Written questions by Morton.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many FCDO staff attended the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Paris in March 2025; and what was the total budget versus the actual cost of attending.

At the 2025 Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris, the UK delegation was led by Baroness Chapman, the Minister for International Development, Latin America, and the Caribbean. In total, five Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office (FCDO) staff members travelled to Paris to support the Minister's agenda and the coordination of the two side-events we co-hosted, including the Minister's private secretary.While the final figure is being confirmed, FCDO estimates the total cost of attending came to under £6,000. Staff attendance was staggered throughout the week, with two UK based staff members already in Paris for other partner meetings, also providing support to the Minister's visit and the organisation of the side-events. FCDO has also sought to achieve good value for money through its other N4G activities in Paris, including the arrangement of venues for events.The UK's development expertise is critical to agendas like nutrition. We will continue to play a leadership role in the future with less money to spend.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the resilience of Ukraine's export infrastructure to export grain.

The resilience of Ukraine's grain export infrastructure is demonstrated by the fact that it exported all its surplus harvest from 2023 and is on course to do so again for its 2024 harvest. Ukraine is now exporting over 80 per cent of its grain through its maritime corridor in the Black Sea. It is also exporting grain through its Danube ports and by rail and truck through neighbouring EU member states.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the quantity of Ukrainian grain being transported through the Black Sea.

Over 80 per cent of Ukraine's grain exports are now transported through the Black Sea corridor. In 2024, over 48 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds were exported, and monthly volumes were consistently at the highest levels since the war began. Through all routes, Ukraine exported all its surplus harvest from 2023 and is on course to do so for its 2024 harvest.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Independent Development Review in the context of recent changes to Official Development Assistance.

The review recommendations are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), including how the FCDO approaches the reduction in the Official Development Assistance budget.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March to Question 38609 on Local Government Pension Scheme, what her planned timeline is for the announcement of reforms as part of the Chancellor’s Pensions Review.

The Government consulted on a proposed set of reforms in our “Fit For the Future" Consultation, which closed on 16 January 2025. We are currently analysing responses and will publish a Government response to the consultation in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38594 on Neighbourhood Policing: Finance, what estimate she has made of funding available to frontline policing in 2025-26.

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.Decisions about the allocation of police resources locally are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected local policing bodies (including Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors with PCC functions and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime).

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 38604 on Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of farmers whose applications were ready for submission but missed out due to the short notice about the scheme's closure.

This Government inherited an uncapped scheme aimed at mass participation of farm businesses, despite a finite farming budget. In order to ensure we acted in a financially responsible way we took the decision to stop accepting new Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) applications. We needed to ensure fair access to the scheme and avoid creating a sudden increase in the level of demand. This Government’s commitment to farmers and the vital role they play to feed our nation remains steadfast.  Since we launched the SFI in 2022 Defra have worked closely with the farming sector to develop the SFI and we will continue to do so for the reformed the SFI offer, which we expect to publish more information about in summer 2025.

Whether she plans to review the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit.

The Government has no current plans to review the eligibility criteria for Pension Credit.

If he will make an estimate of the number of pensioners in receipt of means-tested benefits who are experiencing fuel poverty.

The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in March 2025 on gov.uk here: Fuel poverty statistics - GOV.UK.

How many single pensioners there are who earn less than £20,000 a year and more than the threshold required for pension credit.

The income threshold for eligibility for Pension Credit is dependent on personal circumstances, and not all forms of income are taken into account when determining eligibility. Therefore it is not possible to produce a robust estimate of how many single pensioners exceed this threshold due to earned income.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support local government to help tackle flytipping and littering.

Local councils have wide ranging enforcement powers to help them tackle littering and fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000 to fly-tippers and £500 to those who litter, prosecution action and, in the case of fly-tipping, vehicle seizure. We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are currently seeking powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to issue statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance. We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course. Defra also chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders, such as local authorities and the Environment Agency, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available from their webpage which is available here.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to support participation in the Great British Spring Clean initiative.

