Written questions by McMahon.

What information his Department holds on the assessed domestic (a) brick (b) roof tile (c) steel (d) aggregate (e) plasterboard (f) construction grade timber production capacity for each year from 2015 to date.

The Department does not hold data on assessed domestic production capacity for bricks, roof tiles, steel, aggregates, plasterboard or construction-grade timber. Information on building materials is published in our official statistics - Building material and components: monthly statistics – GOV.UK, UK Manufacturers’ sale by product – Office for National Statistics, World Steel in Figures and 2025 - 2: UK-Grown Timber - Forest Research.

Media and Sport, what support has government provided to grass roots rugby in encouraging the participation of young people.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including rugby, providing more opportunities for young people to be active. Sport England provides long term investment to the Rugby Football Union (£13.9 million from 2022-27) and Rugby Football League (£11.9 million from 2022-25), the National Governing Bodies for rugby to support grassroots participation. Since last summer, the Government has also provided £6.7 million into the Women’s Rugby World Cup Legacy Programme Impact 25 which has benefited 850 clubs across the country. These clubs have received investment which goes towards supporting girls of all ages to get involved in rugby.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the compliance of private parking companies using contract breach terms to apply a penalty when there is no option for the driver to decline to enter into the contact, for instance where signage setting out contract terms is only placed within an area where charges are automatically applied on entry.

Private parking operators are regulated through their membership of the two main trade associations. These are the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC). The BPA and IPC have launched a single industry Code of Practice which their members must follow. The industry Code of Practice requires private parking operators to provide a consideration period to allow a motorist the time to read the terms and conditions and decide whether to accept or reject them before a parking charge can be issued. The industry consideration periods vary from 1 minute to 10 minutes depending on the size of car park. The trade associations currently monitor compliance with its Code of Practice. The Government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector. The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities. My department recently ran a consultation outlining its proposals to raise standards across the private parking sector (available from gov.uk here). The consultation included proposals for a minimum consideration period of 5 minutes to be included in the new Government Code of Practice. All responses are now being analysed and the Government will publish a response, together with the new code, in due course. Our consultation proposed that compliance with the Government Code of Practice would be monitored by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service accredited Conformity Assessment Bodies, who would report compliance figures to the Government.

What assessment has been made of recent trends in levels of illegal agriculture red diesel use.

Rebated fuels must be supplied by Registered Dealers in Controlled Oil who are approved by HMRC to ensure that fuel is only obtained by those entitled to use it.Rebated fuels can only be used in eligible vehicles and machines when they are being used for a qualifying purpose, which includes agricultural activities.

What assessment has been made of the pull and push factors driving taxi license holders from obtaining licenses out of their area of residence and operation, such as to Wolverhampton Council.

Ministers and officials regularly engage with the taxi and private hire vehicle sector. Differing licensing requirements, processing times and costs are often cited as reasons why licences are sought from authorities other than that in which the applicants intend to work. Though there is a high degree of consistency in requirements relating to safety, for example all licensing authorities in England require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service and barred lists check for drivers, the Government is taking action to ensure even greater consistency in licensing. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill seeks to introduce powers to set national minimum standards for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing. If passed, national minimum standards would enable government to set robust standards for licensing across England, to keep vulnerable children and, indeed, all members of the public safe, wherever they live or travel. It would also help reduce the variability of licensing standards across the country, which is a significant factor in inducing out-of-area working.

Communities and Local Government, whether the government intends to review planning laws to increase support for farming business diversification in rural areas.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 95296 on 4 December 2025.

How many active Neighbourhood Watch schemes were in place for each year from 2015 to date in England.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of active Neighbourhood Watch schemes in England for each year from 2015 to date.Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) is a long-established, volunteer-led movement that supports safer, stronger and more connected communities across England and Wales.Schemes are locally run and independent, led by volunteers who decide how best to tackle issues affecting their neighbourhoods. There is no requirement for schemes to register with government, and they operate autonomously.The Home Office values the important contribution made by volunteers involved in Neighbourhood Watch in helping to reduce crime, improve community resilience, and strengthen public confidence.

