Written questions by Darling.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) help tackle the abuse and harassment of veterinary professionals.

We value the vital work of the veterinary profession and the commitment and dedication of the veterinary workforce towards animal health and welfare. Abuse towards the veterinary sector is taken very seriously; monitoring of this is conducted by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as the regulator for the profession. We are aware of the numerous challenges faced across the veterinary industry. The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is undertaking a market investigation into the sector, and we will consider any recommendations for the department when they are available.

When she plans to answer named day Questions (a) 56436 and (b) 56437, tabled on 2 June 2025.

The responses to Written Parliamentary Questions 56436 and 56437 were published on 20 June 2025.

When his Department plans to publish the findings of the 2023-24 Learning from Lives and Deaths – People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People report.

NHS England commissions Kings College London and its partners to analyse data from the Learning from Lives and Deaths - people with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) reports. The annual LeDeR report is published by Kings College London, who are currently working on the next annual report, which NHS England advises will be published shortly. The last report was published in November 2023, and can be found at the following link:https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn/assets/fans-dept/leder-2022-v2.0.pdf

How many civil servants in his Department are working on the (a) findings and (b) implementation of recommendations from the 2023 Learning from Lives and Deaths – People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People annual report.

We recognise that the Learning from Lives and Deaths (LeDeR) programme as a crucial source of evidence that helps to identify the key improvements needed to tackle health disparities and to prevent the avoidable deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people. There is no fixed number of people working on LeDeR within the Department, as the programme is run by NHS England, and the Department’s involvement varies depending on the programme’s requirements and findings from each year’s report.Alongside the forthcoming publication of the next LeDeR report, NHS England will publish an Action from Learning report. This highlights the work across the country by integrated care boards to improve services for people with a learning disability and autism. The learning disability and autism programme within NHS England is responsible for commissioning the LeDeR report and continues to work with other NHS England programmes to ensure that they consider the needs of people with a learning disability and autistic people when looking at pathways of care and needs assessments.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that place funding for special school pupils is increased in line with (a) inflation and (b) special educational requirements.

Special schools receive £10,000 per place, alongside high needs top-up funding, which is paid directly by local authorities to the schools in which their placements are made. It is the top-up funding which is intended to reflect the cost of special educational provision in excess of the place funding, and the department’s guidance to local authorities is that top-up funding levels should be kept under review to reflect changes in costs, such as those incurred through overall levels of inflation and changes in provision.High needs funding for children and young people with complex needs will be £1 billion higher this financial year than last year. This £1 billion increase, and the additional funding for special schools to help with staff-related costs, will bring total high needs funding to well over £12 billion in 2025/26.

When her Department plans to appoint a contractor to undertake works at St Michael’s Church of England School in Paignton.

We are aiming to enter contract later this year and are currently on track. The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.

What her planned timeline is for the completion of the rebuild of St Michael’s Church of England School in Paignton.

We are aiming to enter contract later this year and are currently on track. The current planned timescale is for pupils to be in the permanent accommodation from September 2026. This is also on track, but we will need to continue to monitor this as normal throughout the build period.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of developing a dedicated support strategy for smaller manufacturers.

This Government will continue to support the advanced manufacturing sector, including SMEs, through our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, where advanced manufacturing has been selected as one of eight growth-driving sectors.Support is available through our Made Smarter Programme where manufacturing SMEs will be able to adopt industrial digital technologies like robotics and autonomous systems to boost their productivity and competitiveness.Later this year the government will publish its Small Business Strategy, including policies on creating thriving high streets, accessing finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

What steps his Department is taking to support small manufacturing businesses.

This Government will continue to support the advanced manufacturing sector, including SMEs, through our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, where advanced manufacturing has been selected as one of eight growth-driving sectors.Support is available through our Made Smarter Programme where manufacturing SMEs will be able to adopt industrial digital technologies like robotics and autonomous systems to boost their productivity and competitiveness.Later this year the government will publish its Small Business Strategy, including policies on creating thriving high streets, accessing finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

Whether his Department is taking steps to help tackle ageism in healthcare services.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme on 5 June 2025 to Question 54136.

What steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the UK.

This Government will continue to support the advanced manufacturing sector, including SMEs, through our forthcoming Industrial Strategy, where advanced manufacturing has been selected as one of eight growth-driving sectors.Support is available through our Made Smarter Programme where manufacturing SMEs will be able to adopt industrial digital technologies like robotics and autonomous systems to boost their productivity and competitiveness.Later this year the government will publish its Small Business Strategy, including policies on creating thriving high streets, accessing finance, opening up overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

What steps the Government is taking to improve access to finance for small manufacturers.

Our October 2024 call for evidence on access to finance for small advanced manufacturing firms sought views and evidence on the challenges faced in this area. Since that time, the Government has been considering how best to support more advanced manufacturing scale-ups to access the capital they need. Further details will be contained in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy and the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan within it.

