Written questions by Welsh.

What steps his Department is taking to improve safety within maternity services.

The Government continues to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year plan for maternity and neonatal services. The plan sets out how the NHS will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families.As part of the delivery plan, an updated version of the ‘Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle’ is being rolled out across England, which is a package of interventions aimed to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth, as well as initiatives to reduce inequalities. Additionally, 14 Maternal Medicine Networks have been developed across England to ensure that women with chronic and acute medical problems related to pregnancy have access to specialist management and care.Additional funding has also been provided for Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships to ensure local voices are used to inform decisions and services. All local leadership teams are taking part in a Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme, helping them to develop and maintain a positive safety culture.The Government is also currently piloting a training programme to help avoid brain injury in childbirth to improve safety for mothers and their babies. If successful, national rollout is expected to commence this year.While good progress has been made, the Government recognises that there are real issues within maternity services. Whilst change will not happen overnight, we are determined to go further to ensure all women and babies receive the care they deserve, and we have committed to providing support to trusts failing on maternity care, recruit thousands of new midwives, and tackle the unacceptable inequalities that exist.

Whether her Department has made an assessment on the potential merits of extending eligibility for the zero-rate VAT for charities to include flood defence equipment.

To protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, the Government has committed £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Through this funding the Government provides direct support to communities facing flooding, and therefore we have no plans to change the VAT treatment of flood defence equipment for charities. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax forecast to raise £171 billion in 2024/25. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services including schools and hospitals.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislation to end male primogeniture for baronetage.

The Government recognises that baronetcies, like other hereditary titles, can usually only be inherited by male heirs. However, the Government is prioritising on delivering its manifesto commitments, including reform of the House of Lords.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of border checks on the cut flower industry.

The Government is committed to protecting our biosecurity and we are using a risk-based approach to maintain the appropriate level of controls. Defra will continue to monitor for new and emerging risks and review the border control checks introduced under the Border Target Operating Model. GB plant health services have increased the number of plant health inspection staff to service the demand for import checks in England and Wales of EU plants and plant products. Inspector levels are being monitored to ensure these meet demand and deliver checks in line with set Service Level Agreements and ensure minimal trade disruption. Certain EU Medium Risk cut flowers have been subject to pre-notification since 1 January 2022. EU Medium Risk cut flowers have required a Phytosanitary Certificate since 31 January 2024, but there are now inspections for EU Medium Risk goods at the border since 30 April 2024. To reduce and prevent the introduction and establishment of invasive non-native species (INNS) we have prioritised horticulture as one of the top 5 pathways of introduction. We have developed a Horticulture Pathway Action Plan, available here: https://www.nonnativespecies.org/biosecurity/pathway-action-plans/horticulture-pap-for-great-britain/ which aims to address the most likely routes by which INNS can get into the country.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2024 to Question 19765 on Large Goods Vehicles: Concrete, when her Department plans to publish the findings from the call to evidence on weight limits for Volumetric Concrete Mixers.

The Department will publish its findings shortly.

What is his Department's planned timescale for the review of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

The Government is committed to ending the injustice of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme and the first increased payments due to the transfer of the Investment Reserve Fund to members were made at the end of November. The Government will soon start talks wi...

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that new housing developments are supported by adequate local infrastructure.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.Local development plans sh...

How many people have used probation services in Sherwood Forest constituency in each of the last 12 months.

The table below shows the number of people under supervision on the last day of each of the last 12 months.Caseload periodNumber of offenders31 July 202332531 August 202332730 September 202333131 October 202333930 November 202334731 December 202334331 Jan...

What steps her Department is taking to reduce reoffending rates in Sherwood Forest constituency.

This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by giving people the tools they need to turn their backs on crime. To do that, we will increase prisoners’ access to purposeful activity, including education and employment, which we know can reduce reo...

Communities and Local Government, how many young people are (a) classified homeless and (b) in emergency accommodation in Sherwood Forest constituency.

The annual homelessness statistics includes age of applicants in temporary accommodation by local authority as of 31 March 2024. This information is available at table TA5 - Additional_temporary_accommodation_breakdowns__31_March_2024.ods.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate access to education for children who are certified blind in Sherwood Forest constituency.

The government’s ambition is that all children and young people receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring sp...

What recent guidance her Department has issued on whether parents may make enquiries in respect of the availability of state school places for their children to more than one (a) local authority and (b) academy

The rights of parents to make enquiries about the availability of school places, including across multiple local authorities or academy trusts, is set out in the School Admissions Code. This is mandatory and imposes requirements and guidelines relating to...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the improvement of flood (a) defences and (b) resilience in Sherwood Forest constituency.

Protecting communities around the country from flooding and coastal erosion is one of the new Secretary of State’s five core priorities. This Government will improve resilience and preparation across central government, local authorities, local communitie...

If he will make an estimate of the number of dentistry practices accepting NHS patients in Sherwood Forest constituency.

As of 4 September 2024, there were four open dentistry practices in the Sherwood Forest constituency, three of which were showing as accepting ‘children aged 17 or under’, ‘adults 18 or over’, and ‘adults entitled to free dental care’.This data is sourced...

What the level of real-terms funding per pupil in (a) primary and (b) secondary school in Sherwood Forest constituency was in each financial year since 2010.

The table below provides per pupil funding units from academic years 2020/21 to 2024/25, which represents the funding provided for schools in Sherwood Forest constituency.The department cannot provide comparable funding data for each of the last 10 years ...

What steps she plans to take to help alleviate child poverty in Sherwood Forest constituency.

Tackling child poverty everywhere is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper. Child poverty has gon...