Written questions by Morgan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers affected by flooding who have not received payments under the Farming Recovery Fund.

The Government inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record following years of underinvestment by the previous Government – only 92% of the Environment Agency’s 38,000 high consequence assets are currently at required condition. To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion over 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences. The government also announced an additional £50 million of investment into internal drainage boards, as part of the one-off £75 million Internal Drainage Board (IDB) Fund, supporting farmers and rural communities from the impacts of flooding, and £60 million in payments to farmers through the Farming Recovery Fund, impacted by unprecedented extreme wet weather last winter (October 2023 to March 2024). The new Flood Resilience Taskforce provides oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season. Additionally, Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. This will include the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history: £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes. This funding will deliver improvements to cover a range of objectives including support to improve resilience to flooding.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Farming Recovery Fund, if he will publish (a) the number of individual payments made by and (b) total costs of those payment to each local authority area for each year since the fund was established.

Farming Recovery Fund payments are made directly to farmers. The Farming Recovery Fund is activated by the Government of the day and has been activated in 2015, 2019, 2020 and again in 2024 depending on the scale and impacts of the flooding, these are detailed below: - In 2015 when Storm Desmond produced 341mm of rainfall at Honister Pass in Cumbria in 24 hours.- In 2019/2020, a flash flood in North Yorkshire affecting a single parish and the collapse of a flood embankment in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, and widescale flooding across central and eastern England.- In 2024 an expanded fund following Storms Babet, Henk and the exceptional wet weather during the six-month period October 2023 to March 2024 Each iteration of the Farming Recovery Fund is different depending on when, where and what the weather conditions were which caused the flooding. Farmers were able to apply for these funds the details of which are set out below. RegionFRF 2015FRF 2019FRF 2020NumberAmountNumberAmountNumberAmountBerkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire1£9,120.00 Cheshire 1£3,948.94Cumbria530£4,647,445.22 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 18£78,834.384£28,006.84East Anglia1£1,530.00 East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire8£34,027.492£5,515.781£1,361.30Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bath/Bristol area1£2,924.201£21,387.5035£241,976.01Greater Manchester7£33,124.52 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 6£52,665.3270£362,580.74Inner London - West1£3,603.00 1£1,730.00Lancashire129£978,167.39 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 1£5,829.50 Lincolnshire1£19,846.0030£165,887.13 North Yorkshire212£1,507,147.2036£266,871.18 Northumberland, and Tyne and Wear60£425,640.21 Shropshire and Staffordshire1£20,000.00 29£120,655.82South Yorkshire1£514.9012£39,280.42 Tees Valley and Durham15£106,270.76 West Yorkshire27£181,071.49 Total payments to English registered businesses995£7,970,432.38106£636,271.21141£760,259.65Paid for land in England but business registered in other UK country4£31,867.98 3£7,368.36Grand total999£8,002,300.36106£636,271.21144£767,628.01 We will publish data for the 2024 Farming Recovery Fund once payments have been finalised. The 2024 Farming Recovery Fund has paid around 12,700 farming businesses £57.5 million, to date. Recovery payments were always intended as an exceptional intervention. Defra is working with the Flood Resilience Taskforce to develop a longer-term solution to the impacts of our changing climate on the agricultural sector. We are also investing in environmental land management schemes which include actions to improve flood resilience and water management on farms.

With reference to his Oral Statement of 15 January 2025 on Winter Update, if he will publish a list of the locations of the 24 critical incidents declared in the week of 6 January 2025.

On 7 January 2025, there were a total of 24 active critical incidents reported, as referenced by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in his oral statement of 15 January 2025. The following table shows a list of the 24 National Health Service organisations where the critical incidents were declared:NHS organisationMid and South Essex NHS Foundation TrustCambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustSomerset NHS Foundation TrustNHS England East of England RegionUniversity Hospitals of North Midlands NHS TrustMersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS TrustRoyal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation TrustTorbay & South Devon NHS Foundation TrustUniversity Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation TrustNHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care BoardJames Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNorth West Anglia NHS Foundation TrustSouth Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation TrustEast Midlands Ambulance Service NHS TrustLiverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustHampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care BoardUniversity Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation TrustUniversity Hospitals Plymouth NHS TrustNorth Middlesex University Hospital NHS TrustSouth Warwickshire University NHS Foundation TrustRoyal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustGreat Western Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNHS Devon Integrated Care BoardAs of 21 January 2025, 23 of the critical incidents declared above have been stood down. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust remains active. University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Foundation Trust also declared a critical incident on this date but stood down the next day.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employers' National Insurance contributions on specialist colleges.