Whether the Government plans to expand (a) financial support and (b) tax relief for small and medium-sized manufacturing firms.

Small businesses are vital to high streets, local communities, and economic growth. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government recognised this by:More than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500;Maintaining the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds, as well as maintaining the £1 million Annual Investment Allowance; andFreezing the small business multiplier for 2025/26. Taken together with Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), over a million properties will be protected from inflationary bill increases. Despite the difficult fiscal inheritance, we have also been able to protect key business support programmes like Growth Hubs, while allocating £250 million to the British Business Bank's small business programmes in 2025/26.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of a signer being present at Government news conferences.

This Government is strongly committed to making our communications accessible and inclusive, and to reducing the barriers Deaf people face in their everyday lives. Since we have come into power, we have endeavoured to ensure as many of the Prime Minister's speeches as possible have BSL interpretation in vision during live streams. This can be found on the Prime Minister’s social media channels - X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. Where speeches do not have political content, the interpretation is also made available afterwards on gov.uk. I pay tribute to the outstanding work of the Government’s BSL Advisory Board. We will continue to work with them, and with other members of the Deaf community, on how we can improve further the accessibility of our communications.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle age discrimination in the workplace.

Equality and opportunity for all are at the heart of the Government’s programme of national renewal and the UK has a strong history of protecting against direct and indirect discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 has protections that enable people to challenge age discrimination across a range of fields, including in the provision of services, employment and recruitment processes. Where age discrimination cannot be objectively justified and is unlawful, individuals can seek redress in the courts or, where relevant, at an employment tribunal.

What guidance her Department provides to schools on supporting (a) autistic girls (b) girls masking symptoms of autism in educational settings.

The department wants all children and young people to be able to receive the right support to succeed in their education and we recognise that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) often require access to additional support.The department also provides continuing professional development to the school and further education workforce through the Universal SEND Services programme, led by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN). From April 2025, NASEN are developing a new autism specific online training offer to support the workforce’s understanding of autism, which will include ‘train the trainer' packages and webinars to support teachers and leaders to deliver autism training in their settings.The department has also invested in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, which is a national programme backed by £22 million of investment.PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children including pupils with autism.

What plans her Department has to develop teacher training to recognise (a) autism presentation and (b) masking behaviours in girls.

The department wants all children and young people to be able to receive the right support to succeed in their education and we recognise that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) often require access to additional support.The department also provides continuing professional development to the school and further education workforce through the Universal SEND Services programme, led by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN). From April 2025, NASEN are developing a new autism specific online training offer to support the workforce’s understanding of autism, which will include ‘train the trainer' packages and webinars to support teachers and leaders to deliver autism training in their settings.The department has also invested in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, which is a national programme backed by £22 million of investment.PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children including pupils with autism.

Whether she plans to take steps to close the pay gap between (a) school teachers and (b) college teachers to achieve equity within the higher education sector.

Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances.On 22 May, the department announced an investment of £160 million for colleges and other 16-19 providers in the 2025/26 financial year. This funding will boost opportunities for learners across the country and drive forward delivery of the critical skills needed to grow our economy.Additional funding of over £30 million will also be included within 16-19 allocations. This funding comes from within the overall funding envelope of £615 million for 2025/26, announced alongside the 2025/26 school teachers’ pay award. Together, this means that a total additional sum of over £190 million will be available for 16-19 funding in the 2025/26 financial year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) delays and (b) administrative burdens on zoos undertaking international animal transfers for conservation purposes.

Defra continues to work closely with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to address immediate challenges to the cross-border movement of endangered species, including the availability of Export Health Certificates and Border Control Post capacity. An SPS Agreement will establish a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone aimed at reducing trade barriers and facilitating the safe and efficient movement of terrestrial and aquatic zoo animals. Our ambition is to reach an agreement that reduces administrative burdens by streamlining SPS checks and certification, while upholding the UK’s commitment to ensure its biosecurity is protected within this future framework. Where animals are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), permits will be required to ensure specimens have been legally and sustainable acquired. These are typically valid for 6 months and can be applied for in advance of any planned move to avoid delay. The application process is digital and live animal movements are prioritised to avoid welfare implications. We are currently in the process of reviewing existing CITES regulations to ensure they support conservation and sustainable trade and minimise administrative burdens on businesses.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with youth homelessness organisations on the inclusion of a youth chapter in the forthcoming cross-governmental homelessness strategy.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. We must address this and deliver long term solutions. 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 government to develop a long-term strategy. We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed. We will continue to meet with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and MPs, to make sure the strategy is informed by a range of expertise. As well as work on the Inter-Ministerial Group and Expert Group we are also working closely with the sector to deliver a number of lived experience forums to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.