Written questions by Barker.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of OFWAT in delivering value for money for consumers.

We are confident that Ofwat are delivering their core functions effectively. Ofwat holds water companies to account for the delivery of affordable, secure and resilient water services. Ofwat must protect the interests of consumers whilst ensuring the companies properly carry out and finance their statutory functions. It is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure that the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat’s final determination saved customers £11 billion compared to what companies initially proposed in the next price review period. Furthermore, the Independent Water Commission, launched in October 2024 by the UK and Welsh Governments, will consider the roles and responsibilities of the water industry regulators and how we can ensure our regulators operate as effectively as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the level of water chargers on consumers.

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways. These bill rises equate to around £3 additional per month on average, before inflation. This will pay to fix crumbling infrastructure, which will dramatically reduce sewage spills and lead to cleaner rivers, lakes and seas. This Government has been clear with Ofwat that increases to customer bills must not flow through to company profits, or to executive bonuses where performance is poor.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of water infrastructure costs on consumers.

For too long, investment has not kept pace with the challenges of an ageing infrastructure system, a rapidly growing population and climate change. Bills will therefore now need to rise to invest in our crumbling infrastructure and deliver cleaner waterways. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 on 19 December. This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104bn upgrade for the water sector. These bill rises equate to around £3 additional per month on average. This will pay to fix crumbling infrastructure, which will dramatically reduce sewage spills and lead to cleaner rivers, lakes and seas. Funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent companies refund customers. All water companies offer affordability support for customers struggling to pay their bills and companies have more than doubled the number of customers that will receive help through social tariffs, from 4% to 9%, between 2025-30. The Government is working with industry to keep current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported.

What assessment his Department has made of trends in the number of (a) pub and (b) restaurant closures in England in the latest period for which data is available.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 25th February is attached.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Affordable Homes programme increases the availability of (a) social and (b) council housing in the next five years.

The 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, and new investment to succeed it, will increase the availability of social rented homes provided by private registered providers and local authorities over the next five years by allocating grant funding to support the capital costs of development.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with the (a) Premier League and (b) English Football League on the cost of football tickets; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent trends in the cost of football tickets on supporters.

Football is nothing without its fans and the Government is keen to see as many people as possible benefit from and enjoy the spectacle of live sport.The matter of ticket prices is a commercial decision for individual clubs and leagues to take. However, the Government remains in conversation with stakeholders to ensure that fans are engaged properly.This is also why the Government has introduced legislation to establish an Independent Football Regulator to protect and promote the sustainability of English football in the interests of fans and the local communities football clubs serve.As a result of changes made by this Government, the Football Governance Bill will now explicitly require clubs to consult their supporters on ticket prices making sure their voice is heard on this key issue.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increasing wine duty on the independent hospitality sector.

A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside the changes to alcohol duty announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-rates-of-alcohol-duty/alcohol-duty-uprating The wine industry makes a vital contribution to our economy and society, which is recognised in the tax system. Ahead of the Autumn Budget 2024, the Government heard representations to increase alcohol duty by more than inflation to tackle increasing alcohol-related deaths, as well as economic inactivity. The Government is also mindful of the cost-of-living pressures on people who drink responsibly and on hospitality businesses and alcohol producers. Balancing these pressures, the Chancellor announced that she would uprate alcohol duty in line with RPI inflation. The wine easement also ended on 1 February 2025. This was a transitional measure, which gave the wine industry over two years to adapt to the new system.  HMRC have worked closely with industry to support this transition.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of educational attainment of children living in temporary accommodation.

The department’s Opportunity Mission will break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success, ensuring family security, providing the best start in life, with all children achieving and thriving and building skills for opportunity and growth.High and rising standards in every school are at the heart of this mission, driving better outcomes for every child, and delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high quality curriculum, and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back.The department knows that disadvantaged young people in particular face barriers to engagement with education, including insecure housing. If children are unable to engage with education, it doesn’t matter how good teaching and learning is, they will not benefit.From April 2025 the department will be rolling out family help services that will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating. Lead practitioners will undertake assessments of all needs of the family, including those who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness, and work to support families where this may be part of a more complex set of needs.As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year, 2024/25. This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.The Child Poverty Taskforce has also started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy. The Strategy will tackle overall child poverty, including a focus on children in deepest poverty lacking essentials. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.In addition, homeless children are included in the Fair Access Protocol, which is a mandatory mechanism developed by local authorities in partnership with all schools in their area. Its aim is to ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible.

What steps his Department is taking to support the independent hospitality sector with rising costs.

Independent hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper which will be published later this year. Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reports of the looting of aid trucks in areas of Gaza that are under Israeli military control; and if he will hold discussions with his Israeli counterpart on this matter.

