Written questions by Tice.

If she will publish the unredcated Lloyd's Banking Group forward plan.

The government does not have plans to publish any further documents related to the EU State aid decision in 2009 concerning Lloyds Banking Group.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the additional costs to breweries arising from alcohol labelling and packaging regulations; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of those costs on brewery closures in the next financial year.

The Government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing and hospitality sectors, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector. Defra has not made any recent changes to alcohol labelling regulations within its remit.

With reference to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of families affected, (b) the total cost of interim payments and (c) the projected cost of a main payment and care plan as outlined in that report; and if he will publish his Department’s analysis of those figures.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity of community equipment services following the insolvency and receivership of NRS Healthcare; and what plans are in place to minimise disruption to patients reliant on (a) wheelchairs, (b) mobility aids, (c) hospital beds and (d) other essential medical equipment to prevent impact on (i) hospital discharge and (ii) independent living.

We recognise and share your concerns around ensuring the continuity of community equipment services following the insolvency of NRS Healthcare.Community equipment services are vital. The Partners in Care and Health programme, funded by the Government, has been working closely with local authorities to support continued service provision following the insolvency of NRS Healthcare. Local authorities have a statutory duty under various pieces of legislation, including the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014, to ensure the provision of disability aids and community equipment, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area.

If she will hold discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the steps it is taking to ensure that all consumers who were mis-sold car finance are fully compensated.

The Supreme Court has now clarified the law in relation to commission practices in the motor finance sector. The government respects the Supreme Court’s judgment and is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority to understand the impact for both firms and consumers. The government notes the recent statement by the Financial Conduct Authority that it will be consulting on a consumer redress scheme in October. The FCA propose that the scheme covers discretionary commission arrangements - a practice banned in 2021 that allowed dealers to vary interest rates for higher commissions. The FCA will also consult on which non-discretionary commission agreements should be included.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the forthcoming National Cancer Plan for England includes targeted measures to improve the early diagnosis of (a) myeloma and (b) other blood cancers.

It is a priority for the Government to support the National Health Service to diagnose cancer, including blood cancers such as myeloma, as well as other unstageable cancers, as early and quickly as possible, and to treat it faster, in order to improve outcomes.To tackle late diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. Blood cancers are one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.We will get the NHS diagnosing blood cancer earlier and treating it faster, and we will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment, including for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately drive up this country’s cancer survival rates.

For what reason HMRC charge a fee to taxpayers who pay their tax liabilities using a debit or credit card; and whether she plans to remove this charge.

I can confirm that no fees are charged when payment is made using a personal debit card. Fees only apply when using a corporate credit or corporate debit card, and these are in place to cover the processing costs charged by Visa/Mastercard, the Scheme Issuer and the Merchant Acquirer. To avoid these charges, a range of alternative methods are available to customers including Direct Debit and all the bank transfer payment options. Payments by personal credit cards are not accepted by HMRC as the associated processing costs for these cards are prohibitive.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that patients at Pilgrim Hospital outpatients department are being left for extended periods without access to beds due to lack of bed availability; and what steps he is taking to ensure timely access to inpatient care in Lincolnshire.

The Government is clear that patients should expect and receive the highest standard of care and accepts that urgent and emergency care performance has been below the high standards that patients should expect in recent years. Providing care in corridors, and other inappropriate settings, is completely unacceptable.Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out the steps we are taking to ensure at least 78% of patients in A&E departments are seen within four hours, to reduce the number of patients waiting over 12 hours for admission or discharge from an emergency department, and to reduce ambulance handover times to a maximum of 45 minutes.NHS England has been working with trusts to put in place new reporting arrangements related to the use of temporary escalation spaces, to drive improvement. Subject to a review of data quality, this information will be published shortly, and we will consider how this data could be published on a more regular basis.

With reference to the report by Sands entitled Lost in the system, published in July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access across England to specialist psychological support services for parents who experience pregnancy or baby loss.

Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic. The Government is determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support.As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are now available in all areas of England. These services provide specialist psychological support for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.All trusts in England are also signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway. This pathway is designed to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care for parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss.We also recognise the importance of maternity bereavement services being available at all times. ‘7 days a week’ bereavement services are in the process of being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) NHS Lincolnshire and (b) other Integrated Care Boards implement the NICE Fertility Guideline recommending (i) three full cycles of IVF for eligible women under 40 and (ii) one full cycle for women aged 40 to 42; and if he will take steps to improve access to NHS-funded fertility treatment.

The Government recognises that fertility treatment across the National Health Service in England is subject to variation in access. Work continues between the Department and NHS England to improve NHS-funded fertility services.We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines, ensuring equal access to fertility treatment across England.NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to NHS-funded treatment are still appropriate. A consultation on revised guidelines was published on 10 September.In light of broader pressures on the National Health Service and on on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.

With reference to the report by Sands entitled Lost in the system: Saving babies’ lives, published on 10 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bereaved parents who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss have the same level of access to specialist psychological support in each postcode.

Experiencing pregnancy or baby loss can be extremely difficult and traumatic. We are determined to make sure that all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support.As of June 2025, Maternal Mental Health Services are now available in all areas of England. These services provide specialist psychological support for women with moderate/severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or baby loss.All trusts in England are also signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway. This pathway is designed to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care for parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss.We also recognise the importance of maternity bereavement services being available at all times. Seven day a week bereavement services are in the process of being set up in every area in England to support women and families who experience pregnancy loss or neonatal death.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of consultants in (a) Lincolnshire NHS Trust and (b) other (i) rural and (ii) semi-rural areas; and if he will review (A) funding allocations and (B) workforce planning to ensure urgent cases are seen in a clinically appropriate timeframe.

We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. They will be more empowered, more flexible, and more fulfilled. We will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.Doctors are more likely to settle and practice in the areas they train. We will work with the university and college sector to ensure we train and provide the staff, technology, and infrastructure the NHS needs to care for patients across our communities, including in rural and semi-rural areas such as Lincolnshire.NHS England regularly keeps its funding allocations under review, and as set out in our recently published 10-Year Health Plan, we will break the old, short-term cycle of planning, and will ask all organisations to prepare robust and realistic five-year plans. Every organisation will be required to continue to refresh their plans over the medium term.Decisions about recruitment in individual NHS trusts are a matter for those trusts, who manage this at a local level to ensure they have the staff they need to deliver safe and effective care.

How much was paid in (a) Universal Credit, (b) Disability Living Allowance and (c) Personal Independence Payment to people who were not British citizens in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

How much was paid in State Pension to people not born in the United Kingdom in (a) the most recent year for which data is available and (b) in each of the previous five years.

The Department does not hold information on the country of birth of individuals in receipt of the State Pension. State Pension eligibility is determined by an individual’s National Insurance record.

If she will take steps to ensure that (a) violent offenders and (b) people convicted of grievous bodily harm resulting in life-changing injuries are not inappropriately released early under existing early release schemes; and what review mechanisms are in place to assess whether the charge classification accurately reflects the severity of the offending behaviour in such cases.

This Government was left an unconscionable inheritance with the prison system days from collapse. To prevent the risk of gridlock across the Criminal Justice System, we had no choice but to take decisive actions to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. We changed the release point for certain standard determinate sentences from 50% to 40% (‘SDS40’) and increased the maximum Home Detention Curfew period from 6 months to 12 months. Both of these policies have extensive exclusion criteria, including sexual offences irrespective of sentence length and certain serious violent offences. Harm caused is one of the two core factors always taken into account when sentencing. The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for bringing the right charge in all serious cases and there are established mechanisms for appealing unduly lenient sentences.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of access to spinal services for patients in Boston and Skegness constituency; and what steps he is taking to ensure that residents can access (a) timely and (b) geographically appropriate spinal care.

