Every parliamentary written question tabled by Luke Evans this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 381–400 of 980 · this parliament
What recent conversations he has with the Treasury regarding the return of the £2.3 billion investment reserve of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme.
The Department is engaging with HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members. The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.
What plans he has to provide clarity to the trustees of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme on the possibilities of return of the £2.3 billion investment reserve of the British Coal superannuation scheme back to its members.
The Department is engaging with HM Treasury with a view to agreeing a way forward on the transfer of the reserve to members. The Government is aiming to reach agreement on an outcome that can be implemented later this year which will benefit scheme members.
What recent conversations he has had with Treasury about the potential impact of the return of the £2.3 billion investment reserve of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme on the economy.
As at 30 October 2024, there were 39,251 members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme. Any transfer of the reserve would be used to enhance member benefits.
Further to his Department’s press release entitled Billions to be redirected back into patient care with NHS reform, published on 11 November, if he will publish the calculations for the stated £1bn a year saving.
The reintegration of NHS England and the restructuring of integrated care boards will deliver efficiencies that are expected to save £1 billion a year by the end of this Parliament. These savings will be achieved through streamlining functions, reducing duplication, and redirecting resources towards frontline patient care.The Government is committed to transparency in how these figures are calculated. The methodology underpinning the £1 billion saving estimate will be set out through established mechanisms, including publication of supporting documentation where appropriate. This will ensure that both Parliament and the public are able to scrutinise the basis of the savings. Further detail will be brought forward in due course, in line with our commitment to provide clear and timely information.
With reference to his Department’s press release entitled Billions to be redirected back into patient care with NHS reform, published on 11 November, if he will publish the upfront costs of these reforms.
The reforms announced on 11 November will involve some upfront costs associated with organisational change, including the reintegration of NHS England and the restructuring of integrated care boards.The Government is committed to ensuring that Parliament and the public are appropriately informed of these costs. Information will be published at the appropriate time, in line with established reporting mechanisms, to ensure transparency and accountability. The Department will continue to provide updates as the reforms progress.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 83938 on Roads: Horses, if she will make an assessment of trends in levels of equestrian related incidents in (a) England and (b) Leicestershire.
The number of reported personal injury road collisions involving ridden horses for the last 10 years in England and Leicestershire (local authority) are shown in the table:YearEnglandLeicestershire2015904201697220178132018690201951020207312021762202268020234902024591
What steps he is taking to ensure transparency of fuel prices at petrol stations.
The government is launching Fuel Finder, an open data scheme to increase fuel price transparency, drive up competition, drive down prices, and help drivers find the best deal. This is real action to help tackle the cost of living.
Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025 with supported accommodation providers on sustainable levels of funding support.
The government values the vital role played by supported housing in helping older, disabled and other vulnerable people to live independently and well, and the contribution it makes to wider government objectives, including tackling rough sleeping and homelessness. I have been fully briefed on the challenges facing the supported housing sector and, together with my officials, I am committed to working together with the sector on the issues.
Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofcom on in-contract mobile phone bill increases.
The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s CEO on 31st October to ask for Ofcom’s assessment of telecoms consumer protections and what could be done further and faster on transparent and fair pricing.It is imperative that people feel empowered when interacting with the telecoms market and that they can be confident they are getting a fair deal. This includes prominent and transparent information in consumer contracts on any in-contract price rises and a consumer’s right to leave within 30 days of notification of an increase beyond that outlined in the contract.
With reference to the report by the NAO entitled Home to School Transport, published on 31 October 2025, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities about the increasing demand for home to support transport; and whether she intends to include policies to support home to school transport provision as part of the forthcoming Government White Paper on SEND.
Department officials hold regular forums to which all local authority home-to-school travel teams are invited. These meetings provide the department with valuable information about the challenges local authorities face. We have committed to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to enable more children to thrive in local mainstream settings, whilst guaranteeing access to excellent specialist provision where needed. This will mean fewer children will need to travel long distances to access education which will reduce the financial and logistical burden on local authorities and leave the service better able to meet the needs of the children that continue to rely on it. These reforms to the SEND system will be set out in a Schools white paper early in the new year.
If she will undertake a further consultation on the material for the financial education curriculum in advance of the publishing of the revised curriculum in 2027.
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England.As part of the response to the Review’s report the government has made a commitment to strengthen pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. From budgeting to understanding credit, through our revised curriculum all children will learn about the fundamentals of money, ensuring every pupil develops the skills needed to succeed in the modern world.The department will engage with sector experts and young people in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including issues about (a) personal taxation and (b) tax codes in the financial education syllabus arising from the outcomes of the Curriculum Review.
