Written questions by Roome.

How much funding her Department has allocated to improving the resilience of passenger rail services on the North Devon branch line in each of the last 10 years.

Network Rail has spent £2.9 million between 2017/18 and 2024/25 on scour protection works on bridges and retaining walls along the North Devon line. In addition, an average of £18,000 per year has been spent over the past ten years carrying out maintenance works to structure inverts, scour protection and removing tree debris trapped against bridges following a flood.

What steps her Department is taking to improve the resilience of passenger rail lines against flooding.

Network Rail, as the infrastructure manager of Britain’s railways, has the main responsibility for maintaining the integrity and safety of the rail network to ensure passenger and freight services can operate reliably. Between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2029, Network Rail will invest £2.6 billion in activities and technology that will help it better cope with extreme weather and climate change, including flooding. Earlier this year, Network Rail published its Greener Railway Strategy 2025-2050 which includes objectives for climate change adaptation, and each of the five Network Rail regions have produced an updated Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation (WRCCA) Plan for the 2024-29 period. Network Rail is continuing with research and development on weather resilience and climate change adaptation to gain a better understanding of the vulnerabilities of the rail network to help support engineering and operational decisions. For example, in partnership with the Met Office, its Weather-Related Task Force (WRTF) will focus on providing tools, processes, and support to help routes run a better service during adverse and extreme weather.Recognising that flooding can impact more than infrastructure, the 14 DfT Train Operating Companies (TOCs) will submit their first WRCCA strategies early next year. These will provide a risk assessment as to how flooding, and other weather and climate hazards, can impact stations, staff, customers and services, and an initial adaptation plan for addressing those risks. The Department has facilitated collaboration between Network Rail and the TOCs during the writing of these strategies to ensure a more holistic approach to managing climate-related risks. Finally, in December 2025, the Department will publish its cross-modal Transport Adaptation Strategy which focuses on using robust evidence and a systems-based approach to mainstream adaptation in business as usual, including managing flooding on the rail network.

How much was spent on the refit and repair of HMS Bulwark during the last five years.

Refit and repair costs incurred for HMS Bulwark over the last five years totals £72.1 million. HMS Bulwark was not due to go to sea ahead of its out-of-service date. It’s disposal shows that we are delivering for defence by divesting ourselves of old capabilities to make way for the future.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the resources available to local authorities to pursue enforcement measures against rogue landlords.

My Department is providing £18.2 million to local housing authorities for this financial year to help them prepare to undertake their new enforcement responsibilities under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

What plans the Department has to ensure continuity of funding for Early Support Hubs beyond March 2026; and how will they be integrated into the introduction of Young Futures Hubs from next year.

The early support hubs were originally funded by the Shared Outcomes Fund, which provided £8 million of top-up funding to expand open-access, community services and to build the evidence base for early intervention services for children and young people's mental health. The project was initially funded in 2024/25 for one year and we were able to extend the programme for an additional year to 2025/26.In addition to expanding access to support, early support hubs have played a key role building an evidence base to support the introduction of young futures hubs next year. The evaluation findings are directly informing our young futures hubs programme. Young futures hubs will bring services together to support young people with emerging needs, including early mental health advice and wellbeing interventions. As we launch the first 50 young futures hubs, we will work with local areas and partners to build on learning from the early support hubs pilot.Our aim is to set up 50 hubs where they will have the most impact over the next four years. The design and implementation of the programme in future years will be informed by our work with early adopters. We will set out more details in due course.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that postal workers and trade unions are consulted on reforms to the Universal Service Obligation.

On 10 July this year, Ofcom announced its decision on its review of the universal service obligation. This involved a consultation to which the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) and Unite CMA responded.The government is aware that Royal Mail's management and the new owners are in discussion with the CWU and encourages both parties to continue their constructive engagement to agree the best approach to reform that supports workers, and delivers for customers and secures the long-term financial sustainability of the universal postal service.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) nurses and (b) other healthcare professionals currently exposed to hazardous medicinal products; and if he will publish an estimate of how many and what proportion of healthcare workers would be affected by the introduction of a definition of hazardous medicinal products.

The Department has not made an estimate of the number of nurses and other healthcare professionals exposed to hazardous medicinal products. The Department has not made an estimate of how many and what proportion of healthcare workers would be affected by the introduction of a definition of hazardous medicinal products. Any incidents involving staff exposure to hazardous medical products are reported and handled through local National Health Service body reporting procedures. Risk assessments should be undertaken routinely and mitigations put in place to minimise any environmental exposure to health care professionals, and others, relating to hazardous medicinal products.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of abolishing the office of Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall on savings to her Department.

