Written questions by Roome.

What steps his Department is taking to help develop manufacturing capacity in the offshore renewables sector.

Last week, the Prime Minister announced an initial £300 million investment through Great British Energy to accelerate domestic offshore wind supply chains to boost domestic jobs, mobilise private investment, and secure manufacturing facilities for critical clean energy supply chains. The Government’s Clean Industry Bonus rewards fixed and floating offshore wind developers who choose to invest in the UK’s poorest communities, or in cleaner manufacturing. The Government will be publishing its Industrial Strategy in spring and will set out its approach to driving investment and growth in the highest potential sectors, including Clean Energy Industries, creating good jobs.

What steps his Department is taking to support people whose home values have been affected by spray foam insulation installed under the 2020 Green Homes Grant Scheme.

All installations under government scheme, including the Green Homes Grant Scheme must be installed by Trustmark registered installers. If the installation has met the standards required, it is not expected removal will be required. Where measures have not been installed correctly, homeowners can use the TrustMark dispute resolution process to seek remediation or redress. If the installer is no longer trading, they should contact the guarantee provider. The Government has also consulted the insulation, lending and surveying communities and published an inspection protocol that surveyors can use to appropriately assess spray foam installations (https://www.property-care.org/resources/spray-foam-insulation-inspections). It is important a surveyor with appropriate knowledge of spray foam and the protocol is used to give an accurate assessment.

When her Department plans to (a) report on the consultation entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18th March 2025, and (b) publish recommendations on changes to the Access to Work Scheme.

Once the Pathways to Work Green Paper Consultation closes on 30 June 2025, a White Paper will follow later this year with final proposals ahead of future, further legislation required. The consultation and subsequent White Paper will also inform the chosen future direction of Access to Work. Once this is established, we will consider implementation timelines and work closely with stakeholders to ensure an appropriate transition.

With reference to the Home Office's letter to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, dated 29 September 2023, what his Department's planned timetable is for the use of electronic signatures for Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs within (a) secondary care and (b) the health and justice system.

The Department is unable to confirm a timetable at this stage. Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and Misuse of Drug Regulations 2001 would be required to enable electronic prescribing in named settings, such as secondary care and the health and justice system. Changes to this legislation would require public consultation and agreement with Parliament under the affirmative procedure.

What progress his Department has made on the recruitment of the new Armed Forces Commissioner; and when he expects they will begin in post.

Recruitment for the Armed Forces Commissioner is progressing with the role expected to be advertised by June 2025. The recruitment process will be through fair and open competition and subject to a full public appointment process regulated and overseen by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. It is anticipated that the Armed Forces Commissioner will be in post in early 2026, following the pre-appointment scrutiny process.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of pre-pack administration procedures on the defence supply chain.

The Ministry of Defence recognises the importance of ensuring our supply chains are resilient to shocks and threats, and that we can have confidence in their ability to deliver and maintain the critical outputs we require. We work closely with our defence suppliers to ensure continuity of supply for our programmes, though it is not for Government to intervene in supply chains as a result of industry transactions.

What progress his Department has made on improving the time taken for new UK armed forces recruits to receive a formal job offer.

The Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and we are focused on improving Armed Forces recruitment. Defence is committed to reducing the time taken for candidates to pass through Armed Forces recruitment processes and enter Service. Recent policies have included setting an ambition to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days, and a provisional training start date within 30 days if they desire it. The median time taken to pass through recruitment and enter Service has been significantly reduced from a peak of 475 days in 2022 down to 290 days in 2024, a reduction of 39 per cent, with the individual Services pursuing options to reduce further. These activities and their impacts will inform the development of the Armed Forces Recruitment Service which is being implemented to further improve the speed with which highly motivated and capable people can join our Armed Forces.

Which medical conditions his Department considers categorised under the term Gulf War Syndrome.

Gulf War Syndrome is an umbrella term which refers to a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms reported by veterans of the 1991 Gulf War conflict. These symptoms vary widely between individuals and therefore there is no prescribed list of medical conditions/and or symptoms categorised under this umbrella term. The following link provides the background which sets out the history and research into the matter: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gulf-veterans-illnesses

Whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the adequacy of the defence procurement process in (a) the UK and (b) other countries.

The Ministry of Defence is reforming its acquisition system to deliver defence capabilities at greater pace, secure the best possible value for money and support growth in the UK.We continue to learn from other Governments on how they best manage their procurement systems. This includes engagement with allies as part of the Strategic Defence Review which provided useful feedback on procurement processes. Whilst differing national priorities and procurement systems make direct comparisons across the international landscape challenging, this government is committed to an acquisition system that supports British based businesses and UK growth and want to learn from international examples to achieve that.Where comparisons are possible, the performance of Defence Equipment and Support in delivering capability programmes has been found to be broadly in line with that of partner nations.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of market competition in the consumer credit rating sector.

The government recognises the significant role of healthy competition in markets in giving consumers access to services and products of high quality, supporting business growth and the wider economy. Responsibility for investigating individual and market-wide competition concerns falls to the Competition Markets Authority (“CMA”), the UK’s independent competition authority. The government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers to investigate and act to ensure markets remain competitive, and consumers are protected from unfair or exploitative market practices.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure consumers are aware of rights regarding personal financial products.

