Written questions by Darling.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of holding a summit to support the zoos and aquarium industry.

Defra is responsible for ensuring zoos and aquariums provide the highest levels of welfare for the animals they keep, as well as delivering conservation and education. The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 May 2025, which will come into force from May 2027. The new Standards support zoos and aquariums in ensuring animals in their collections are being kept in line with latest in best zoo practice. Following publication of the new Standards in May, the Animal Welfare Minister - Baroness Hayman of Ullock – held a zoos roundtable on 25 June, to discuss implementation of the new Standards, and what more Defra could do to help support zoos and aquariums adapt to the new Standards.

What discussions he has had with NHS England on (a) the appointment of a single Chair for two different NHS Trusts and (b) ensuring that the effectiveness of those Trusts' (i) governance, (ii) accountability and (iii) local representation are not compromised by such arrangements.

The Government and NHS England support and expect collaboration between National Health Service trusts. Shared leadership, including having a shared chair, is one way which trusts can collaborate to address the issues they are facing.With any governance model they have in place, NHS trusts are required to meet the conditions in the NHS provider licence to ensure that organisations operate in a way that is safe, financially sustainable, cooperative, and accountable.Trusts can work with their regional NHS England teams to discuss potential shared leadership arrangements to ensure that governance and accountability remain effective, while realising the benefits of collaboration.

What recent progress her Department has made on improving the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of streets for blind and partially sighted pedestrians.

Local authorities have a legal responsibility to manage their roads and public spaces in a way that meets the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. It is for them to ensure that their streets are designed and maintained in a way that takes account of the needs of everyone, including visually impaired people. The Government has produced good practice guidance to help them in this, and this is available atwww.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mobility-making-transport-accessible-for-passengers-and-pedestrians The Government recognises the problems that blind and partially sighted pedestrians can face when motorists park on pavements, and when e-scooters and e-bikes are left blocking pavements. It will make an announcement shortly on next steps on pavement parking, following the 2020 consultation, and is introducing new regulatory powers through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to help local authorities manage shared micromobility schemes more effectively.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners are held accountable to their respective Police and Crime Panels.

The Home Office provides funding through a dedicated annual grant to host local authorities to support the activity of Police and Crime Panels, who have a wide range of powers and responsibilities to scrutinise the actions and decisions of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs). Panels can require PCCs to attend public meetings to answer their questions, investigate complaints against PCCs and make recommendations on the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan.To further assist Panels to improve the quality and consistency of their scrutiny, the Home Office has also issued a comprehensive package of guidance and training. Whilst Panels scrutinise PCCs, PCCs are ultimately accountable to the public at the ballot box.

If she will consider the potential merits of reopening the Equitable Life Compensation Scheme.

The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 under the approach taken by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government. There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme. 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

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the Torbay Marine Conservation Zone, in the context of climate change.

Torbay Marine Protected Area (MPA) was designated in 2013 to protect a range of features and species including native oysters, seagrass beds, and long – snouted seahorse. These features are protected through a mobile fishing gear permit byelaw that prohibits the use of demersal towed gears across designated features. Owing to the extension of the sea grass beds, an area that had previously been open to seasonal trawling was closed in February 2025. These measures will aid the recovery of sensitive features and allow the MPA to become more resilient to the effects of climate change. All MPAs are also protected from the point of designation by the planning and marine licensing regimes that cover activities such as dredging for aggregates and construction of offshore wind farms.

How many people under 16 are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance where the primary medical condition is a neurodevelopmental disorder; and how many people in that category subsequently (a) make claims for and (b) are awarded PIP following reassessment.

