Written questions by Aquarone.

How many times exchange of notes arrangements have been used in investigations relating to economic crime to share beneficial ownership information between the UK on the one hand and the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories on the other in financial years (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22, (iv) 2023-24 and (v) 2024-25.

In 2016 the UK, the three Crown Dependencies and six participating British Overseas Territories committed to share company beneficial ownership information on a bilateral basis between their participating law enforcement agencies.The Home Office does not hold data on the number of investigations where the Exchange of Notes Arrangements have been used in investigations.

How many skilled worker visas were sponsored by Jhoots Group before their removal from the register of licensed sponsors on 24 October 2025.

The information requested is not available from published statistics and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) help reduce exam stress and (b) support pupils with exam stress.

The department recognises that it is normal for young people to experience some stress around exams. It is important that this stress is identified early and the right support is in place to help young people manage it in a healthy and constructive way. Schools play a key role in supporting students through this, and mental health charities such as YoungMinds have published guidance on staying well during revision and exams. Their guidance is available at:https://www.youngminds.org.uk/media/mqljrydj/staying-well-during-revision-and-exams.pdf.The department is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHST), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review carefully considered evidence on wellbeing and found that many factors can impact student mental health. The Review recommended reducing exam volume to help improve the overall student experience. We will work closely with Ofqual and exam boards to reduce GCSE exam time by 2.5 to 3 hours for the average student, while maintaining high standards and protecting the integrity and validity of the qualifications system.

Whether her Department plans to consult (a) disabled children and their (i) parents and (ii) carers and (b) organisations representing those people before the publication of the Government’s (A) interim and (B) final response to the Law Commission’s report entitled Disabled children’s social care, published on 16 September 2025.

The Law Commission’s review of disabled children’s social care law included a full public consultation on their proposals between 8 October 2024 and 31 January 2025, inviting written responses. In addition, both before and during the consultation, they met with around 1,000 stakeholders, including disabled children and young people, parents and carers, at approximately 150 meetings and events.The department is now considering the 40 recommendations made in the Law Commission’s final report. In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, we will provide an initial response to these recommendations within six months of publication and a full response within one year. We will have regard to the views outlined in the report and we will engage relevant stakeholders at appropriate points as we consider our response.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the flood and coastal erosion risk management funding policy takes account of the cultural value of areas.

This Government is investing at least a record £10.5 billion until 2036 – the largest flood programme in history which is projected to benefit nearly 900,000 properties. On 14 October, following consultation, the Government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. Under the new rules the benefits of heritage, natural environment, tourism, and recreation are included as part of project appraisal. The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of Government investment go further. We will also invest at least £300 million in natural flood management over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme.

What steps he is taking to help prevent the closure of convalescence facilities in Norfolk.

It is important that there are adequate services and facilities to support people to recover after a hospital stay. We expect local authorities to ensure that a diverse range of high-quality services are available, working with their NHS integrated care board. Our vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service shifts care from hospital to communities, so that services are delivered as close to people’s homes as possible.

Whether the child maintenance service provides (a) oversight and (b) review mechanisms to help ensure (i) consistency and (ii) accountability in the application of caseworker discretion to arrears repayment schedules.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) adheres to the DWP Quality Framework, which deploys a three-line defence model for all decisions affecting the calculation and payment of maintenance.The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible, taking into account all relevant circumstances and financial situation.Operational instructions and the Child Maintenance Decision Makers’ Guide are the tools used by caseworkers in applying a discretionary decision to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, to ensure a reliable and sustainable plan for the payment of arrears by the paying parent in the shortest possible period of time. When the CMS makes a discretionary decision, caseworkers must consider the welfare of any child affected by that decision.

What steps are taken by the Child Maintenance Service to assess the impact on the welfare of children when arrears repayment schedules are extended beyond the two-year debt steer principle.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.When a paying parent does not make maintenance payments on time or in full, the CMS will initially negotiate a payment that is feasible for the parent to pay considering the individual circumstances of each case.The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible taking into account all relevant circumstances.After investigating the paying parent’s circumstances and financial situation discretion can be applied to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, providing it is a reliable and consistent plan for the recovery of arrears.When the CMS makes a discretionary decision, caseworkers must consider the welfare of any child affected by that decision.If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS can request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary by issuing what we call a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). The CMS also has powers to deduct maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts including joint and business accounts.If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures including order for sale where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removing driving licences, disqualification of passports and committal to prison.

What processes the Child Maintenance Service has in place to verify claims of financial hardship made by paying parents when arrears repayment schedules are extended beyond the two-year debt steer principle.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.When a paying parent does not make maintenance payments on time or in full, the CMS will initially negotiate a payment that is feasible for the parent to pay considering the individual circumstances of each case.The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible taking into account all relevant circumstances.After investigating the paying parent’s circumstances and financial situation discretion can be applied to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, providing it is a reliable and consistent plan for the recovery of arrears.When the CMS makes a discretionary decision, caseworkers must consider the welfare of any child affected by that decision.If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS can request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary by issuing what we call a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). The CMS also has powers to deduct maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts including joint and business accounts.If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures including order for sale where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removing driving licences, disqualification of passports and committal to prison.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service adheres to its debt steer principle that arrears should be repaid within a maximum of two years.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that both parents have financial responsibility for their child, including their food and clothing, as well as contributing towards the associated costs of running the home that the child lives in.When a paying parent does not make maintenance payments on time or in full, the CMS will initially negotiate a payment that is feasible for the parent to pay considering the individual circumstances of each case.The Debt Steer provides a policy-based framework for arrears negotiation. Its purpose is to ensure arrears are collected as promptly and reliably as possible taking into account all relevant circumstances.After investigating the paying parent’s circumstances and financial situation discretion can be applied to negotiate an arrangement that extends beyond a two-year period, providing it is a reliable and consistent plan for the recovery of arrears.When the CMS makes a discretionary decision, caseworkers must consider the welfare of any child affected by that decision.If this is unsuccessful and the paying parent is employed, the CMS can request that ongoing child maintenance payments be deducted directly from their salary by issuing what we call a Deductions from Earnings Order (DEO). The CMS also has powers to deduct maintenance from a wide range of bank accounts including joint and business accounts.If this is unsuccessful, the CMS will use further measures including order for sale where it can apply to the courts for the sale of the paying parent’s assets or property, removing driving licences, disqualification of passports and committal to prison.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities correctly implement national guidance on Blue Badge eligibility.

