Written questions by Collins.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on the fees charged by veterinary practices for issuing Animal Health Certificates.

All fees set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices are a private matter between individual practices and their clients. Neither the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the UK regulator of the veterinary profession, nor Defra intervene in the level of fees that are charged.

If her Department will take steps to improve training for disabled children’s social care professionals in local authorities.

Every day, children’s social care professionals provide a vital service to children in need of support, including disabled children. Whilst it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their social care workforces are well-equipped for the roles they perform, the department is focused on supporting continued improvements in practice. All qualified children’s social workers must register with the professional regulator Social Work England and meet the professional standards. These include practising in line with the requirements of the Equality Act, which includes disability as a protected characteristic.The department sets the professional standards that new children’s social workers should attain through the post-qualifying standards. The department is currently consulting on a new set of standards which include a greater focus on disability. Subject to the spending review, the department plans to introduce a new two-year social worker induction programme based on the new standards, to strengthen support for new children’s social workers.In addition, the Law Commission are currently undertaking an independent review of social care legislation relating to disabled children. They are due to report their final recommendations to government in summer 2025, at which point the department will consider proposals for reforms to the disabled children’s social care system.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) removing sanctions on Universal Credit and (b) ensuring sanctions are used only in exceptional circumstances.

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and moving away from the current one-size-fits-all approach. We are creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. The core objective of Universal Credit is to support customers to prepare for work, to enter work, or to earn more, and it is right that there are obligations in place in return for financial support through the benefit system. Legislation sets out the types of requirements that can be applied to a customer dependant on the conditionality group they are in. To ensure these requirements are realistic and achievable, they are set in discussion with the customer and tailored to their capabilities and circumstances. A sanction – which is a reduction in the amount of Universal Credit paid – is only applicable where a customer does not carry out their agreed requirements without good reason.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has considered allowing local authorities to (a) retain and (b) reinvest all proceeds from Right to Buy sales into building new council homes.

Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10-year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another social landlord in the area. This is known as the right of first refusal and helps to safeguard social housing and keep it within the public sector.As announced at Autumn Budget, the government is allowing councils to keep 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales, which coupled with the increased flexibilities in how councils can use the receipts, will help to accelerate and increase the delivery of replacement homes. The majority of the receipts must be spent on replacement social housing within 5 years.The government’s manifesto committed to better protecting newly built social housing from the Right to Buy since we recognise that the risk of a home being sold soon after completion can disincentivise councils from investing in new housing. To give councils greater confidence to scale-up delivery of social homes for those who need them most, the government increased the “cost floor” period during which Right to Buy discounts can be reduced to account for money spent building or maintaining the property, from 15 years to 30 years.The government is aware, however, that the cost floor may not always be sufficient to protect new builds, because new homes can still be sold under the scheme, and it may not cover all forms of investment in existing housing stock. We therefore sought views in the recent consultation on reforming the Right to Buy scheme, which can be found on gov.uk here, on an exemption for new builds from the scheme. The consultation has closed and the government is carefully considering all responses received and will announce next steps in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 27613 on Offshore Industry: North Sea, what further steps his Department is taking to avoid prejudicing future regulatory decision-making on this matter.

Neither the Secretary of State nor I will be commenting on the specifics of individual in order to avoid potentially prejudicing any future regulatory decisions the Secretary of State is required to make in relation to these projects. We remain committed to having the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidance in place as soon as possible. Once it is published, assessments of environmental statements can resume.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Right to Buy scheme on local councils’ ability to invest in new social housing.

Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10-year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another social landlord in the area. This is known as the right of first refusal and helps to safeguard social housing and keep it within the public sector.As announced at Autumn Budget, the government is allowing councils to keep 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales, which coupled with the increased flexibilities in how councils can use the receipts, will help to accelerate and increase the delivery of replacement homes. The majority of the receipts must be spent on replacement social housing within 5 years.The government’s manifesto committed to better protecting newly built social housing from the Right to Buy since we recognise that the risk of a home being sold soon after completion can disincentivise councils from investing in new housing. To give councils greater confidence to scale-up delivery of social homes for those who need them most, the government increased the “cost floor” period during which Right to Buy discounts can be reduced to account for money spent building or maintaining the property, from 15 years to 30 years.The government is aware, however, that the cost floor may not always be sufficient to protect new builds, because new homes can still be sold under the scheme, and it may not cover all forms of investment in existing housing stock. We therefore sought views in the recent consultation on reforming the Right to Buy scheme, which can be found on gov.uk here, on an exemption for new builds from the scheme. The consultation has closed and the government is carefully considering all responses received and will announce next steps in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to improve access to social care provision for disabled children in all areas.

I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 45293.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting Ukrainians settled in the UK through sponsorship schemes the right to remain (a) indefinitely and (b) until it is safe to return.

We are committed to standing with Ukraine and providing stability for those we have welcomed to the UK and those who still need our sanctuary.The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025, provides up to an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK for those with existing Ukraine Scheme permission.We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. Similarly, time spent in the UK with permission granted under the Ukraine Schemes cannot be relied upon towards the continuous qualifying period for the purposes of a Long Residence application.There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements, such as work routes and family routes. These routes are published on GOV.UK at: Work in the UK - GOV.UK and Family in the UK - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 42060 on Pathways to Work: Impact Assessments, whether her Department’s further programme of analysis will include a disaggregation of data by category of (a) disability and (b) health condition.

A breakdown of the impact of the reforms on disability overall has been published as part of an Equality Analysis of the Spring Statement package of measures (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper/spring-statement-2025-health-and-disability-benefit-reforms-equality-analysis). Data on the health conditions of UC claimants being placed in the LCWRA has been published (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-work-capability-assessment-statistics) and will continue to be taken into account in the future programme of analysis. Analysis of those who do not score 4 points in at least one daily living activity for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has now been undertaken and is provided in the table below. This shows the volume of claimants with the 18 most common disabling conditions in receipt of the PIP daily living component in January 2025, as well as the volume and proportion of these claimants who were awarded less than 4 points in all ten daily living activities. Health condition categoryVolume of PIP Claimants in receipt of Daily Living componentClaimants awarded less than 4 points in all daily living activitiesVolume in each condition groupProportion in each condition groupCancer70,00023,00033%Anxiety and Depression587,000282,00048%Autistic Spectrum Disorders206,00013,0006%Learning Disabilities188,0007,0003%ADHD / ADD75,00014,00019%Psychotic Disorders112,00026,00023%Other Psychiatric Disorders90,00025,00028%Arthritis279,000214,00077%Chronic Pain Syndromes173,000118,00068%Back Pain194,000154,00079%Other Regional Musculoskeletal Diseases136,00097,00071%Cerebrovascular Diseases56,00019,00034%Epilepsy36,00011,00030%Multiple Sclerosis and Neuropathic Diseases80,00038,00048%Cerebral Palsy and Neurological Muscular Diseases47,00011,00024%Other Neurological Diseases97,00035,00036%Respiratory Diseases83,00045,00055%Cardiovascular Diseases61,00038,00062%All Other Conditions272,000126,00046% Source: PIP Administrative DataNotes:Figures are based on the PIP caseload at end January 2025.Data only includes claimants awarded Daily Living component.Data only includes claimants living in regions under DWP policy ownership (England, Wales and Abroad).Data only includes working age claimantsData includes normal rules claimants only and excludes special rules for end of life (SREL) claimants as they typically receive maximum or very high scores.Data may show minor differences to published award level information due to missing or poor quality score data for a small amount of claims.Health condition category is based on primary health condition as recorded on the PIP Computer System at time of latest assessment. Many claimants have multiple health conditions but only primary condition is available for analysis.Only the 18 disabling condition groups which make up the highest proportions of the PIP caseload are displayed in this table.Other disabling condition groups which cover smaller proportions of the PIP caseload are covered in the "Other Conditions" category. This includes:- Visual Diseases- Other General Musculoskeletal Diseases- Endocrine Diseases- Hearing Disorders- Gastrointestinal Diseases- Genitourinary Diseases- Skin Diseases- Autoimmune Diseases (Connective Tissue Disorders)- Infectious Diseases- Diseases of the Liver, Gallbladder or Biliary Tract- Haematological Diseases- Metabolic Diseases- Multisystem and Extremes of Age- Diseases of the Immune SystemAnxiety and Depression includes the following conditions recorded in the PIP Stat Xplore data:- Anxiety disorders - Other / type not known- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)- Stress reaction disorders - Other / type not known- Generalised anxiety disorder- Phobia - Specific- Phobia - Social- Agoraphobia- Panic disorder- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)- Anxiety and depressive disorders - mixed- Conversion disorder (hysteria)- Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)- Dissociative disorders - Other / type not known- Somatoform disorders - Other / type not known- Depressive disorder- Bipolar affective disorder (Hypomania / Mania)- Mood disorders - Other / type not knownFigures may not sum due to rounding.Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000 for volumes and the nearest percentage point for proportions.