As of February 2025, 703,120 claimants with a neurodevelopmental condition are receiving Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAc), in England and Wales. It is not possible to determine how many of these claimants will go on to claim, and receive, PIP until they reach age 16. However, from April to October 2024, there were 33,760 DLAc claimants reaching age 16 with a neurodevelopmental condition as their primary condition. Of these claimants, 31,370 applied to PIP, and 26,190 were awarded PIP. Points to note:- Figures are for England and Wales only.- Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.- Number of claims that are awarded PIP is calculated based on the latest PIP reassessment outcome, after taking account of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals. The most recent data used is for October 2024 to allow sufficient time for the outcome of appeals to be known, although there may be some still outstanding.- Neurodevelopmental disorder includes the following medical conditions:o Learning Disabilityo Speech and Language Disorderso Autismo Asperger’s Syndromeo Dyspraxiao Hyperkinetic disordero ADHD/ADDo Psychiatric disorders of childhood – other / type not known. This category could also contain conditions that do not fall under neurodevelopmental disorder.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a compensation scheme for people for whom the resale value of their electric vehicle was affected by changes to the level of taxation for electric vehicles after 1 April 2025.

There are no current plans to introduce a compensation scheme of this design. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads and is designed to ensure all road users pay a fair contribution. Revenue from motoring taxes helps to fund vital public services and infrastructure, including investment in roads and transport.The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of community care for dementia patients.

Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines.Under the 10-Year Health Plan, those living with dementia will benefit from improved care planning and better services. We will deliver the first ever Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity.The Modern Service Framework for Frailty and Dementia will seek to reduce unwarranted variation and narrow inequality for those living with dementia, will set national standards for dementia care and will redirect National Health Service priorities to provide the best possible care and support.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reforming (a) stake and (b) prize limits for Category D machines on the economies of coastal towns.

Government recognises the important contributions family entertainment centres make to local communities, particularly seaside towns. However, this sector has seen a number of closures in recent years. We intend to consult on changes to stakes and prizes for Category D machines to understand if this would be an appropriate way to support the sector while maintaining protections for children and young people. These machines include seaside arcade staples, such as crane grabs and coin pushers.The government will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders throughout the consultation process, to best understand the potential impacts of adjusting stake and prize limits for Category D machines. We intend to launch a consultation this year, and we will welcome responses from coastal communities.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to update regulations on payment methods for amusement machines.

Direct use of debit cards and credit cards is currently prohibited on all gaming machines in Great Britain. The previous Government’s 2023 gambling white paper proposed removing the prohibition on the direct use of debit cards on gaming machines, subject to the introduction of certain player protections. While this proposal was not implemented under the previous administration, this government is considering the best available evidence from a wide range of stakeholders to inform any decisions on this proposal, which would require new legislation to implement. In addition, the Gambling Commission recently consulted on proposals to introduce a number of new player protections for gaming machines in Great Britain, designed to support and empower customers to use gaming machines safely. The Government will take account of the progress and outcome of this consultation when considering regulations on payment methods for gaming machines.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve water quality.

The Government has secured a record £104 billion of private sector investment that will fund the rebuilding and repair of broken sewage pipes so we can cut sewage pollution into our waterways. We are also reforming agriculture to drastically reduce run-off into rivers. Together with our radical reform of water regulation and the regulator, this Government has all the building blocks in place to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

Whether guidance has been issued to officials in her Department to reduce support levels under the Access to Work scheme.

No.In the past, some restrictions in the guidance have not always been implemented. The guidance is now being more consistently applied. For the last year, work has been underway to improve Scheme decision-making by applying the guidance with greater consistency, to provide a fairer process. This may mean that some awards change at the point of renewal, but there has been no change in Scheme policy, or instruction to reduce support levels. The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case managers will use the current guidance to ensure Access to Work principles are considered when making a decision on support. No changes have been made to Access to Work policy. We will be reviewing all aspects of the Scheme now that the consultation has closed. Any changes will be announced before being implemented. Any updates to operational guidance are reflected through the published version available online at GOV.UK.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of plans to consolidate smaller DWP offices into larger sites on staff; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that staff are adequately protected.

