Written questions by Anderson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made about the potential merits of using in-ovo sexing technology as an alternative to male chick culling in the egg industry.

As stated in the recently published Animal Welfare Strategy1 we will encourage industry to end the practice of culling male laying hen chicks. In recent years there has been rapid global progress in a range of technologies that could help end the routine culling of male chicks by identifying or determining the sex of chick embryos before hatching as set out in the Animal Welfare Committee’s ‘Opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industries’.

What recent assessment she has made about the level of threat from far-left extremism.

The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.As outlined in the publication of the most recent iteration of CONTEST, in July 2023, Left Wing, Anarchist and Single-Issue Terrorism (LASIT) currently represents a significantly smaller terrorist threat to the UK than Islamist terrorism or Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism (ERWT).

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of judicial penalties for domestic abuse.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors. The courts also have a statutory duty to follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. Although domestic abuse is not a standalone offence, it is a context within which a wide range of criminal offences may be committed, which courts will take into account. We recognise the importance of consistently identifying domestic abuse offenders at every stage of the system. That is why we are moving at pace to implement a domestic abuse identifier at sentencing in criminal cases, delivering on a recommendation made in the Independent Sentencing Review.This domestic abuse identifier will enable police, prisons and probation to more consistently identify domestic abuse offenders. This will mean improved support for victims, whether the domestic abuse perpetrator is in the community or in prison.

What assessment she has made about the adequacy of teaching in schools on (a) financial responsibility and (b) budgeting.

The government is committed to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching, following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025. The department will be engaging with sector experts and young people in how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum Programmes of Study in 2026, to seek views on the content before they are finalised. Oak National Academy, an independent Arm’s Length Body, is providing high quality curriculum materials to support financial literacy.

What steps her Department is taking to improve lessons about (a) financial responsibility and (b) budgeting in schools.

The government is committed to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching, following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025. The department will be engaging with sector experts and young people in how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum Programmes of Study in 2026, to seek views on the content before they are finalised. Oak National Academy, an independent Arm’s Length Body, is providing high quality curriculum materials to support financial literacy.

What assessment they have made about the potential impact of power outages on public transport networks using electric vehicles.

The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review. The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.

How well prepared the UK transport sector is to combat espionage activity.

The Government takes its commitment to national security extremely seriously, including for the transport sector. The National Security Act 2023 overhauled previous espionage laws and created a suite of measures designed to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats. The Department will continue to work with partners across government and industry to ensure the transport sector is an even harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, making full use of the levers available to combat espionage and other state threat activity.

How well prepared the UK energy sector is to combat espionage activity.

National Security is a key priority for the government. The Department takes the threat of espionage against the energy sector extremely seriously and works closely with industry, regulators and Government partners to ensure a strong and coordinated approach. This includes maintaining robust cyber, physical and personnel security measures to identify, prevent and respond to hostile activity. Operators should regularly assess risks and test their preparedness, and the Government continues to work to strengthen resilience across the sector so that the UK energy sector maintains a high level of preparedness to counter espionage risks.

What steps his Department is taking to bring high skilled jobs to former coalfield areas.

The Government is committed to revitalising former coalfield areas by driving local growth and creating high-skilled, long-term employment through targeted industrial and regional strategies. In the Industrial Strategy we announced £1.2 billion of additional investment in skills per year by 2028-29.On 23 June 2025, the Government published the Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan, which consolidates previous Freeport and Investment Zone programmes. Several Investment Zones are located in or near former coalfield heartlands, including the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, and the North East. These zones receive up to £160 million over 10 years for tax incentives and interventions in skills and infrastructure.The Government continues to work with the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which supported over 7,200 people in 2024/25 to improve their skills and job opportunities. In Wales, the Welsh Government provides specific capital grants to safeguard and improve community facilities in coalfield communities.

What assessment she has made about the potential impact of power outages on the ability of people the travel, in the context of the transition to electric cars.

The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review. The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.

What steps his Department is taking to support independent pubs in urban areas.

The Government recognises the significant role hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth, employment and community cohesion across the UK. That is why we are offering targeted support for the sector.We've permanently lowered tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000, worth nearly £900 million annually, benefitting over 750,000 properties. The new relief rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap so all qualifying properties will benefit. The government has also introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation.The Chancellor announced a new National Licensing Policy Framework as part of her budget. This sets out a vision for a proportionate licensing system that supports good businesses while continuing to tackle bad operators.

What recent assessment his Department has made about the potential risk of (a) domestic and (b) international espionage activity impacting transport infrastructure.

The Department for Transport takes national security extremely seriously. We work with partners across government, internationally, and with industry to understand, mitigate and respond to the full range of threats to the transport sector, including espionage. We will not hesitate to take action if necessary, with policy options continuously kept under review.

