Written questions by Maguire.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to ensure that fines levied against Thames Water are used to fund environmental restoration projects on (a) Hogsmill River, (b) River Mole and (c) other affected rivers.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, is reinvesting funding based on water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. Funding is based on water company fines and penalties from April 2022 until October 2023. Up to £11 million of funding was made available on a competitive basis to support a range of water restoration projects. Applications were welcomed from a wide range of projects to improve the water environment and water management, such as re-meandering rivers, removing invasive non-native species, creating and restoring water-dependent habitats and managing and reducing sources of water pollution.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of Local Housing Allowance rates in meeting private rental costs in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed annually, usually at an Autumn fiscal event. Rates are set based on the area of the country a person lives and their bedroom entitlement. The decision to maintain LHA rates at current levels for 2025/26 was taken after a range of factors were considered, including rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, rate increases in April 2024 and the wider fiscal context. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25, and approximately £7bn over 5 years. Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the challenging fiscal context. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with social housing providers on (a) the decent homes standard and (b) the provision of furnished tenancies in social housing to reduce levels of furniture poverty.

My Department engages actively with Registered Providers of social housing on all issues facing social housing tenants and with a range of stakeholders on issues facing residents and has engaged with groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their research on this issue.We will be consulting this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.People in need may be able to get support from their local authorities via the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.The Deputy Prime Minister is also part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing on children.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to issue updated guidance to local authorities to ensure (a) fair and (b) consistent access for young people to homelessness support services.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. Youth homelessness will be considered as part of our long-term, cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness for good. Local authorities need to consider homelessness support for young people as part of the Homelessness Code of Guidance (Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities - Guidance - GOV.UK), which includes the duties, and obligations on local authorities towards people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

How many (a) army service personnel, (b) navy service personnel, (c) RAF service personnel and (d) veterans have had an initial assessment at a Ministry of Defence Department of Community Mental Health centre in each month since January 2025.

Between 1 January 2025 and 31 March 2025 (latest data available), 757 UK Armed Forces personnel had an initial assessment at a Ministry of Defence (MOD) Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH). The following table provides the number of UK Armed Forces personnel with an initial assessment at a MOD DCMH by service and month from 1 January 2025 – 31 March 2025MonthRoyal NavyArmyRoyal Air ForceJanuary5313039February7414748March76134642025202406149 DCMH staff record the initial mental health assessment during a patient’s first appointment, based on presenting signs and symptoms. Patients may be assessed by the clinician as not having a mental disorder at the initial assessment; these personnel have been included in this response. Personnel have been counted once in each month that an initial assessment was recorded and only once in the total for the three-month period. Therefore, the sum of the months may be greater than the total number of personnel with an initial assessment at DCMH over the period presented. Royal Navy includes Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel. Following the expansion of NHS veterans’ services, DCMH no longer provide psychiatric assessment of veterans; however, personnel who have been assessed and diagnosed with a mental health need are able to access DCMH for up to six months after discharge to provide continuity of care during the transition period until appropriate handover to other services can be completed as required. Op COURAGE provides a complete mental healthcare pathway for service leavers in England, with similar services in other parts of the UK.

Whether her Department (a) has consulted and (b) plans to consult with members of the Hong Kong community living in the UK on the Transnational Repression review.

The TNR Review engaged with civil society organisations on behalf of communities they consider to be at risk of TNR, as well as with victims of TNR, community leaders and academics. Further engagement, including with victims of TNR and civil society organisations is planned.More broadly, the UK Government meets regularly with and maintains good relationships with civil society organisations including those advocating on TNR on behalf of communities they consider to be at risk.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of her Department's guidelines to call 101 or 999 when reporting transnational crimes as her Department does not have a working definition of transnational repression.

As recommended by the Defending Democracy Taskforce's review of transnational repression (TNR), the UK recognises TNR as a term used to describe certain foreign state-directed crimes against individuals, ranging from threat-to-life to online harassment. The description is deliberately broad to provide maximum flexibility to address this evolving threat. The National Security Act 2023 has already given us powers to address this activity.The Government has published new guidance on GOV.UK providing those who believe themselves to be at risk of TNR with practical advice for their safety both physically and online, including what TNR is and how to report it.The TNR Review carefully considered – in consultation with Counter Terrorism Policing - how best to encourage reporting and ensure that reports received are treated seriously and dealt with appropriately. Existing functions have been found to be efficient, effective, and widely recognised, with trained officers and staff dealing with crime reporting on a 24/7 basis. These existing mechanisms ensure victims receive the support they need.The College of Policing have launched training and guidance on state-directed crimes which is now available for all 45 territorial police forces in the UK.

How much (a) plutonium has been exported to the United States and (b) highly enriched uranium has been imported from the United States under The Agreement between the UK and the USA for Cooperation in the Uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defence Purposes 1958 (as amended).

