Written questions by Dillon.

What steps she is taking to support schools and colleges in the transition to V Levels.

We are currently consulting on post-16 pathways, including the introduction of V Levels. The consultation closes on 12 January 2026.Schools and colleges can expect to be supported with the transition to V Levels through access to a comprehensive package of guidance and resources. Dedicated online information will provide timely updates and practical materials to help prepare for delivery. Clear guidance will set out the structure and requirements of the new qualifications, supporting staff understanding and effective implementation. Exemplar pathway documents will assist providers in planning learner routes, while study programme guidance will explain how V Levels can be used to develop meaningful programmes of study.In addition, we expect awarding organisations to supply specifications, sample assessments and training materials to support accurate delivery and assessment. Together, these measures will provide schools and colleges with the clarity and confidence needed for the successful implementation of V Levels.

What steps his Department is taking to support (a) growth and (b) employment in the hydrogen sector.

The sector is nascent but is expected to grow significantly; the global hydrogen market could exceed $1 trillion by 2050, with the UK well positioned to capture a substantial share.We intend to publish a revised Hydrogen Strategy which will include the latest hydrogen jobs estimates and set out plans to optimise the job creation and economic benefits delivered by the UK hydrogen economy.We will continue to engage with stakeholders across the hydrogen value chain; working together with industry and unions to identify actions that support the skills and workforce needs of the UK’s low carbon hydrogen economy.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 80732 on Local Government management, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's proposals to require councils to adopt a cabinet model of governance on councils that do not currently have a cabinet model of governance.

The Government believes that the leader and cabinet governance model provides clearer and more easily understood decision-making structures, and would expect it to have a positive impact where it is adopted by a council. The Government remains keen to work closely with all councils required to adopt the leader and cabinet model to ensure a smooth and effective transition.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting a phase-out date for fossil fuel heating systems.

We remain committed to delivering net zero and are clear this will require us to decarbonise virtually all heat in buildings. The previous Government planned to end the installation of new and replacement oil, LPG and coal heating systems in homes in England from 2035. This government has been clear on several occasions that we will not force anyone to rip out a working boiler, instead we will make use of all available data to inform future decisions on heat decarbonisation. We will soon publish our Warm Homes Plan which represents the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades. This will include support for clean heating technologies like heat pumps and heat networks.

What plans he has to support low-income households with decarbonisation of homes in the context of the end of the Energy Company Obligation scheme by March 2026.

The Government has committed to additional grant funding of £1.5bn which will be directed towards upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. Details of this will be included within the Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan. The Government is also developing a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that more households can afford to heat their home at a reasonable cost, slash fuel poverty and improve their quality of life. This will include funding energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating for social housing residents, lower income households, and renters, via the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant schemes.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the list of energy-saving materials eligible for VAT relief beyond heat pumps, including heat batteries.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. The list of qualifying ESMs, which includes but is not limited to heat pumps, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-energy-saving-materials-and-heating-equipment-notice-7086.The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following tests: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; relieving the technology of VAT must be a cost effective lever for encouraging installations; and it must be practical for business to operate and for HMRC to administer.

Whether her Department carried out an impact assessment on the introduction of an affirmative statutory instrument to amend the Public Order Act 2023.

On Thursday 27 November 2025, the Home Office laid an affirmative Statutory Instrument in Parliament to amend Section 7 and Section 8 of the Public Order Act (POA) (2023). This will amend the list of key national infrastructure within Section 7 of the POA, to add the life sciences sector and define the life sciences sector in Section 8 of the POA.A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument. However, the Economic Note makes frequent use of the original Impact Assessment produced for the Public Order Bill in 2022. The Economic Note also contains a specific impact test for statutory Equalities Duties in which it assesses there to be no expected impacts on any protected characteristics as an outcome of these regulations.An Explanatory Memorandum and an Economic Note are available alongside this instrument at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348277029/resourcesThe Impact Assessment conducted for the Public Order Bill in 2022 is available here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0008/Impact%20Assessment%20-%20Public%20Order%20Bill%20-%2017May22.PDF

What steps his Department is taking to (a) improve capacity within the social care system and (b) reduce delayed discharges.

The Department is working closely with NHS England and local authorities to improve social care capacity and reduce delayed discharges.The Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund (MSIF) provided over £1 billion to local authorities for adult social care over 2025/26, based on their areas’ needs, to target increasing fee rates paid to adult social care providers, increasing adult social care workforce recruitment and retention, and reducing waiting times for care.We are also supporting the digitisation of adult social care, which can strengthen capacity within the social care system through productivity improvements. 80% of registered care providers now have digitised care records, benefitting 89% of people who draw on care. Digital care records can save time spent on administrative tasks, releasing over 20 minutes per care worker, per shift.The Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 identifies reducing delays in hospital discharge as a key priority. Hospitals are expected to eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, to work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days, and to profile discharges by pathway to support local planning. In addition, the 2025/26 policy framework for the £9 billion Better Care Fund requires the National Health Service and local authorities to jointly agree local goals for reducing discharge delays.Starting in the financial year 2026/27, we will reform the Better Care Fund. This reform will provide a sharper focus on ensuring consistent joint NHS and local authority funding for those services that are essential for integrated health and social care, such as hospital discharge, intermediate care, rehabilitation and reablement. We will set out further details in due course.