The department is receiving compensation in recognition of the increase in National Insurance contributions (NICs) paid by institutions it funds, including colleges, schools and other state-funded special educational needs and disabilities provision. Work is in progress to determine how that funding will be distributed, and more information will be provided as soon as is practicable. This NICs funding will be in addition to the £300 million and £1 billion funding increases announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 for further education and young people with high needs respectively, in 2025/26.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it compulsory for developers to form agreements with water companies for the adoption of new-build drainage systems.

Section 42 of the Flood and Water Management Act has not yet been implemented in England. Should it be implemented, all new sewerage will be built to an agreed standard and automatically adopted. The powers to adopt existing sewerage have now expired. Therefore, new legislation will be required to enable mandatory adoption of this sewerage. Water companies can currently adopt sewerage voluntarily. The Government has included private sewerage in the terms of reference for the forthcoming review of the water sector and will examine how best to address the problems caused by unadopted sewerage. The Government is committed to using legislation to reform the water sector and will continue to do so where necessary. As set out in the written ministerial statement by the Housing Minister, this Government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ estates. We will consult on the best way to achieve this in 2025 and we will include options to reduce the prevalence of private management of these estates - which are the root cause of the problems faced by homeowners.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to Question 20371 on Sewers: Private Sector, tabled on 16 December 2024.

A response to Question 20371 is being prepared and will be provided as soon as possible. I apologise for the delay in responding to the Honourable Member.

With reference to his statement of 6 January 2025 on Health and Social Care Reform, Official Report, columns 595 to 598, what steps he is taking to ensure equal access to healthcare in rural and urban areas.

The Government recognises the health inequalities faced by rural communities in England, particularly around access to healthcare services. In response, we are working closely across the department, with NHS England and regional Directors of Public Health to develop approaches that address these inequalities so that no person or community is left behind.The Government is committed to putting patients first, including in both rural and urban areas. This means making sure that all patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, part of the Government’s Plan for Change, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week Referral to Treatment target by the end of this Parliament. The plan sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care. A copy of the plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/reforming-elective-care-for-patients.pdfWe have set an ambition to make progress on the 18-week standard in 2025/26, to 65% nationally and for all trusts to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement by March 2026. At the end of November 2024, the rate at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was 48.5%.

With reference to his statement of 6 January 2025 on Health and Social Care Reform, Official Report, column 597, what his definition is of working class areas.

The Department is committed to improving health outcomes across geographies and demographic groups to ensure that there is no two-tier system for healthcare in this country, where those who can afford it pay to go private, and those who cannot are left behind.The Index of Multiple Deprivation, produced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, is most commonly used as the means to determine the most deprived areas of the country, which are often where health needs are greatest. As an example of targeted support, the Further Faster 20 (FF20) initiative will support 20 trusts with long waits in areas of highest economic inactivity to tackle their waiting lists by improving productivity. Trust teams will work with the FF20 team of clinicians and managers to look at their pathways and ways of working with the aim of improving the way that outpatients, diagnostics, and theatres are run.On 6 January 2025, NHS England published the new Elective Reform Plan, part of the Government’s Plan for Change, which sets out a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target by the end of this Parliament. The plan sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care. The Plan for Change commits that by the end of this parliament, 92% of all patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks for treatment following a referral.The Elective Reform Plan sets out a range of new measures to address health inequalities, including that people living in disadvantaged areas are 1.8 times more likely to wait over a year than someone living in one of the least deprived areas. This is why the plan commits not only to make progress on the 18-week standard in 25/26, to 65% nationally, but for all trusts to deliver a minimum five percentage point improvement by March 2026, recognising that we must have high expectations for progress across the country.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing a Physician Associate to Junior Doctor conversion course.

