Written questions by Slade.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that the next local government finance settlement includes additional funding to meet higher costs arising from changes to (a) the national minimum wage and (b) employer National Insurance contributions for (i) social care, (ii) respite, (iii) hospice, (iv) charitable, (v) occupational and (vi) other health providers that have been contracted by (A) local authorities and (B) the NHS.

We recognise the challenges that local authorities are facing. We have listened to voices across the sector and we prioritised local government at the Budget, where we announced over £4 billion in additional funding for local government services, including £1.3 billion which will go through the Settlement.Overall, the provisional Settlement will mean local government receives an around 3.2% increase overall in Core Spending Power. This is a real terms increase. The government has committed to provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer NICs costs. This applies to those directly employed by the public sector, including local government.We will set out further details at the provisional Settlement in December.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the monthly payment of war pensions.

The War Pension Scheme (WPS) compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service before 6 April 2005. There are two main types of WPS awards depending on the level of disablement: A gratuity is a tax free lump sum payment for disablement less than 20%A war disablement pension is an ongoing tax free payment paid weekly or monthly for disablement more than 20% Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/war-pension-scheme-wps

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to (a) assess and (b) prevent unauthorised sub-letting of social housing for holiday lets.

The Government is committed to supporting landlords to tackle the small minority of social tenants who, by cheating the system, deprive those in need of a social home.Under existing legislation, it is a criminal offence to sub-let social housing without the landlord’s permission. The courts are also able to award the social landlord the profit the tenant has made from their unlawful sub-letting.Social landlords are encouraged to take a proactive approach to tackling fraud in their stock. If the tenant no longer occupies the property as their only or principal home, they also risk losing their secure or assured status as a tenant and their home.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to dependant rules for health and social care visas on closures of care homes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing health and social care workers to bring dependants subject to the requirement to pay the health surcharge.

In December 2023, the Home Office published their estimated immigration impacts of the announced legal migration changes, including the restriction on bringing dependants for care workers and senior care workers. These are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/legal-migration-statement-estimated-immigration-impacts/legal-migration-statement-estimated-immigration-impacts-accessibleThis was followed by the 2024 spring Immigration Rules: impact assessment published in September 2024, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-immigration-rules-impact-assessments/2024-spring-immigration-rules-impact-assessment-accessible

To the Home Office, with reference to her Oral Statement of 27 November 2024 on Respect Orders and anti-social behaviour, whether police officers will be able to pursue (a) off road bikes and (b) e scooters when these vehicles are being used in (i) an anti-social or (b) dangerous manner.

The police are able to pursue off road bikes and electric scooters when they are used anti-socially or dangerously. Any decision on whether to undertake a pursuit is an operational one for the police and should take account of the risk factors and proportionality in each situation.The Home Office works closely with the NPCC to understand how the safety of police pursuits can be improved.

What meetings her officials had with the then hon. member for Mid Dorset and North Poole on flooding at Bakers Arms Roundabout on the A35 during the last Parliament; and what agreements were made to consider measures to resolve the issue.

The Department has no record of meetings on this matter during the last Parliament.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) undertake a needs assessment for waste disposal and (b) ban new incinerators unless there is a proven need for them.

The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy, which will support economic growth, deliver green jobs, promote efficient and productive use of resources, minimise negative environmental impacts and help us accelerate to Net Zero. There will however still be a need for the safe and sanitary management of residual waste. In accordance with the Waste Hierarchy, sending residual waste that cannot currently be prevented, prepared for reuse, or recycled to Energy from Waste plants is preferable to disposal in landfill. We are clear however that we do not support incineration overcapacity. Before the end of this year, the Government will publish an analysis of residual waste treatment capacity, including waste incineration, in England setting out our future capacity needs to inform future policy directions.

Whether she plans to introduce wraparound childcare in all schools by September 2026.

This government will build a modern childcare system that supports families from the end of parental leave, right through to the end of primary school.Childcare needs do not stop when children start school. To support parents the government will deliver free, universal breakfast clubs in every primary school in England. Free breakfast clubs will be available in up to 750 early adopter schools from April 2025 as part of a ‘test and learn’ phase in advance of a national roll out.The government is additionally delivering the national wraparound childcare programme which has provided local authorities with more than £160 million to deliver the expansion of new before and after school places for primary school-aged children. The government’s ambition is that, by 2026, all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term-time childcare in their local area from 8am to 6pm.The programme is designed to support local authorities to deliver their statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient wraparound childcare places and remove the additional challenges faced in local areas with shortages. Where local wraparound provision is not available, parents can request that the school their child attends considers establishing wraparound or holiday childcare through the long-standing ‘right to request’ process.

Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to end fox hunting.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act. This includes Fox Hunting. In addition, the Government made a manifesto commitment to ban Trail Hunting as part of a set of measures to improve animal welfare. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to bring empty properties back into use; whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing (i) incentives and (ii) penalties to encourage property owners to bring empty properties back into use and (b) making a proportion of her target for new housing the bringing into use of empty properties from existing housing stock.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 6686 on 14 October 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to increase protection for farmed fish.

The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was published last year. A GB-wide farmed trout joint Government and industry working group is now examining the issues raised in the report to explore the potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. The Scottish Government are also working closely with the salmon industry.

What steps she is taking to help (a) pensioners who will not receive Winter Fuel Allowance and (b) other people with disabilities who (i) need to run equipment through the winter and (ii) have a condition which makes them susceptible to the effects of the cold, damp weather.

This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so protecting 12 million pensioners through the triple lock. Based on current forecasts, the full rate of the new state pension is set to increase by around £1,700 over the course of this Parliament. We are also providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. We will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We have also announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating. The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme. The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. For those with long-term illnesses, the “extra costs” disability benefits, namely Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA), provide a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs people with a long-term health condition can face, such as additional heating costs. They are paid monthly throughout the year. AA can be worth up to £5,600 a year and recipients are free to use their benefit according to their own priorities. Receipt of AA can provide a passport to additional amounts in means-tested benefits (notably Pension Credit and Housing Benefit) for those on low incomes providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing (a) Pension Credit and (b) the personal allowances of pensioners to mitigate the potential impact of the removal of Winter Fuel Allowance.

The standard minimum income guarantee for a single person and couples in Pension Credit rises in line with average earnings to ensure that it maintains its relative value over time to ensure that Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) will continue to provide a safety net for those who find themselves without an adequate income in retirement. The government wants to ensure that individuals receive the support that they are eligible for, and we have already seen a greater than 152% increase in Pension Credit claims since the July Statement. The previous government announced the Personal Allowance (PA) would be maintained at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The PA —the amount of income someone can earn before paying income tax—is currently set high enough to ensure that those pensioners whose sole income is the new State Pension or basic State Pension, and who have not deferred and do not receive protected payments, do not have to pay any income tax.