Written questions by Vickers.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with animal welfare organisations on tackling the misuse of air weapons against pets.

Defra regularly engage with animal welfare organisations on a range of issues. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare, may be banned from owning animals. They may also face an unlimited fine, be sent to prison, or both.

What support is available to help people with long-term health conditions return to work in high-deprivation areas.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. To achieve an 80% employment rate, it is key that we have an employment support system that is tailored to local labour markets, with high quality vacancies available in all areas of the country matched by employment and skills support tailored for the needs of the local population in each area Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. In our March Green Paper, we set-out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030 and a total of £2.2 billion by over four years. Our £2.2 billion Pathways to Work investment brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The Plan will break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Restart Scheme in regions with persistently high unemployment.

The Department is currently undertaking a quantitative impact evaluation of the Restart Scheme. This evaluation will assess the overall effectiveness of the scheme nationally, including areas of high unemployment, but will not necessarily be able to draw conclusions about these areas in isolation, we aim to publish the findings by the end of this year. In addition, the Restart Scheme Evaluation, published in May 2024 The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme – May 2024, provides analysis of delivery across different Contract Package Areas.

What progress she has made on integrating (a) employment and (b) health services for people out of work long-term.

Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell. The Department also provides a range of support to help individuals to access, retain, and thrive in employment. This includes referrals to financial assistance, workplace adaptations, and personalised guidance. Our teams support customers with Access to Work to ensure customers have reasonable adjustment, specialist equipment, support workers and more to ensure that customers have all the necessary tools to get into and maintain work. It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health. Backed by £240m investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate. In our March Green Paper, we set-out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030 and a total of £2.2 billion by over four years. Our £2.2bn Pathways to Work investment brings our total investment in employment support for disabled people and those with health conditions to £3.8 billion over this Parliament. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. We will further pilot the integration of employment advisers and work coaches into the neighbourhood health service, so that working age people with long term health conditions have an integrated public service offer. A patient’s employment goals will be part of care plans, to support more joined up service provision. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked together on the 10 Year Health Plan. The 10 Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people.

What recent discussions she has had with local authorities on tackling in-work poverty.

We know that working full-time substantially reduces the risk of being in poverty. Working age adults living in households where no adults are in work were around 6 times more likely to be in relative poverty after housing costs than working age adults in households where all adults work. This is why supporting people into good work will always be the foundation of our approach to delivering lasting change.Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Local Authorities, including quarterly meetings with both Mayors and Local Government Association representatives to discuss progress with our Get Britain Working initiatives. These proposals, backed by an initial £240 million investment in 25/26, will deliver the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation to help more people to access good, meaningful work, and support them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.Alongside this, our plan to Make Work will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards including by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 an hour, boosting the pay of 3 million workers.We have also commenced reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do, to make work pay and tackle poverty. We have begun this work by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit and announcing the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced.

What plans he has for (a) Admiral Nurses and (b) other dementia specialist nurses in the delivery of the proposed neighbourhood health service.

The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations, and so they could include dementia specialist nurses. While we will be clear on the outcomes we expect, we will give significant licence to tailor the approach to local need. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services may look different in rural communities, coastal towns, or deprived inner cities.Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services, which may include dementia specialist nurses/admiral nurses, based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines. NICE recommends providing people living with dementia with a single named health or social care professional who is responsible for coordinating their care.Under the 10-year plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services.  We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. This will be informed by phase one of the independent commission into adult social care, expected in 2026.

What steps she is taking to ensure that rail stations in the North East meet accessibility standards.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of Britain’s railway and recognise the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.In the North East, five Access for All projects have been undertaken, four of which are now complete, with one currently under construction. Nominations for future rounds of funding will benefit from strong industry support and a proportion of third party match funding.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the time taken for probate processing.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service have invested in more staff, alongside system and process improvements to reduce and then maintain lower processing times during the last year.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on probate timeliness here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly.

