Written questions by Evans.

Pursuant to WPQ109839 answered on 9 February on Cerebral Palsy: Young People, whether she will hold discussions with the Equalities Minister on whether current systems within the NHS support young adults with cerebral palsy, including those without a diagnosed learning disability.

Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Minister for Equalities work closely together on issues relating to disability, health inequalities and access to services. Officials will continue to engage across Government to ensure that national policy recognises the needs of young adults with cerebral palsy and that systems across the National Health Service support equitable access to appropriate care, regardless of whether an individual has a diagnosed learning disability.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the TRL report prepared for her Department entitled Glare from road vehicle lighting on UK roads, published in October 2025.

The initial and ground-breaking TRL research demonstrates that glare is a complicated issue with several contributing factors. Any steps we take must avoid unintentionally reducing visibility for drivers or interfering with safety-critical cameras and sensors. As part of the recently published Road Safety Strategy, we are planning further targeted vehicle-based research to help inform future international lighting regulations and consider what more can be done domestically.

Whether he has made recent progress on developing national guidance for Auditory Verbal therapy for deaf children.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of services to meet the needs of their local populations, including services for non-hearing children.Auditory verbal therapy (AVT) is one type of therapy to support children with hearing loss, and it is important that local commissioners have the discretion to decide how best to meet the needs of their local population, informed by the best available evidence and guidance.NHS England supports ICBs to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so that they can provide consistent, high quality, and integrated care. In November 2025, NHS England appointed two national specialty advisers for hearing and associated conditions who are considering care pathway improvements for hearing services. Based on consideration of the current evidence on AVT, NHS England has no plans to develop such national guidance.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) prioritisation board considered childhood hearing loss as a potential guideline topic in August 2024. NICE concluded that there is limited evidence available in this area and that the 2015 NHS England Action Plan on Hearing Loss and guidance issued in 2019 addresses care for this population. It is understood that Auditory Verbal UK are in the process of developing the evidence base for the intervention. The NHS England Action Plan on Hearing Loss is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/act-plan-hearing-loss-upd.pdf

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing information about methods of slaughter on food labelling.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter. As set out in the Government’s animal welfare strategy, we are committed to ensuring that consumers have access to clear information on how their food was produced. To support this, we will continue working with relevant stakeholders to explore how better food labelling could provide greater consumer transparency and promote better animal welfare.

How many fixed penalty notices for careless driving have been issued by police forces in (a) England and (b) Leicestershire since 2013.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the annual "Police Powers and Procedures: Roads Policing” statistics. The latest publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-roads-policing-to-december-2023Table FPN_03 of the data tables available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67506ce8d12a2dad3bc97ab4/FPN-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-procedures-year-ending-dec-23.ods contains information on the number of FPNs (and other outcomes) for motoring offences, recorded by police forces in England and Wales, broken down by offence type, during each calendar year between 2011 and 2023.Middle lane misuse is treated under the general offence of careless driving (classified in these statistics under offence class 804a). Home Office statistics do not record middle lane misuse as a distinct category, and it cannot be separated from other forms of careless driving.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 76397 on Driving: Disqualification, how many drivers with more than 12 or more penalty points had not been disqualified by a court in 2025.

Where a driving licence holder has accumulated 12 or more penalty points, a court can exercise its discretion and decide not to disqualify them. Courts may allow drivers to retain their entitlement to drive where it is considered that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship. These decisions are for the courts, not the Department for Transport or the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), which update and maintain the driver record using information provided by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. On 13 February 2026, there were 10,822 drivers with 12 or more penalty points who retain current entitlement to drive and have not been disqualified by a court. Of these, 7,153 were awarded some or all of their points during 2025.

Whether she has made an estimate of the proportion of private schools in England which have increased fees due to the introduction of VAT.

Private school fees and finances are a matter for private schools, as private businesses. Schools decide for themselves how to manage their finances including, for example the additional cost of VAT, the impact of the national minimum wage and in relation to any pay award they may choose to make.

How many fixed penalty notices for careless driving due to excessive middle lane motorway use have been issued by police forces in (a) England and (b) Leicestershire since 2013.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the annual "Police Powers and Procedures: Roads Policing” statistics. The latest publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-roads-policing-to-december-2023Table FPN_03 of the data tables available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67506ce8d12a2dad3bc97ab4/FPN-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-procedures-year-ending-dec-23.ods contains information on the number of FPNs (and other outcomes) for motoring offences, recorded by police forces in England and Wales, broken down by offence type, during each calendar year between 2011 and 2023.Middle lane misuse is treated under the general offence of careless driving (classified in these statistics under offence class 804a). Home Office statistics do not record middle lane misuse as a distinct category, and it cannot be separated from other forms of careless driving.

What recent discussions she has had with small private schools on the impact of national living wage increases and teaching pay awards on their financial sustainability.

Private school fees and finances are a matter for private schools, as private businesses. Schools decide for themselves how to manage their finances including, for example the additional cost of VAT, the impact of the national minimum wage and in relation to any pay award they may choose to make.

Whether she has made a recent estimate of the number of private schools which have increased fees due to the introduction of VAT.