What contingency measures the Government has in place for instances of major power outages impacting people’s ability to travel by (a) personal private car transport and (b) public transport.

The Department for Transport considers the risks and potential impacts from power outages through ongoing robust resilience assessment and planning processes. The challenges presented by a range of different vehicle types and modes of transport, including electric vehicles, are considered as part of this. Our assessments are kept under continual review. The Department works with the transport sector, local authorities, and other government departments to put in place measures to plan and prepare for acute power outage risks. Many transport providers work in conjunction with Local Resilience Fora as set out in the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004. This includes contingency planning to deal with local and regional emergencies, including power outages.

What steps he is taking to support the construction industry.

We work in partnership with the Construction Leadership Council, which I co-chair.The Planning and Infrastructure Act will speed up and streamline delivery of new homes and infrastructure, we are investing £39 billion over ten years through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and our New Homes Accelerator is accelerating delivery of housing sites – speeding up building of almost 100,000 homes across England.Our 10-year Industrial Strategy recognises construction as a priority, backing faster planning and offsite manufacturing, and we are providing £625 million to tackle construction skills shortages by training up to 60,000 more workers.

What recent assessment his Department has made on the potential risk of (a) domestic and (b) international espionage activity impacting energy infrastructure.

The Government keeps the threat of both domestic and international espionage to UK energy infrastructure under regular review. This includes assessments of the threat picture undertaken with industry, security agencies and international counterparts, drawing on intelligence reporting and incident trends. Collaboration with allies is critical to our collective security and resilience. DESNZ engages closely with international partners and multilateral institutions, including NATO, to monitor potential espionage activity targeting energy infrastructure in the UK and abroad, share situational awareness, and identify trends that may have implications for national security. The Department continues to monitor threats closely and works with industry to ensure the security of UK energy infrastructure against espionage activity from both domestic and international actors.

How much money is allocated to providing illegal migrants with (a) dental and (b) health care.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of people seeking asylum is a matter for the Home Office.

How many illegal migrants received (a) dental and (b) healthcare in the each of the last three years.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of people seeking asylum is a matter for the Home Office.

What recent estimate his Department has made of levels of medicine wastage in the NHS.

The Government recognises the importance of a coordinated approach to reduce medicine wastage, improve efficiencies, and lower costs for taxpayers. NHS England leads a medicine optimisation programme to enhance patient outcomes, ensure medication is taken as intended, avoid unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. For example, community pharmacies offer the New Medicines Service for newly prescribed patients and the Discharge Medicines Service for those recently discharged from hospital to support adherence. The 2021 national overprescribing review highlighted necessary practical and cultural changes to ensure appropriate patient treatment and value for money. General practices offer Structured Medicine Reviews, with pharmacists in multi-disciplinary teams optimising patient medication and preventing wastage. Additionally, electronic Repeat Dispensing allows prescribers to send repeat prescriptions as a batch to allow better management, ensuring patients only collect what they need. Waste reduction schemes are commissioned locally, and therefore the Department does not hold data centrally on the cost of medicines waste.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce medicine wastage in the NHS.

The Government recognises the importance of a coordinated approach to reduce medicine wastage, improve efficiencies, and lower costs for taxpayers. NHS England leads a medicine optimisation programme to enhance patient outcomes, ensure medication is taken as intended, avoid unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. For example, community pharmacies offer the New Medicines Service for newly prescribed patients and the Discharge Medicines Service for those recently discharged from hospital to support adherence. The 2021 national overprescribing review highlighted necessary practical and cultural changes to ensure appropriate patient treatment and value for money. General practices offer Structured Medicine Reviews, with pharmacists in multi-disciplinary teams optimising patient medication and preventing wastage. Additionally, electronic Repeat Dispensing allows prescribers to send repeat prescriptions as a batch to allow better management, ensuring patients only collect what they need. Waste reduction schemes are commissioned locally, and therefore the Department does not hold data centrally on the cost of medicines waste.

What data his Department holds on the cost to the NHS of wasted medicines.

The Government recognises the importance of a coordinated approach to reduce medicine wastage, improve efficiencies, and lower costs for taxpayers. NHS England leads a medicine optimisation programme to enhance patient outcomes, ensure medication is taken as intended, avoid unnecessary medicines, and reduce wastage. For example, community pharmacies offer the New Medicines Service for newly prescribed patients and the Discharge Medicines Service for those recently discharged from hospital to support adherence. The 2021 national overprescribing review highlighted necessary practical and cultural changes to ensure appropriate patient treatment and value for money. General practices offer Structured Medicine Reviews, with pharmacists in multi-disciplinary teams optimising patient medication and preventing wastage. Additionally, electronic Repeat Dispensing allows prescribers to send repeat prescriptions as a batch to allow better management, ensuring patients only collect what they need. Waste reduction schemes are commissioned locally, and therefore the Department does not hold data centrally on the cost of medicines waste.