Written questions by Dillon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to accelerate WINEP/AMP upgrades for chalk stream catchments given their protected status.

Chalk streams are incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature-rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife. Water companies will invest £2 billion over the next 5 years to deliver more than 1,000 targeted actions for chalk stream restoration through the Price Review 24 (PR24) Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). Additionally, chalk streams will be prioritised as part of the record £10.2 billion of investment to improve over 2,500 storm overflows in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her department has plans to mandate real time, publicly available MCERTS certified data for all storm overflow and treatment flows by Thames Water.

The Environment Act 2021 requires all water companies, including Thames Water, to publish near real time Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data for all storm overflows. EDM installation follows specifications set out in the CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) Event Duration Monitoring Good Practice Guide to ensure robust data quality.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken in response to spills into the Kennet, Pang, and Lambourn chalk streams from Thames Water sewage treatment works between 2021 and 2025.

The Environment Agency (EA) has led the Water Industry National Environment Programme, which sets out a wide range of improvement schemes that Thames Water must deliver, including investigations and actions to reduce discharges from storm overflows, with priority given to sensitive sites such as chalk streams. Groundwater infiltration into the Thames Water sewer system is a leading cause for storm overflow spills in the Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments. The EA has required Thames Water to produce Groundwater Impacted System Management Plans to set out how the company plans to reduce groundwater infiltration. Since April 2025, the EA has completed inspections of sewage treatment works on the Rivers Kennet, Pang and Lambourn as part of its increased programme of inspecting over 800 Thames Water wastewater assets. Any permit breaches identified are assessed on a case-by-case basis for their environmental impact. Confirmed serious permit breaches are investigated and enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending business rates relief o community pharmacies providing NHS services.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon on 23 February 2026 to Question 113205.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Thames Water on preventing early and dry discharges at Newbury, Hungerford, East Shefford, Compton, and Hamstead Marshall sewage treatment works.

The Secretary of State meets with water companies to discuss a range of issues, including the need to reduce sewage discharges into our rivers, lakes and seas. The Environment Agency (EA) has had regular engagement with Thames Water on the issue of early and dry discharges. In the Rivers Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments, a leading cause is groundwater infiltrating the Thames Water sewer network. The EA requires Thames Water to produce Groundwater Impacted System Management Plans to set out how the company plans to reduce groundwater infiltration. Across all water companies, the EA continues to progress its largest ever national criminal investigation into potential breaches of environmental permit conditions at wastewater treatment works. When its investigation is complete, the EA will consider all available options under its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, State what assessment she has made of the potential environmental impact of Thames Water’s decision to defer upgrades at sewage treatment works impacting the River Kennet, Pang, and Lambourn until 2030.

The Environment Agency (EA) is clear that delays to any water company schemes, required under the Water Industry National Environment Programme are unacceptable as they will delay environmental improvement and risk failure of statutory requirements. The EA is issuing new environmental permits in line with regulatory deadlines and is assessing compliance against these. The EA has completed inspections of sewage treatment works on the Rivers Kennet, Pang and Lambourn as part of its increased programme of inspecting over 800 Thames Water wastewater assets since April 2025. Any permit breaches identified are assessed on a case-by-case basis for their environmental impact. Any confirmed serious permit breaches will be investigated and enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential compliance risks caused by erroneous monitoring data at Thames Water sewage treatment works, including East Shefford, Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall, and Hungerford.

The Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken inspections of Thames Water sewage treatment works at East Shefford, Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall and Hungerford. It has also assessed Event Duration Monitoring data from these sites and completed Event Duration Monitoring flow data assessments. Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall and Hungerford sewage treatment works had no permit breaches caused by erroneous flow monitoring data. East Shefford sewage treatment works had a breach relating to flow monitoring systems and missing flow data which will be enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Local Housing Allowance levels on (a) Personal Independence Payment claimants, (b) Universal Credit claimants and (c) households placed in temporary accommodation.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) sets the maximum level of support for people living in the private rented sector and is administered through Universal Credit Housing Element or Housing Benefit. The current LHA rate does not apply to households living in temporary accommodation. Their housing costs are covered in full by their local authority, and DWP then subsidises the local authority through Housing Benefit. At Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State reviewed LHA and decided not to increase rates for 2026/27. A range of factors were considered, including cross-government impacts on homelessness and impacts on protected characteristics, such as disability, in line with equality duties. This Government has taken important steps to support people with their living costs such as the Universal Credit Act, which legislates to rebalance Universal Credit by bringing in, for the first time ever, a sustained above inflation increase to the standard allowance for all claimants. Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for discretionary housing support from local authorities.