The local acute trust in Lincolnshire, United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (ULTH), does not have a spinal service. Emergency services take non-complex patients with potential spinal issues to the closest accident and emergency within Lincolnshire to be treated or stabilised, but if the patient is assessed at scene as having a spinal injury they will be transported directly to the Tertiary Centre at Nottingham University Hospital (NUH). NUH also provides a spinal consultant who supports ULTH on a weekly basis.General practitioners in the Skegness and Boston area can refer patients to a local spinal assessment service which completes a full assessment of the patient’s condition with appropriate diagnostics. There are then two pathways for spinal services based on clinical need. Non-complex patients will be offered choice of local acute services and complex patients are offered a choice of the tertiary centres at NUH & Sheffield.NHS England’s Midlands Regional Team has developed and implemented a network model of care for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Specialist clinicians in SCI provide acute care, intervention and training including outreach to local hospitals for patients who need SCI rehabilitation whilst they are waiting for a bed at a specialist SCI centre. SCI rehabilitation for Lincolnshire patients is primarily delivered via the specialist SCI centre in Sheffield. For Lincolnshire, NHS England has recognised that there is a significant clinical gap in these patients being managed locally whilst waiting for a specialist SCI rehabilitation bed. NHS England has allocated funding as part of the Network Model of Care for a post to be based at Lincoln Country Hospital to provide specialist support for Lincolnshire residents. Currently, this post is vacant, but NHS England and the trust are working towards successful recruitment.

Whether NHS England supports the policy of excluding children from community health services on the basis of school type; and what assessment he has made of the merits of such a policy.

There is no policy that excludes children from community health services on the basis of school type. The National Health Service is free at the point of use and provides care to anyone who need it based on clinical need. NHS occupational therapy services are provided for all children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP). For those without an EHCP, some schools provide on-site NHS occupational therapy.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) timeliness of end-of-life palliative care support in Boston and Skegness constituency; and what steps he is taking to ensure that terminally ill patients fast-tracked due to a prognosis of fewer than 12 weeks to live receive appropriate physical and social care at home without having to wait until their final four weeks of life.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission, including Lincolnshire ICB, which covers the Boston and Skegness constituency. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs 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. The statutory guidance requires ICBs to work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.Additionally, the Lincolnshire ICB area benefits from a single palliative point of access that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week: a single phone number, facilitated by specialist palliative nurses and the urgent and emergency care clinical assessment service, through which patients, families, carers and professionals can access care that is co-ordinated and delivered locally.NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is a package of National Health Service-funded ongoing health and social care for adults with the highest levels of complex, intense or unpredictable needs that have arisen as a result of disability, accident or illness.Lincolnshire ICB’s policy for fast-track CHC funding does not set out a timeframe for applications based on the number of weeks of prognosis, but it is based on the narrative within the National Framework for NHS CHC of “rapidly deteriorating and entering end phase of life”. The CHC team works seven days a week to ensure fast-track applications are processed in a timely manner.There is a dedicated CHC End of Life Case Manager for Boston and Skegness, who ensures people’s packages of care are appropriate and meeting the needs of the individual throughout their time they are in receipt of fast-track funding. Lincolnshire ICB has a contract in place with a single provider for Boston and Skegness, which ensures packages of care are arranged and delivered in a timely manner.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of Regulation C9 of the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 that removes survivor benefits on (a) widows and (b) widowers who (i) remarry and (ii) cohabit.

From 1 April 2015, the 1987 police pension scheme was amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers who have died as a result of an injury on duty to receive their survivor benefits for life regardless of remarriage, civil partnership or cohabitation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers following changes in the level of funding for mental health support; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of this change on rural communities.

Defra are continuing to fund the Farmer Welfare Grant. This funds charities to deliver projects which will support mental health and build resilience in local farming communities. In the Hon. Member’s county, the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network is in receipt of funding and actively delivering projects specifically tailored to engage and support young people living, entering and working within the farming industry. The project will focus on education, resilience and the provision of 1:1 support. For 2025/26, total Government mental health spending is forecast to amount to £15.6 billion. This represents a significant uplift of £680 million in cash terms in spending on mental health compared to the previous financial year In addition, integrated care boards, including those with rural areas, are forecast to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard over the 2025/26 financial year, meaning that local health services will invest a greater share of their budgets into frontline mental health services. As part of our commitment to mental health, the Government will hire 8,500 new mental health support workers. This will give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, reduce delays and provide faster treatment closer to people’s homes. Rural communities, including farmers, will benefit from this increased spending.