Written questions by Darling.

Whether her Department has considered tax breaks for companies that donate humanitarian products to Ukraine.

The Corporation Tax regime includes provisions that allow the deduction of qualifying charitable donations from a company’s total taxable profits for the accounting period in which they are paid. Following certain conditions, companies are also able to obtain tax relief for donations of trading stock of medical supplies and/or medical equipment for humanitarian purposes. This could include eligible donations made to support Ukraine. We sincerely appreciate the dedication and effort UK businesses are demonstrating in their support for Ukraine. The UK is at the forefront to providing military, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. The UK has committed £12.8bn in military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine since February 2022. The UK will continue to honour the PM’s commitment on 10 July which provides Ukraine with £3bn of military support p.a. until 2030/31 or for as long as needed. Support from UK businesses to Ukraine is invaluable, and we are committed to strengthening these ties to help in securing a lasting peace for Ukraine.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many full-time-equivalent civil servants are working on trading corporation agreements with the fishing industry.

There are no civil servants working on trading corporation agreements. The Defra EU negotiations team of 12.2 full-time-equivalent civil servants works on implementing the Fisheries Heading of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), amongst other work in its portfolio. There are also many other civil servants and public servants across Defra, its agencies, and the devolved governments that are responsible for implementing aspects of the Fisheries Heading.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered increasing the trawler by-catch limit for bass.

Negotiations between the UK and EU concerning the allocation of fishing opportunities for over 70 stocks, including bass, take place on an annual basis. This year on the 9 December annual bycatch limits for commercial trawls and seines were agreed. Fisheries: consultations between the UK and the EU for 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many people have made use of the National Insurance Credit buy-back scheme in each year since 2015.

All costs involved in promoting the National Insurance (NI) Credits buy-back scheme campaign will be published once it has concluded, as part of the regular transparency reports on GOV.UK. HMRC and DWP are not able to confirm levels of staffing back to 2015 as this work and resource has not been ringfenced. An estimate of the resource currently deployed to voluntary NI contributions across both Departments (as at February 2025) is c.480 frontline civil servants. The majority of customers can check for gaps in their NI record and make payment online. HMRC does not record how many people have made use of the National Insurance Credit buy-back scheme each year since 2015. However, I can confirm that since the enhanced online State Pension forecast service was launched on 29 April 2024, 60,000 people have topped up £62 million.

How many full time equivalent civil servants have worked on the National Insurance Credits buy-back scheme in each year since 2015.

All costs involved in promoting the National Insurance (NI) Credits buy-back scheme campaign will be published once it has concluded, as part of the regular transparency reports on GOV.UK. HMRC and DWP are not able to confirm levels of staffing back to 2015 as this work and resource has not been ringfenced. An estimate of the resource currently deployed to voluntary NI contributions across both Departments (as at February 2025) is c.480 frontline civil servants. The majority of customers can check for gaps in their NI record and make payment online. HMRC does not record how many people have made use of the National Insurance Credit buy-back scheme each year since 2015. However, I can confirm that since the enhanced online State Pension forecast service was launched on 29 April 2024, 60,000 people have topped up £62 million.

If she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of promoting the National Insurance Credits buy-back scheme for each year since 2015.

All costs involved in promoting the National Insurance (NI) Credits buy-back scheme campaign will be published once it has concluded, as part of the regular transparency reports on GOV.UK. HMRC and DWP are not able to confirm levels of staffing back to 2015 as this work and resource has not been ringfenced. An estimate of the resource currently deployed to voluntary NI contributions across both Departments (as at February 2025) is c.480 frontline civil servants. The majority of customers can check for gaps in their NI record and make payment online. HMRC does not record how many people have made use of the National Insurance Credit buy-back scheme each year since 2015. However, I can confirm that since the enhanced online State Pension forecast service was launched on 29 April 2024, 60,000 people have topped up £62 million.

How many parents who have experienced the death of a child have waited more than three months to receive the final post-mortem report.

The Department does not hold post-mortem reporting data. It is likely to be held by National Health Service trusts and Coroner’s Offices for the post-mortems they are responsible for.

How many and what proportion of Personal Independence Payment requests that were initially refused were subsequently accepted after appeal in the latest period for which data is available.

Of the 721,100 claimants who had their claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cleared in the Financial Year 2023-2024, 332,800 (46%) were disallowed at assessment. Of these, 13,500 were subsequently awarded PIP following an appeal, which is 4% of all who were initially disallowed while 18,900 appeals have not been cleared yet. Notes:Figures have been rounded to nearest 100.Percentages have been rounded to nearest percent.This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution, and it may be subject to future revision.These figures include appeal outcomes up to end of September 2024, the latest date for which published data is available. Note that more appeals could be made and completed after September 2024, so numbers may change as it can take some time for an appeal to be lodged and then cleared after the initial decision.Figure provided for the number of applicants first awarded PIP at appeal stage include claims that were awarded via a lapsed appeal after a disallowed initial decision and no change to award at MR.A lapsed appeal is where DWP changed the decision in the customer’s favour after an appeal was lodged but before it was heard at a tribunal hearing

Which local authorities have engaged with the Government on increasing applications for pension credit since November 2024.

