Written questions by Wrigley.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of President Trump's call for a peace agreement on the war between Ukraine and Russia.

We share President Trump's desire to bring this barbaric war to an end. Russia could do this tomorrow by withdrawing its forces and ending its illegal invasion. We are working closely with the US, and both the UK and the US remain focused on bringing a just and lasting peace to Ukraine. We are clear that there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment they have made of the impact of the new US president on escalation in the Ukraine-Russian war.

We share President Trump's desire to bring this barbaric war to an end. Russia could do this tomorrow by withdrawing its forces and ending its illegal invasion. We are working closely with the US, and both the UK and the US remain focused on bringing a just and lasting peace to Ukraine. We are clear that there can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to (a) support and (b) provide training to medical practitioners on the use of (i) prosthetic and (ii) other medical technologies in Ukraine.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) partners continue to support medical practitioners in Ukraine. For example, the FCDO contributed to £320,000 of funding to the Superhumans War Trauma Centre in Ukraine last year. The clinic provides innovative rehabilitation services to people who have been impacted by war, including training surgeons on prosthetics. In addition, the Ukraine Red Cross Society, funded by UK assistance, provides specialised training at the Burns Unit in Kyiv and was recently visited by the Prime Minister.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) fund and (b) support the Superhumans war trauma centre in Ukraine.

The Superhumans War Trauma Centre in Ukraine provides innovative rehabilitation services to people who have been impacted by war. Last year, FCDO-led, multi-donor programme - the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine (PFRU) - supported the Superhumans clinic. PRFU provided £320,000 of funding for the Superhumans clinic, 40 percent of which was UK support. We remain in regular contact with the centre.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) drugs; and if he will take steps to tackle shortages.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within local areas is not held centrally.The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to boost production and mitigate the supply issue. Suppliers have managed to secure additional pharmaceutical ingredients resulting in expected increased volumes of PERT for 2025. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December 2024, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to prescribe unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure that local mitigation plans are put in place and implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include the latest updates on PERT availability and easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products.

If the Government will extend the beer duty freeze for pubs.

Pubs make an enormous contribution to our economy and society, and this is recognised in the tax system. Beer producers benefitted from a freeze to alcohol duty from 1 February 2024 until 1 February 2025. At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint. This reduction increased the relief available on draught products to 13.9%.  This came into effect on 1 February 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to publish a deadline for the implementation public registers of beneficial ownership in the Overseas Territories.

At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and St Helena committed to join Montserrat and Gibraltar in implementing fully public registers by April 2025.Other OTs, including the British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks & Caicos Islands, agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. The details of this commitment are set out in the JMC communique published on gov.uk. We are working with OT Governments to ensure proposals for the registers meet the requirements agreed at the Joint Ministerial Council.Our expectation is that all OTs will ultimately implement registers that are fully accessible to the public.

If he will take steps to intervene on the planned closure of the cardiac catherisation laboratory at Torbay Hospital.

Responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioning body. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. Any substantial, planned service change is subject to a full public consultation and must meet the Government and NHS England’s ‘tests’ to ensure good decision making.The Health and Care Act 2022 provided new powers that allow for increased oversight and ministerial involvement in the reconfiguration of NHS services. These powers were commenced on 31 January 2024. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will decide whether to intervene if a call-in request has been submitted to the Department. There is an expectation that all avenues of local resolution are exhausted before a call-in request is accepted.The Department has not received a call-in request to intervene in the closure of the cardiac catherisation laboratory at Torbay.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of existing levels of pesticide pollution on (a) (i) terrestrial and (ii) aquatic ecosystems and (b) public health.