There is no training pathway specifically designed for a physician associate to become a doctor in the United Kingdom. To become a doctor in the UK, an individual is required to complete either an undergraduate degree or a graduate-entry programme in medicine from a UK medical school which meets the standards set by the General Medical Council.

Whether het has made a recent assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the difficulties that rural businesses face.

Rural businesses offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. DBT works with other departments such as Defra, helping people living and working in rural areas to realise the full potential of rural businesses and communities placing them at the heart of our policymaking. The Government will publish a Small Business Strategy Paper later this year, setting out the Government’s vision for all small businesses, and has committed to funding for two key growth-driving programmes in 2025-26: Growth Hubs in England and Help to Grow: Management across the UK, which help businesses and entrepreneurs unlock their potential through bespoke support and resources The Rural England Prosperity Fund is intended to support new and existing rural businesses, including farm businesses, to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy and to support new and improved community infrastructure that will provide essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy

What steps his Department is taking to incentivise growth in rural businesses.

Rural businesses offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. DBT works with other departments who provide funding for the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) supporting new and existing rural businesses and improved community infrastructure that will provide essential community services. The Government has just announced the Business Growth Service (BGS), with local delivery at its heart to bring a range of existing core services under the BGS banner. All businesses can access their Local Growth Hubs, which provide advice and support throughout the business journey, shaping their offer around the unique needs, whether town or country.

What the longest waiting time was for a PIP application in each month of the last five years.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner and reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the department. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence. The longest waiting time for a PIP application is potentially disclosive, and the longest waiting times recorded may not be accurate. Therefore, the 99th percentile is provided. Table 1 – 99th Percentile of End to end wait time, for the last five years up to October 2024.Year of Clearance99th Percentile End to end wait time (Weeks)2020452021472022532023442024 (to October)44 Table 1 – 99th Percentile of End to end wait time, by month for the last five years up to October 2024.Month of Clearance99th Percentile End to end wait time (Weeks)Jan-2040Feb-2037Mar-2037Apr-2043May-2041Jun-2046Jul-2047Aug-2051Sep-2049Oct-2052Nov-2051Dec-2047Jan-2146Feb-2146Mar-2142Apr-2142May-2142Jun-2144Jul-2145Aug-2147Sep-2149Oct-2150Nov-2149Dec-2149Jan-2251Feb-2253Mar-2254Apr-2255May-2256Jun-2256Jul-2254Aug-2254Sep-2253Oct-2250Nov-2252Dec-2252Jan-2348Feb-2349Mar-2349Apr-2346May-2345Jun-2343Jul-2342Aug-2342Sep-2343Oct-2341Nov-2340Dec-2341Jan-2442Feb-2443Mar-2442Apr-2442May-2443Jun-2442Jul-2443Aug-2443Sep-2447Oct-2446 Median PIP application clearance times are also available on a monthly basis as part of the PIP Official Statistics quarterly release. The latest release, with data to October 2024, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/675bf09bb915d092055a01d8/tables-pip-statistics-to-october-2024-eng-wales.odsTable 1A in this release shows the median average clearance times for normal rules new claims. Notes:Normal rules new claims only.England and Wales only.Figures rounded to the nearest whole week.It would be disproportionate costs to investigate whether the highest recorded rates were genuine or the result of incorrect recording that was later corrected.99th percentile means ‘longer wait time than 99 other claims from a random sample group of 100 claims’.End to end wait time calculated as the time from PIP registration to DWP decision.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the eligibility criteria for the Frequently Flooded Allowance on flood risks in low population rural areas.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to their previous question 20325 on 2 January.