What steps eh has taken to ensure that Integrated Care Boards comply with national guidance on prescribing gluten-free products to patients with coeliac disease.

Decisions about the commissioning and funding of local health services are the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). It is the responsibility of ICBs, working with clinicians, service users, and patient groups, to develop local services and care pathways that meet patients’ needs. The Government expects ICBs to take account of relevant guidelines and best practice in designing their local services, to ensure consistency of approaches between ICBs. NHS England’s guidance should be taken into account when ICBs formulate local policies, and prescribers are expected to reflect local policies in their prescribing practices.NHS England’s guidance on Prescribing Gluten-Free Foods in Primary Care states that commissioners restrict the prescribing of gluten free (GF) foods to bread and mixes only. Under the current legislation, ICBs may choose to further restrict product choice, or end the prescribing of GF foods altogether, if they feel this is appropriate for their population, whilst taking account of their legal duties to advance equality and having regard to reducing health inequalities.The national prescribing position in England remains that GF bread and mixes can be provided to coeliac patients on a National Health Service prescription, and a wide range of these items continue to be listed in part XV of the Drug Tariff. This means that prescribers can issue NHS prescriptions, based on a shared decision between prescriber and patient, while also being mindful of local and national guidance.

What support is available to help ex-offenders reintegrate into communities in high deprivation areas.

Effective resettlement of prison leavers is crucial to reduce reoffending. This includes making sure someone has a home, family links where appropriate, access to healthcare, a job or education, and timely access to benefits where needed. Community probation practitioners coordinate each individual’s rehabilitation, taking an individualised approach to ensure all prison leavers are connected with the right local support. They work closely with pre-release teams and local services, including through prison-based and commissioned rehabilitative services, to enable effective reintegration back into the community. To support this, the Government is committed to ensuring robust pre-release plans are in place, identifying and putting support in place to address individuals’ needs before release. This support includes HMPPS’s Community Accommodation Service Tier 3, which provides up to 12 weeks of temporary housing for those at risk of homelessness on release, offering a stable base to support reintegration. Additionally, we’ve launched regional Employment Councils that bring together businesses, probation, and the Department for Work and Pensions to help prison leavers into work - a key factor in reducing reoffending by up to nine percentage points.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases to the cost-of-living on the ability of people with coeliac disease to maintain a medically required gluten-free diet.

The Department carried out an analysis of this issue as part of its Equalities Impact Assessment, which was published as part of the consultation on the availability of gluten-free (GF) foods on prescription in primary care, launched in March 2017. A copy of the Equality Impact Assessment following this consultation is available on the consultation page, at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/availability-of-gluten-free-foods-on-nhs-prescriptionWe looked at the equality impact assessment and the consultation responses, and as a result made the decision to retain GF bread and mixes on National Health Service prescription services. This will help coeliacs to obtain their basic food needs and will mitigate the risk that those on lower incomes are not able to purchase their own GF foods from retail outlets, where evidence shows that the price is often higher and availability more limited.In England, NHS prescription charge exemptions are in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, whether they have a qualifying medical condition, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.We have frozen NHS prescription charges in England for the first time in three years, keeping the cost of a prescription below £10. This decision will help with the cost of living for millions of patients who regularly pay for prescriptions.Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors, including import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and manufacturing costs, and exchange rates. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food supply matters. However, it is not for the Government to set retail food prices or to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.

What recent estimate he has made of the number of unfilled NHS roles in the North East.

NHS England publishes a compendium of NHS Vacancy Statistics each quarter. The information currently provides four measures of the level of vacancies in the National Health Service, one of which presents management information collected by NHS England from NHS trusts on full time equivalent vacancies reported, which is the most commonly used measure. NHS England collects and publishes vacancies in the North East and Yorkshire as a single region, which is available in this publication.Published vacancy data, including information on the definition of the collected data and the available timeseries, along with the measure’s strengths and weaknesses, is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey

What estimate she has made of the additional annual revenue received from taxing state pensions from April 2026.