A pesticide may only be sold in Great Britain if it has been authorised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) following thorough scientific risk assessment. Pesticides that pose unacceptable risks to the environment or human health are not authorised. Defra funds monitoring that provides information on the levels of pesticides found in the environment, as well as development of the UK Pesticide Load Indicator (UK PLI). The PLI outputs help us to understand the potential pressures from pesticide use on the UK environment. The Environment Agency regularly test water sources across the UK to measure chemical and pesticide concentrations. The GB pesticide Maximum Residue Level (MRL) regime sets high standards of consumer protection to ensure that residues in food do not harm human health. An MRL is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue in or on food that is legally tolerated. MRLs are always set below the level considered safe for people eating the food. HSE report that compliance is high, at 98%. There are very strict limits on the levels of pesticide residues legally tolerated in drinking water. Water company tests reported by the Drinking Water Inspectorate indicate compliance is high, at nearly 100%.

What steps he plans to take to tackle the causes of the shortage of Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy medication.

The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within local areas is not held centrally.The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to boost production and mitigate the supply issue. Suppliers have managed to secure additional pharmaceutical ingredients resulting in expected increased volumes of PERT for 2025. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the gap in the market. In December 2024, the Department issued further management advice to healthcare professionals. This directs clinicians to prescribe unlicensed imports when licensed stock is unavailable, and includes actions for integrated care boards to ensure that local mitigation plans are put in place and implemented. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include the latest updates on PERT availability and easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2025 to Question 27894 on Social Security Benefits: Criminal Investigation, whether her Department pursues cases where they have no record of (a) financial fraud, (b) error and (c) debt from a claimant.

A criminal investigation into social security fraud may be pursued in any case where there is a credible allegation and where there are sufficient facts, information, or intelligence, that indicate fraudulent activity may be occurring. The individual circumstances of the claim will only be considered where they are relevant to a fraud allegation.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) inflation, (b) changes to National Insurance contributions and (c) local authority fee uplifts on healthcare providers.

Each year, the cost of providing healthcare changes because of changes in wages, inflation other inputs over which providers have little control. NHS England publishes a cost uplift factor to reflect these expected cost changes that forms part of the NHS Payment Scheme, and all payment arrangements must have regard to the figure.The 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme is out for consultation until midnight on 28 February 2025. The proposed cost uplift factor for 2025/26 is 4.15%, and is broken down into costs affecting pay, drugs, capital, clinical negligence and other factors.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes business property relief on family-run businesses in (a) Devon, (b) the South West and (c) the UK.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to business property relief on the construction plant-hire sector in (a) Devon, (b) the South West and (c) the UK.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to business property relief on the construction plant-hire sector in Devon.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of existing disposal infrastructure for pesticides in the UK at protecting (a) the environment and (b) public health.

We have no current plans to make an assessment of the effectiveness of existing disposal infrastructure for pesticides in the UK. The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. All pesticide users should follow good practice in the use, storage and disposal of pesticide products, and work to reduce the amount of waste they produce, as set out in the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products. For all pesticides there are legal requirements to store the product securely, use it according to its authorisation (which will include conditions considered appropriate to protect people and the environment) and dispose safely of any surplus.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to require new local authorities to consult National Park authorities on potential planning applications.

New local authorities, including unitary authorities, are required to consult the National Park authority concerned on “development likely to affect land in a National Park,” as prescribed in Sch. 4 of The Town and Country (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.

Media and Sport, if the Government will fully implement the recommendations of the Leveson Report.

The Government has clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s speech, and the second part of Leveson is not among them. This Government has no current plans for further legislation in this area.

Media and Sport, whether she has commissioned research into trends in the level of public trust in the UK press; and whether she plans to take steps to help increase this trust.

We are aware that news consumption habits are changing and many are increasingly turning to less trustworthy news sources. The Government is committed to supporting a free, sustainable and plural media landscape, as the best way to maintain a shared understanding of facts. Relevant work here includes the next BBC Charter Review, our Local Media Strategy, and the implementation of recent legislation on broadcasting, digital competition and online safety.We will take an evidence-based approach to all of this work, and any research that we commission on trends in public trust in the UK press will be published in line with Government policy and build on previous relevant research from Ofcom, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and others.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to shift to using the Impress regulator.

The Government is committed to protecting press freedom, which is essential to a strong and functioning democracy. In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press, which is crucial to maintain press freedom.The Government therefore does not use, intervene in or oversee the work of Impress or other independent press regulators.