As part of our nationwide Pension Credit campaign, the Department has engaged with all councils in Great Britain, via the regular LA Welfare Direct bulletins. In response to our call to action in 2024, 200 councils across Great Britain have engaged and supported our Pension Credit campaign either on social media, or by distributing the promotional material we have provided

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's proposed changes to the Work Capability Assessment on the Child Poverty Strategy.

The Work Capability Assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced. We are committed to reforming the system of health and disability benefits so that it promotes and enables employment among as many people as possible. The system must also work to support disabled people to live independently. It is also vital to ensure that the system is financially sustainable in the long term. We are working to develop proposals for reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change. The Strategy will look at all available levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

What steps her Department is taking to strengthen cooperation with other nations to help tackle online fraud.

The Government recognises the serious threat posed by fraudsters targeting UK citizens from abroad. In October 2024, the UK played a pivotal role in helping pass the first ever UN Resolution on Fraud at the 12th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).The resolution outlines a set of key recommendations that all signatories to the UNTOC (186 Member States) should implement to mitigate the threat of fraud to their citizens. These recommendations include codifying fraud as a serious crime, pursuing fraudsters, protecting victims, and collaborating closely with the private sector to design out fraud. By establishing these guidelines, the resolution sets a baseline of global standards for all member states to follow. This is a significant advancement in the global fight against fraud and underscores our shared commitment with international partners in combating this pernicious crime.As part of the Government’s on-going work to tackle fraud internationally, we continue to work closely with our strategic partners including Five Eyes countries, Singapore, EU nations and INTERPOL, to target fraud and scams at source. Through these forums we are working with source countries (where transnational organised fraud and cybercrime groups operate) to build capacity in their law enforcement agencies, in order to tackle and disrupt overseas fraud before it reaches the UK.

How many children live in households in which at least one person is subject to a Limited Capability to Work Assessment in (a) the UK and (b) Torbay constituency.

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

If he will list the consultations his Department is undertaking in connection with the Employment Rights Bill; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of each listed consultation.

The department launched an initial package of three public consultations last October covering: the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers; creating a modern framework for industrial relations; and, strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire. These consultations closed in December and the department will publish responses in due course. The department does not routinely collate information on the specific cost of running such consultations.We have committed to full consultation on the implementation of this legislation, and expect this to begin this year, ensuring reforms work for employers and workers alike.

What his planned timetable is for when each consultation attached to the Employment Rights Bill will have reported to the Government.

The department launched an initial package of three public consultations last October covering: the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers; creating a modern framework for industrial relations; and, strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire. These consultations closed in December and the department will publish responses in due course. The department does not routinely collate information on the specific cost of running such consultations.We have committed to full consultation on the implementation of this legislation, and expect this to begin this year, ensuring reforms work for employers and workers alike.

If she will pause the safety valve scheme until it's review is published.

Over time, 38 local authorities have been supported to manage their high needs budgets through the Safety Valve programme. We will continue to work with local authorities with Safety Valve agreements to deliver their plans, and to provide the additional funding support set out in those agreements where plans are being delivered. The department has already said that it will not enter into any more Safety Valve agreements, pending wider reform of the whole system to prioritise early intervention, properly supporting councils to bring their finances under control.

Which local authorities are part of the review into safety valve schemes.

The areas taking part in this research are: Barnsley, Croydon, Darlington, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kent, Kirklees, Torbay, Salford, Surrey and York.

What the expected timeline is for Baroness Casey's Commission into Adult Social Care, including the dates for evidence submission.

Baroness Casey’s commission into adult social care will begin in April 2025. The Commission is independent and the timetable, beyond the reporting stages (Phase 1, reporting in 2026, Phase 2 in 2028) will be developed by the commission itself and set out in due course.

Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with ticket vendors on the potential impact of the use of apps for purchasing tickets for events on (a) all digitally-excluded people, (b) people with disabilities and (c) people without access to smartphones.

Provided consumers are not misled and are able to make informed decisions, firms should be free to offer their products and services under conditions of their choosing. To support digital inclusion the Government encourages businesses to provide alternatives to digital purchases, where possible, for consumers who do not have access to a mobile phone.It is important that consumers experience openness and transparency when buying tickets. The Government has launched a call for evidence on pricing practices in the live events sector, which closes on 4 April 2025. We are seeking evidence on the impact of current pricing practices on consumers and businesses and whether the current legal framework provides sufficient protection. The Government wants to ensure access and fairness for fans purchasing tickets for events, and we welcome responses to the call for evidence on these issues. We are engaging with ticketing platforms on issues covered in the call for evidence.

What steps the Government is taking to (a) investigate and (b) raise awareness of (i) unethical and (ii) potentially corrupt practices within the insurance industry.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, including insurance firms. Insurers must treat customers fairly under the FCA’s rules. The FCA monitors firms to ensure compliance with its rules and has robust powers to take action where necessary.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of NHS dentists in Torbay constituency.

We are determined to rebuild dentistry in the National Health Service. It will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.Integrated Care Boards have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most.