Written questions by Hudson.

What steps her Department is taking to support the maintenance of highways in Essex.

The Government takes the condition of our country’s roads very seriously and is committed to maintaining and renewing the local highway network. Essex County Council, as a local highway authority, is responsible for the condition and maintenance of its local road network. The Government has a manifesto commitment to enable local highway authorities to fix up to a million extra potholes a year. As announced on 20 December 2024, the Government has allocated Essex County Council £45.8 million during 2025/26 to help them carry out their local highway maintenance responsibilities. This is an increase of around 36% over the current financial year and includes a share of the additional £500 million announced in Budget 2024. It is Essex County Council’s responsibility to decide how that funding is used, based on local needs and priorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the funding allocated to local authorities to improve air quality.

The department works closely with local authorities to develop approaches to reducing air pollution. Under the NO2 Programme, the Government’s DfT-Defra Joint Air Quality Unit has provided significant funding to support local authorities to improve air quality in areas of NO2 exceedances, for example recently agreeing Greater Manchester’s £86m Clean Air Plan. We continue to work closely with local areas as they implement their plans. Local authorities have funding allocated to them as part of the local government settlements. Any future, additional funding for local authorities will be subject to the Government’s spending review process.

What steps he is taking to help protect older people from health impacts of cold weather.

The UK Health Security Agency publishes the Adverse Weather and Health Plan for England, which sets out a framework for action to protect the population, including the elderly, from harm to their health from adverse weather, including excess cold.With hospitals facing record pressures this winter, we advise elderly and vulnerable people to be careful if heading out in the snow and ice, and to try and keep as warm as possible. We urge people to continue to use NHS 111 if they need advice and support for health conditions, and only use 999 or attend accident and emergency in life-threatening emergencies.The Government is committed to a preventative approach to the public’s health. Keeping people warm and well at home, and improving the quality of new and existing homes, will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives, and thereby reduce pressure on the National Health Service.The 2021 fuel poverty strategy is currently under review. In the meantime, the Government has kickstarted delivery of our Warm Homes Plan, including an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next three years. Support is also available through the Warm Home Discount schemes which provide eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to winter fuel payments on hospital admissions of older people in (a) Epping Forest constituency and (b) nationally.

An impact assessment of the cut in winter fuel payments on hospital admissions of older people in Epping Forest and nationally this winter has not been produced. The Government has taken action to ensure low-income households are protected this winter.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to make Round 1 payments from the Water Restoration Fund.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities. In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. Defra is continuing to work with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding continued reinvestment of the water company fines and penalties on water environment improvement.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increases in cases of flu on NHS healthcare provision.

During winter there is an increase in hospital admissions from seasonal respiratory conditions such as flu. This can impact hospital occupancy and the flow of patients through hospitals, which in turn impacts on accident and emergency, and ambulance services. Respiratory conditions can also impact the number of staff absences, which can further increase pressure on the provision of health care. This year the number of beds occupied with flu has been higher than last year. The latest data shows there were, on average, 4,693 patients in hospital with flu in the week ending 12 January 2025, above the peak figure of 2,478 reported during winter 2023/24.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure rural and semi-rural communities have access to pharmacies.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for understanding the health needs of their areas and for commissioning services to meet those needs. Local authorities are required to undertake a pharmaceutical needs assessment every three years to assess whether their population is adequately served and must keep these assessments under review. These assessments inform ICBs when reviewing applications for National Health Service pharmacies.The Pharmacy Access Scheme provides additional funding to further support pharmacies in more remote areas. Additionally, in rural areas where there is no pharmacy, general practitioners are permitted to dispense medicines. Patients can also choose to access medicines and pharmacy services through any of the nearly 400 NHS online pharmacies that are contractually required to deliver prescription medicines free of charge to patients.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has for the Smaller Abattoir Fund.

The Smaller Abattoir Fund closed on 30 September 2024. For the future, Defra plans to simplify and rationalise grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. We are in the process of agreeing how we will use capital to achieve outcomes through the Spending Review process, and we will confirm any future grant rounds in due course.

What information his Department holds on how many abattoirs there were in (a) England and (b) the UK in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

On 1 April 2023, there were 207 approved abattoirs in England, and a further 42 in Wales and Northern Ireland. On 1 April 2024, there were 200 approved abattoirs in England, and a further 41 in Wales and Northern Ireland. The Food Standards Agency does not hold information on the number of abattoirs in Scotland, as the competent authority is Food Standards Scotland.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure hospitals are able to meet increased demand as a result of increased hospital admissions for flu.

The national approach on priorities for winter planning was issued by NHS England on 16 September, setting out the key steps to be taken to support the delivery of high-quality care for patients this winter. The Minister of State for Health also made a statement on winter preparedness in the House of Commons on 18 December 2024.The National Health Service is supporting vaccination efforts for COVID-19, flu, and the respiratory syncytial virus, ensuring that local partners promote population uptake, and that NHS trusts ensure eligible staff have access to vaccinations.In addition, due to the action taken by the Government this winter, NHS hospitals will be free of strikes and focused on caring for patients.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the ability of the abattoir network in (a) England and (b) the UK to meet the needs of food (i) production, (ii) processing and (iii) security.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government is committed to maintaining a resilient food supply chain. Defra recognises the vital contribution a thriving abattoir network plays in achieving these goals by providing a competitive route to market for producers. England benefits from an established and resilient meat processing sector which despite some challenging circumstances in recent years has continued to process high quality products ensuring the supply of food and maintaining food security. The Government has full confidence that this will continue to be the case.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the level of Government funding to (a) hospices and (b) the palliative care sector.