Where customers do not need to be seen face-to-face for the delivery of services, the Department’s location strategy is to move away from a higher number of smaller sites to fewer, larger sites that can accommodate over 300 colleagues. By investing in the sites that are retained, this will help create a more sustainable, cost-effective estate with improved operational resilience and efficiency. The Department carefully considers the impact on staff when making these decisions. It completes an Equality Assessment to inform decision making. Any colleague affected by office closures receives support through a one-to-one discussion with their line manager to understand the personal impact and address concerns. DWP's priority is to retain, retrain and redeploy as many colleagues as possible, either within the Department, or with other government departments locally.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating standardised domestic abuse training for all frontline NHS staff.

It is the responsibility of National Health Service organisations to ensure that all staff undertake mandatory training on domestic abuse. Mandatory training at Level 1 is captured in the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR), as part of the integrated safeguarding training module. This is monitored by the Care Quality Commission as part of their provider compliance visit. Level 2 and 3 are stand-alone modules and are not always captured in the ESR. Staff are also required to undertake further domestic abuse training where it is relevant to their role.National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce the safeguarding responsibilities of staff and will support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of decreased funding on the provision of specialist domestic violence services; what steps she is taking to prevent further harm to victims.

Specialist and ‘by and for’ services are essential for providing the tailored support that victims and survivors of domestic abuse need. Access to support services can prevent re-victimisation, and help victims to access support, escape abuse, and move forward with their lives. That is why we uplifted the National VAWG Helplines, including ‘by and for’ helpline providers, by over £1.5m in 2024/25, and we are now providing a further uplift of over £1m, bringing the total investment to over £6m in 2025/26. We also uplifted the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme by £398k in 2024/25, and we are now providing a further uplift of £600k to bring the total investment up to £2.4m for 2025/26. The is part of a wider £19.9 million investment into 2025/26, which also includes £2.5m to help prevent and improve the response to VAWG. This includes increasing the understanding and identification of VAWG, work to prevent ‘honour’ based abuse and improving multi-agency working and risk management.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) improve awareness of and (b) ensure the implementation of Domestic Homicide Reviews recommendations.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) provide vital opportunities for national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths.We know that recommendations are often made to the Home Office by default when they should sit with other departments and we are working to resolve this issue through clearer guidance and embedding best practice in training for those responsible for DHRs, the DHR Chairs. Creating a clear process that directs recommendations to the right department will ultimately ensure recommendations are received and implemented in a timely manner.The Home Office also worked closely with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner on the DHR Oversight Mechanism pilot, to improve the implementation of DHR recommendations across Government.The upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will detail the Government’s work going forward to reform DHRs.

What steps her Department is taking to improve coordination across departments to ensure that key Domestic Homicide Review recommendations are acted upon in a timely manner.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) provide vital opportunities for national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths.We know that recommendations are often made to the Home Office by default when they should sit with other departments and we are working to resolve this issue through clearer guidance and embedding best practice in training for those responsible for DHRs, the DHR Chairs. Creating a clear process that directs recommendations to the right department will ultimately ensure recommendations are received and implemented in a timely manner.The Home Office also worked closely with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner on the DHR Oversight Mechanism pilot, to improve the implementation of DHR recommendations across Government.The upcoming Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy will detail the Government’s work going forward to reform DHRs.

Media and Sport, whether she has considered the potential merits of introducing transparency obligations on generative AI companies to facilitate the appropriate (a) licensing and (b) enforcement of music rights; and whether her Department has considered the potential merits of requiring the clear labelling of content solely generated by AI.

The Government held a consultation earlier this year to consider how the copyright framework should apply in the context of generative AI, including the merits of transparency obligations and labelling AI generated content. That consultation received a wide range of responses from stakeholders across the creative industries, technology sectors and academia. We are now carefully reviewing that evidence and establishing stakeholder working groups to inform the development of policy on copyright and AI.

How many full-time equivalent civil servants are working on appointing the new contractor for St Michaels School in Paignton.

St Michael’s School is part of the school rebuilding programme. The project team is made up of a project director, who is a civil servant, and a project manager. A number of technical specialists also support the project at different stages.