Media and Sport, what estimate has been made of the number of (1) grass and (2) artificial football pitches in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Oldham for each year since 2015.

According to Sport England’s Active Places database, as of December 2025 there are 59,794 grass football pitches and 6,634 artificial grass pitches in England. In Greater Manchester, there are 1,796 grass football pitches and 380 artificial grass pitches. In Oldham, there are 113 grass football pitches and 30 artificial grass pitches. The Government is investing £98m in grassroots facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26, funding projects such as new artificial grass pitches, grass pitch improvements and pitch maintenance equipment.

What criminality data informs efforts to clamp down on the establishment of (a) vape shops (b) barber shops in England.

Addressing cash-based money laundering is one of the strategic priorities of the National Economic Crime Centre, which sits within the National Crime Agency. In March 2025, the NECC led a three-week intensification campaign (Operation MACHINIZE) against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses which saw 380 premises visited, 84 warrants, 35 arrests, and the seizure of illicit goods.This was followed by a second phase of activity (Operation MACHINIZE 2) throughout October which involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House. The operation saw: 2734 premises visited and raided, 924 individuals arrested, over £10.7m of suspected criminal proceeds seized and over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed.The Home Office is working closely with partners to use the learning from this operation to build on and develop long-term solutions.

What estimate has been made of the number of recorded incidents of (a) verbal abuse (b) physical assault (c) sexual assault and (d) harassment against staff in (i) GP practices (ii) pharmacies (iii) dentists in England.

The Department does not hold data on the number of recorded incidents in these settings, which are each independent contractors to the National Health Service.We know how challenging disgraceful incidences of abuse and violence can be for staff. The Government is clear that there is never a justification for this unacceptable behaviour towards healthcare staff, who have the right to work free from fear of abuse or assault.There is a range of NHS commissioned services available to support the mental health and wellbeing of staff across settings.Incidents of criminal behaviour should be reported to the police. In May 2025, the Crown Prosecution Service updated guidance to prosecutors which will bring swifter justice against those that assault our frontline workers.

What estimate has been made of the number of reports of child (a) sexual (b) criminal exploitation safeguarding failings at (1) private (2) local authority children’s homes in England since 2015.

All registered children’s homes, whether privately run or local authority-operated, must notify Ofsted, the regulator for children’s social care, about certain serious incidents that happen to children in their care living with them and what they have done in response. The published data, available from April 2023, includes a category of ‘sexual exploitation’, which shows:01 Apr 2024 – 31 Mar 2025: 42,500 notifications of which 560 (1.3%) related to sexual exploitation.01 Apr 2023 – 31 Mar 2024: 34,481 notifications of which 535 (1.5%) related to sexual exploitation.This data does not distinguish between private or local authority run homes and does not specify data on criminal exploitation.Ofsted review the notifications received to ensure homes have acted to protect the child from immediate harm, and the information contained in the notifications informs their risk assessment and inspection scheduling.

What assessment has been made of the financial viability of community pharmacies in England.

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. This work was published on the Frontier Economics website on 28 March 2025.The findings of this analysis were considered as part of the consultation with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) on the changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in 2025/26. Following this most recent consultation, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework was increased to £3.1 billion for 2025/26. This represented the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS at the time, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26.As is custom and practice, the Department will consult CPE on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors in due course. Indicators of financial viability are regularly reviewed by the Department ahead of any such consultation, in addition to the representations of CPE.

On how many days were disabled accessible lifts at train stations recorded as being out of use for each year from 2015 to date.

This information is not held by the Department. The Office of Rail and Road publish biannual statistics containing data on passenger lifts at Network Rail owned stations in Great Britain on its data portal at the following link: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk. This includes information on the number of lifts, lift reliability and lift entrapments.

Whether National Highways has included improvement works at Costco, Broadway, Oldham in its capital programme.

National Highways is considering the case for improvements to Junction 21 of the M60 as part of its proposed new National Programme of small scale enhancements to the strategic road network, for possible delivery in the third Road Investment Strategy period, covering 2026-2031.