I was proud to speak at the launch event of the Great British Spring Clean in parliament in February. It is encouraging to see that there are a growing number of public-spirited individuals and community groups tackling litter all over the country. I also joined a litter pick with Defra officials and Keep Britain Tidy on 1 April where we cleaned part of the Regent’s Canal in partnership with the Canal and River trust. We will continue to use our influence to encourage as many people and business as possible to take part in such events.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the uptake of Pension Credit among (a) disabled and (b) non-disabled pensioners.

The latest estimates of Pension Credit take-up cover the financial year 2022/23: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK. The take-up does not provide a break down of rates of take-up amongst disabled and non-disabled pensioners.

Media and Sport, for what reason it is her policy to place a mandatory gambling levy on society lotteries while not requiring the National Lottery to make a mandatory problem gambling contribution.

Under the terms of the fourth licence, the National Lottery operator, Allwyn, is required to make a £1.6million annual contribution to socially responsible purposes such as research and treatment.Society lotteries will be charged the levy at the lowest rate of 0.1%, in recognition of the comparatively low rates of harm associated with participation in society lotteries and the important benefits they bring to good cause fundraising.

What estimate he has made of the number of new (a) Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and (b) micro businesses created between 30 October 2024 and 31 March 2025.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 1st April is attached.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a targeted scheme to support older people with their heating bills.

The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households that are struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power. The Government’s Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme provides targeted support to eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill. The scheme provides rebates to pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, the vast majority of whom receive the rebate automatically. In February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. This would see an increase in those in receipt of the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit receiving a discount next winter. I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all that they can to support their customers – including vulnerable consumers – who may be struggling with their bills. Building on the work I did with energy suppliers to agree the £500 million Winter Commitment to help customers last winter, I am now also leading a working group with Energy UK and other stakeholders to consider how we can take further sustained action on improving affordability and accessibility of energy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Birmingham bin strikes on neighbouring constituencies.

The Government is aware of the disruption caused by the bin strikes and the associated public health risks to the residents of Birmingham. While Birmingham City Council continues to lead the response, cross-Government mechanisms have been activated to ensure a coordinated response, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the lead and Defra supporting.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the relative potential impact of the implementation of the extended producer responsibility scheme on the (a) glass and (b) plastic industries.

In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to winter fuel payment eligibility on pensioners who are (a) disabled, (b) renting and (c) on low to modest incomes.

The Secretary of State considered the impact of the Winter Fuel Payment changes on pensioners with protected characteristics as part of her duties under the Public Sector Equality Duty. This included the impact on those with disabilities. Details of the Equality Analysis can be found at: Responses to Freedom of Information requests on Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK Disability benefits provide a tax free, non-income-related contribution towards the extra costs people with a long-term health condition or disability can face, such as additional heating costs. They are paid in addition to any other benefits received. The Government also offers direct financial help to low-income pensioners through Pension Credit, the Warm Home Discount, and (in England & Wales) Cold Weather Payments. Pension Credit provides a safety net for low-income pensioners by guaranteeing a minimum level of income and also passports them to receive other benefits (including Winter Fuel Payments, help with rent, council tax, fuel bills and a free TV licence for those over 75). The Government is taking significant steps to raise awareness and maximise the take-up of Pension Credit.   DWP has received 235,000 Pension Credit applications in the 30 weeks since the Winter Fuel Payment announcement and made 117,800 new Pension Credit awards over the same period.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40502 on Police: West Midlands, how many of those officers she expects the West Midlands force to recruit in each of the four years of that plan.

The Government has committed to restoring neighbourhood policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This includes putting thousands more police personnel on the beat in neighbourhood policing roles up and down the country. Every part of the country will benefit from this pledge, including the West Midlands.Further details of the delivery of this programme, including areas the impact on individual areas, will be published in due course.