The Government will work with local government and policing to design new Policing and Crime Boards in areas where it is not possible to transfer police governance functions to a mayor at the end of the current term of PCCs in 2028.The Government estimates that around £100m will be saved in this Parliament by moving to these new arrangements. This includes no longer running separate policing elections and by abolishing Police and Crime Panels. Once delivered, these changes are expected to achieve savings to the Home Office of around £20m a year, enough to fund around 320 extra police constables. Home Office officials will engage with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall and her office on the implications for Devon and Cornwall.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made representations to her Israeli counterpart on demolition orders in Umm Al Khair in the South Hebron Hills.

We remain deeply concerned by the levels of settler violence and settlement growth in the West Bank, and we continue to urge Israel to halt evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes in the South Hebron Hills and elsewhere.

Whether her Department plans to (a) adopt a list of hazardous medicinal products and (b) require safety data sheets for finished medicines.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2025 to Question UIN 84436.

How much funding her Department has committed to the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme in each of the last five financial years.

The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme has provided a 5p reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas since its introduction in 2012. The Government publishes figures for the estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs/non-structural-tax-relief-statistics-december-2024.

If he will require NHS employers to provide ongoing (a) education, (b) training and (c) health surveillance for staff who (i) handle and (ii) may be exposed to hazardous medicinal products.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 October 2025 to Question UIN 84444.

How many procurement contracts exceeding £5 million have been issued by his Department in the last five years.

Since 1 January 2021, 118 contracts with a value of £5 million or more have been awarded by the Department.

What steps his Department is taking to promote the use of (a) biological safety cabinets, (b) closed‑system drug‑transfer devices and (c) other engineering controls during (i) preparation and (ii) administration of hazardous medicinal products; and whether he plans to provide funding for NHS trusts to implement these controls.

I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 84144.

If his Department will review the adequacy of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations to ensure that hazardous medicinal products with reprotoxic effects are controlled to the same standard as (a) carcinogens and (b) mutagens.

I refer the Honourable Member to the previous answer 84440.

What research his Department has commissioned on (a) reproductive health outcomes and (b) other long‑term health effects of occupational exposure to hazardous medicinal products among nursing staff; and what assessment his Department has made of the costs to the NHS of sickness absence related to such exposure.

The Government has not commissioned any research on the reproductive health outcomes or long-term health effects of the occupational exposure of nursing staff to hazardous medicinal products. No assessment has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of sickness absence related to this.Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have their own policies and procedures in place to manage and reduce sickness absence, including any reasonable adjustments to allow people to return to work and/or prevent future absence. It is important that employers across the NHS take a preventative and proactive approach to supporting their staff and keeping them healthy.

How his Department plans to measure the impact of the UK Offset Policy proposed in the Defence Industrial Strategy.

As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy's commitment to backing British businesses, we launched a public consultation on a possible UK offset policy on 23 October. The consultation seeks input on key principles for implementation. It is essential that any offset policy is explored and developed in partnership with the defence sector so we should not pre-empt the outcome of this consultation. The Defence Industrial Strategy sets out the metrics for 'Backing UK Based Business' policies, effective monitoring and evaluation will be essential to our implementation plan.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the rebate provided under the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme in line with inflation.

The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme has provided a 5p reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas since its introduction in 2012, with the rate remaining unchanged during that time. The areas included in the scheme demonstrate certain characteristics such as: pump prices much higher than the UK average; remoteness leading to high fuel transport costs from refinery to filling station, and; relatively low sales meaning that retailers cannot benefit from bulk discounts. The Government carefully considers the impact of fuel duty on households and businesses, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending funding for the Great South West Partnership in April 2026 on (a) regional representation and (b) economic growth.

Following a four week public consultation, in March 2025 the government announced its intention to end funding for Pan-Regional Partnerships, with an exceptional, time-limited award of £281,250 for the Great South West Pan-Regional Partnership for the 2025/26 financial year. Pan-Regional Partnerships, including the Great South West, have made a valuable contribution, supporting collaboration between local authorities and government and taking forward a breadth of work on shared growth opportunities. However, as our English Devolution White Paper sets out, we are now moving to a different model of regional collaboration, where we are keen to support new models driven by local leaders.

What recent progress his Department has made on the implementation of the Local Power Plan.

The Local Power Plan is a joint plan between GBE and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero which will outline our shared vision for the local and community energy sector: to drive the growth of locally-owned renewable energy projects and support efforts to unlock cleaner, cheaper and more resilient power at the community level. This will give communities a direct stake in the transition to net zero. We are continuing to develop the Local Power Plan with GBE and other key stakeholders and updates will be provided soon.