What was the tax income from (a) domestic (b) commercial energy customer bills for each year from 2015 to date.

VAT is chargeable at the reduced rate of 5% on domestic fuel and power. HMRC publishes estimates of the Exchequer cost of tax reliefs, see https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. The estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs (December 2024) VAT table shows that the cost estimate for the Reduced Rate of VAT on supplies of domestic fuel and power in 2024-25 was £6,500 million. This represents the cost of the 5% Reduced Rate compared to the Standard Rate of 20%, a relief of 15%. The revenue received at the Reduced Rate may be estimated at 5/15ths of the figure of £6,500 million, or £2,200m (rounded). Figures for previous years are shown in the table. Business consumers of energy may reclaim VAT on their purchases of energy subject to normal VAT deduction rules. Climate Change Levy (CCL) is chargeable on the supply of electricity, gas and solid fuels for lighting, heating and power by business operating in the industrial, commercial, agricultural and public services sectors, with certain exclusions. Statistics on CCL receipts from 2014 are published here: Environmental Taxes Bulletin - GOV.UK This Budget reduces the cost of levies on energy bills to save families £150 on average next year. Combined with the measures on freezing rail fares and freezing fuel duty these policies are forecast to directly cut inflation by over 0.4 percentage points next year, pushing down on mortgage rates and up on growth.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of car weight trends on wear and tear on highways.

The Secretary of State has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of car weight trends on wear and tear on highways. Commercial vehicles (typically those greater than 7.5 tonnes) are the dominant factor in determining road design and contributing to road wear rather than cars.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of new fee paying and charity run religious schools on community cohesion and social mixing among young people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Faith schools have played a longstanding role in, and remain an important element of, our education system. However, we are not expecting an increase in the number of new faith schools. In the current context of falling rolls, we expect there to be less demand for new school places and fewer new schools overall.Departmental guidance on establishing new state funded schools sets out expectations on considering the impact of new schools on community cohesion. Where proposals for new independent schools are submitted, approvals are needed from the department and Ofsted All schools have a vital role in promoting cohesion and are required to actively promote fundamental British values, which include mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs, essential for building a strong, cohesive society.

Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of visitors to live events she expects to benefit from the cap on ticket resales at face value.

The measures we have announced relating to ticket resales will protect consumers and improve fans’ access to live events, while ensuring that people have a safe and secure means to resell tickets. They will also ensure that revenue flows back into the live events sector, supporting our world-leading Creative Industries as set out in our Industrial Strategy. The impact on those attending live events will be set out in an impact assessment to be published alongside the legislation to introduce these measures. We will legislate when parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Education to encourage schools in urban areas to visit farms and learn about farming, food and the environment.

There are clear benefits of schools in urban areas arranging farm visits for their students to learn about farming, food and the environment. With our educational access actions, farmers and land managers can be funded to host educational visits to their farms and woodland at a rate of £363 per visit, subject to a maximum number of 25 paid visits per year. Officials will continue to engage with Department for Education, including on how we can support schools and farms to promote this. Between 2022 and 2024, the Rural Payments Agency paid for 11,404 instances of educational visits across 1,754 agreements under Countryside Stewardship.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the level of unlicensed dumping of commercial waste in England for each year from 2015 to date; and what steps she is taking to help tackle it.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents, including commercial waste, to Defra, which the department has published annually since 2012.  Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is still being collected. The Government has announced plans to move the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. Reform will mean those transporting or making decisions about waste will have to demonstrate they are competent to make those decisions to obtain a permit, rather than simply just registering, ensuring waste is managed by authorised persons only and in a safe manner. The environmental permitting regime gives the Environment Agency more powers and resources to ensure compliance and hold operators to account. Mandatory Digital Waste Tracking will help to reduce waste crime, including fly-tipping, and this service will be in place from April 2026. Defra is also conducting a review of local authority powers to seize vehicles involved in fly-tipping, to identify how we can support them to make better use of this tool.