Written questions by Evans.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many times did the National Fly- Tipping Prevention Group meet during the Calendar Year of 2025.

The National Fly-tipping Prevention Group met twice in the 2025 calendar year.

What discussions she is having with National Highways to determine how many drivers are impacted by the speed camera anomaly and rectify the issue to prevent the anomaly from occurring in the future.

As set out in the 16 December Written Ministerial Statement, National Highways has confirmed that this technical anomaly has occurred approximately 2,650 times on the impacted cameras over four years since 2021 and National Highways are now looking back to 2019. To place this in context, fewer than 0.1% of activations since 2021 were impacted by this anomaly and not all of the erroneous activations will have resulted in enforcement action. A Home Office approved solution has been developed which National Highways are now working with the police to implement. It is important that road users have confidence in the technology on our roads and that is why I have committed to an independent investigation into how this anomaly came about to prevent this reoccurring in the future.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the speed camera anomaly on the numbers of commercial drivers where the incorrect enforcement of speeding has resulted in the [a] loss of employment, or [b] compromised the ability for prospective drivers to gain driving opportunities.

This anomaly resulted in a very small number of people incorrectly facing enforcement action for speeding offences and the Police have begun the process of redress. Anybody affected by the anomaly will be contacted directly and, where appropriate, be reimbursed and/or have points removed from the licence. Steps will be taken to remedy any incorrect prosecutions.

With reference to the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls's oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth during the Oral Statement of 18 December 2025 on Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, when will the men and boys summit be held.

Our cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy places prevention at its heart. Building a positive agenda for men – and acknowledging the challenges young men and boys face in today’s society – is a critical part of this work. To this end, we will host a Men and Boys Summit this year, which the Deputy Prime Minister and I are pleased to be leading on behalf of the Prime Minister. We will share further details in due course.

With reference to the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls's oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth during the Oral Statement of 18 December 2025 on Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, if he will set out the list of invitees to the men and boys summit.

Our cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy places prevention at its heart. Building a positive agenda for men – and acknowledging the challenges young men and boys face in today’s society – is a critical part of this work. To this end, we will host a Men and Boys Summit this year, which the Deputy Prime Minister and I are pleased to be leading on behalf of the Prime Minister. We will share further details in due course.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of opportunities for installing solar panels on commercial properties.

We are aware of the significant potential that commercial rooftops have in supporting our Clean Power mission, and we are working closely with industry to unlock this potential. Commercial rooftop solar has been a key agenda item at both Solar Council meetings this year as we continue to monitor delivery of the Solar Roadmap actions.

With reference to the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls's oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth during the Oral Statement of 18 December 2025 on Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, if he will publish the terms of reference for the men and boys summit.

Our cross-government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy places prevention at its heart. Building a positive agenda for men – and acknowledging the challenges young men and boys face in today’s society – is a critical part of this work. To this end, we will host a Men and Boys Summit this year, which the Deputy Prime Minister and I are pleased to be leading on behalf of the Prime Minister. We will share further details in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of the Pharmacy First Model in Scotland and (b) potential merits of expanding a similar service in England.

Pharmacy First in England was launched on 31 January 2024. This incorporated existing elements under the former Community Pharmacist Consultation Service and introduced a new clinical pathways element. The new clinical pathways element allows patients to receive treatment for seven common health conditions without the need for a general practitioner (GP) appointment.As health is a devolved matter, the Pharmacy First service in Scotland is commissioned separately to the one in England. The conditions covered by the English and Scottish schemes do differ slightly, but the services operate in a similar manner. Both operate a consultation service under which pharmacists can provide some prescription only medicines without the need to see a prescriber. In addition, Scotland commissions the expanded Pharmacy First Plus service, which has a broader scope and can be provided by pharmacists with a prescribing qualification. In line with the 10-Year Health Plan, we are committed to giving pharmacists in England more ability to prescribe and to manage a range of health conditions.The Department has not formally assessed the Scottish scheme, but the Pharmacy First service design was informed by best practice from similar locally commissioned services and services commissioned by the devolved governments. NHS England will keep the clinical scope of the service under review.

