Written questions by Anderson.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with benefit eligibility rules by foreign nationals.

The Department applies strict compliance and benefit eligibility checks to all claimants regardless of their nationality. In addition to verifying a claimant’s identity, DWP checks that claimants are habitually resident here before they can receive public funds benefits including Universal Credit. DWP also applies strict past presence requirements to ensure that claimants of disability and carer benefits have a substantial and recent connection to this country before they can claim. In addition, DWP always checks a person’s immigration status before paying them benefits if they are a foreign national. We verify this information with the Home Office, including through automatic system-to-system checks. This Government takes all cases of fraud seriously and has introduced the biggest package of measures in recent history to reduce welfare fraud, error and debt, which includes new legislation, the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. This contains new powers to modernise our defences and is currently progressing through Parliament.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mixed-mode integrated public transport ticketing across the UK.

The government recognises the value of greater integration between public transport modes, including in relation to ticketing, and will continue to work with local transport authorities, operators and passengers to improve the fares and ticketing offer for passengers across England. Programmes currently under development in England recognise the aspiration for smart, multi-modal ticketing. This includes the Department for Transport working with representatives from the bus industry, Transport for West Midlands and Midlands Connect to develop a national technology solution to facilitate multi-operator ticketing on buses and trams, focusing on contactless bank card payments and enabling fares capping outside of London. In addition, the Fares, Ticketing, and Retail Programme is delivering two new Pay As You Go schemes for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, and expanding an existing one in the South East. Transport is a devolved matter, and the UK government has policy responsibility for public transport ticketing in England only.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of days completed remotely by staff. The Ministry of Justice has over 90,000 staff with the majority having operational roles delivering vital frontline services, including in our prisons, courts and probation services.

If he will make provision for the early diagnosis of blood cancers in the National Cancer Plan.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

How many cases of tuberculosis have been recorded in each of the last 10 years.

The number of people notified with tuberculosis in England over the last 10 years is published as part of the UK Health Security Agency’s tuberculosis annual report. The latest annual report, released in December 2024, includes data up to the end of 2023. The full report and data tables are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-in-england-2024-reportThe following table shows tuberculosis notifications for the previous 10 years:YearTotal number of notifications20146,47320155,73420165,62120175,06620184,61020194,70420204,12420214,40720224,37520234,85520245,480Note: data for 2024 is provisional and was included in the quarterly report for quarter four of 2024, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tuberculosis-in-england-national-quarterly-reports/national-quarterly-report-of-tuberculosis-in-england-quarter-4-2024-provisional-data

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Universal Credit expenditure on the sustainability of the overall welfare budget.

This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, reduces poverty by supporting people at times of higher cost and dependency, and promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations. The Government’s welfare cap rule also helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the welfare system. A new welfare cap covering the current parliament was introduced at Autumn Budget 2024. The financial sustainability of the benefit system is considered in the round as part of the forecasts for annually managed expenditure which are produced twice yearly as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast process. At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of light pollution from large industrial units.

The Government does recognise that good use of artificial light can contribute to preventing accidents; reducing crime and creating safer spaces and promoting the night time economy, benefiting us all in various ways. The Government has put in place a range of measures to ensure that light pollution is effectively managed through controls in the planning system; the Permitted Development Regime and the Statutory Nuisance Regime. The Environmental Protection Act requires local authorities to take reasonably practicable steps to investigate complaints of artificial light emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to human health or a nuisance and they have powers to take action where there is a problem.

What recent assessment she has made of the long term financial sustainability of the number of people on Universal Credit.

This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, reduces poverty by supporting people at times of higher cost and dependency, and promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations. The Government’s welfare cap rule also helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the welfare system. A new welfare cap covering the current parliament was introduced at Autumn Budget 2024. The financial sustainability of the benefit system is considered in the round as part of the forecasts for annually managed expenditure which are produced twice yearly as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast process. At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.