The 1958 Mutual Defense Agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States underpins defence nuclear co-operation and has been, and continues to be, of considerable mutual benefit to both nations. I am withholding the information requested as release of the quantities of nuclear materials transferred under the 1958 Mutual Defence agreement between the UK and USA would prejudice national security and international relations.

With reference to her Department's review on the UK's response to Transnational Repression, whether she had discussions with the 10 bountied Hong Kongers residing in the UK.

The safety and security of Hong Kongers in the UK is, and always will be, a priority. Owing to the sensitive nature of this topic and the need to protect individuals who may be at threat, it would be inappropriate to provide further detail of any specific discussions we have had.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has considered the potential merits of increasing funding to local authorities to support higher hourly rates for care staff to (a) attract and (b)retain care workers from within the UK.

We have delivered a Settlement that begins to fix the foundations of local government by providing significant investment redirecting funding towards the services and places that need it most. The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, including making available up to £3.7 billion in additional funding for social care authorities. The government has introduced legislation to establish the first-ever Fair Pay Agreement for care professionals to ensure care workers are fairly rewarded for the work they do. The Fair Pay Agreement aims to resolve the recruitment and retention crisis in the profession, alleviating pressures on public services in the longer term.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the statement given by the German Chancellor on the removal of range restrictions for weapons delivered to Ukraine; and what whether he has made an assessment of the merits of the use of long-range missiles.

The UK supports other countries providing long-range fires, but I hope the hon. Member will understand that we will not be drawn on details about UK gifted long-range missiles. It risks operational security, and the only person who benefits from public debate is Putin.The Prime Minister has been clear we must give Ukraine the support that is needed for as long as it's needed. We are doubling down on our support, but the simplest way to end this conflict is for Putin to stop his aggression.

How many referrals there have been to (a) Operation Courage and (b) Operation Restore in each year since 2016; and how many of those referrals were reviewed by multi-disciplinary teams within 8 weeks.

On 13 March 2025, it was announced that NHS England will be brought into the Department to form a new joint centre. We are assessing the full range of current functions across both organisations and options for future allocation. At this stage, it is too early to say what precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be. The following table shows the actual spend on Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE for 2020/21 to 2024/25 and the budget for 2025/26:Financial YearOp COURAGE (£ mil)OP RESTORE (£ mil)2020/2117.90.32021/2218.50.22022/2323.00.62023/2423.80.52024/2524.40.92025/2624.90.9Source: NHS EnglandThe following tables show the referral numbers for Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE since 2017/18 and 2018/19, respectively, as well as the percentage of referrals for Op COURAGE met within relevant targets since 2023/24 and for Op RESTORE since 2021/22:Financial YearReferrals to Op COURAGE% of urgent referrals assessed within one week% of routine referrals assessed within 2 weeks2017/182879--2018/194561--2019/205374--2020/214903--2021/225970--2022/236272--2023/2468177549.52024/2572517644.3Source: NHS England Financial YearReferrals to Op RESTORE% assessed by multi-disciplinary team within 8 weeks2018/1950-2019/2050-2020/2141-2021/221491002022/2326598.42023/2437199.72024/2535097.7Source: NHS England

Who Operation (a) Courage and (b) Restore will be (i) managed and (ii) funded by after the abolition of NHS England.

On 13 March 2025, it was announced that NHS England will be brought into the Department to form a new joint centre. We are assessing the full range of current functions across both organisations and options for future allocation. At this stage, it is too early to say what precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be. The following table shows the actual spend on Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE for 2020/21 to 2024/25 and the budget for 2025/26:Financial YearOp COURAGE (£ mil)OP RESTORE (£ mil)2020/2117.90.32021/2218.50.22022/2323.00.62023/2423.80.52024/2524.40.92025/2624.90.9Source: NHS EnglandThe following tables show the referral numbers for Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE since 2017/18 and 2018/19, respectively, as well as the percentage of referrals for Op COURAGE met within relevant targets since 2023/24 and for Op RESTORE since 2021/22:Financial YearReferrals to Op COURAGE% of urgent referrals assessed within one week% of routine referrals assessed within 2 weeks2017/182879--2018/194561--2019/205374--2020/214903--2021/225970--2022/236272--2023/2468177549.52024/2572517644.3Source: NHS England Financial YearReferrals to Op RESTORE% assessed by multi-disciplinary team within 8 weeks2018/1950-2019/2050-2020/2141-2021/221491002022/2326598.42023/2437199.72024/2535097.7Source: NHS England

What the allocated budget was for (a) Operation Courage and (b) Operation Restore in each financial year between 2020-21 and 2024-25; and how much funding has been allocated to each programme in the 2025-26 financial year.