What the longest waiting time was for a PIP application in each of the last five years.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner and reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the department. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence. The longest waiting time for a PIP application is potentially disclosive, and the longest waiting times recorded may not be accurate. Therefore, the 99th percentile is provided. Table 1 – 99th Percentile of End to end wait time, for the last five years up to October 2024.Year of Clearance99th Percentile End to end wait time (Weeks)2020452021472022532023442024 (to October)44 Table 1 – 99th Percentile of End to end wait time, by month for the last five years up to October 2024.Month of Clearance99th Percentile End to end wait time (Weeks)Jan-2040Feb-2037Mar-2037Apr-2043May-2041Jun-2046Jul-2047Aug-2051Sep-2049Oct-2052Nov-2051Dec-2047Jan-2146Feb-2146Mar-2142Apr-2142May-2142Jun-2144Jul-2145Aug-2147Sep-2149Oct-2150Nov-2149Dec-2149Jan-2251Feb-2253Mar-2254Apr-2255May-2256Jun-2256Jul-2254Aug-2254Sep-2253Oct-2250Nov-2252Dec-2252Jan-2348Feb-2349Mar-2349Apr-2346May-2345Jun-2343Jul-2342Aug-2342Sep-2343Oct-2341Nov-2340Dec-2341Jan-2442Feb-2443Mar-2442Apr-2442May-2443Jun-2442Jul-2443Aug-2443Sep-2447Oct-2446 Median PIP application clearance times are also available on a monthly basis as part of the PIP Official Statistics quarterly release. The latest release, with data to October 2024, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/675bf09bb915d092055a01d8/tables-pip-statistics-to-october-2024-eng-wales.odsTable 1A in this release shows the median average clearance times for normal rules new claims. Notes:Normal rules new claims only.England and Wales only.Figures rounded to the nearest whole week.It would be disproportionate costs to investigate whether the highest recorded rates were genuine or the result of incorrect recording that was later corrected.99th percentile means ‘longer wait time than 99 other claims from a random sample group of 100 claims’.End to end wait time calculated as the time from PIP registration to DWP decision.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether changes have been made to the criteria of the Farming Recovery Fund since Storms Ashley and Bert.

October 2023 to March 2024 has been recorded as the wettest six-month period ever recorded. The Farming Recovery Fund used data from Environment Agency and remote imagery on high river levels during Storm Babet (October 2023) and Storm Henk (January 2024). These were the two largest storms in this period. Met Office data was used to identify local authority areas in England which experienced exceptional rainfall. These data were used to identify eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund which has now made one off recovery payments of £57.5 million to over 12,700 farm businesses to help farmers most affected by the exceptional flooding and wet weather. Eligibility for the Farming Recovery Fund does not include Storms Ashley nor Bert.

What steps his Department is taking to support rural businesses.

Rural businesses offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. As with all places, fulfilling the needs of people and businesses in rural areas is at the heart of our policymaking.The Government has just launched the Business Growth Service (BGS), a national service with local delivery at its heart. It will bring a range of existing core services under the BGS banner, working hand in glove with local and devolved governments and the Growth Hubs network.All businesses can access their Local Growth Hubs, which provide advice and support throughout the business journey, shaping their offer around the unique needs, whether town or country.

What the mean average waiting time has been for PIP applications in each of the last five years.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner and reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the department. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence. The following figures are for normal rules new claims only. YearMean Wait Time (Weeks)2020182021222022192023152024 (to October)15 Median PIP application clearance times are also available on a monthly basis as part of the PIP Official Statistics quarterly release. The latest release, with data to October 2024, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/675bf09bb915d092055a01d8/tables-pip-statistics-to-october-2024-eng-wales.odsTable 1A in this release shows the median average clearance times for normal rules new claims.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of existing (a) culvert and (b) land drainage responsibility legislation.

Defra keeps all legislation under review. Between 2022 and 2024, Defra undertook a review of the statutory powers and responsibilities to map, monitor, inspect and maintain all flood and coastal erosion risk assets, including culverts. This review also considered powers within the Land Drainage Act 1991. The review will be examined by the new Government and likely published in early 2025. We expect those responsible for all assets including risk management authorities, other public and community organisations, the private sector and riparian owners to invest in ongoing maintenance and ensure timely repairs where necessary.

How many of the houses bought from Annington are in (a) North Shropshire constituency, (b) Shropshire, (c) Staffordshire and (d) Telford and Wrekin.

The table below shows the number of properties bought by the Ministry of Defence from Annington Property Ltd located in North Shropshire, South Shropshire, Staffordshire, Telford, and Wrekin constituencies. LocationNumber of properties purchased from Annington Property LtdNorth Shropshire140South Shropshire0Stafford190Telford0Wrekin600

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to announce new projects funded by the Frequently Flooded Allowance in the next year.

We are investing £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive government funding in 2025/26 will be consented in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees with local representation. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.