The Chancellor and I work closely with the Health Secretary on issues related to health and social care funding. The Government announced in December 2024 that we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, as well as £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices. This will help to ensure that hospices in England can continue to deliver the highest quality end of life care possible for their patients, families, and loved ones. In England, integrated care boards are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the labour supply for abattoirs in (a) England and (b) the UK to meet requirements for (i) processing, (ii) food hygiene and (iii) veterinary oversight.

The UK benefits from having a resilient meat processing sector. However, the Government has recognised the challenges the sector continues to face with the recruitment of both skilled and seasonal labour. We support the industry in its recruitment and training of more domestic workers, including through apprenticeship schemes, and in utilising the benefits that automation can bring. There are currently sufficient levels of veterinary resource for delivery of official controls in approved meat premises. This is mainly through a recruitment pipeline from overseas, however, efforts are being made to attract domestic trained and qualified vets to this area of veterinary public health. The new Government has also confirmed the Seasonal Worker visa allocation for 2025, with 2000 visas available for the poultry sector to help with the pre-Christmas surge in demand.

Media and Sport, whether she has plans to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme beyond the current deadline of 31 March 2025.

We will announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme soon.

What steps he is taking to tackle the import of illegal vapes.

The Government is taking concerted effort to tackle the import and sale of illicit vapes. This includes investing up to £3 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support National Trading Standards to deliver a range of enforcement interventions, including the removal of illicit products from the market and intervention at ports. The Government will expand on this by investing a further £30 million in 2025/26 to support tobacco and vapes enforcement action, £10 million of which will go towards bolstering Trading Standards’ ability to tackle illicit tobacco and vapes.Alongside additional investment we are also taking legislative steps to tackle the illicit market. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers to introduce a new retail licensing scheme in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for tobacco, vapes and nicotine products and to establish a new registration system for tobacco, vaping and nicotine products entering the United Kingdom market. We are also introducing a ban on the sale and supply of single use vapes under environmental legislation.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to protect Listed Places of Worship in Epping Forest.

There is a range of funding available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies that supports places of worship. These include Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who have committed to investing around £100m between 2023 and 2026 to support places of worship; the Churches Conservation Trust, which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, funding £9 million worth of repairs to buildings on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register between April 2024 and March 2025.Since 2022, 5 Listed Places of Worship Grants have been awarded in the constituency of Epping Forrest, with 4 grants totalling £3,041 to the Church of the Holy Cross and St Lawrence, and 1 grant of £1,847 awarded to the Church of Holy Innocents High Beach. Granular data is not available before 2022 due to a change in grant administrator.DCMS Arms-Length Body the National Lottery Heritage Fund has also supported two listed places of worship in Epping Forest; awarding £29,000 to Grade II* St Mary’s, Chigwell in 2003, and £17,000 to Grade II listed St Mary the Virgin, Theydon Bois in 1997.

What steps he is taking to tackle the sale of illegal vapes.

The Government is taking concerted effort to tackle the import and sale of illicit vapes. This includes investing up to £3 million over 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support National Trading Standards to deliver a range of enforcement interventions, including the removal of illicit products from the market and intervention at ports. The Government will expand on this by investing a further £30 million in 2025/26 to support tobacco and vapes enforcement action, £10 million of which will go towards bolstering Trading Standards’ ability to tackle illicit tobacco and vapes.Alongside additional investment we are also taking legislative steps to tackle the illicit market. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill provides powers to introduce a new retail licensing scheme in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland for tobacco, vapes and nicotine products and to establish a new registration system for tobacco, vaping and nicotine products entering the United Kingdom market. We are also introducing a ban on the sale and supply of single use vapes under environmental legislation.

What assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of funding for mental health services and (b) the potential impact of the level of that funding on waiting lists for such services.

Adequate funding for mental health services is important. While funding for reforms and improvements to mental health services will be decided at the Spending Review, the Autumn Budget provided an extra £26 million to open new mental health crisis centres, and funding to provide NHS Talking Therapies services for an extra 380,000 patients.We remain committed to recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment on the potential impact of the removal of the Funding Guarantee Scheme on the Fire and Rescue Service.

We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing as demand increases for critical services. That is why in the provisional Settlement for 2025-26 we have made available £69 billion for local government including a £5 referendum principle for Fire and Rescue Authorities. Together with central government grant and locally retained business rates, the proposed principles provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of 3.5% on 2024-25. The government also announced an additional £515 million of unringfenced funding for local government, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, specifically to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget. Allocations for individual Fire and Rescue Authorities will be confirmed at the final Settlement.

What steps she is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of police officers in (i) Epping Forest constituency and (ii) Essex.

The retention of police officers is an important element of managing the police workforce. Voluntary resignation rates in England and Wales, at 3.4%, are low compared to other sectors.It is important that police forces use effective strategies to manage the retention and progression of existing officers, as well as continuing to recruit new officers.The Police Officer Maintenance grant provides funding to forces that successfully maintain officer headcounts as set out in the 2024/25 Police Funding Settlement.Funding arrangements for the coming year have been set out as part of the 2025-26 provisional police funding settlement.