On 13 March 2025, it was announced that NHS England will be brought into the Department to form a new joint centre. We are assessing the full range of current functions across both organisations and options for future allocation. At this stage, it is too early to say what precise changes in personnel and organisational design will be. The following table shows the actual spend on Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE for 2020/21 to 2024/25 and the budget for 2025/26:Financial YearOp COURAGE (£ mil)OP RESTORE (£ mil)2020/2117.90.32021/2218.50.22022/2323.00.62023/2423.80.52024/2524.40.92025/2624.90.9Source: NHS EnglandThe following tables show the referral numbers for Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE since 2017/18 and 2018/19, respectively, as well as the percentage of referrals for Op COURAGE met within relevant targets since 2023/24 and for Op RESTORE since 2021/22:Financial YearReferrals to Op COURAGE% of urgent referrals assessed within one week% of routine referrals assessed within 2 weeks2017/182879--2018/194561--2019/205374--2020/214903--2021/225970--2022/236272--2023/2468177549.52024/2572517644.3Source: NHS England Financial YearReferrals to Op RESTORE% assessed by multi-disciplinary team within 8 weeks2018/1950-2019/2050-2020/2141-2021/221491002022/2326598.42023/2437199.72024/2535097.7Source: NHS England

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce microplastic pollution from combined sewer outflows.

Tackling marine litter and plastic pollution is a priority for the UK Government, which is why we are working domestically and internationally to implement measures that will prevent macro-sized plastic litter which are sources of microplastics from reaching rivers, seas and the ocean in the first place. As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels through the £22.1 billion Water Industry National Environment Programme. This includes over £11 billion to improve nearly 3,000 storm overflows across England and Wales which OfWat expects will reduce storm overflow discharges by 45% by 2030, compared to 2021 levels. This will help to reduce discharges of raw sewage which can contain organic pollutants, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, nutrients, and heavy metals, as well as visible litter that is flushed down toilets. We are also taking forward investigations through the water industry’s Chemical Investigations Programme, to understand how we can reduce the levels of microplastics entering the water environment through treated wastewater. Microplastics have been recognised as a significant standalone issue and the water industry are funding six further investigations between 2025 and 2030.

What are the retention rates for NHS staff for each year since 2020.

NHS England publishes quarterly information on the turnover of National Health Service staff within their NHS Workforce Statistics publication, with further information available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statisticsThis covers the rate of staff joining and leaving active service in English NHS trusts and other core organisations over annual periods. Rates include staff going on, or returning from, periods of unpaid leave, such as career and maternity breaks, and will also include staff remaining in their professions but undertaking roles in other sectors such as primary care, social care, or independent provision. This data is available at national and regional levels, as well as for individual staffing groups. The latest release, which covers the year to December 2024, can be found at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/december-2024The Government is committed to making the NHS the best place to work, to ensure we retain more of our skilled and dedicated staff. NHS England is leading work nationally through its retention programme to drive a consistent, system-wide approach to staff retention across NHS trusts. This ensures trusts have access to proven retention strategies, data-driven monitoring, and can foster a more stable, engaged, productive, and supported workforce.

How many meetings his Department has had with (a) representatives of commercial nuclear manufacturers, (b) power utilities interested in building a new nuclear plant and (c) non-governmental organisations concerned with nuclear power in the last six months; and if he will publish the minutes of each meeting.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of improving the efficiency of existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations on wholesale electricity prices.

No direct assessment has been made of the impact of more efficient CCGTs on wholesale electricity prices, nor of the efficiency of CCGTs versus small modular reactors. An efficient electricity system needs a range of technologies to ensure that we reach our carbon goals while ensuring cost-effective energy security. Increasing participation of renewables in the wholesale market means that, over time, those technologies will determine the price more often and gas will play a much more limited role in setting the market price. Improving efficiency of CCGTs is a commercial decision for plant operators. Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its small modular reactor (SMR) competition for UK deployment. As with any technology, the economic case for SMRs would be factored into any investment decision.

What steps his Department is taking to improve NHS staff (a) working conditions and (b) wellbeing.

The Government inherited a broken National Health Service with an overworked and demoralised workforce.We hugely value all NHS staff and are committed to improving working conditions, so we can keep staff healthy, motivated, and retain valuable skills. That is why one of our first actions was to give NHS staff an above inflation pay rise.Local employers across the NHS have in place arrangements for supporting staff, including occupational health provision, employee support programmes, and a focus on healthy working environments. At a national level, NHS England has made available additional emotional and psychological health and wellbeing support. They have also set out a roadmap for the NHS and partner organisations to work together to develop and invest in occupational health and wellbeing services for NHS staff.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed welfare reforms on the capacity of the Household Support Fund.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months. The Government has extended the Household Support Fund by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will ensure vulnerable households in the most need can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as energy, water and food. No decision has been made at this stage on funding beyond the end of March 2026. As with all other government programmes, any such funding will be considered in the round at Phase 2 of the Spending Review.