We welcome reports that looting of aid deliveries in Gaza has reduced. This remains a concern, and we continue to work with partners to monitor this. Israel must now continue to work with partners to ensure law and order is maintained in Gaza so that safe distribution of aid across the Gaza strip is sustained. The Foreign Secretary raised this with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar in a call on 22 January.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to oppose the potential (a) forcible transfer and (b) ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

We oppose moving Palestinians in Gaza to neighbouring Arab states against their will. There must be no forced displacement of Palestinians, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza strip. Palestinian civilians should be able to return to and rebuild their homes and their lives. Our position is clear - we want to see a negotiated two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people, with a sovereign Palestinian state, which includes the West Bank and Gaza, alongside a safe and secure Israel.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the resilience of the independent hospitality sector to absorb the rising costs of (a) national Insurance, (b) alcohol duty, (c) energy prices and (d) food prices.

The government will protect the smallest businesses and charities by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that in 2025/26, 865,000 employers (43%) will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all.The alcohol duty cut on qualifying draught products impacts approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall cut in duty bills of over £85million a year.Since 19 December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises with fewer than 50 employees have been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and other manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates.We continue to work closely with HM Treasury on the challenges facing high street and other businesses.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help councils (a) re-establish Housing Revenue Accounts and (b) become the direct provider of new council homes.

If a local authority has over 199 social and affordable homes, it must open a Housing Revenue Account (HRA), and we invite any council that is considering this to engage with the Department. We know from our engagement with non-HRA holding councils, that many would like to increase their current levels of housing delivery, but that the cost of opening a HRA can make this difficult. That is why I have asked my officials to explore whether the current threshold is set at the right level, or if a different threshold would enable councils to reach a level of housing provision that would better enable them to meet the costs of opening and managing an HRA. In 2023-24, councils delivered just over 8,950 affordable homes. We want to support all councils – both HRA holding and non-HRA holding – to boost their levels of direct delivery so that we can achieve the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We have begun this process through a series of measures designed to enhance councils’ capacity, capability, and confidence to build again at scale, as detailed in my answer to Question UIN 31737 on 27 February 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Planning overhaul to reach 1.5 million new homes, published on 12 December 2024, what assessment her Department has made on the adequacy of capacity within the construction sector to deliver that target.

The government recognises the need to expand and upskill the construction workforce to meet our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of delivering 1.5 million homes in this Parliament.We are working with industry to boost skills and support employers. We have announced a £140 million package of industry investment that will deliver 5,000 more apprenticeship places as well as apprenticeship reforms that will enable up to 10,000 more apprentices to qualify per year, including in construction.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of capacity to build new social housing at (a) pace and (b) scale.

The government recognise that Registered Providers need support to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply.We have consulted on a new five-year social housing rent settlement, to give Registered Providers the certainty they need to invest in new social and affordable housing.We have also announced that councils will be allowed to keep 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales, so that they are better able to build and buy new homes.We will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made on the potential impact of addressing rural homelessness on preventing those who experience homelessness travelling to urban areas to seek support.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across the key government departments with the greatest impact on homelessness to develop a long-term strategy, and an Expert Group bringing together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector. We continue to engage with DEFRA on measures as part of the development of our long-term housing strategy. We are also delivering a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Further information on the allocations of homelessness grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year can be found in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-allocations-2025-to-2026 The Government is also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament. And the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24267 on Homelessness: Departmental Coordination, what assessment she has made of the merits of inviting DEFRA to the Department's Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across the key government departments with the greatest impact on homelessness to develop a long-term strategy, and an Expert Group bringing together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector. We continue to engage with DEFRA on measures as part of the development of our long-term housing strategy. We are also delivering a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Further information on the allocations of homelessness grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year can be found in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-allocations-2025-to-2026 The Government is also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament. And the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on uprating temporary accommodation subsidy rates.

We continue to keep the rates used for Housing Benefit subsidy under review and work closely with MHCLG and the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping. The Government will prioritise the best way to achieve its mission and goals within the current challenging fiscal situation at the appropriate fiscal event.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to create a dedicated Youth Chapter in its Homelessness Strategy to address the specific needs of young people facing homelessness.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across the key government departments with the greatest impact on homelessness to develop a long-term strategy, and an Expert Group bringing together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector. We continue to engage with DEFRA on measures as part of the development of our long-term housing strategy. We are also delivering a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, grant funding for homelessness services is increasing this year by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total funding to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Further information on the allocations of homelessness grant funding in the 2025/26 financial year can be found in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-allocations-2025-to-2026 The Government is also tackling the root causes of homelessness, including the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament. And the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empower people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department will take to ensure local authorities are adequately resourced to improve standards in the private rented sector.

Through the Renters’ Rights Bill, the government is strengthening local authorities’ enforcement powers and extending and increasing ring-fenced civil penalties to support a ‘polluter pays’ approach.In accordance with the New Burdens Doctrine, we will ensure additional net costs on local authorities created by our reforms are fully funded.We will continue to explore how best we can create a sustainable funding system for private rented sector enforcement over the long-term, including through fees.