This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. The commitment to protect the Triple Lock saw over 12 million pensioners benefit from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast. The Personal Allowance will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax. The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The current Government is committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds at Budget 2025. From this winter pensioners with incomes below or equal to £35,000 will benefit from Winter Fuel Payments from this winter. This threshold is broadly in line with average earnings. It ensures the vast majority of pensioners – over three quarters, and around 9 million individuals in England and Wales - will receive support. It also ensures the means testing of Winter Fuel Payments has no effect on pensioner poverty. The relevant impact assessments are available on gov.uk: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK Winter Fuel Payments eligibility change - internal modelling on pensioner poverty levels - GOV.UK.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the withdrawal of winter fuel payments, (b) frozen tax thresholds and (c) state pension taxation on pensioner households.

This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. The commitment to protect the Triple Lock saw over 12 million pensioners benefit from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast. The Personal Allowance will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax. The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The current Government is committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds at Budget 2025. From this winter pensioners with incomes below or equal to £35,000 will benefit from Winter Fuel Payments from this winter. This threshold is broadly in line with average earnings. It ensures the vast majority of pensioners – over three quarters, and around 9 million individuals in England and Wales - will receive support. It also ensures the means testing of Winter Fuel Payments has no effect on pensioner poverty. The relevant impact assessments are available on gov.uk: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK Winter Fuel Payments eligibility change - internal modelling on pensioner poverty levels - GOV.UK.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of freezing the personal allowance on pensioners whose sole income is the state pension.

This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. The commitment to protect the Triple Lock saw over 12 million pensioners benefit from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast. The Personal Allowance will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax. The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The current Government is committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds at Budget 2025. From this winter pensioners with incomes below or equal to £35,000 will benefit from Winter Fuel Payments from this winter. This threshold is broadly in line with average earnings. It ensures the vast majority of pensioners – over three quarters, and around 9 million individuals in England and Wales - will receive support. It also ensures the means testing of Winter Fuel Payments has no effect on pensioner poverty. The relevant impact assessments are available on gov.uk: Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK Winter Fuel Payments eligibility change - internal modelling on pensioner poverty levels - GOV.UK.

What proportion of pensioners (a) have no private (i) pension and (ii) savings and (b) rely solely on the state pension.

In financial year ending 2024, 30% of UK pensioners received no private pension income. This includes income from occupational pension income and personal pension income. In financial year ending 2024, 10% of UK pensioners had no savings. In financial year ending 2024, the percentage of UK pensioners receiving just the State Pension as their income was estimated to be 5%. Sources: Pensioners’ Incomes (PI) series 2023/24; Households below average income (HBAI) statistics 2023/24.

What steps she is taking to expand the availability of restorative justice schemes in England.

This Government supports the use of restorative justice in line with the evidence of its efficacy. We know that restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending when delivered in the right circumstances. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.This is why, under the Victims’ Code, victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. Under a devolved model of commissioning, we also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, which can include restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area.

What recent estimate she has made of the length of Personal Independence Payment processing times in Stockton-on-Tees.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner and always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence For PIP new claims the current average clearance time is approximately 14 weeks, which includes the period allowed for customers to complete and return their questionnaire.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Universal Credit in supporting working families.

As promised in our election manifesto, we are currently reviewing Universal Credit, including its support for working families, to ensure it makes work pay and tackles poverty. Universal Credit is designed so that people who can, are able to secure and progress in work, and to provide a vital safety net for those who cannot work. The Universal Credit Bill has now passed all remaining stages and will receive Royal Assent this month. This bill legislates for the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of households.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with fire and rescue services on recruitment and retention.

Responsibility for the recruitment and retention of firefighters rests with individual fire and rescue authorities.Since the transfer of Ministerial responsibility for all fire functions from the Home Office to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 1 April 2025, MHCLG has continued to engage with the fire and rescue sector through a number of forums, including the Ministerial Advisory Group on Fire and Rescue Reform, to discuss a range of issues affecting services.