Written questions by Taylor.

If he will take legislative steps to ensure that food outlets must display their Food Standards Agency food hygiene rating.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is operated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in partnership with local authorities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.Introducing a statutory scheme in England would require primary legislation as well as the securing of a suitable legislative vehicle and parliamentary time. Ministers will consider the options in due course supported by the FSA.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that egg production in the UK comes from cage-free systems.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 April 2025 to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, PQ UIN 47556.

Whether she plans to appoint an independent commissioner who would be responsible for outstanding losses from the Equitable Life scandal.

Under plans put in place by the Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition Government, the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was fully wound down and closed in 2016. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants and the Scheme is on track to distribute the remainder of the £1.5 billion as planned. There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

What discussions she has had with Metropolitan Police leaders on safeguards to protect whistleblowers who report (a) misogyny and (b) racism.

The Home Secretary and I have regular meetings with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and other police leaders on a range of issues including police conduct.Police officers have a statutory duty to report wrongdoing by their colleagues when they see it, and the College of Policing’s Code of Practice for Ethical Policing puts a duty on Chief Officers to facilitate and protect whistleblowers. The Metropolitan Police Service has a specialist unit to handle any concerns raised by “whistleblowers” with provision to come forward anonymously and to provide additional support to those who are accorded “whistleblower status” over and above their protections in wider employment and whistleblowing law. In addition, the Independent Office for Police Conduct runs a dedicated telephone line for police officers and staff.Part 2 of the Angiolini Inquiry is also considering a range of cultural issues in policing, including whistleblowing processes, and the Government will consider any recommendations it makes carefully.

What discussions she has had with Metropolitan Police leaders on the use of metrics to assess the efficacy of cultural reform programmes introduced following the Casey Review.

This Government is clear that discriminatory attitudes and behaviours have no place in policing. All Londoners, including women and ethnic minorities, deserve to have trust and confidence in their police force. As part of our mission to take back our streets, we have committed to restoring neighbourhood policing and halving violence against women girls and knife crime in a decade.Since the Casey Review’s publication in March 2023, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force. The London Policing Board holds the Commissioner to account for delivery of the plan, and I engage regularly with both the Commissioner and Mayor of London on progress.

If she will take steps to strengthen the national framework for the Metropolitan Police’s vetting processes to (a) identify and (b) exclude applicants with discriminatory attitudes on the basis of characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010.

Police forces are expected to carry out vetting in alignment with the national framework set out in the College of Policing’s statutory Vetting Code of Practice and accompanying Vetting Authorised Professional Practice (APP).Vetting decision-making is made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account any risks posed by the individual to the public and the police service. The APP is clear that any adverse information uncovered during the vetting and recruitment processes - including evidence of discriminatory behaviour such as racism or homophobia - must be flagged and subject to additional scrutiny.It also highlights that clearance should be declined where an applicant has a caution or conviction that demonstrated targeting of persons due to their vulnerabilities or protected characteristics.To help ensure the system is as robust as possible, earlier this year the Government made changes to introduce a statutory duty for officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance, and provided a route to dismiss them should they fail to do so. We are building on this by introducing statutory vetting standards later this year, which forces must adhere to.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that women have confidence that they will be believed when reporting (a) assault, (b) abuse and (c) rape to the Metropolitan Police.

We are committed to playing a more active role in policing to ensure officers have the right support, to significantly improve standards across the board and to ensure justice is delivered for victims. Victims must feel confident in the police’s ability to handle their case.We know these crimes disproportionately affect women and girls and are underreported, and we will take action to ensure victims coming forward get the response they deserve. This is why we are carefully developing options to deliver key commitments including ensuring specialist rape and sexual offence teams in all police forces and fast-tracking rape cases.We are providing £13.1 million in 2025/26 to the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) which is supporting all police forces, including the Metropolitan Police Service, to ensure they relentlessly pursue perpetrators who pose the greatest risk to women and use all the tools at their disposal to protect victims and get dangerous offenders off the streets. This includes continuing to drive forward Operation Soteria, which is supporting officers to build the strongest possible, suspect-focused rape cases.Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and we are going further than before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach to halve violence against women and girls, underpinned by a new VAWG strategy to be published as soon as possible.

What steps her Department is taking to help the Metropolitan Police restore public confidence among women and ethnic minorities.

This Government is clear that discriminatory attitudes and behaviours have no place in policing. All Londoners, including women and ethnic minorities, deserve to have trust and confidence in their police force. As part of our mission to take back our streets, we have committed to restoring neighbourhood policing and halving violence against women girls and knife crime in a decade.Since the Casey Review’s publication in March 2023, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force. The London Policing Board holds the Commissioner to account for delivery of the plan, and I engage regularly with both the Commissioner and Mayor of London on progress.

What steps she is taking to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are not disadvantaged in access to grammar school places.

Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the practice of state grammar schools charging fees for familiarisation tests ahead of 11-plus entrance exams.

Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the measures outlined in the document entitled Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025, on waiting lists for gynaecology treatment.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra 2 million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered 5.2 million more appointments. This marks a vital First Step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment – in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard – by March 2029.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard. Since our plan was published we have seen improvements in gynaecology, with average waits reducing from 15.9 weeks in January 2025 to 15.2 weeks in August 2025, and the number of patients waiting 18 weeks or less from referral to treatment increasing from 55.2% in January 2025 to 56.4% in August 2025. But we know there is still much more to do, and we will continue to support NHS trusts to deliver our targets through innovation, sharing best practice to increase productivity and efficiency, and ensuring the best value is delivered.