What assessment she has made about the current levels of [i] drink driving and [ii] drug driving related accidents and fatalities on roads in the [i] UK, and [ii] Leicestershire.

Statistics regarding drink and drug driving in personal injury road collisions in Great Britain are based on data reported to police using the STATS19 system. The estimated number of collisions and fatalities in drink-drive collisions for Great Britain and Leicestershire for 2023 (the latest figures available) are given in the table below. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 therefore 0 fatalities for Leicestershire indicates that the estimated number was less than 5:AreaCollisionsFatalitiesGreat Britain4,390260Leicestershire500These are based on the results of breath tests conducted by the police at the scene of personal injury road collisions and combined with data from coroners on blood alcohol levels of those killed in collisions. While STATS19 does not attribute cause of collision, reporting officers attending the scene are able to assign up to 6 road safety factors which, in their opinion, based on the information available within a short time of the collision, they consider may have contributed to it. In 2024, the latest year available data there were 18 personal injury collisions in Leicestershire where “affected by drugs” was assigned to a driver or rider in the collision. This is 3% of all collisions in Leicestershire where a police officer attended the collision and assigned at least 1 road safety factor, the comparison for Great Britain is 3% of collisions. There was 1 fatality in Leicestershire in a personal injury collision where “affected by drugs” was assigned to a driver or rider in the collision, this is 4% of all fatalities in Leicestershire in collisions where a police officer attended the collision and assigned at least 1 road safety factor, the comparison for Great Britain is 8% of fatalities.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with [i] Local Councils and [ii] third party charities and advice organisations to understand the potential challenges faced with [a] supporting people with council tax debts and [b] using bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax.

The government has recently consulted on the administration of council tax, including its collection and enforcement. As part of this consultation, my officials held direct engagement sessions with local councils and the debt advice sector on these issues. The government is currently considering all responses to the consultation and will publish its response in due course.Separately, the Ministry of Justice has consulted on proposals to introduce independent statutory regulation of the enforcement sector. The government will publish its response to that consultation in due course.

Which external bodies has he recently spoken to about the potential impacts of proposals to reduce jury trials.

In developing his recommendations, Sir Brian Leveson and his expert advisers, including Professor David Ormerod, engaged with several external bodies with invaluable expertise of our Criminal Justice System including criminal legal organisations, charities, academics, and members of the judiciary. A full list is at Annex C of his report.When considering Sir Brian’s recommendations and developing our proposals, I have engaged regularly with stakeholders and relevant sectors over the last 12 months including representatives from the legal sector (Law Society, Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association), victims and victims representatives (the Victims Commissioner, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Rape Crisis), judiciary (Circuit leaders, Judicial leadership), magistracy (Magistrates’ Association, Magistrates’ Leadership Executive), non-governmental organisations (Appeal, JUSTICE, Transform Justice), court staff in criminal courts around the country (Wood Green, Snaresbrook) and similar international jurisdictions. For example, I met judges and visited courts in Canada, which uses types of judge-only trial.

What recent topics has he discussed with external bodies when considering the potential impacts of proposals to reduce jury trials.

In developing his recommendations, Sir Brian Leveson and his expert advisers, including Professor David Ormerod, engaged with several external bodies with invaluable expertise of our Criminal Justice System including criminal legal organisations, charities, academics, and members of the judiciary. A full list is at Annex C of his report.When considering Sir Brian’s recommendations and developing our proposals, I have engaged regularly with stakeholders and relevant sectors over the last 12 months including representatives from the legal sector (Law Society, Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association), victims and victims representatives (the Victims Commissioner, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Rape Crisis), judiciary (Circuit leaders, Judicial leadership), magistracy (Magistrates’ Association, Magistrates’ Leadership Executive), non-governmental organisations (Appeal, JUSTICE, Transform Justice), court staff in criminal courts around the country (Wood Green, Snaresbrook) and similar international jurisdictions. For example, I met judges and visited courts in Canada, which uses types of judge-only trial.