The Department for Transport sets the legislation governing the Blue Badge scheme in England and provides non-statutory guidance to local authorities to help share good practice in administering the scheme. However, it is the local authority who is responsible for determining and implementing the administrative, assessment, and enforcement procedures which they believe are in accordance with the governing legislation. The Government is committed to working with and supporting authorities to help them align with national guidance on Blue Badge eligibility and operates a continuous improvement programme to the online application process, utilising customer feedback to inform its research to help ensure the service is consistently applied and works in the best possible way for all who need to use it.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74527 on Asylum: Staff, how many asylum decisionmakers were employed on 28 April 2025.

The number of full time equivalent (FTE) asylum caseworkers employed per month until June 2025 is published in the ASY_05(M) tab of the published migration transparency statistics, located here: Immigration and protection data: Q2 2025 (Migration transparency data - GOV.UK)At the end of April 2025, there were 1,995 FTE asylum caseworking staff. Attrition would likely occur since that time.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of initiating a formal review of legislation that allows certified exemption of small caravan and motorhome sites from planning permission.

Under national permitted development rights, set out in Part 5, Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, land can be used as a caravan site in certain circumstances. The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

What steps his Department is taking to help support community-based preventative services for older people in Norfolk.

The NHS is implementing various preventative services to support older people in maintaining their health and independence. These services include:Support for frailty: The NHS Toolkit for General practice in supporting older people living with frailty offers tools to GPs and practice staff to identify and manage frailty in patients aged 65 and over.Integrated care systems: The NHS 10 Year Plan aims to move care from hospitals into communities, bringing together health and care professionals to provide proactive care and prevention services.Preventive primary care: Preventive primary care interventions are being evaluated to improve functional ability and self-rated health for older people. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to improve the quality of care and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions for older people. The NHS is working with partners across health and social care to ensure that older people receive the highest quality care when they need it. Norfolk and Waveney ICB, working with Norfolk County Council, local authorities, the voluntary sector, and NHS providers, has established a wide range of preventative services to help older people live healthier, more independent lives. The ICB’s Protect NoW programme is tackling inequalities and improving access to health and care services through Population Health Management (PHM) and risk stratification. Projects include improving access to talking therapies, falls prevention, and the Dementia North Norfolk programme, which connects people to housing, benefits, social activities, and carers’ support. In addition, the Health Connect initiative has supported over 9,000 residents after hospital discharge, reducing the risk of readmission through practical, emotional, health, and social support.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the availability of research into less survivable cancers; and what steps his Department is taking to incentivise people to undertake research into this area.

The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).The Government is investing in new lifesaving and life-improving research to support those diagnosed with less survivable cancers. An example of this is the announcement of the NIHR’s new national Brain Tumour Research Consortium, which will bring together researchers from a range of different disciplines and institutions with the aim of making scientific advances in how we prevent, detect, manage and treat rarer but less-survivable cancers in adults and children.The NIHR continue to welcome further high-quality proposals from researchers to inform approaches to prevention, treatment and care in relation to less survivable cancers.Furthermore, the Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the National Health Service will improve diagnosis and outcomes for all cancer patients in England, including for rare and less common cancers.

If he will take steps to ensure that dental patients in Norfolk will be included in NHS tie-in periods for newly qualified dentists.

It costs £200,000 of taxpayer’s money to train a dentist. We believe it is right and fair to taxpayers to expect graduate dentists to invest their skills and expertise in the National Health Service for at least some amount of time.As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments and better oral health. We intend this minimum period to be at least three years.We will be working closely with the sector on the detail of the tie-in scheme and will consult on the detail and design of the model in due course.

Whether his Department has conducted any regional modelling of dental workforce planning in (a) Norfolk and (b) the East of England.

NHS England data shows that as of December 2024, 2,810 general dentists were working in the East of England, including 1,108 National Health Service full time equivalent (FTE) general dentists. The vacancy rate for NHS dentists was 17%. On the same date, 365 general dentists were working in Norfolk and Waveney, including 149 NHS FTE general dentists. The vacancy rate for NHS dentists was 18%.We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. Staff will be more empowered, more flexible and more fulfilled. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when patients need it.Integrated care boards are also recruiting posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of ringfencing funding for cycle paramedic services.

No such assessment has been made.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of NHS tie-in periods for newly qualified dentists on access to NHS dental service.

It costs £200,000 of taxpayer’s money to train a dentist. We believe it is right and fair to taxpayers to expect graduate dentists to invest their skills and expertise in the National Health Service for at least some amount of time.As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments and better oral health. We intend this minimum period to be at least three years.We will be working closely with the sector on the detail of the tie-in scheme and will consult on the detail and design of the model in due course.

How many payments under the dental recruitment incentive scheme have been allocated to North Norfolk constituency.

Data is not held on how many payments under the Dental Recruitment Incentive Scheme have been allocated at the constituency level. The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.Further information on the dental recruitment process can be found in guidance issued by NHS England, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dental-recruitment-incentive-scheme-2024-25/