What plans he has to include people impacted by low-grade brain tumours which follow the cancer pathways, care and treatment, but are not technically cancer in the National Cancer Plan.

The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those with brain tumours.Although low-grade brain tumours are generally non-cancerous, they can have similar, serious symptoms and require surgery or radiotherapy to treat. The Government has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours.The plan will include further details on how we will speed up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately bringing this country’s cancer survival rates back up to the standards of the best in the world.

What steps his Department is taking to support job creation in the renewable energy sector in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.

The Government’s initial assessment of the challenges of building the skilled workforce to deliver the Clean Energy Superpower Mission has been outlined in the Clean Power Action Plan. The Plan includes an Evidence Annex which provides a basis for Government to better understand the 2030 workforce requirements and support targeted skills planning. By 2030, the clean energy transition could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, benefiting communities across the UK representing the economic opportunity of the century.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in spending on official development assistance on levels of debt-cancellation to heavily indebted poor countries.

Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a priority of this government. Where the UK Government is a creditor, we will fully engage in multilateral negotiations with debtor countries via the Paris Club and G20 Common Framework mechanisms to put their debt back on a sustainable trajectory.Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review process.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 29226 on Media, what the two media literacy programmes funded in 2024 were called; and where he plans to publish further information about each.

In 2024 the Government provided £0.5 million to expand the National Literacy Trust’s ‘Empower’ and Parent Zone’s ‘Everyday Digital’ programmes.‘Empower’ provided media literacy education to nearly 4,000 vulnerable students aged 11-16, who were excluded or at risk of exclusion, increasing critical thinking and awareness of online harms. It also trained schoolteachers to lead media literacy within their schools.‘Everyday Digital’ reached over 60,000 parents, helping improve their understanding of media literacy, set digital boundaries and critically evaluate online content. The evaluation showed a 45% improvement in media literacy understanding.Both organisations evaluated their programmes’ impact and will publish reports.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the energy efficiency of homes in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future, including those in the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation. The Government has announced Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund in England, to support social housing providers and tenants, as well as the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to support low-income homeowners and private tenants. The Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. We will publish further details on the Warm Homes Plan in due course.

Whether her Department plans to expand the scope of the Loan Change review to include (a) promoters, (b) umbrella companies, (c) recruitment agencies, (d) accountants and (e) tax advisers.

The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. The Government does not think it is right for people affected by the Loan Charge to have to wait years for any progress on bringing this matter to a close for them and has therefore ensured that the review has a focused remit, allowing it to report by this summer. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025. Alongside the review, the Government is consulting in 2025 on measures to tackle promoters of marketed tax avoidance and has already announced measures to tackle the significant tax avoidance and fraud in the umbrella company market.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that homes sold under Right to Buy are not used as private rental properties.

Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10-year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another social landlord in the area. This is known as the right of first refusal and helps to safeguard social housing and keep it within the public sector.As announced at Autumn Budget, the government is allowing councils to keep 100% of the receipts generated by Right to Buy sales, which coupled with the increased flexibilities in how councils can use the receipts, will help to accelerate and increase the delivery of replacement homes. The majority of the receipts must be spent on replacement social housing within 5 years.The government’s manifesto committed to better protecting newly built social housing from the Right to Buy since we recognise that the risk of a home being sold soon after completion can disincentivise councils from investing in new housing. To give councils greater confidence to scale-up delivery of social homes for those who need them most, the government increased the “cost floor” period during which Right to Buy discounts can be reduced to account for money spent building or maintaining the property, from 15 years to 30 years.The government is aware, however, that the cost floor may not always be sufficient to protect new builds, because new homes can still be sold under the scheme, and it may not cover all forms of investment in existing housing stock. We therefore sought views in the recent consultation on reforming the Right to Buy scheme, which can be found on gov.uk here, on an exemption for new builds from the scheme. The consultation has closed and the government is carefully considering all responses received and will announce next steps in due course.

If she will make it her policy that claimants of (a) Personal Independence Payment and (b) Universal Credit with sight loss conditions that have no prospect of improvement will be exempt from reassessment under proposed changes to the benefits system.

Our wide-ranging package of reforms to health and disability benefits, set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, will improve experiences of the system for those who need it. The functional impact and severity of a condition can significantly vary across individuals, so we are not planning to exempt specific conditions, but we are planning to reduce reassessments for those with the most severe conditions. We aim to guarantee that for both new and existing Universal Credit claims, those with the most severe, life-long health conditions, who will never be able to work, will not need to be reassessed in the future. Our plans to improve experiences of Personal Independence Payment also include reducing assessments for this group. We are exploring ways we could use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce need for some people with very severe health conditions and disabilities to undergo a full PIP functional assessment.

Whether her Department plans to take steps to improve transparency in (a) fee structures and (b) pricing practices in private nurseries.

It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.This working parent entitlement aims to support parents to return to work or to work more hours if they wish. To be eligible, parents must expect to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (£195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/26), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.The government needs to use public funds in a way that provides value for money and considers it reasonable to target this funding at those individuals earning under £100,000 adjusted net income. Only a small proportion of parents (estimated to be 3.8% of parents of 3 and 4-year-olds in 2023/24) earn over the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold. Further information can be found at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5/2024.Parents who earn over maximum income threshold can still claim the universal 15 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds in England.The department has taken action to improve transparency and protect parents from additional charges on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible for parents. We updated our statutory guidance on 21 February 2025, reconfirming that there must be no mandatory additional charges associated with entitlement hours. The guidance also sets out the expectation that local authorities ensure providers have set out additional charges clearly and upfront on websites and invoices by January 2026.

Communities and Local Government, if she will direct the Planning Inspector to give greater consideration to draft local plans that have met early submission deadlines during the examination stage.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out expectations in relation to the examination of local plans. I also refer the hon. Member to my July 2024 letter to the Planning Inspectorate about the examination of local plans, which remains in force and can be found on gov.uk here.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on taking legislative steps to create a domestic abuse aggravated offence.

This Government was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade, and tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission. We will use every lever within our power and work with key partners across Government to deliver against this ambition.As discussed during the Adjournment Debate on Domestic Abuse Offences on 17 March 2025, the Government is actively considering how we can better identify domestic abuse offenders. I have been working closely with my counterparts across Government on this.We recognise the importance of ensuring that the harm caused by offences typically committed against women and girls is appropriately and proportionally reflected in the sentencing framework. The Sentencing Review, chaired by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke, is currently examining the sentencing of offences primarily committed against women and girls. We are committed to engaging with the review to ensure the best outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse.