing and receipt of intelligence relating to detainees’ (‘The Principles’) came into force on 1 January 2020 and includes a commitment for the guidance to be reviewed every five years. That review is underway and the Government will update the House on the outcome in due course.

What plans his Department has to include dementia specialist nurses in the Neighbourhood Health Service model; and what steps he is taking to ensure access to dementia specialist nurses in every community.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and so they could include dementia specialist nurses. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services may look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses/admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.Under the 10-year plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.  We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) ethical, (b) legal, and (c) safeguarding implications of UK residents entering commercial surrogacy arrangements overseas; and whether the Government plans to review the legal framework in such cases.

The Department has no plans to review the legal framework for international surrogacy arrangements.The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family.The Government recognises that international surrogacy is a complex area, and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has published guidance for British nationals seeking international surrogacy arrangements.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 June 2025 to Question 61726, if he will publish: (a) the data source for the reported 8.9% increase in doctors working in clinical oncology between 2021 and 2023, (b) the number and percentage increase in consultant clinical oncologists over that same period and (c) the number of consultant clinical ncologists per capita by Integrated Care System or NHS Trust area, including identification of the five areas with the lowest consultant-to-population ratios.

NHS England publishes monthly data on the number of staff employed by National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) in England, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsIt should be noted that the change in doctors working in the specialty of clinical oncology is between February 2024 and February 2025, the latest period for which data is available.As of February 2025, there were over 1,800 full time equivalent doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England. This is almost 150, or 8.9%, more than in 2024.The change in the total number of full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of clinical oncology employed by NHS trusts and ICBs in England between 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2023 was 14.1%; the change over the same period in consultant clinical oncologists was 12.2%. The following table shows the number of FTE consultant clinical oncologists employed by NHS trusts or ICBs per million population by ICB area for February 2025:ICBConsultant Clinical Oncologists – FTE, February 2025ONS Projected Population, June 2025Consultant Oncologists (per 1,000,000 population)Mid and South Essex-1,232,502-Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin-533,260-Humber and North Yorkshire1.11,744,8240.6South West London5.81,557,6243.7Frimley3.0791,2373.8West Yorkshire23.22,497,9269.3Coventry and Warwickshire9.61,016,3669.4Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire9.7980,2509.9Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent11.81,167,87310.1Somerset6.0590,92810.2Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes11.11,060,96310.5Black Country13.91,249,11911.1Sussex20.51,768,73611.6Northamptonshire9.5817,75711.6North East London25.62,147,22311.9Lancashire and South Cumbria21.31,779,69412.0North Central London18.01,485,97512.1Cheshire and Merseyside36.42,620,67813.9Lincolnshire11.2795,66714.1North East and North Cumbria46.03,070,74115.0Norfolk and Waveney17.51,071,92316.3Derby and Derbyshire17.91,091,15016.4Herefordshire and Worcestershire13.6815,03016.7Suffolk and North East Essex17.81,028,29817.3Greater Manchester52.23,008,58917.4Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly10.7596,10817.9Gloucestershire12.4671,29618.5Nottingham and Nottinghamshire24.41,198,87820.4Hampshire and Isle of Wight39.31,893,63520.8Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland25.31,184,05021.4Kent and Medway42.01,932,16221.8Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West42.31,870,24822.6South East London42.11,861,34522.6North West London52.92,222,78423.8Dorset19.7802,63224.6South Yorkshire36.01,432,34925.1Surrey Heartlands28.01,085,72425.7Birmingham and Solihull36.51,407,05326.0Hertfordshire and West Essex44.01,540,31028.6Cambridgeshire and Peterborough27.8964,04128.8Devon37.41,268,83229.5Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire33.51,037,50032.3England957.158,893,27716.3Source: NHS EnglandNotes:This data should be viewed with an understanding of the structure of delivery of system wide cancer services, where delivery of some specialist services will be concentrated in specific ICB areas.Consultant oncologist data is taken from NHS England published dataICB populations are taken from Office for National Statistics sub national population projections for mid-2025, which are available at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/datasets/populationprojectionsforsubintegratedcareboardsbyfiveyearagegroupsandsexengland

Whether the National Cancer Plan will include targets to improve timely diagnosis of (a) myeloma and (b) other blood cancers.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

If she will amend Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to prevent irrelevant previous disclosures being used as bad character evidence in sexual offence trials; and if she will issue guidance to the (a) CPS, (b) police and (c) judiciary on this.

This Government is absolutely committed to improving the experience of victims at court.The Law Commission has concluded its comprehensive review into the use of evidence in sexual offence prosecutions. This is a helpful report, and an important opportunity to consider how we can make changes to the criminal justice system, so that practitioners and juries do not rely on so-called rape myths and misconceptions when making decisions in court.The review has made recommendations on the admissibility of evidence related to previous disclosures, as well as the admissibility of other evidence – for example sexual behaviour evidence. We are carefully considering these recommendations and will set out our approach in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS staff who are assaulted at work do not face (a) loss of pay, (b) punitive attendance management processes and (c) risk of dismissal while recovering from injuries sustained in the course of their duties.

NHS trusts are independent employers that have their own policies and procedures for managing staff sickness absence. Sickness absence policies and procedures should be fair, reasonable and comply with existing employment legislation. For all NHS staff, including those on the Agenda for Change (AfC) contract and medical contracts, the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook provides entitlement of up to 6 months full and six months half occupational sick pay when staff are too ill to work. The Handbook also states that when calculating an employee’s sick pay entitlement, absence caused by injuries attributable to NHS employment will be disregarded and should not count toward sickness absence totals.Where NHS staff are off work due to a work-related injury or illness, they may be eligible for NHS injury allowance. Injury allowance tops up pay to 85% of an individual’s earnings for up to 12 months when on reduced pay or half pay.To address variance in how NHS organisations manage sickness absence attendance, NHS England is currently working to develop a ‘Supporting Attendance’ Human Resources policy framework. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/future-of-human-resources-and-organisational-development/nhs-people-policy-frameworks/

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Tunisian counterpart on (a) the detention of political figures in Tunisia in recent years and (b) compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The UK monitors the situation in Tunisia closely. As noted in a statement by the UK at the Human Rights Council last October, the space for political participation in Tunisia has shrunk considerably and the way legitimate political actors have been arrested raises serious questions about the independence of the judiciary.During my visit to Tunisia in July, I raised our concerns on the human rights and civil society environment with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and met with representatives of Tunisian civil society to understand more about the situation. The Foreign Secretary also noted the importance of political participation and human rights in discussions with the Tunisian Government in January. Our Ambassador in Tunisia regularly raises individual cases of concern in discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK actively explores a range of programmes and activities to encourage and support an open society.