Written questions by Collins.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers affected by flooding.

Defra’s Farming Recovery Fund (FRF) scheme has paid out over £59.1 million to over 12,500 farm businesses affected by flooding and extreme wet weather during the period October 2023 to March 2024. On 31st March 2025 the government announced an additional £16 million boost to the internal drainage board (IDB) Fund to support greater flood resilience for farmers and rural communities. The Fund has increased from £75 million to £91 million to provide opportunities to modernise and upgrade IDB assets. More than 400,000 hectares of agricultural land and around 91,000 homes and businesses across England are expected to benefit.

Whether he plans to increase the role of hospices in providing care in communities.

We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, will have a big role to play in that shift.Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at end of life and their loved ones.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect people with (a) multiple mental and physical health disabilities and (b) chronic health conditions from financial hardship.

The social security system will always be there for those who can’t work. As part of making changes to the rates in Universal Credit, we will ensure that the incomes of those with the most severe, lifelong conditions who will never be able to work have their incomes protected. We will also guarantee that for both new and existing claims, those in this group will not need to be reassessed in future.We are also taking action to get the basics right and improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits as set out in the Green Paper. This includes exploring ways to improve PIP assessments through digitalising transfer of medical information, using evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for people with very severe health conditions to undergo functional assessments and improving communication with people receiving awards who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) Thames Water and (b) other water companies provide (i) accurate and (ii) locally verified assessments of (A) wastewater and (B) drainage capacity for major planning applications.

As set out in Paragraph 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial development and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. The Government is clear that housing must come with appropriate infrastructure, including appropriate water infrastructure. Water and wastewater capacity issues are best dealt with at a strategic level through the plan-making process, rather than through individual planning applications. Taking a strategic approach to drainage and wastewater management, will help to identify and mitigate issues related to insufficient network capacity or damaged infrastructure. A key planning function is to guide development to the most suitable and sustainable locations and to ensure that the associated infrastructure requirements are addressed. Effective co-operation early in the plan-making process is essential. The NPPF makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies, including infrastructure providers, to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies. The Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage and wastewater system both now and for future demand. Water companies in England are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewerage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of water resource management plans (WRMPs), and drainage and wastewater management plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the drainage and wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues. The plans will bring together various stakeholders including local authorities and industry regulators.

Whether her Department is taking steps to enable railcard holders to use their discounts with contactless payments on (a) London Northwestern Railway and (b) Govia Thameslink Railway services.

Whilst currently you are not able to link railcards to contactless bankcards, we are working with Transport for London on the functionality to use Railcard discounts with Pay As You Go (PAYG) with contactless, and this will follow in due course.  Passengers will continue to be able to use Railcard discounts on the equivalent barcode, smartcard, and magstripe fares which are price equivalent in many cases to the PAYG price.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the take-up of means-tested benefits in households with children in poverty.

The Department provides extensive information on Universal Credit including on GOV.UK that supports customers to identify what support may be available. Additionally, we signpost potential customers to external benefit calculators where they can identify what they are likely to be eligible for. We also work closely with Citizens Advice who provide Help to Claim support by phone and on-line for customers to apply for Universal Credit. Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government. The Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy looking at 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.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of uprating the income threshold for the free childcare entitlement in line with inflation.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure wastewater capacity assessments by (a) Thames water and (b) other water companies account for local environmental pressures.

As set out in Paragraph 7 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of homes, commercial development and supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner. The Government is clear that housing must come with appropriate infrastructure, including appropriate water infrastructure. Water and wastewater capacity issues are best dealt with at a strategic level through the plan-making process, rather than through individual planning applications. Taking a strategic approach to drainage and wastewater management, will help to identify and mitigate issues related to insufficient network capacity or damaged infrastructure. A key planning function is to guide development to the most suitable and sustainable locations and to ensure that the associated infrastructure requirements are addressed. Effective co-operation early in the plan-making process is essential. The NPPF makes it clear that local planning authorities should collaborate with each other and with other public bodies, including infrastructure providers, to identify relevant strategic matters to be addressed, including providing for sustainable water supplies. The Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage and wastewater system both now and for future demand. Water companies in England are under a statutory duty to provide new water and sewerage connections to residential properties, as well as planning to meet the needs of growth as part of water resource management plans (WRMPs), and drainage and wastewater management plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the drainage and wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues. The plans will bring together various stakeholders including local authorities and industry regulators.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the use of nature-based solutions to climate change.