The Department of Business and Trade provides funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to deliver advice to consumers, including on debt and money matters. In addition, the Consumer Protection Partnership delivers an annual scams awareness campaign. Last year’s campaign focused on financial scams: fake debt advice; friend in need scams; pension scams; investment scams; and parking QR Codes. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets standards for consumer protection for regulated financial services products, and holds to account any firms that don’t meet those standards. The FCA’s Consumer Duty sets high standards of consumer protection across financial services, and includes a principle requiring firms to act to deliver good outcomes for customers. Good outcomes include consumers being given the information they need, at the right time, and presented in a way they can understand. Additionally, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is supported by the Government to provide comprehensive guidance for each stage of consumers’ financial lives. Its MoneyHelper website offers a range of tools to support consumers with money matters, including information on everyday financial products and letter templates to help consumers raise complaints with their providers.

Whether his Department plans to publish the New Hospital Programme review’s scoring of each hospital’s full business case.

The review into the New Hospital Programme (NHP) did not assess schemes on the basis of full business cases, and not all schemes in the programme have reached this stage of development. Schemes were assessed based on a variety of factors, as set out in the Plan for Implementation, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcomeSchemes were banded and prioritised into upper, middle, and lower thirds, and were then stress tested to generate a delivery schedule for the programme, in compliance with the NHP’s funding envelope.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) people in farming and (b) other people who are unable to demonstrate consistent monthly income figures are able to apply for Universal Credit.

Universal Credit is available to eligible people who are out of work or on a low income. This includes people who are self-employed. We recognise that some self-employed customers, including those in the farming industry, are likely to report large monthly fluctuations in their earnings. Steps have been taken to account for this, such as allowing self-employed losses to be carried forward into future assessment periods. Wherever possible, employed earnings are received through the Real Time Information (RTI) system used by employers to report Pay As You Earn (PAYE) data to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). RTI enables a customer’s Universal Credit award to be automatically adjusted to reflect their fluctuating earnings, which eases the reporting burden on customers. If earnings are not reported through RTI for any reason, the customer will need to self-report their earnings and provide evidence of these. We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. The review will include consideration of the support in Universal Credit for customers with fluctuating incomes.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of ownership of illiquid assets on Universal Credit eligibility.

No assessment has been made. Universal Credit broadly follows the capital rules from legacy means-tested benefits, e.g. income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance. The treatment of capital in any benefit that assists with living expenses is not a straightforward matter. Whilst it is important to encourage saving, it has never been thought right for substantial amounts of capital to be ignored. Departmental guidance is available to assist our decision makers to determine the value of capital assets at the point of review. Disregards are in place for some illiquid assets that customers hold, such as personal possessions and their main home.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of new Sustainable Farming Incentive of agreements on the rural economy.

This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a 2-year period. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package - across England, 50,000 farm businesses and over half of farmed land are already in agri-environmental schemes. The department publish regular statistics on Farm Business Income. Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance. These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK. On the 11th of March 2025 we published forecasts which suggest that average Farm Business Income has risen in 2024/25 across all farm types with the exception of cereal farms.

What changes her Department plans to make to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessments for claimants suffering from longer-term degenerative conditions.

Award reviews are an important feature of Personal Independence Payment to ensure people receive the correct level of benefit, both for those whose needs will increase and those whose needs may decrease. People who receive the highest level of PIP and whose needs will not improve, receive a PIP award for a continuous period with a light touch review at the 10-year point. In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we outline plans to consider changes to improve the experience for people who receive these ongoing awards in PIP. These include improving the information we provide when we write to people about ongoing PIP award decisions, what support is offered between ‘light touch’ reviews and reviewing the length of time between ‘light touch’ reviews.

Whether the upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will consider the potential impact of US trade tariffs against UK companies.

The United States remains the United Kingdom's foremost defence and security partner. The UK has a strong and balanced trading relationship with the US worth £315 billion which supports 2.5 million jobs across both countries. This Government is seeking to negotiate an agreement with the US to deepen our economic relationship, while ensuring all options are considered in response to tariffs.

With reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 634, if he will list the reviews relevant to national security that are taking place across the Government that will be included in the development of a new National Security Strategy.

As announced by the Prime Minister, a new national security strategy will be published in June, ahead of the NATO Summit. There are several reviews and strategies being developed across government that will be taken into consideration. This includes the Strategic Defence Review, Defence Industrial Strategy, AUKUS Review, Industrial Strategy, and Trade Strategy. The Strategy will also take into account other ongoing national security policy development.

What steps his Department will take to assess the job performance of the National Armaments Director.

The parameters and performance targets for the National Armaments Director will be agreed in line with the salary approval from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury as part of the recruitment process.

What process his Department used to determine the advertised prospective salary of the new National Armaments Director.

The salary for the National Armaments Director was benchmarked against Defence industry best practice and standards to offer a competitive remuneration package to attract the right candidate with the right skills.