Written questions by Whately.

What steps she is taking to tackle rural crime; what progress she made on a rural crime strategy; and when she plans to launch that strategy.

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. The Government is joint with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver a new Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, ensuring our Safer Streets Mission benefits every community no matter where they live.Rural communities will benefit from more local visible policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will put 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities across the country, helping to tackle crimes like anti-social behaviour (ASB), fly tipping and county lines which can have a devastating impact on rural life. In addition, the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit – specialist policing units supported by the Home Office - play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime.To tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting, we are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023. Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked, where the items are reasonably believed to have been stolen and are on those premises, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.I recently have met with the NPCC lead for rural crime and the Head of the National Rural Crime Unit, on how we can better work together to tackle the scourge of rural crime in our countryside communities.

What discussions she has had with (a) local authorities, (b) local police and (c) rural stakeholders on tackling rural crime.

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. The Government is joint with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver a new Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, ensuring our Safer Streets Mission benefits every community no matter where they live.Rural communities will benefit from more local visible policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will put 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in communities across the country, helping to tackle crimes like anti-social behaviour (ASB), fly tipping and county lines which can have a devastating impact on rural life. In addition, the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit – specialist policing units supported by the Home Office - play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime.To tackle the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting, we are committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023. Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked, where the items are reasonably believed to have been stolen and are on those premises, and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant from a court.I recently have met with the NPCC lead for rural crime and the Head of the National Rural Crime Unit, on how we can better work together to tackle the scourge of rural crime in our countryside communities.

How many people aged between 18 and 24 were in receipt of Personal Independence Payments for mental health conditions (a) this year and (b) in each of the last five years.

Data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’, by filtering for age using the ‘Age (bands and single year)’ filter, and the ‘ICD Summary Code’ filter to select ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders (F00-F99)’ for mental health conditions, including neurodiverse and some learning disability conditions. The ‘Month’ filter can be used to select March of each of the last five years and October 2024 for the latest year needed for your request. If you choose to, you can also filter for “DWP policy ownership” under the ‘Geography’ category. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

What proportion of Personal Independence Payment claims for mental health conditions are required to undergo reassessment.

Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be either be reviewed or the claimant will be required to submit a new claim. Award rates and their durations are set on an individual basis, based on the claimant’s needs and the likelihood of those needs changing. Data on PIP award types and their durations can be found on Stat-Xplore. In particular, the requested data can be found by applying the following filters to the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset: The variable ‘Award Type’ can be used to break down the clearances by award type, including ‘Awarded under Special Rules for End of Life’ and ‘Short Term Award (no review date) - NR’ which are the two award types that do not have a review date set. To filter for mental health conditions, the category ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders (F00 - F99) under the ‘ICD Summary Code’ variable can be used, which also includes conditions such as neurodiverse conditions and some learning disabilities. You may also wish to filter for “DWP policy ownership” under Geography due to the devolution of some disability benefits to Scotland. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

What proportion of young people claiming Personal Independence Payments for mental health conditions receive enhanced support for (a) daily living and (b) mobility.

Data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found on Stat Xplore. The requested data can be found in the ‘PIP Cases with Entitlement from 2019’ dataset, by filtering for age using the ‘Age (bands and single year)’ category and ICD Summary Code’ filter to select ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders (F00-F99)’ for mental health conditions, including neurodiverse and some learning disability conditions. To filter for claimants receiving enhanced support for daily living and mobility, you can use the ‘Daily Living Award Status’ and ‘Mobility Award Status’ to select the ‘Enhanced’ filter. You can also filter for “DWP policy ownership” under the ‘Geography’ category if you wish to do so. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

What the annual expenditure on Personal Independence Payments for mental health conditions was in the most recent financial year for which data is available.

Data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found on Stat Xplore. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required. An estimate for the annual PIP expenditure in 2024/25 for claimants with a mental health or behavioural condition as their primary condition is £9.94 billion. This is based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation, and is not solely confined to mental health conditions - for example it also includes neurodiverse conditions.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of Personal Independence Payment claims for mental health conditions over the next three years.

The Department does not forecast benefit claims by health condition, though it is implicitly assumed that the mix of conditions follows recent trends.

What proportion of Personal Independence Payment (a) claims are and (b) spending is for mental health-related conditions.

Data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be found on Stat Xplore. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required. a) In September 2024, 38% of the PIP caseload was in receipt of the benefit with a primary medical condition classified as mental or behavioural disorders. b) This subset of the caseload accounts for an estimated 38% of the PIP expenditure in 2024/25. This is based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation, and is not solely confined to mental health conditions - for example it also includes neurodiverse conditions.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2024 to Question 15461 on Agriculture: Subsidies, when officials from his Department met with growers in the last 12 months; and what type of growers have they met.