What steps he is taking to improve out-of-hours support for people at the end of life.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people approaching the end of life receive high-quality, compassionate care whenever it is needed.Urgent community response (UCR) services play a key role in this. UCR provides a two-hour community-based response to adults experiencing a sudden deterioration in their health and helps avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. People at the end of life are among those who can be referred into UCR services for urgent crisis, for symptom control and/or pain relief, in line with a person’s wishes.We are committed to improving the consistency, capacity, and availability of UCR services across England. The Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan 2025/26 includes actions to expand urgent care delivered in the community, including UCR, and the National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan further commits to increasing access to urgent care at home and in the community as part of the new Neighbourhood Health model.Additionally, NHS England’s published statutory guidance on palliative care and end-of-life care states that integrated care boards, as commissioning authorities, must define how their local service providers meet population needs on a 24/7 basis.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, NG142: End of life care for adults: service delivery, also recommends that adults nearing the end of life have access to a healthcare professional 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as an out-of-hours advice line and access to essential medicines for symptom management.Although NICE guidance is not mandatory, there is an expectation that commissioners and service providers take the guidelines into account when making decisions about how to best meet the needs of their local communities.Furthermore, to strengthen provision for people at the end of life, we will publish a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) later this year. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, including strengthening out-of-hours community health support, dedicated telephone advice, and overall consideration of 24/7 provision.

What plans he has to make training in palliative and end-of-life care mandatory for health and care professionals.

There are no current plans to make training in palliative care and end-of-life care mandatory for health and care professionals.We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. To ensure the health and social care workforce is equipped and well supported to deliver personalised care to people at the end of life, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, hosts the End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme, which includes nine modules on improving care for people at the end of life.Independent statutory regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council have the general function of promoting high standards of education and coordinating all stages of education to ensure that health and care students and newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice.The training curricula for postgraduate specialty training, including palliative care and end-of-life care, is set by the relevant royal college and have to meet the standards set by the GMC.For general practitioners (GPs), the Royal College for General Practice has established the GP with Extended Roles (GPwER) in Palliative and End of Life Care Framework. The GpwER framework sets out standards, capabilities, training requirements, supervision and governance for GPs working beyond core practice, including in palliative and end-of-life care.

What steps he is taking to improve out-of-hours access to medicines for people at the end of life.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people at the end of life can access the medicines they need, including outside of normal pharmacy opening hours.Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative care and end-of-life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.NHS England’s statutory guidance states that ICBs work with community pharmacies, out-of-hours providers and palliative care teams to ensure timely access to medicines, including through locally commissioned services that make end of life medicines available on a 24/7 basis.Additionally, those nearing the end of life who are likely to need symptom control can be prescribed anticipatory medicines with written instructions for how to use or administer treatment. These medicines are often called 'just in case' medicines and may be provided in a specially marked container called a 'just in case' box. The medicines are prescribed in advance so that they can be obtained during local pharmacy opening hours and kept safely at home, or at a care home, so that the person or their carer has access to them if they develop symptoms. Providing medicines in advance means that there is no delay in getting medicines that might be needed quickly to help with symptoms. The use of anticipatory prescribing is recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline, Care of dying adults in the last days of life.Furthermore, the Government will publish a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England later this year. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.

