Written questions by Taylor.

Whether her Department is taking steps to reduce aviation carbon emissions by (a) introducing frequent flier levies and (b) reducing the use of domestic short haul flights where train alternatives exist.

The government is committed to delivering greener transport, supporting its missions to make Britain a clean energy superpower and kickstart economic growth. We have already made significant strides to decarbonise the aviation sector including through the introduction of a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate, legislating for a Revenue Certainty Mechanism to encourage investment in UK SAF production, and delivering a modernised airspace to help make flights more efficient and greener. A frequent flyer levy is a taxation issue which is a matter for the Treasury. In the last Budget, the Chancellor announced changes to Air Passenger Duty (APD), which is the principal tax on the aviation sector. This included a 13% increase in APD rates for 2026/27 and a further 50% increase for larger private and business jets. APD generates revenue that funds government priorities, including tackling climate change. Domestic air travel in the UK is vital for supporting jobs, trade and investment, and ensures regional connectivity. Alongside being a gateway to international opportunities, domestic flights help maintain social and family ties and strengthen the bonds between the four nations.

When he plans to set out a timeframe for the reduction of mental health waiting times.

The long waits for mental health services are being driven by increasing demand in a system in desperate need of change.The Government is already responding by delivering new and innovative models of care in the community. As part of this, we have launched six neighbourhood adult mental health centres that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to bring together community, crisis, and inpatient care.NHS England’s Planning Guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that for this year, to support reform and improvements, we expect all providers to reduce the variation in children and young people accessing services and improve productivity.We are also improving data quality, so we can support providers to understand the demand across their areas. Since July 2023, NHS England has included waiting time metrics for referrals to urgent and community-based mental health services in its monthly mental health statistics publication, to help services to target the longest waits.

Whether she plans to amend the (a) duration and (b) eligibility criteria for the British National (Overseas) visa.

Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of English language requirements on British National (Overseas) visa holders seeking to (a) extend their stay and (b) apply for indefinite leave to remain for adult dependents in Sutton.

Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

Whether the Government has enacted the socioeconomic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 in England.

We refer the Hon member to the answer given to question 48266 on 25 April 2025.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the extended ten-year standard qualifying period for settlement on Hongkongers in Sutton exploring pathways beyond the British Nationals (Overseas) route.

Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

If she will take steps to ensure that the concerns of the Hongkonger community in Sutton are considered during the implementation of new immigration proposals.

Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

What steps she is taking to enable Get Information About Schools to recent census data.

Get Information About Schools (GIAS) is the department’s register for several organisation types, including schools and academies. GIAS is used by the department and key partners to contact establishments, update systems, perform analysis and inform policy decisions, some of which carry funding implications.Information on pupils in the GIAS service is based on data provided by schools in the January school census and is updated each summer following the publication of the Schools, pupils and their characteristics accredited official statistics release, which is available at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24. This time point is used because it is the spring collection when the department receives information for all establishment types (such as General Hospital Schools, Alternative Provision and independent schools) and across all data items (such as free school meal eligibility). This allows for one consistent time point to be used in this public resource.

If he will take steps to help elderly people access affordable ear wax removal services.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) have a statutory responsibility to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local population. This includes the arrangement of services for ear wax removal.When ICBs exercise their functions, including commissioning healthcare services such as ear wax removal, they have a duty to reduce inequalities between people with respect to their ability to access health services and to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to their health outcomes.Manual ear syringing is no longer advised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to the risks associated with it, such as trauma to their ear drum or infection, so general practitioners (GPs) will often recommend home treatment remedies to alleviate ear wax build-up.However, in line with the NICE’s guidance, a person may require ear wax removal treatment if the build-up of earwax is linked with hearing loss. A GP could then consider referring the patient into audiology services, which ICBs are responsible for commissioning.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the uptake of apprenticeships in the hair and beauty sector.

Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin or progress a successful career in the hair and beauty industry. Employers in the sector have developed several apprenticeships, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard, to help them develop their workforce.The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people, adults and employers through the Skills for Life campaign.Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. To support smaller employers access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan, or have been in local authority care.Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, or £50,270 a year.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Circular Economy Taskforce on supporting a green economy.

The Circular Economy Taskforce was convened to help the government develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England, including a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The outputs will aim to support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and accelerate to Net Zero. As outlined in the Secretary of State’s recent speech, transitioning to a Circular Economy is our chance to improve lives up and down the country, to grow our economy, and to protect our environment for generations to come. To support this transition, the Circular Economy Taskforce will start with five sectors: agrifood, built environment, chemicals and plastics; textiles and transport. The Taskforce has already begun extensive engagement with industry leaders, trade associations, and other key stakeholders to ensure that the Strategy reflects the needs and insights of all involved.

Whether the child poverty strategy will include the removal of the (a) two-child limit and (b) benefit cap.

The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Our focus is on bringing about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change, thereby reversing the trend that is seeing forecasts of child poverty continuing to increase. More details, including on the timeframes, will be set out in the strategy publication.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the National Hair and Beauty Federation entitled Straightening out the costs, published on 5 March 2025.