We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector. Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers (including a number of Producer Organisation members) from across the sector to discuss a wide range of issues. This allows us to understand if, and where, government intervention is needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings (a) he and (b) Minsters from his Department have had with (i) growers and (ii) fruit growers in the last 12 months; and when did those meetings take place.

We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector. Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers (including a number of Producer Organisation members) from across the sector to discuss a wide range of issues. This allows us to understand if, and where, government intervention is needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2024 to Question 15504 on Agriculture: Subsidies, what issues were discussed with growers.

We recognise the specific needs of the horticulture sector. Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with a variety of growers (including a number of Producer Organisation members) from across the sector to discuss a wide range of issues. This allows us to understand if, and where, government intervention is needed.

What her Department's policy is on the use of articificial intelligence.

DWP is collaborating with other Government Departments to maximise AI’s potential to drive growth and deliver real benefits to people across the UK, as set out in the recent AI Opportunities Action Plan. DWP has a clear vision to safely leverage AI to support its staff and improve service delivery to customers. The Department is working with a range of artificial intelligence technologies, such as machine learning, generative AI, and Large Language Models, which will help DWP improve its ability to respond to customers’ needs in a more personalised and seamless way. Some of the details of these are already in the public domain, as set out in DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK. DWP is also committed to publishing more details about work in this area as part of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standards (ATRS) requirements from the Government Digital Service and has published its first summary through the DWP: Employment and Support Allowance Online Medical Matching ATRS record The Personal information charter - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK sets out individuals’ rights when we process their data. It is important to note that DWP does not utilise AI to replace human judgement in determining or denying payments to claimants.

Whether he plans to review the (a) capacity and (b) efficiency of the medical examiner system in the new death certification process.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data indicates the median time taken to register a death appears to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register has increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year, and the average is expected to decrease again as more data becomes available for January and February 2025. The Department does not hold data on what was the longest period between a death and its registration since September 2024. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from. The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death, to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Government is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.

What steps he is taking to reduce backlogs in the death certification process in the South East.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data indicates the median time taken to register a death appears to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register has increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year, and the average is expected to decrease again as more data becomes available for January and February 2025. The Department does not hold data on what was the longest period between a death and its registration since September 2024. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from. The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death, to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Government is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.

What steps he is taking to ensure that the new death certification process does not cause further distress for grieving families.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data indicates the median time taken to register a death appears to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register has increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year, and the average is expected to decrease again as more data becomes available for January and February 2025. The Department does not hold data on what was the longest period between a death and its registration since September 2024. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from. The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death, to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Government is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.

What the (a) average and (b) longest recorded wait time is for the issuance of death certificates since September 2024.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Early data indicates the median time taken to register a death appears to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register has increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year, and the average is expected to decrease again as more data becomes available for January and February 2025. The Department does not hold data on what was the longest period between a death and its registration since September 2024. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It’s important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from. The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death, to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Government is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 2435 on Roads: Kent, what the outcome was of her Department’s capital roads portfolio review.

In July 2024, the Chancellor announced that the Transport Secretary would be undertaking an internal review of Department for Transport’s capital portfolio, informed by external experts. The review is ongoing and it will help inform the Secretary of State’s decisions as part of Phase 2 of the Spending Review. The findings of the review will be internal. The Panel does not have any decision-making powers.

When work will begin on the capital roads project Blue Bell Hill.

The A229 Blue Bell Hill Improvements scheme is being promoted and managed by Kent County Council. The Council plans to submit an Outline Business Case to the Department in summer 2026. If this is approved, under current arrangements the Department’s maximum funding contribution would be up to a maximum of 85% of the total estimated cost at Outline Business Case stage. This would be conditional on approval by government to a Full Business Case. The Council currently forecasts works starting in spring 2029.

What funding her Department plans to provide for road improvements at the capital roads project Blue Bell Hill.

The A229 Blue Bell Hill Improvements scheme is being promoted and managed by Kent County Council. The Council plans to submit an Outline Business Case to the Department in summer 2026. If this is approved, under current arrangements the Department’s maximum funding contribution would be up to a maximum of 85% of the total estimated cost at Outline Business Case stage. This would be conditional on approval by government to a Full Business Case. The Council currently forecasts works starting in spring 2029.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2025 50 Question 22715 on Medical Certificates: Public Consultation, whether she plans to launch the fit note trailblazers.

In 2024, the previous government announced that fit note trailblazers would be included in some of the 15 WorkWell pilot areas across Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England. Due to the timings of the General Election, they were not launched. As part of £240m investment to support our employment reforms in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are providing three ICBs with a share of £45m to become 'Health and Growth Accelerators'. These 3 ICBs are North East and North Cumbria, South Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire. We are working with the accelerator ICBs to deliver an intervention aimed at improving the quality of work and health advice and support following a request for a fit note. This will ensure the fit note process is part of our wider system designed to get support to people who are already economically inactive or at risk of falling out of work due to ill health.