Defra recognises the critical benefits nature-based solutions can provide for tackling climate change and averting its impacts – delivering multiple benefits for climate, biodiversity, and people. Nature’s recovery is one of the five top priorities for this Department. We are taking active steps to achieve Net Zero and mitigate climate change by expanding nature-based solutions in England, driving forward our commitments to restore 280,000 hectares of peatland and increase tree canopy cover to 16.5% of land area, both by 2050. This Government remains firmly committed to the environmental land management (ELM) schemes that deliver these solutions and will continue supporting farmers and landowners in their low-carbon practices. Defra has secured a farm support budget of £2.4 billion for the next financial year. This means we can maintain the momentum of our ELM schemes, which will rise to the highest funding levels ever by 2025/26. Through this investment, we’re helping to secure a healthy and resilient future for English farming and restore our natural landscapes for generations to come whilst continuing to support farmers and landowners in their low-carbon, nature friendly practices.

Whether her Department has considered introducing a tapered withdrawal of the 30 hours of free childcare entitlement for households earning above £100,000.

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.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the £100,000 threshold for entitlement to 30 hours of free childcare on affected families.

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.

Whether the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be offered by the NHS in the Spring booster programme.

The spring 2025 campaign will continue to use mRNA vaccine supply secured under existing pandemic contracts with Pfizer and Moderna. Those eligible will be offered either Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines during the spring 2025 campaign.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in levels of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions among pupils with SEND.

The department publishes data from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent full release, for the 2022/23 academic year, is available at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2022-23. Published data include numbers and rates of suspensions and permanent exclusions by school phase and characteristics, including special educational needs provision, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/bc94278b-70fa-4ebb-7d62-08dd7ece5be0. Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils from disruption and restore a safe environment. The ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ statutory guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour, including unmet needs and special educational needs and disabilities before issuing an exclusion.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of care leavers who are Not in Education, Employment or Training.

The number of care leavers who are not in education, employment or training is published annually in the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’.Figures on the activity of care leavers aged 17-21 years old, including those not in education, employment or training, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/33baf96c-f652-408a-d969-08dd800922cb.Figures on the activity of care leavers aged 22-25 years old, including those not in education, employment or training, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9213a0ea-4d47-4ebc-7d40-08dd7ece5be0. To note, information for care leavers aged 22-25 years old is only collected for those who contact their local authority and receive support.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure social media companies (a) remove and (b) report (i) illegal counterfeit currency and (ii) fraudulent foreign exchange trading.

The illegal content duties under the Online Safety Act came into force on 17 March 2025. Social media services must now have systems and processes in place to proactively protect users from illegal fraudulent content. Ofcom’s illegal content Codes of Practice recommended that certain services at risk of fraud have dedicated reporting channels for trusted flaggers, such as the National Crime Agency, to report fraud. Providers must take the safety measures recommended in Codes or use other effective measures to protect users.Ofcom can take enforcement action if providers do not act promptly to address the risks on their services.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the disparities in educational outcomes for children in care.

Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve.We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head, who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll.Looked-after children have highest priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,630 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the Virtual School Head, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP). The PEP should set out the support needed to help realise the short and long-term academic outcomes for each child, and should focus on the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and outcomes they want to achieve, including attaining a higher education (HE) placement.The government recognises the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, the child’s allocated social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised, and any necessary transitions well planned and supported. Where a change to a looked-after child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their PEP should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education and training, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.The government is committed to ensuring that looked-after children and care leavers are given the skills they need to succeed in life and recognises the important role that HE has in this. To ensure care experienced students are supported to gain the qualifications needed to access HE, the department provided £14 million of funding in 2024/25 to extend Pupil Premium Plus nationally to children in care and care leavers at post-16. This is managed by the Virtual School Head and can be used on a range of measures to raise attainment and engagement in education, employment, and training such as mentoring, tuition, and targeted careers advice. We will be continuing this funding to local authorities in 2025/26. We are also making the Virtual School Head role for children with a social worker statutory through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, enabling earlier intervention to address the educational barriers these children can face.Care leavers who enter HE are entitled to a statutory bursary of £2,000 from their local authority and many universities offer additional support within their access and participation regimes. This includes things like additional financial support, pastoral support and 365 days per year housing whilst they are at university.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure children in care are not moved during (a) exam periods and (b) other critical periods in their education.

Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve.We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head, who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll.Looked-after children have highest priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,630 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the Virtual School Head, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP). The PEP should set out the support needed to help realise the short and long-term academic outcomes for each child, and should focus on the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and outcomes they want to achieve, including attaining a higher education (HE) placement.The government recognises the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, the child’s allocated social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised, and any necessary transitions well planned and supported. Where a change to a looked-after child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their PEP should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education and training, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.The government is committed to ensuring that looked-after children and care leavers are given the skills they need to succeed in life and recognises the important role that HE has in this. To ensure care experienced students are supported to gain the qualifications needed to access HE, the department provided £14 million of funding in 2024/25 to extend Pupil Premium Plus nationally to children in care and care leavers at post-16. This is managed by the Virtual School Head and can be used on a range of measures to raise attainment and engagement in education, employment, and training such as mentoring, tuition, and targeted careers advice. We will be continuing this funding to local authorities in 2025/26. We are also making the Virtual School Head role for children with a social worker statutory through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, enabling earlier intervention to address the educational barriers these children can face.Care leavers who enter HE are entitled to a statutory bursary of £2,000 from their local authority and many universities offer additional support within their access and participation regimes. This includes things like additional financial support, pastoral support and 365 days per year housing whilst they are at university.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to permit local planning authorities to commission independent assessments of (a) water and (b) drainage infrastructure capacity.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 45308 on 22 April 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to support nature-positive renewable energy.

The Government has been engaging with a range of stakeholders, providing an opportunity to share their ideas and views on how government can best encourage nature positive best practice into energy infrastructure planning and development. We are working to better understand how we can integrate nature restoration through Clean Power 2030.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the attainment gap between children in care and their peers.

Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve.We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head, who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll.Looked-after children have highest priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,630 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the Virtual School Head, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s Personal Education Plan (PEP). The PEP should set out the support needed to help realise the short and long-term academic outcomes for each child, and should focus on the child’s strengths, weaknesses, and outcomes they want to achieve, including attaining a higher education (HE) placement.The government recognises the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked-after child’s life. Under the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review guidance and regulations, the child’s allocated social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised, and any necessary transitions well planned and supported. Where a change to a looked-after child’s educational arrangements is unavoidable, their PEP should set out arrangements to minimise disruption to education and training, especially during exam periods and other critical periods in their education.The government is committed to ensuring that looked-after children and care leavers are given the skills they need to succeed in life and recognises the important role that HE has in this. To ensure care experienced students are supported to gain the qualifications needed to access HE, the department provided £14 million of funding in 2024/25 to extend Pupil Premium Plus nationally to children in care and care leavers at post-16. This is managed by the Virtual School Head and can be used on a range of measures to raise attainment and engagement in education, employment, and training such as mentoring, tuition, and targeted careers advice. We will be continuing this funding to local authorities in 2025/26. We are also making the Virtual School Head role for children with a social worker statutory through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, enabling earlier intervention to address the educational barriers these children can face.Care leavers who enter HE are entitled to a statutory bursary of £2,000 from their local authority and many universities offer additional support within their access and participation regimes. This includes things like additional financial support, pastoral support and 365 days per year housing whilst they are at university.