Written questions by Mierlo.

What progress has been made in appointing a chair to the National Inquiry into group based child sexual exploitation and abuse.

On 9 December 2025 the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the appointment of Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, and Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as Panel.The Chair will consult on the draft Terms of Reference published alongside this announcement with a view to making recommendations to the Home Secretary who will agree the final Terms of Reference in March 2026.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that diagnostic imaging in the NHS is reported within 4 weeks.

Ensuring patients receive their diagnostic test results quickly is a priority for the Government. NHS England’s guidance, published in August 2023, sets out that imaging reports must be provided within four weeks, or 28 days, of image acquisition. All National Health Service providers and imaging networks are expected to meet this standard. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/diagnostic-imaging-reporting-turnaround-times/Achieving this relies on good digital connectivity, IT infrastructure, home working solutions, and approved insourcing models established across imaging departments and networks. That is why the Government is investing in digital diagnostic transformation through NHS England’s Diagnostics Digital Capability Programme, which ensures that networks have a core set of digital capabilities to improve the quality, safety, and productivity of care.The 2025 Spending Review settlement commits to a major transformation of care delivery, moving from analogue to digital systems, hospital to community-based care, and from treatment to prevention. To support this, the NHS productivity plan is backed by a nearly 50% increase to NHS technology and digital transformation spend in 2025/26, totalling up to £10 billion by 2028/29.NHS England has also formed 22 imaging networks across the country to improve the quality, safety, and productivity of care, and to accelerate test reporting through digital investment.The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament including transforming and expanding diagnostic services to reduce waits for test results.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) delays and (a) improve communication in the processing of Access to Work applications for (i) disabled people requiring essential equipment to remain in employment and (ii) other applicants; and if will undertake a review of current service standards to ensure timely support for applicants.

We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why last year we increased the number of staff working in this area by 27% and we have continued to streamline delivery practises. We remain committed to reducing waiting times for claims, prioritising customers starting a job within the next four weeks. In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of Access to Work and how to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people in work. We are considering all aspects of the scheme as we develop plans for reform following the conclusion of the consultation.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of applying the (a) proposed salary threshold and (b) RQF Level 6 requirements for Skilled Worker visas retrospectively to individuals already in the UK under existing visa conditions when they apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, sets out the Government’s proposed model for earned settlement, and accompanies the current public consultation on settlement reform, which is open until 12 February 2026. This proposes a qualification period for settlement of 15 years for Skilled Workers in professions below RQF Level 6. It is also proposed that paying income tax on per annum earnings above £50,217 or £125,140 might be rewarded with reductions to that qualification period of five and seven years, respectively. Further detail on earned settlement will be finalised following the conclusion of the public consultation. This will include detail on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.

Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of households currently paying higher council tax due to (a) incorrect and (b) inconsistent banding.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has a duty to maintain an accurate list of all council tax bands. If the VOA becomes aware of an inaccuracy, it will update the list by adjusting the council tax band for the relevant properties.

What assessment he has made of trends in the number of graduate (a) unemployment and (b) underemployment rates in the last five years.

The Department for Education publish yearly statistics on graduates in the labour market. This can be found here: Graduate labour market statistics, Calendar year 2024 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK. These graduate statistics are for graduates in England. There are no official published statistics for graduate underemployment rates. However, the ONS does publish underemployment statistics for the UK here: EMP16: Underemployment and overemployment - Office for National Statistics.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the National Maternity Taskforce includes balanced representation between (a) professional bodies and (b) families with lived experience of maternity services.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will be made of up a breadth of expertise. This will include people who bring clinical and international perspectives, those who can speak to the inequalities within maternal health, workforce representatives, and families with lived experience.We are currently engaging with families, including service user representatives, as well as other individuals and organisations in the maternity and neonatal sector, on the make-up of the taskforce and its terms of reference, and we will carefully consider their feedback.My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is committed to ensuring the voices of women and families are at the heart of improving maternity and neonatal care.

When he plans to respond to the letter of 17 October 2025 from the Hon. Member for Henley and Thame to the Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms regarding Access to Work delays.

The letter dated 17 October 2025 was responded to on 29 October 2025. The response was sent to the Member’s office on 29 October 2025.

Whether the Department will consider backdating State Pension increases in cases where delays were caused by administrative issues.

Any arrears will be backdated to the date on which the individual made their payment to HMRC.

What assessment the Department has made of the adequacy of the time taken to process applications to purchase voluntary National Insurance contributions through the International Pensions Centre before the April 2025 deadline.

The Department continually monitors processing times, including allocating additional resources and streamlining processes where possible and working collaboratively with HMRC.

What assessment she has made of the fairness of calculating student loan interest at RPI rather than CPI.

Interest rates are set in legislation in reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March, not the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and are applied annually on 1 September until 31 August. This ensures that over a period of years, interest rates on student loans have been consistently linked to a widely recognised and adopted measure of inflation.The Office for National Statistics has undertaken a substantial programme of work over the past two years to enhance how inflation is measured. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that, from 2030 at the earliest, movements in RPI will be aligned with CPI as viewed here: https://obr.uk/box/the-long-run-difference-between-rpi-and-cpi-inflation/.A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

What steps he is taking with the national literacy trust to deliver the national year of reading 2026.

This government has committed to strong foundations in reading and writing for all children and the National Year of Reading 2026 is an important part of our strategy for delivering on this commitment.The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. It is a department led initiative, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, who will lead the delivery of the campaign, working alongside a range of partners.It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, resources and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year.More information will be added to the website in the coming months. Anyone interested in the campaign can sign up to the website: www.goallin.org.uk.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of clause 9 (c)(5) of the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 on public information on water quality.

Regulation 9 of the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 amends Regulation 15A of the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 and requires the appropriate Minister to prepare and publish a report on the bathing season or seasons for that year. It broadly makes the same provision for publication of annual reports as under the previous Regulation 15A but with consequential changes to reflect that there will be a discretion to set different bathing seasons under amendments made by Regulation 5 of the 2025 Regulations. There is no change in the frequency of reports (annual) nor in the content of the reports required.

Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timetable is for the (a) development and (b) completion of the 25-year farming roadmap.

The Farming Roadmap will be published next year and will set the course of farming in England for the next 25 years. It will respond to the Farming Profitability Review (which will be published this December, ahead of Christmas) and will set out the Government’s long-term vision for agriculture and provide farmers with the certainty they need to plan for the future.

What steps she is taking to tackle the theft of (a) farm equipment and (b) livestock.

We will be implementing the Equipment Theft Act, making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen vehicles and equipment and assisting the police with identifying the owner. The Act’s secondary legislation will require forensic marking to be applied to new All-Terrain Vehicles and for the details to be registered on a property database, for forensic marking to be applied to all new GPS units for use in agricultural and commercial settings, and for the details to be registered on a property database. This provides an important additional tool to help police identify if an item is stolen and to return it to its rightful owner. Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked by GPS or other means, which will help the police in tackling stolen equipment and machinery. This financial year we have provided the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit. The NRCU, takes the lead on improving co-ordination and partnership working, which provides police forces with specialist operational support in their responses to rural crime, such as the theft of farming machinery and livestock theft. We have also worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the new Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy which has just recently been published (25th November). The strategy sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities, including theft of farming machinery and livestock theft as priority areas of focus for policing.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce the time taken for and costs associated with Court of Protection applications for care decisions and (b) ensure families have access to clear, publicly available guidance on those processes.

HMCTS is working to increase overall system capacity to decrease processing times across all types of applications. Measures taken include a targeted action plan to allocate additional administrative resources in response to higher demand, as well as training and upskilling new staff. Additional judicial sitting days have been added to support performance improvement. HMCTS is also working on improvements to the new case management system, to help reduce overall end-to-end processing times.Guidance on the court process is publicly available on GOV.UK. In addition, online application forms which assist users with ‘in application’ guidance and prompts are also available for some types of applications.

What estimate he has made of the current costs of energy per Kw/h compared to other European countries.

The Department publishes bi-annual statistical tables comparing the UK’s gas and electricity prices to the price of countries in the European Union. International energy price comparison statistics - GOV.UK These are provided in pence per kWh and are aggregated by consumption bands both including and excluding taxes. Separate tables are provided for domestic and non-domestic consumers. The prices are derived by taking the total of the monetary value of energy consumed divided by the total volume of energy. Therefore, these are representative of average prices and are not disaggregated by unit rate and standing charge.

What steps is he taking to ensure the transition to green energy is cost efficient for (a) his department with i. transmission systems, ii. distribution systems and iii. energy sources, and (b) consumers with i. heat pumps, ii. EV chargers and iii. insulation.

Network regulation is a matter for Ofgem, who regulates network operators through a price control process. Government supports Ofgem in developing a price control that delivers the transition to clean energy, while maximising value for money for consumers. Ofgem has a duty to protect the interests of consumers, whilst maintaining the financial stability and resilience of the transmission and distribution network operators. As all households move towards clean heat technologies, low income and fuel poor households will need more support to enable them to make greener choices. Government is focused on incentivising moves to cleaner, affordable heating and making this attractive and easy for the public. Our Warm Homes Plan will support investment in heat pumps and other energy efficiency upgrades to help cut bills.

What steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities have a clear process to follow for shared ownership and community benefit clean energy planning permission.

In the Clean Power Action Plan, we made it clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure they should feel tangible and enduring benefit of doing so. Shared ownership plays a key role in ensuring all communities can share the benefits from the transition to net zero 2050.We are in the process of reviewing responses to our recent working paper and will continue to explore the role of local authorities in community benefit funds and shared ownership opportunities.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Clean Power plan for helping those in fuel poverty and those currently using gas boilers in transitioning to clean greener energy.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. On 19 June 2025, we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bills. We are also delivering improvements to home energy efficiency through a number of schemes including the Warm Homes: Social Housing Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Government and the continuation of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which is supporting thousands of households to upgrade their heating systems. As more homes are made energy efficient this will reduce carbon emissions, reduce overall energy demand and reduce energy bills for consumers.