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England.As part of the response to the Review’s report the government has made a commitment to strengthen pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. From budgeting to understanding credit, through our revised curriculum all children will learn about the fundamentals of money, ensuring every pupil develops the skills needed to succeed in the modern world.The department will engage with sector experts and young people in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's progress on improving agricultural grant funding to help support fruit and vegetable growers.
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Both Defra ministers and officials host regular discussions with a range of farming stakeholders, including growers, to understand the challenges that they face and how we can best support them. Legislation introduced in July 2023 effectively closed the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England by preventing submission of new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes which would end on or after 1 January 2026. The sector has been aware of its closure since that time and there has been extensive engagement with officials. The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer. Moreover, of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Innovation and Technology, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the extent of consumer knowledge about rights to leave a contract without penalty following a mid-contract price rise.
The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s CEO on 31st October to ask for Ofcom’s assessment of telecoms consumer protections and what could be done further and faster on transparent and fair pricing.It is imperative that people feel empowered when interacting with the telecoms market and that they can be confident they are getting a fair deal. This includes prominent and transparent information in consumer contracts on any in-contract price rises and a consumer’s right to leave within 30 days of notification of an increase beyond that outlined in the contract.
Food and Rural Affairs, when she last held discussions with the fruit and vegetable growers sector on the potential impact of the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme on that sector.
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Both Defra ministers and officials host regular discussions with a range of farming stakeholders, including growers, to understand the challenges that they face and how we can best support them. Legislation introduced in July 2023 effectively closed the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England by preventing submission of new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes which would end on or after 1 January 2026. The sector has been aware of its closure since that time and there has been extensive engagement with officials. The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer. Moreover, of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has carried out a recent impact assessment for the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
The Government is steadfastly committed to our excellent horticulture sector and the vital role that it plays in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of fresh home-grown produce. Both Defra ministers and officials host regular discussions with a range of farming stakeholders, including growers, to understand the challenges that they face and how we can best support them. Legislation introduced in July 2023 effectively closed the EU legacy Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme in England by preventing submission of new operational programmes and the extension of existing programmes which would end on or after 1 January 2026. The sector has been aware of its closure since that time and there has been extensive engagement with officials. The scheme was designed to help fresh fruit and vegetable growers increase their power in the supply chain, but it was only available to Producer Organisations, with around just over 20% of the sector accessing it and the vast majority not benefitting. Future support for the sector will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and value for money for the taxpayer. Moreover, of at least £200 million allocated to The Farming Innovation Programme through to 2030, to date nearly £40 million—representing 26% of total awards—has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Wider Government support that we are providing for horticulture includes: our five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses; as well as extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.
Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has with supported accommodation providers on the (a) role and (b) needs of those providers in the development of local homelessness strategies.
The Homelessness Code of Guidance sets out that housing authorities will need work with partners when drafting their homelessness strategies and have regard for supported housing provision to help prevent and resolve homelessness for people with support needs. You can read the Code of Guidance on gov.uk here. I regularly meet with stakeholders, including supported housing providers and representatives, to discuss a broad range of homelessness policy issues.
What plans her Department has to manage industrial disputes within the rail sector following the proposed transfer of all rail franchises into full public ownership.
The Government is committed to resetting industrial relations. A first of its kind joint industry and trade union Rail Engagement Group recently held its inaugural meeting to discuss shared ambitions for GBR. The Government plans to use this group to foster productive relationships with rail workers and their trade unions, where they are valued and respected partners in delivering the positive change we need to see on the network.
Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82987 on Jobcentres: Neurodiversity and Young People, what recent discussions she has had with (a) education providers and (b) local authorities on recent trends in the performance of children and young people with SEND across the country.
Over the last year, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and the former Minister for School Standards, alongside expert advisers like Tom Rees and Dame Christine Lenehan, have listened to the voices of parents, teachers and young people to guide policy development and we have made good progress on plans to build a truly inclusive system where high quality support is provided at the earliest opportunity.To help us deliver the most effective set of reforms we can, we have taken the decision to have a further period of engagement, with the view of bringing forward a full Schools White Paper early in the new year. Through this period of engagement with parents, educators, experts, local authorities and representative organisations, we will test policy options being considered and seek views through listening sessions in every region of the country, and Ministerial meetings with parent and expert groups.
What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of businesses closing and vanishing from high streets on councils seeking payment of business rate liabilities.
Business rates are an important source of funding for services local Government provides. A fair business rates system is one in which everyone pays their shareAs announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.