With reference to the Office for National Statistics’ dataset entitled Business demography quarterly, UK Quarter 2 April to June 2025 edition, if she will consider the effectiveness of the Family Farm Tax policy.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

On 24 October 2024 the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. Due to space constraints the department has set the requirement of 40% for delegated grades.The department does not hold comprehensive data on the number of workdays that were completed remotely. See Civil Service Headquarters occupancy data for published information covering departmental headquarters building occupancy.The department introduced a process to record office attendance information from 4 August 2025. This data is not yet available.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

The Department for Transport does not record this data centrally. In the core department, a management tool is used to record the number of days a member of staff attends an official workplace. This figure excludes business travel, site visits and absences (e.g. special leave, flexible leave and TOIL), and it is not possible to state exactly how many of the days not spent in the workplace were due to remote working. In the calendar year of 2024, 321,561 working days were recorded in DfT workplaces. From 1st January 2025 to 31st July 2025, 168,066 working days were recorded in DfT workplaces. This data is for the core department, excluding the executive agencies.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

Hybrid working is an informal, discretionary, non-contractual arrangement that enables employees to work partly in the workplace and partly at home. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working hours in the office. Office attendance requirements are managed locally to ensure the minimum requirement is met, and no central data is held on this.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of borrowing to fund international climate finance on the debt to GDP ratio.

The UK’s current international climate finance commitment of £11.6bn from Financial Year 2021/22 to Financial Year 2025/26 (ICF3) is funded from the government’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget. The ODA budget is accounted for as part of the UK's overall fiscal plans which is moving to a position where day-to-day spending is met with tax revenues, so that the government is only borrowing for investment.

What was his Departments total spend on international climate finance in each of the last 3 years.

DESNZ ICF supports global clean energy deployment, protects the world’s forests and leverages private investment at scale to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s total spend on International Climate Finance (ICF) over the last 3 years is: DESNZ ICF spendFinancial Year£394.9m2024/25£311.1m2023/24£350.2m2022/23

If she will make an estimate of the projected interest costs to the taxpayer of the £11.6 billion in overseas climate aid.

The UK has committed to deliver £11.6bn of International Climate Finance (ICF3) to support developing countries’ climate mitigation and adaptation action from Financial Year 2021/22 to Financial Year 2025/26. The Office for Budget Responsibility produces forecasts for interest costs in the round as part of its independent official forecast.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

On 24 October 2024, the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time.Office occupancy data is published on a quarterly basis. The data is published here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data

Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to support regional tourism boards.

Since 2022, DCMS has delivered significant reform of destination management devolving accountability to a regional and local level to promote regional growth. We now have a network of 40 tourism boards or Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) across England - including the Nottinghamshire LVEP, which received accreditation last year - and two Regional Destination pilots in the North East and West Midlands. In March, we announced a £1.35 million funding boost to help the Destination pilots attract even more tourists and investment to the UK over this financial year.

What recent discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on removing the current eligibility criteria for foreign nationals to claim Universal Credit.

The Department is playing an active role in work across Government connected to the Home Office’s recent White Paper ‘Restoring Control Over the Immigration System’. This includes membership in the Labour Market Advisory Group alongside the Migration Advisory Committee, Industrial Strategy Advisory Council and Skills England and devolved equivalents. The White Paper sets out ambitious changes including plans to increase the standard qualifying period for settlement and access to public funds benefits from five to ten years.

What assessment she has made of the long term financial sustainability of the (a) eligibility criteria for foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit and (b) the number of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.

The Department takes into account migration trends and benefit entitlement conditions when producing twice-yearly benefit expenditure and caseload forecasts as part of the fiscal event process, but these forecasts do not break down expenditure by nationality. These were last updated in 23 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables

What steps her Department is taking to increase arrests relating to mobile phone theft.

Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will place thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles to provide a more visible and effective service to the public, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues, including the theft of mobile phones and other personal items.On 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves. The Summit resulted in clear commitments from attendees to work in partnership, including to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the problem, better understand the role of organised crime networks and identify the most effective means of tackling these crimes.In addition, the Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property that has been electronically geo-location tracked to those premises, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. This will significantly enhance the ability of the police to act swiftly and effectively.