Written questions by Naish.

Whether the Government (a) participates in and (b) funds geoengineering activities; what information his Department holds on organisations in the UK which participate in geoengineering; and whether he plans to introduce regulations on geoengineering.

Geoengineering can be considered to include both greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRs) and solar radiation modification (SRM). GGRs are important for achieving Net Zero. Government is developing GGR Business Models to incentivise private investment in large-scale projects, and funds small-scale demonstrator projects [1] All projects are subject to relevant Environment Agency and local government regulations. The Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so however it funds modelling research to understand the potential impacts of SRM deployment. Currently there are no UK or international laws specifically governing SRM, but numerous relevant legal frameworks and principles exist [2] [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/direct-air-capture-and-greenhouse-gas-removal-innovation-programme-selected-projects[2] https://co-create-project.eu/publication/scoping-note-on-applicable-legal-frameworks/

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Vision Impairment education services; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations proposed by the report entitled A Vision for VI education by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, published in September 2024.

​​​​For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and this includes pupils with vision impairment. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.Whilst we recognise the urgency and need to drive improvements for children and young people with SEND, we are conscious that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable education reform. We are aware that we cannot achieve this alone and want to work with organisations across the SEND sector, including the Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), as essential and valued partners to deliver our shared mission. We therefore welcome TPT’s report entitled “A Vision for VI education” and are reviewing their recommendations.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a weekly cap on domiciliary care costs.

We announced on 3 January 2025 that we are launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service. Chaired by Baroness Louise Casey and reporting to the Prime Minister, the Commission will work with people who draw on care and their families, staff, politicians, and the public, private and third sector to make clear recommendations for how to rebuild the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population. The Commission will be comprehensive and will build on the expert proposals of other reviews, including that of Sir Andrew Dilnot into care funding and support. It will be broader and wider than ever before, asking essential questions about the shape and future of the social care sector, including what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.

If she will (a) review and (b) update the definition of anti-social behaviour in the (i) Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 and (ii) Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 was repealed and replaced by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Section 2(1) of the 2014 Act defines antisocial behaviour as “a) conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person; b) conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises; c) conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person”.Section 101(2) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 defines anti-social behaviour as “behaviour by a person which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more other persons not of the same household as the person”.There are no current plans to amend these definitions.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to implement the recommendations of the Competition and Markets Authority Housebuilding Market Study on private estate management.

I refer my hon. Friend to the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Whether she is taking steps to improve the (a) quality and (b) performance of court language service providers: and whether she has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the future insourcing of those services.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a suite of high-quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them.Ministry of Justice language service contracts, which began on 31 October 2016, are subject to robust governance arrangements.These include monthly meetings with suppliers and stakeholders to review the quality of the services being provided and performance against contractual performance indicators. The contracts also provide for the Ministry of Justice to audit the suppliers to verify the accuracy of contractual payments, management information, and compliance with contractual obligations.In 2016, the Ministry of Justice also awarded a contract to an independent quality assurance provider. They review the Ministry of Justice’s register of interpreters, conduct an annual audit of supplier processes for introducing new linguists, and conduct 'spot checks' of interpreters undertaking assignments.The Ministry of Justice has regular conversations with stakeholders about the Department’s approach to language service provision. The decision to continue with outsourcing beyond the current contracts was given careful consideration, based on service requirements and value for money for the taxpayer.

What his timeline is for (a) the consultation on the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard and (b) implementation of the new standard following the consultation.

The Government will shortly consult on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will include proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We will consult on introducing minimum energy efficiency standards for the social rented sector in due course.

What steps she is taking to (a) help clarify the duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students and (b) to ensure such standards are met.

The department is determined that children and young people receive the mental health care they deserve. This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by providing young people with the mental health support they deserve. To support this, this government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.The department continues to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce recently published its second stage report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.The department’s position is that a duty of care in HE may arise in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would be a matter for the courts to decide, based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered, and will be dependent on the application by a court of accepted common law principles.My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, welcomes the opportunity to meet with members of ForThe100 regarding these issues.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to review the use in the public sector of web tags to record data.

Public sector organisations are responsible for their own websites and DSIT has no plans to review or issue guidance on the use of web tags. All public sector organisations must comply with data protection laws.