This Government recognises the immense economic and social value of the hair and beauty industry, which is why we have committed to reforming business rates from 2026-27 with a permanently lower multiplier for retail, leisure and hospitality properties, including hair and beauty salons.For national insurance contributions, increasing the employment Allowance to £10,500 will mean that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all and more than half of employers see no change or gain overall from this package including many businesses in the hair and beauty industries.

Whether the child poverty strategy will look beyond the 10-year timeframe.

The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. Our focus is on bringing about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change, thereby reversing the trend that is seeing forecasts of child poverty continuing to increase. More details, including on the timeframes, will be set out in the strategy publication.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in funding for level seven apprenticeships on barriers of access to the legal profession.

I refer the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43275.

Whether he plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to recognise chronic urinary tract infections as a distinct illness in its guidelines.

Classifying a condition as a distinct illness is outside the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) remit. The NICE has no plans to develop guidance on chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) at this time, and the topic has not been considered by their prioritisation board. The NICE has produced a clinical guideline on antimicrobial prescribing for recurrent UTIs, which provides recommendations on treatments and self-care for the prevention of recurrent UTIs.

What steps his Department is taking to help make it easier for patients with chronic urinary tract infections to receive referrals from their GPs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidelines for the referral of patients who present with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/urinary-tract-infection-lower-women/management/recurrent-uti-no-haematuria-not-pregnant-or-catheterized/There are specific referral criteria for women, compared to men and children. There are also guidelines in place for those who present to Pharmacy First. If the patient has had a history of UTIs, they are asked to see their general practice (GP) surgery, rather than being prescribed antibiotics by the pharmacy.Patients with recurrent UTIs should be referred to secondary care to exclude other causes, perhaps through an ultrasound scan or a cystoscopy. Once cleared, patients may be prescribed prophylactic antibiotics.The number of lower urinary tract symptom service clinics are locally managed and commissioned by integrated care boards, in accordance with local population need.While there are no current plans to train GPs and urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic UTIs, NHS England’s UTI reduction workstream was established as part of the delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis, and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice, and through interventions for different population groups.NHS England has also been working with other public bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency, to strengthen the guidance regarding the appropriate use of diagnostics, including dipsticks. GPs can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring the accuracy of the tests used.

Whether he plans to increase the number of lower urinary tract symptoms service clinics.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidelines for the referral of patients who present with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/urinary-tract-infection-lower-women/management/recurrent-uti-no-haematuria-not-pregnant-or-catheterized/There are specific referral criteria for women, compared to men and children. There are also guidelines in place for those who present to Pharmacy First. If the patient has had a history of UTIs, they are asked to see their general practice (GP) surgery, rather than being prescribed antibiotics by the pharmacy.Patients with recurrent UTIs should be referred to secondary care to exclude other causes, perhaps through an ultrasound scan or a cystoscopy. Once cleared, patients may be prescribed prophylactic antibiotics.The number of lower urinary tract symptom service clinics are locally managed and commissioned by integrated care boards, in accordance with local population need.While there are no current plans to train GPs and urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic UTIs, NHS England’s UTI reduction workstream was established as part of the delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis, and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice, and through interventions for different population groups.NHS England has also been working with other public bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency, to strengthen the guidance regarding the appropriate use of diagnostics, including dipsticks. GPs can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring the accuracy of the tests used.

What steps his Department is taking to provide training for (a) GPs and (b) urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic urinary tract infections.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidelines for the referral of patients who present with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/urinary-tract-infection-lower-women/management/recurrent-uti-no-haematuria-not-pregnant-or-catheterized/There are specific referral criteria for women, compared to men and children. There are also guidelines in place for those who present to Pharmacy First. If the patient has had a history of UTIs, they are asked to see their general practice (GP) surgery, rather than being prescribed antibiotics by the pharmacy.Patients with recurrent UTIs should be referred to secondary care to exclude other causes, perhaps through an ultrasound scan or a cystoscopy. Once cleared, patients may be prescribed prophylactic antibiotics.The number of lower urinary tract symptom service clinics are locally managed and commissioned by integrated care boards, in accordance with local population need.While there are no current plans to train GPs and urologists on recognising the symptoms of chronic UTIs, NHS England’s UTI reduction workstream was established as part of the delivery of the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024. This workstream aims to enhance prevention, support early and accurate diagnosis, and improve the treatment of UTIs through identifying and adopting best practice, and through interventions for different population groups.NHS England has also been working with other public bodies, including the UK Health Security Agency, to strengthen the guidance regarding the appropriate use of diagnostics, including dipsticks. GPs can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes, ensuring the accuracy of the tests used.

What her Department's policy is on the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

The adoption and special guardianship fund (ASGSF) offers valuable support to adoptive and kinship families, helping families to thrive and enabling children and young people to make the best start in life.Announcements on funding for the ASGSF will be made shortly.