Written questions by Heylings.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for the Government’s Clean Power 2030 target of limiting the supply of solar and battery storage projects as a result of the 2035 regional technology capacities.

The Clean Power Action Plan (CPAP) sets out regional capacities for solar and battery storage required to achieve Clean Power by 2030. Regional capacities out to 2035 are also included to provide a 10-year time horizon for connections offers. 2035 capacities are based on the top of the range of NESO's Future Energy Scenarios. NESO analysis suggests that projects allocated to the 2031-35 period may be able to connect pre-2030 where there is spare network capacity or if needed to deal with attrition. However, the reformed queue to 2030 will already contain additional capacity beyond the amount needed to achieve Clean Power by 2030.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the adoption and special guardianship support fund permanent.

On 1 April, it was announced that the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) would continue into 2025/26, with a budget of £50 million.All future decisions regarding the ASGSF will be considered as part of the next spending review.

What steps she is taking to prevent foreign lorries without adequate safety features using UK roads.

All lorries using GB roads must meet safety standards. The Driver and vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conduct enforcement of this, including roadside checks. DVSA use data and intelligence to target those vehicles that present the highest risk to road safety. Where vehicles do not meet standards, they are prohibited from continuing their journey until the defects are fixed and until any penalties are paid.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of claims made to the Health and Safety Executive that are subsequently referred by the HSE to local authorities for resolution.

The Health and Safety at Work Act establishes a co-regulatory partnership between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities (LAs). This co-regulatory partnership sees HSE and LAs working closely to ensure consistent enforcement of health and safety legislation. The Enforcing Authority Regulations (EA Regulations) 1989 determine allocation of enforcement responsibility. LAs are responsible for enforcing health and safety requirements at 65% of business premises in Great Britain, which employ 46% of the national workforce. In general, LAs are the enforcing authority for retail, wholesale distribution and warehousing, hotel and catering premises, offices, and the consumer/leisure industries. HSE has the policy lead for all other sectors, and enforcement responsibilities for those sectors that traditionally have higher hazards/risks, e.g. factories, construction, agriculture, and off-shore industries. Regulation 5 of the EA Regulations allows enforcement responsibility for any premises or any activity carried on there, to be transferred from HSE to the LA or vice versa. A transfer may be made only by agreement between the two enforcing authorities involved. The number of transfers under Regulation 5 from HSE to LAs show no discernible trend.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38182 on LGBT+ People: Fertility, whether his Department plans to remove the requirement for female same sex couples to self-find prior to accessing IVF services on the NHS.

The Government recognises that fertility treatment across the National Health Service in England is subject to variation in access. Work continues on joint advice from the Department and NHS England about the offer around NHS-funded fertility services, including the issues for female same sex couples.Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We expect these organisations to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England. The NICE is currently reviewing these guidelines.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the compensation provided to Equitable Life policyholders.

The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 and there are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that GPs are able to access their pension information.

NHS Pension Scheme members, including general practitioners (GPs), can access information about their pension via My NHS Pension, an online portal from the NHS Pension Service, which is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/member-hub/my-nhs-pensionTo provide accurate pension information for practitioners, the NHS Business Services Authority needs a fully up to date record in respect of their NHS Pension Scheme membership. This means practitioners must submit their Annual Certificate(s) of Pensionable Profits to Primary Care Support England (PCSE), so that PCSE can keep their record updated.PCSE launched the PCSE Online GP Pensions system in 2021 to provide GPs and practices with greater convenience, and more transparency and security when it comes to their pension contributions data. Supporting GPs to accurately submit current and historic Type 1 or Type 2 annual certificates remains a priority for NHS England and PCSE. Since the PCSE Online solution for submitting Type 1 and Type 2 certificates electronically went live in 2021, PCSE have developed user guides and held webinars to educate GPs on how to complete forms accurately.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of the compensation tariff for whiplash in line with inflation.

The Civil Liability Act 2018 allows the Lord Chancellor to set fixed compensation tariff amounts for whiplash injuries from road traffic accidents lasting two years or less. The tariff amounts were first set via the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, and the Civil Liability Act 2018 requires the tariff to be reviewed every three years.The first statutory review was completed on 22 May 2024. The Lord Chancellor’s report of the review was published on 21 November 2024. The report concluded that the original whiplash tariff amounts should be increased by roughly 15% to account for the impact of inflation since the tariff was introduced on 31 May 2021, and to include a three-year buffer to account for projected inflation until the next review in 2027.This increase to the whiplash tariff will be implemented by the draft Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which was laid in Parliament on 20 March 2025. Subject to approval from both Houses, the new tariff will apply to relevant whiplash injuries that occur on or after 31 May 2025.

What assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-efficiency of pothole repair strategies in South Cambridgeshire constituency.

Cambridgeshire County Council is the local highway authority for the South Cambridgeshire constituency. Cambridgeshire is a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA). It is the responsibility of individual highway authorities to maintain and improve their networks, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities. For the 2025/26 financial year, this Government is providing CPCA with £37.4 million for highway maintenance, an increase of around £10.3 million compared to 2024/25. Funding is not ring-fenced, and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how the money is best spent. As of Monday 24 March, the Department has written to all local highway authorities advising them that 25% of their uplift in maintenance funding is contingent on them demonstrating to Government that they are complying with certain criteria aimed at driving best practice and continual improvement in highways maintenance practice. All authorities will have to publish information online and share information with the Department. The Department will assess the information provided by Cambridgeshire County Council in due course.

What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of introducing a climate mitigation duty on mayoral strategic authorities.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues. We also both engage with Mayoral Strategic Authority leaders on the delivery of net zero regularly, including through roundtables.

If she will remove VAT on (a) labour and (b) materials for restoration work on listed buildings.

The Government has no plans to remove VAT on restoration work on listed buildings. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. In some cases, reliefs do not represent good value for money, as there is no guarantee that savings will be passed on to consumers. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport administer the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. The Government keeps all tax policy under review, and any decisions on tax policy will be announced at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

If she will undertake an investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority's regulation of Collateral (UK) Limited.

The conduct of Collateral’s Directors was plainly unacceptable, as evidence by their conviction for fraud and the criminal sentence that they are now serving. More widely, the Government does not have plans to commence an investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority's regulation of Collateral. The FCA has investigative and enforcement powers of its own and has already commenced investigations into particular peer-to-peer lenders, certain of which are ongoing. In the case of Collateral specifically, the FCA has undertaken an internal investigation already, including into its own role – the outcome of which is publicly available.

If she will take steps to amend the Human Rights Act 1998 to provide a legal right to access adequate housing.

The Human Rights Act (HRA) is an important part of our constitutional arrangements and fundamental to human rights protections in the UK. The Government has no plans to amend the rights protected by the HRA, which are drawn from those in the European Convention on Human Rights.The Government will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness. We are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness including delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament, as well as abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

If she will increase the cap on Lifetime ISAs.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values. The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening the Decent Homes Standard for all forms of tenure.

The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating changes to NHS systems to ensure that it is possible to update the gender marker associated with an NHS number.

Sex and gender identity are not always the same thing, and it is important for patients that we record both accurately. On 20 March 2025, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care instructed the health service to immediately suspend applications for National Health Service number changes for under 18 year olds, to safeguard children. Taking such action does not prevent the NHS from recording, recognising, and respecting trans people’s gender identity. General practitioners are currently able to rename a patient and manually input preferred pronouns and expressed gender in free text without affecting the formal marker.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the use of co-operatives in supporting the Government's international development objectives.

The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives make in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or markets and strengthen their voice in local processes. Cooperatives can enable sustainable and inclusive development centred on self-help, democratic ownership, and concern for the community. The UK has supported cooperatives and producer organisations in developing countries, including, for example in agriculture through funding to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP), which supports producer organisations, and the Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness Programme (CASA), which partners with cooperatives and small agribusinesses in low-income countries to improve smallholder farmers' access to markets.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to provide additional support for owners of listed buildings.

In terms of financial support, the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s current 10 year strategy, Heritage 2033, increased the maximum funding available to owners from £100,000 to £250,000 to support designated assets, such as listed buildings. Owners must demonstrate that the public benefit of their project outweighs any private gain.Historic England also offers repair grants to owners of listed buildings, which in total amounts to between £8.5 - £9 million per year. Historic England also offers various guidance and resources which may be useful to owners and occupiers of listed buildings, as well as the heritage sector more broadly, such as the guidance on Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency, published July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Centre for Ageing Better on its Good Home Hubs initiative.

My Department and I engage in regular discussions with a wide range of housing stakeholders. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage met with the Centre for Ageing Better in September last year and discussed a range of topics, including its Good Homes Hubs initiative.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the number of unresolved Teacher Regulation Agency teacher misconduct cases.

The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) is an executive agency of the department which acts on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education as regulator of the teaching profession.Supported by the department, the TRA has taken extensive steps over the last two years to increase its capacity and help ensure that misconduct cases are concluded in a more timely manner. As reported in its latest Annual Report and Accounts, these steps enabled the Agency to deliver a record number of misconduct hearings in the 2023/24 reporting year.The TRA aims to manage all teacher misconduct investigations and hearings in a fair and timely manner. However, factors such as case complexity and delays when seeking disclosure from third parties may impact on the timeliness of their resolution.