What steps he is taking to improve 24-hour Urgent Community Response services for people at the end of life.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people approaching the end of life receive high-quality, compassionate care whenever it is needed.Urgent community response (UCR) services play a key role in this. UCR provides a two-hour community-based response to adults experiencing a sudden deterioration in their health and helps avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. People at the end of life are among those who can be referred into UCR services for urgent crisis, for symptom control and/or pain relief, in line with a person’s wishes.We are committed to improving the consistency, capacity, and availability of UCR services across England. The Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan 2025/26 includes actions to expand urgent care delivered in the community, including UCR, and the National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan further commits to increasing access to urgent care at home and in the community as part of the new Neighbourhood Health model.Additionally, NHS England’s published statutory guidance on palliative care and end-of-life care states that integrated care boards, as commissioning authorities, must define how their local service providers meet population needs on a 24/7 basis.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, NG142: End of life care for adults: service delivery, also recommends that adults nearing the end of life have access to a healthcare professional 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as an out-of-hours advice line and access to essential medicines for symptom management.Although NICE guidance is not mandatory, there is an expectation that commissioners and service providers take the guidelines into account when making decisions about how to best meet the needs of their local communities.Furthermore, to strengthen provision for people at the end of life, we will publish a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) later this year. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, including strengthening out-of-hours community health support, dedicated telephone advice, and overall consideration of 24/7 provision.

Media and Sport, what role public libraries will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading 2026.

On 2 March DCMS announced £150,000 for public libraries to support the National Year of Reading. Funding will be delivered by The Reading Agency in support of the Go All In campaign to reconnect people with reading for pleasure.The £150,000 fund is expected to support projects across 72 library authority areas which are disadvantaged by high deprivation, weak social infrastructure and low library engagement with the aim of encouraging greater library use and new members.Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading across the UK. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase engagement with public libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026.

On 2 March DCMS announced £150,000 for public libraries to support the National Year of Reading. Funding will be delivered by The Reading Agency in support of the Go All In campaign to reconnect people with reading for pleasure.The £150,000 fund is expected to support projects across 72 library authority areas which are disadvantaged by high deprivation, weak social infrastructure and low library engagement with the aim of encouraging greater library use and new members.Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading across the UK. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work and boost engagement.

What steps he is taking to ensure that rural dispensing GP practices in Newbury have a sufficient supply of aspirin.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand.The Department is aware of a recent disruption to the supply of aspirin tablets due to manufacturing issues and knock-on increased demand. The issues have been addressed, and we are working with suppliers to aid a return to normal supply as soon as possible, with stock regularly being made available for pharmacies to order. Guidance has been issued to healthcare professionals with management advice to consider until the supply issue fully resolves.We are working with all partners in the supply chain, including manufacturers and United Kingdom distributors, to ensure maximum accessibility to pharmacies and hospitals irrespective of where they are in the country.The Department will continue to monitor the situation and expects supplies to return to normal over the coming weeks.

What support he is providing to dispensing GP practices in Newbury to help prevent shortages of aspirin.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand.The Department is aware of a recent disruption to the supply of aspirin tablets due to manufacturing issues and knock-on increased demand. The issues have been addressed, and we are working with suppliers to aid a return to normal supply as soon as possible, with stock regularly being made available for pharmacies to order. Guidance has been issued to healthcare professionals with management advice to consider until the supply issue fully resolves.We are working with all partners in the supply chain, including manufacturers and United Kingdom distributors, to ensure maximum accessibility to pharmacies and hospitals irrespective of where they are in the country.The Department will continue to monitor the situation and expects supplies to return to normal over the coming weeks.

What steps he is taking to simplify the navigation of care pathways for patients and general practitioners.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out that the NHS App will also allow patients to book appointments, communicate with professionals, receive advice, draft or view their care plan, and self-refer to local tests and services. These developments will streamline how patients move through the system and support clearer navigation of their care. We are also improving digital access in general practices (GPs), including online request routes, modernising triage models, and strengthening care navigations. GPs are responsible for their own clinical knowledge and advising patients on the most appropriate care pathways. To support this, we are delivering the recommendations of the Red Tape Challenge to remove unnecessary administrative burdens between primary and secondary care. The new Advice and Guidance scheme gives GPs specialist advice, reducing unnecessary referrals and helping patients reach the right care first time.

Communities and Local Government, how the proposed revised National Planning Policy Framework will protect and enhance playing fields, pitches and community sports facilities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 107478 on 30 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase investment in social housing.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1283) and 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of housing associations’ policies relating to the resale of retirement properties managed by retirement management companies on beneficiaries.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Questions UIN 95245 on 5 December 2025 and UIN 68820 on 2 September 2025.