Written questions by Perkins.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of non-compostable fresh produce stickers on the bio-waste industry and soil health; and whether she plans to take steps to discourage the usage of non-compostable stickers.

The Department has not considered the potential impact of non-compostable fresh produce stickers on the bio-waste industry and soil health and does not currently have plans to discourage or ban the use of these stickers. However, we remain committed to supporting sustainable packaging solutions and continue to monitor developments in this area.

When the UK Steel Council will next meet.

The Steel Council was re-established in 2025 to support the development of the forthcoming steel strategy. The list of members can be found using the following link [ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plan-to-secure-the-long-term-future-of-steelmaking-and-safeguard-steel-communities] and includes the British Metals Recycling Association and UK Steel which represent parts of the steel supply chain.We have committed to revisiting the role and membership of the Council upon publication of the strategy. The date of the next Steel Council meeting is yet to be set, but we continue to engage closely with the sector, including the wider supply chain, on key issues. The Minister for Industry and the Minister for Trade met with steel industry supply chain companies on 10 November 2025 and 19 January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to publish the Future Homes Standard.

The government understands the urgency of introducing new energy efficiency standards so that as many homes as possible are highly efficient and use low-carbon heating. We are carefully considering at what level to set the technical requirements of the Future Homes Standard to deliver an ambitious standard that is on track to achieve our net zero ambitions while also being achievable across the country. The Future Homes Standard will be published in early 2026.

Communities and Local Government, when he plans to launch the Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme; and whether that programme will include the expansion of Housing First.

We will launch our £15 million Long-Term Rough Sleeping Innovation Programme shortly. The funding will enable councils to trial and deliver new approaches to support people furthest away from resolving their rough sleeping. The government will provide £3.5 billion funding for homelessness services from 2026/27 to 2028/29, of which over £3 billion will be allocated to local government through the Local Government Finance Settlement. Councils can use this funding flexibly to meet the needs of people in their areas, including by commissioning Housing First services which evidence has shown can transform the lives of people with complex needs.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of wheelchair provision services in Derbyshire.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, and NHS England supports ICBs to commission effective, efficient, and personalised wheelchair services.Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required.NHS England is taking steps to reduce regional variation in the quality and provision of NHS wheelchairs, and to support ICBs to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. This includes publishing a Wheelchair Quality Framework on 9 April 2025 which sets out quality standards and statutory requirements for ICBs, such as offering personal wheelchair budgets. The framework is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/wheelchair-quality-framework/Local authorities in England have a statutory duty under various legislations, including the Care Act 2014, and the Children and Families Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment, including wheelchair provision, to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Some local authorities deliver this themselves, but a significant number have external contracts for an integrated community equipment service.On 1 April 2025, the NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB appointed Blatchford Ltd to run wheelchair services.The NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB provided additional funding to address the most clinically urgent, long-standing patients that are waiting for a wheelchair and is monitoring with Blatchford on a weekly basis. There are, however, still 1,000 long-standing patients currently waiting for a wheelchair. The NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB has put in place a clinical priority plan developed jointly between the NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB and Blatchford Ltd to address long-standing patients. As of Mid-November 2025, with regard to long-standing patients waiting for a wheelchair, there has been a 56% deduction in adults and a 54% reduction in children and young people. The ICB continues to work through the remaining patients.

What assessment he has made of the specific challenges that face adults with learning difficulties in accessing health services; and what actions he is taking to ensure that they receive an acceptable level of service.

A learning difficulty is a reduced ability for a specific form of learning and includes conditions such as dyslexia and dyspraxia. These are life-long conditions.Under the Equality Act 2010, public sector organisations are required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people as well as to everybody else.Reasonable adjustments can make a real difference to people’s care and are based on physical or mental impairment, not on diagnosis. The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag is being rolled out across health and care services to ensure that disabled people’s reasonable adjustments are recorded and shared, enabling support to be tailored appropriately. This is supported by e-learning for all health and social care staff. All organisations that provide National Health Service care or adult social care must also follow the Accessible Information Standard.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population. Further information on specific learning difficulties can be found on the NHS website.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many tonnes of fish have been caught in English waters between six and twelve nautical miles in each year 2015-2025.

Although UK and non-UK commercial fishing vessels are required to report catches in UK waters, they are not required to report whether those catches occurred in English waters or waters between six and twelve nautical miles. As such, this data is not collected. Catch statistics are regularly published by the MMO on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quota-use-statistics

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of transition plan disclosure on private sector investment for net zero transition.

The government ran a consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements from June to September 2025 which has now closed. The consultation included questions on the impact of transition plan disclosure, implementation options and interaction with UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.

Whether transition plans will be integrated within the UK’s Sustainability Reporting Standards framework.