What steps his Department is taking to help upskill existing pharmacists to enable them to become independent prescribers, in the context that, from 2026, all newly qualified pharmacists will become prescribers from the point of registration.

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better using the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes embedding services such as Pharmacy First and making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.The current seven conditions covered by Pharmacy First clinical pathways were informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England will keep the clinical scope of this service under review.The community pharmacy independent prescribing Pathfinder programme is currently piloting clinical models to inform a commissioning framework that can be used to deliver national and local National Health Service clinical services with a prescribing element.NHS England is funding up to 3,000 existing pharmacists each year to become independent prescribers and upskill the existing workforce to play a greater role in multidisciplinary clinical teams. This ensures we have more independent prescribers working in the community than ever before and is expected to lead to more diverse and rewarding careers in the community providing direct care for patients.To ensure adequate supervision during training, NHS England is also providing national funding of supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners. This will ensure the NHS is ready to support and mentor the trainee pharmacists from 2025/26 alongside currently registered pharmacists learning to be independent prescribers.

If he will take steps to encourage (a) pharmacists and (b) independent prescribers to work in the community.

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better using the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes embedding services such as Pharmacy First and making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.The current seven conditions covered by Pharmacy First clinical pathways were informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England will keep the clinical scope of this service under review.The community pharmacy independent prescribing Pathfinder programme is currently piloting clinical models to inform a commissioning framework that can be used to deliver national and local National Health Service clinical services with a prescribing element.NHS England is funding up to 3,000 existing pharmacists each year to become independent prescribers and upskill the existing workforce to play a greater role in multidisciplinary clinical teams. This ensures we have more independent prescribers working in the community than ever before and is expected to lead to more diverse and rewarding careers in the community providing direct care for patients.To ensure adequate supervision during training, NHS England is also providing national funding of supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners. This will ensure the NHS is ready to support and mentor the trainee pharmacists from 2025/26 alongside currently registered pharmacists learning to be independent prescribers.

Media and Sport, if she will have discussions with representatives of (a) deaf and (b) disabled people’s organisations on long-term funding for such organisations.

On 17 October, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport publicly announced our ambition to reset the relationship between Government and civil society. We want to reset this relationship so that civil society can play a role as an equal partner alongside the Government in delivering a shared vision of national renewal.As a first step, we have committed to developing a Civil Society Covenant in collaboration with civil society that will set out the terms of a new relationship between government and civil society. Over the autumn, DCMS ran an extensive engagement exercise to gather views on what the new relationship should look like as well as the enabling factors and barriers to achieving it.We heard from hundreds of people representing the rich diversity of the civil society sector from across the country including disability and hearing loss organisations. We are now considering the responses to inform development of the final Covenant which we aim to publish in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is planning to review the role of waste incineration in the management of residual waste in England; and what his plans are for proposed incineration facilities that have not yet begun construction.

Over the last 14 years, recycling rates stalled, meaning too much waste is dealt with unnecessarily through incineration or thrown in landfill. On 30 December, Defra published the Residual waste infrastructure capacity note and an accompanying statement, in which we have set out that government will only back new waste incineration projects that meet strict new conditions. Proposals for new facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy. By publishing this analysis we are supporting decisions makers and local communities to engage directly with developers on new proposals and ow these will benefit local communities. The analysis published shows that there remain certain areas in England where significant volumes of household waste are sent to landfill. There is also a need to divert non-household wastes away from landfill. Waste incineration should not compete with greater waste prevention, preparation for re-use, or recycling; and we are committed to ensuring only necessary facilities are consented in the future. Incineration plays an important role in diverting waste from landfill and is usually the best management option for most residual waste and existing approvals for facilities that have not yet begun construction are unaffected by this announcement. However, this Government has publicly urged developers and investors to review the data published and the Government’s ambitions and what this means for proposals at all stages in the process, including those that have already secured the necessary permissions.

If she will meet with representatives of the ForThe100 to discuss the duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students.

The department is determined that children and young people receive the mental health care they deserve. This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by providing young people with the mental health support they deserve. To support this, this government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.The department continues to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce recently published its second stage report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.The department’s position is that a duty of care in HE may arise in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would be a matter for the courts to decide, based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered, and will be dependent on the application by a court of accepted common law principles.My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, welcomes the opportunity to meet with members of ForThe100 regarding these issues.