What steps he has taken to consider increasing the number of sitting days at [a] Leicester Crown Court [b] Coventry Combined Court Centre and [c] Warwick Crown Court.

The Government is committed to bearing down on the backlog. In the Crown Court for this financial year, we have allocated 111,250 sitting days - the highest number of sitting days on record and over 5,000 more than the previous Government funded for the last financial year.The Deputy Prime Minister and Lady Chief Justice continue discussions on the allocation for 2025-26 as part of the Concordat process and we will say more in due course.

Pursuant to PQ82726 answered on 21 October 2025 about Cross Country Strikes, whether her Department has recently had discussions on that dispute with key parties to seek a resolution.

CrossCountry kept the Department advised on their progress this autumn resolving issues raised by the RMT. It was welcome news that on 2 December the RMT confirmed to CrossCountry that proposed strike action was suspended and they were no longer in dispute with CrossCountry, so passengers can book their travel on this basis.

If she will make an assessment of trends in the level of data on [a] met and [b] unmet need among [i] looked-after and [ii] previously looked after children.

The department monitors outcomes for looked-after and previously looked-after children through national statistics on education, health, and care leaver activity. While these datasets do not directly record met and unmet needs, they inform targeted interventions.For example, the adoption and special guardianship support fund provides therapeutic support for previously looked-after children, including those adopted or under special guardianship, helping address complex emotional and behavioural needs identified by local authority assessments.Our reform programme will give children and young people the start in life they deserve. This includes strengthening the children’s social care data and digital strategy with a ‘Centre of Excellence’ supporting data and digital culture, leadership, skills and collaboration for children’s social care.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of British made cars in the Ministerial car fleet.

The Department for Transport does not hold this information.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has spoken to the [i] Local Government Association and [ii] District Councils Network to understand the [a] levels and [b] nature of complaints made to local authorities about animal rescue and rehoming centres.

The department maintains regular contact with key stakeholders, including the Canine and Feline Sector Group, which brings together leading welfare charities, veterinary bodies, trade associations and representatives from local authorities. Through this forum, Defra receives up-to-date intelligence on emerging issues and operational challenges.

What discussions she has had with adoptive and kinship families about levels of support offered by statutory authorities to meet family needs.

The government works closely with organisations that represent kinship and adoptive families, and directly with adopters and kinship carers through both our adopter and kinship carer reference groups.Following the Care Review, the government updated the kinship care guidance for local authorities and appointed the first ever National Kinship Ambassador, who works closely to engage with lived experience groups.Local authorities have a statutory duty to assess and provide adoption support tailored to family needs. This includes financial assistance such as adoption allowances, settling-in grants, and access to adoption leave and pay. The adoption and special guardianship support fund provides post-adoption support interventions, including therapeutic support for adopted children and their families.Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the department will mandate all local authorities in England to publish their local kinship offer and offer family group decision-making at pre-proceedings where that is in the child’s best interests. We will soon trial a kinship allowance in some local authorities, to support eligible kinship carers with the additional cost incurred when taking the parental responsibility of a child in kinship care.

What steps is the Independent Review into Mental Health Conditions taking to capture the views of people with lived experience of mental health conditions, ADHD and autism as part of the review process.

The independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism will appoint an advisory working group. This will be a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.

Pursuant to WPQ 94952 answered on 10 December 2025 about Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, when in 2026 will Diagnosis Connect be rolled out across England to provide tailored information and support to newly diagnosed Chohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis patients.

Initially, the Diagnosis Connect Service will be piloted across a small number of long-term conditions which will be determined based on conditions diagnosed and referred from primary care, and readiness of the charities to proceed, as well as considerations around which diagnostic pathways might most benefit from this approach.The aim will be to focus more support going to those with greatest need and areas with the worst health outcomes, therefore impacting on inequalities.An open procurement process will enable us to secure a partnership with three or more specialist charities which have the infrastructure, capabilities, and networks to deliver a successful pilot for patients and the National Health Service, ahead of a full rollout across the wider health system.