The government ran a consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements from June to September 2025 which has now closed. The consultation included questions on the impact of transition plan disclosure, implementation options and interaction with UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many at-landing inspections took place in English ports for (a) EU registered fishing vessels, (b) English registered fishing vessels over ten meters in length and (c) English registered fishing vessels under ten meters in length in each year between 2020 and 2025.

The Marine Management Organisation does not publish a breakdown of inspections, including in-port inspections of English and EU-registered fishing vessels and at-sea inspections outside of six nautical miles. The MMO annual report, published on gov.uk, does provide an overview of inspections carried out: Marine Management Organisation Annual Report and Accounts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what were the top ten by gross tonnage non-quota species caught by EU registered fishing vessels in each year 2020-2025.

Although a breakdown of non-quota catches by species caught by EU vessels in UK waters is not published, cumulative catches are published as per Article 507 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. These are published on gov.uk as part of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/specialised-committee-on-fisheriesData. Data on the firsthand sale value of fish caught in English waters by EU-registered vessels is not published.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much fishing effort, calculated in kilowatt days, has been conducted by fly-seine fishing vessels in the English Channel in each year 2015-2025.

Although UK and non-UK commercial fishing vessels are required to report catches in UK waters, they are not required to report whether those catches occurred in English waters or waters between six and twelve nautical miles. As such, this data is not collected. Catch statistics are regularly published by the MMO on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quota-use-statistics

If he will take steps to establish a pathway and timeframe for transition plan disclosure to become mandatory for large companies.

The government ran a consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements from June to September 2025 which has now closed. The consultation included questions on the impact of transition plan disclosure, implementation options and interaction with UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what was the first hand sale value of fish caught in English waters by EU registered fishing vessels in each year 2015-2025.

Although a breakdown of non-quota catches by species caught by EU vessels in UK waters is not published, cumulative catches are published as per Article 507 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. These are published on gov.uk as part of the Specialised Committee on Fisheries: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/specialised-committee-on-fisheriesData. Data on the firsthand sale value of fish caught in English waters by EU-registered vessels is not published.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that transition plan requirements are proportionate and flexible for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The government is clear that it wants any future requirements to be proportionate and that the focus will be on economically significant entities where there is likely a significant investor and public interest. As a result, small to medium-sized companies are not envisaged as being within the scope of any future requirements set by the government. The FCA has independent decision-making powers for companies in scope of any future transition plan requirements they set.

When he plans to publish his Department's roadmap for implementing mandatory transition plan disclosure for in-scope companies.

The government ran a consultation seeking views on how to implement transition plan requirements from June to September 2025 which has now closed. The consultation included questions on the impact of transition plan disclosure, implementation options and interaction with UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. We are reviewing responses and will respond in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much fishing effort calculated in kilowatt days has taken place in English waters between six and twelve nautical miles in each year 2015-2025.

Although UK and non-UK commercial fishing vessels are required to report catches in UK waters, they are not required to report whether those catches occurred in English waters or waters between six and twelve nautical miles. As such, this data is not collected. Catch statistics are regularly published by the MMO on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/quota-use-statistics

Food and Rural Affairs, how many fishing licenses has the Government issued to fly-seine fishing vessels registered in i) the EU and ii) England.

The Marine Management Organisation does not issue specific licences for fly-seining. The MMO issues a domestic fishing vessel licence which allows English registered vessels to fishing using various stipulated gear types. A list of registered and licensed vessels can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-vessel-lists. EU vessels are eligible to fish in UK waters under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement if they hold a UK Foreign Vessel licence. The EU notify the vessel details and proposed gear type. Currently, there are 56 EU vessels licensed to use fly-seines in UK waters. A list of EU vessels approved to fish in UK waters can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/united-kingdom-single-issuing-authority-uksia#approved-eu-vessels.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many at-sea boarding inspections of (a) EU registered fishing vessels and (b) English registered fishing vessels took place in English waters outside of six nautical miles in each year between 2020 and 2025.

The Marine Management Organisation does not publish a breakdown of inspections, including in-port inspections of English and EU-registered fishing vessels and at-sea inspections outside of six nautical miles. The MMO annual report, published on gov.uk, does provide an overview of inspections carried out: Marine Management Organisation Annual Report and Accounts.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many non-compliance warning letters were issued in each year 2020-2025 to i) EU registered fishing vessels, ii) English registered fishing vessels over ten meters in length, and iii) English registered fishing vessels under ten meters in length.

The Marine Management Organisation’s approach to control and enforcement is risk-based and intelligence-led and are enforced in accordance with their published Compliance and Enforcement Strategy: Compliance and Enforcement Strategy - GOV.UK. The MMO does not publish a breakdown of non-compliance warning letters issued to English or EU-registered vessels. The MMO annual report, published on gov.uk, provides an overview of the number of regulatory enforcement actions that have been taken: Marine Management Organisation Annual Report and Account