Whether the electricity price assumptions in SAP and RdSAP will be updated to reflect the announced reduction in electricity bills.

Electricity price assumptions in the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) and Reduced Data SAP (RdSAP) are set when each methodology is published and are not updated between versions. This ensures consistency for Energy Performance Certificates and related regulations. Updating assumptions mid-cycle would require a full methodology review and could alter EPC ratings, affecting compliance and fuel poverty metrics. The Department is maintaining stability ahead of planned 2026 reforms, when the Home Energy Model will replace SAP and EPC metrics will be reviewed. In the meantime, the “estimated yearly energy costs” shown on Energy Performance Certificates are periodically updated using the latest fuel price data, ensuring that indicative running cost information remains as current as possible for households.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recreational shooting on the economies of rural areas.

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are important to our economy, contributing over £259 billion a year to England alone. Defra has not made a formal assessment on contribution of recreational shooting to the rural economy; however, we know the rural economy is diverse with 86% of rural businesses unrelated to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

Whether the Council of Nations and Regions’ programme of work will consider fiscal devolution.

The United Kingdom Government regularly considers how fiscal devolution arrangements are working in practice, taking into account the views of a range of stakeholders.

If she will take steps to review the effectiveness of her Department's policies on reducing road accidents.

On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. This target will focus the efforts of road safety partners across Britain, with measures to improve road design, protect vulnerable road users, and review motoring offences. All of this will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed shotgun licensing reforms on rural employment.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation once it is completed, including from those who live and work in rural communities, before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. We will also provide an assessment of the impact of any changes that we bring forward after the consultation, including to the business community in rural areas.

Whether it is her policy to introduce longer-term fiscal devolution.

The United Kingdom Government regularly considers how fiscal devolution arrangements are working in practice, taking into account the views of a range of stakeholders.

Whether he is taking steps to ensure that cancer patients in Newbury are treated within 62 days.

We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million appointments across elective, diagnostic, and cancer care, having now delivered over five million more appointments as the first step to ensuring earlier and faster access to treatment.Between November 2024 to October 2025, approximately 110,000 more patients were diagnosed or had cancer ruled out within 28 days compared to the previous 12 months. This supports the achievement of the 62-day treatment standard, as faster diagnosis means that patients can begin treatment sooner.The latest available data shows that the 62-day treatment standard for the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board has improved by 3.5% between October 2024 and October 2025.However, we recognise that there is more to do, including for patients in Newbury.To ensure that the most advanced treatment is available to the patients who need it, and so that patients can be treated sooner, the Government has also invested £70 million of central funding to replace outdated radiotherapy machines, including one at the Royal Berkshire Hospital.

What steps he is taking to improve access to routine tissue freezing for brain cancer patients in Newbury.

Information on the number of National Health Service trusts in England that have facilities for fresh freezing brain cancer tissue samples is not currently collected and no recent assessment has been made on the adequacy, extent, or capacity of procedures for freezing brain cancer and general cancer tissue samples across NHS trusts in England.Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues. Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh, or snap-freezing, of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.In addition, the Department invests over £1.6 billion each year in research through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s investments for capital equipment, technology, and modular buildings support NHS trusts across England to deliver high-quality research to improve the health of the population. This investment includes cutting edge research equipment and fixed assets such as ultra-low and cryogenic freezers, to strengthen research capacity and improve access to samples for research.

What discussions he has had with small businesses on the apprenticeship system.

This Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners in England and support the industrial strategy. We recognise the importance of ensuring that small and medium sized (SME) employers can benefit from these reforms and continue to access apprenticeships. The department engages regularly with employers and their representative organisations, including small businesses, to inform the ongoing development of the growth and skills levy. This includes regular sessions to explore how to simplify systems and processes as well as engagement with employers following the Budget on delivery of the next phase of the growth and skills levy. Skills England also works closely with employers, training providers, unions and other key partners to identify priority skills gaps, helping ensure that the growth and skills levy delivers value for money, meets the needs of business and helps kick-start economic growth. To ensure its work is shaped by real business experience, Skills England maintains regular dialogue with the B5 group of major employer organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses. It also has a dedicated SME sponsor on its board and an executive team actively engaging SMEs across the country, ensuring smaller firms have a strong voice in shaping the skills system.

Whether she plans to include kinship care in the school census.

The government recognises that there is a need for greater awareness of the needs of kinship children and families and the importance of improving data collection in this space and is therefore exploring including kinship in the school census.Following the Care Review, the government has updated ‘Kinship Care Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families. The government has also extended both the delivery of over 140 kinship carer peer support groups across England and the virtual school head (VSH) role (on a non-statutory basis) to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care.The government intends to make this role statutory through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. We will publish updated statutory guidance setting out how VSHs will be expected to work with kinship carers and guardians to support the educational outcomes of these children.

What steps he is taking to ensure Royal Mail meets its regulatory obligations when local delivery service standards are not achieved.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and ensuring that Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations.  Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified.In October, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its quality-of-service targets and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of current UK import standards in ensuring sustainable practices in tea supply chains.

The Government launched a review in the Trade Strategy, into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains.The review is still progressing and is considering the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and standards, and the merits of alternative measures to support responsible business practices, including mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. We shall update the House when the review is complete.