For what reason Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues are permitted for treatment of precocious puberty but not gender incongruence.

Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues, puberty suppressing hormones, have been licenced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the treatment of precocious puberty and certain types of cancer. In granting a licence for these purposes, the MHRA has made a robust assessment of safety and efficacy data for use in these specific indications.The MHRA has not licenced these medications for use in gender incongruence. There is not enough evidence about the long-term effects of using puberty suppressing hormones to treat gender incongruence to know whether they are safe or beneficial.This is why the Government is supporting NHS England to set up a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The trial aims to begin recruiting participants in spring 2025.

How (a) pharmacies and (b) GPs will be able to contribute to defining the best services to include in the planned expanded Pharmacy First scheme; and when he plans that the consultation will begin.

The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better using the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes embedding services such as Pharmacy First and making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.The current seven conditions covered by Pharmacy First clinical pathways were informed by guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and were designed with input from an expert panel of clinicians. NHS England will keep the clinical scope of this service under review.The community pharmacy independent prescribing Pathfinder programme is currently piloting clinical models to inform a commissioning framework that can be used to deliver national and local National Health Service clinical services with a prescribing element.NHS England is funding up to 3,000 existing pharmacists each year to become independent prescribers and upskill the existing workforce to play a greater role in multidisciplinary clinical teams. This ensures we have more independent prescribers working in the community than ever before and is expected to lead to more diverse and rewarding careers in the community providing direct care for patients.To ensure adequate supervision during training, NHS England is also providing national funding of supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners. This will ensure the NHS is ready to support and mentor the trainee pharmacists from 2025/26 alongside currently registered pharmacists learning to be independent prescribers.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the Equalities Act 2010 in order to more actively support (a) deaf, (b) deafblind and (c) hard of hearing women.

The Government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people. Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing women are afforded protections under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), in relation to the sex and disability protected characteristics.The Act makes it clear that businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services to the public must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those who are deaf or have hearing impairments. The Act places an anticipatory duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. The Act is clear that the failure by a service provider to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person could amount to disability discrimination.Similar strong protections apply in employment, where a reasonable adjustment applies where an employer is recruiting or already employing disabled women. Failure to make adjustments or generally treating disabled applicants or employees less favourably than others would amount to unlawful disability discrimination. Where the law is breached, disabled people may enforce their rights in court or, as the case may be, at an employment tribunal.The government also recognises that people hold multiple protected characteristics and that some experience discrimination due to a combination of these, for example sex and disability. We are committed to strengthening protections in this area, and will bring the combined discrimination (dual characteristics) provision at section 14 of the Act into force. This will help ensure adequate protection for people who experience combined discrimination.

Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that second tier professional rugby union clubs are able to continue to operate when Covid-19 loans become repayable.

Rugby Union has a vital role to play in our national identity. I recently met with the Rugby Football Union to discuss the future of the sport. My department continues to work with the RFU, representatives of Premiership clubs and Championship clubs, and the wider sport sector to support the ongoing sustainability of elite and community level rugby union.The RFU is independent of the Government and is responsible for the regulation of rugby union, and for protecting and promoting the financial sustainability of the sport at all levels.Loan financing of around £5 million was provided to Championship clubs as part of the Sport Survival Package (SSP). The loans were provided on favourable terms, tailored to meet the unique legal and financial circumstances of clubs. DCMS remains in close contact with our loan agents, Sport England, to ensure loans are repaid and borrowers comply with the terms of their loans.

What steps her Department plans to take to help (a) deaf and (b) other disabled people to find work.

Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes increasing access to Occupational Health, Support with Employee Health and Disability service a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme. Appropriate work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals, including those who are deaf, to stay in work and get back into work, including those initiatives that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking (a) legislative and (b) regulatory steps to help improve lithium-ion battery safety; including in the planning application process for new battery energy storage systems.

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive within a robust framework which requires battery designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety through all stages of the system’s deployment. Government has updated planning practice guidance to encourage BESS developers to engage with local fire services and for local planning authorities to refer to guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council. Government has considered the merits of taking further steps, and in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan committed that Defra will consult by June 2025 on including BESS within the Environmental Permitting Regulations.