Private school fees and finances are a matter for private schools, as private businesses. Schools decide for themselves how to manage their finances including, for example the additional cost of VAT, the impact of the national minimum wage and in relation to any pay award they may choose to make.

Pursuant to WPQ 100418 answered on 9 February 2026 about Adoption and Kinship Care: Special Educational Needs, which third-party bodies she has had discussions with on the needs of adoptive and kinship families.

Ministers and officials from the department regularly meet key sector stakeholders, parents, carers and others to discuss the needs of adoptive and kinship families.In addition, our current consultation on adoption support and the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund invites all those with an interest to respond directly to the proposals made, and to submit evidence on adoption and kinship support. Details of the consultation are available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/adoption-and-special-guardianship-support-fund-team/adoption-support-that-works-for-all/. Ministers and officials will hold a range of discussions with third parties as part of this consultation.

If she will make an assessment of (a) the ability for police forces to issue fixed penalty notices for motorists caught for excessively driving in the middle lanes of motorways and (b) trends in excessive middle lane motorway driving in (i) England and (ii) the Midlands.

(a) The enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced. The Police are operationally independent and they will investigate each case according to its individual merits. (b) - The Department does not hold this data.

What estimate she has made about levels of [i] cases and [ii] prosecutions of individuals attempting to sell illegal retrofit headlamp bulbs in the UK.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) carries out proactive monitoring of online marketplaces to identify products with potentially misleading claims such as road legal or MOT compliant. Where appropriate, DVSA targets test purchasing and carries out assessments to confirm compliance with applicable standards and engages with sellers to correct inaccurate advertising and remove non-compliant products from sale. In the last year, DVSA has investigated 113 cases. DVSA has no estimate on prosecutions as it is dependent on the effectiveness of other interventions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2026 to Question 107755 on Hospitality Industry VAT, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of lessons learned from (a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Italy and (d) the Republic of Ireland on introducing hospitality VAT rates.

The Government is aware that some European countries apply reduced VAT rates to hospitality, reflecting different tax systems, policy choices and wider fiscal contexts. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Reduced rates of VAT come at a significant cost to the Exchequer, reduce the revenue available for vital public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. The Government keeps all taxes under review, with decisions on VAT rates taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.

What steps she is taking to conduct research into increased headlight glare from different makes and models of vehicles.

The Department commissioned ground-breaking independent research into headlamp glare in 2024, which was published in November 2025. This provided an important first step and a second phase of research is being developed to identify the vehicle design factors that may be responsible. Officials are currently engaging with relevant stakeholders to inform the programme of work, and we expect to procure and commission this next phase in the spring.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on her food labelling policies.

Defra meets regularly with a variety of stakeholders in the farming and food industry. Through these meetings, ministers are able to engage with relevant stakeholders on a range of relevant topical matters, including food labelling, as necessary.Defra also regularly meets with stakeholder groups, such as the Business Expert Group on Food Standards and Labelling, which is an advisory forum that facilitates structured dialogue between government, industry and enforcement bodies specifically on food labelling.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the [i] FA and [ii] other football bodies the use of [a] schools and [b] multi-use sports facilities by local youth football clubs for training and playing matches.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. In 2026/27, we will invest £85m across the UK via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme, building on the £98m being invested through the programme in 2025/26. This supports communities, including children and young people, to get active through funding artificial grass pitches, floodlights, changing pavilions and other facility improvements. Last year, the Government announced a new PE and School Sport Partnerships model and a new Enrichment Framework for schools to ensure all young people have equal access to high-quality sport and extracurricular activity. A national network will be developed to build strong partnerships between schools, local clubs and National Governing Bodies to identify and break down barriers to sport for children who are less active. I recently met with colleagues in the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care to discuss this, as we move towards introducing this new approach.

What assessment she has made on the potential impact of changes to Part 2 student loan repayments and the freezing of interest thresholds on the (a) degree and (b) course choices of young people.

Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments. Students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements. As these loans are not available for prospective students in England, there is no impact on degree and course choices.

If she will undertake a review of student and graduate opinion about the retrospective nature of changes to Part 2 student loan repayments and the freezing of interest thresholds.

We inherited a Plan 2 loan system that was devised and implemented by the previous government, and there have not been retrospective changes to repayments. Students sign the terms and conditions of the student loan plan type available at the time of their studies before any money is paid to them. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans.There has also been no freezing of interest rate threshold. Interest accrues on loan balances at a rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) to RPI+3% until the loan has been repaid in full or is cancelled. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold and interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.If a borrower becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest, may be written off. For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to Part 2 student loan repayments and the freezing of interest thresholds on [a] women and [b] students with disabilities.

We inherited a Plan 2 loan system that was devised and implemented by the previous government, and there have not been retrospective changes to repayments. Students sign the terms and conditions of the student loan plan type available at the time of their studies before any money is paid to them. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans.There has also been no freezing of interest rate threshold. Interest accrues on loan balances at a rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) to RPI+3% until the loan has been repaid in full or is cancelled. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold and interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.If a borrower becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest, may be written off. For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.