Whether he plans to allocate capital funding for maternity and neonatal services.

We recognise that repairing and rebuilding our healthcare estate is a vital part of the Government's ambition to create a National Health Service that is fit for the future. As a first step towards improving our maternity and neonatal estate, we are investing £131 million through the 2025-26 Estates Safety Fund to address critical safety risks on the maternity estate, enabling better care for mothers and their newborns. The funded works will deliver vital safety improvements, enhance patient and staff environments, and support NHS productivity by reducing disruptions across NHS clinical services. In addition, the Government is backing the NHS with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025-26, enabling systems to allocate funding to maternity and neonatal services where this is a local priority.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to improve the level of transparency of method-of-production welfare labelling for (a) pork, (b) chicken and (c) eggs.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for York Central, Rachael Maskell, on 8 October 2025, PQ UIN 76016.

What steps he is taking to support the (a) development and (b) expansion of women’s health hubs across the country.

We are supporting integrated care boards (ICBs) to continue improving their delivery of women’s health hubs, in line with their responsibility to commission services that meet the needs of their local populations.We have heard from ICBs on the positive impacts that women’s health hubs have on both women’s access to care in the community and their experience. The Government is committed to encouraging ICBs to further expand the coverage of women’s health hubs and to support ICBs to use the learning from the women’s health hub pilots to improve local delivery of services to women and girls.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are committed to moving towards a neighbourhood health service, with more care delivered in local communities, to identify and address problems earlier and closer to home. Women’s health hubs are an example of this approach and can play a key role in delivering the government’s manifesto commitments on tackling long NHS waiting lists, as well as shifting care into the community.

What steps his Department plans to take to reduce the average time taken to diagnose postural tachycardia syndrome.

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment, by March 2029.Additionally, the shifts outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan will free up hospital-based consultants’ time by shifting care from hospitals to communities, utilising digital technology to reduce administrative burdens, and promoting prevention to reduce the onset and severity of conditions that lead to hospital admissions. This includes expanding community-based services, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, developing integrated neighbourhood health teams, and investing in digital tools and data. These shifts will allow specialists to focus on more complex cases of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), enabling earlier identification and management, and improved patient outcomes.

What plans he has to help improve (a) clinical understanding, (b) diagnosis, and (c) treatment pathways for people with bile acid malabsorption.

The United Kingdom has a well-developed network of clinicians interested in bile acid disorders, namely the UK Bile Acid Related Diarrhoea Network, which is working with the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) on a major clinical trial. The current treatment is mainly with “bile acid sequestrants” that bind the bile acids in the gut, but there is a recognised need to further develop new treatments. In 2025, the NIHR announced a £2 million investment in a research study to investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of treatments for bile acid malabsorption (BAM). Further information is available at the following link:https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR160696In addition, BAM has been highlighted in national guidance on managing chronic diarrhoea by the British Society of Gastroenterology, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued public-facing guidance on their website, which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/esuom22/ifp/chapter/What-is-bile-acid-malabsorptionThe standard diagnostic test for BAM is a SeHCAT study, pronounced “see cat” and named after the tauroselcholc [75 selenium] acid used in the procedure, and its use in the United Kingdom has rapidly expanded over the last 10 to 15 years, although there are limited research findings internationally, and consequently NICE has recently recommended further research in this area.

What steps he is taking to reduce the energy price cap.

The level of the price cap is calculated based on factors including the costs of buying gas, of transporting energy to homes and businesses across the country, and suppliers’ day-to-day costs. The single largest component is the wholesale cost of energy driven by the price of gas. The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bills.

Whether she has had discussions with Santander UK plc on its introduction of £120 annual charge for small business accounts.

The Government regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders across the financial services sector including Santander. While the Government recognises the concerns of long-standing customers who signed up to different business accounts, decisions regarding the products offered and any associated charges are commercial matters for individual firms. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions but continues to monitor wider access to bank account provision. The Government also recognises the importance of transparency in business bank account fees, enabling businesses to make informed choices when selecting banking services. Encouraging competition in financial services helps stimulate a strong and diverse market for SMEs, improves access to finance, and ensures that businesses benefit from competitive pricing and improved choice. The Government is committed to ensuring that SMEs are treated fairly by banks and have access to the financial services they need. That is why the Financial Ombudsman Service has jurisdiction over 99% of business banking disputes, providing a wide safety-net for businesses and an important avenue for redress where SMEs feel they have been misled or unfairly charged.

Innovation and Technology, what the projected cost is for introducing a national digital ID system.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year. The eventual total cost and savings will depend on the design, build and delivery of the system, matters which will be included in the consultation. We expect the programme to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of the new digital ID system, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer.

Innovation and Technology, what steps is she taking to ensure the safety of citizens’ personal data through the proposed digital ID scheme.

Privacy and security are integral to the Government’s proposals. People’s privacy and data will be protected in line with the UK’s data protection laws as well as using state-of-the-art encryption and authentication technology that’s already protecting millions of digital transactions daily - in the same way banking apps do. The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year, which will seek views on the design, build and delivery of the system. The Government will work closely with expert stakeholders, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre, to make the programme as effective and secure as possible.