Written questions by Franklin.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with local authorities and regional stakeholders, including in Surrey, on the delivery of Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

The Government’s intentions to enhance the roles and functions of Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to take a leading role in environmental delivery are set out in English Devolution White Paper. Officials have been engaging with all responsible authorities, including Surrey County Council, and other relevant stakeholders to develop more detailed expectations for what this delivery role should entail.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) capacity for local authorities to implement Local Nature Recovery Strategies.

Funding for Local Nature Recovery Strategy responsible authorities to support the delivery of the strategies will be confirmed as part of departmental business planning for financial years 2026/27 to 2028/29. This will be informed by discussions with responsible authorities about what the new delivery role will entail.

What assessment she has made of (a) trends in the level of regional disparities in the location of electric vehicle charging points and (b) the potential impact of those trends on the Government’s environmental objectives.

The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations, as well as improving air quality and supporting growth. The Government closely monitors regional deployment and the disparities in the location of electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, as detailed in statistics released in October 2025. Chargepoint availability is increasing across the country. The Government’s £400 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund has been allocated to all highest tier local authorities in England to ensure equitable chargepoint rollout across the country. In total, it is expected to support the rollout of at least 100,000 EV chargepoints.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding levels to meet the Government’s environmental targets.

The Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 sets out how we will deliver against our Environment Act targets. This is backed by a settlement that maintains the Government’s steadfast commitment to farming, food security, and nature’s recovery.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government will take to improve water quality and flood resilience in Surrey and Guildford, in the context of the latest environmental progress assessment.

The Environment Agency (EA) works with the Surrey Local Resilience Forum to plan and prepare for incidents and mitigate impacts on local communities. In Guildford, the EA has temporary flood barriers ready for deployment, and is developing a scheme which will reduce flood risk from the River Wey to over 300 properties. Citizens and organisations can check flood risk and register for warnings by accessing Check the long term flood risk for an area in England. Regarding improving river quality in Surrey, the EA leads on the Water Industry National Environment Programme with improvement schemes that Thames Water must implement including the reduction of phosphorus levels in treated sewage effluent and investigations of storm overflows at Guildford, Woking, Weybridge, Camberley, and Dorking. The EA is transforming its regulation of water companies, developing a larger specialised workforce, and delivering a step change in inspections of permitted sites and associated enforcement.

Whether her Department plans to publish an assessment of the potential impact of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the Government’s environmental improvement goals.

The zero emission vehicle transition is crucial to the UK meeting its climate change obligations – and to delivering wider environmental benefits, including improvements to air quality. It will drive economic growth and help make Britain a clean energy superpower. The ZEV transition is a major component of our Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, which was published in October 2025. There are therefore no plans at present to publish a specific assessment.

If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The Civil Procedure Rules provide a framework for a fair, transparent, efficient and proportionate civil justice system. The Rules are regularly updated to support court services, to reflect wider changes in legislation and societal need, and in response to issues in practice and case law. Generally, there are at least two statutory instruments per year (April and October) which amend the Rules and ensure they remain up to date and relevant. These updates are made under the negative resolution SI process, which is subject to the related parliamentary scrutiny, having first been signed by Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) members, Master of the Rolls and Minister of State for Justice.In addition to the Government keeping the Rules under review in conjunction with the CPRC, the Civil Justice Council (a statutory advisory body chaired by the Master of the Rolls) keeps the civil justice system under review and makes recommendations on, how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair, and efficient. The Council routinely refers proposed amendments to the Rules to the CPRC for consideration.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on biodiversity outcomes of substantially increasing the de minimis threshold for mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain requirements.

The Government recently consulted on options to improve the way Biodiversity Net Gain works for small, medium and brownfield development. This included potential changes to the de minimis exemption threshold. Since then, Government has announced its intention to introduce a new area-based exemption set at 0.2 hectares to reduce costs for smaller development while maintaining nature recovery at scale. A full consultation response and impact assessment will be published in due course.

Whether the apprenticeship funding rules have been reviewed to reflect the operation of section 3C leave under the Immigration Act 1971, which ensures lawful and uninterrupted permission to work for individuals transitioning to Indefinite Leave to Remain during the course of an apprenticeship.

The apprenticeship funding rules are reviewed each year. Currently providers are not permitted to start learners on apprenticeships if they are unable to complete the apprenticeship within the time available. For example, because their visa will expire, or because they have a fixed-term contract that is shorter than the duration of the apprenticeship. This applies to all learners including UK nationals (whose contract will expire) and foreign nationals (whose visa will expire). The rules do not differentiate between those on different visas.This rule ensures that learners can complete an apprenticeship within the time they have available, including the end-point assessment.  It ensures that public funds are protected and prevents investment in someone who is ultimately unable to complete their course, for example, because their circumstances have changed and they are not able to extend their residency. The rule is in place to protect public funds where continued residency rights are not certain.

What impact assessment his Department has made on the effect of current apprenticeship visa duration requirements on (a) young migrants educated in the UK, (b) individuals on private or family life routes, and (c) young people who have resided in the UK for over ten years.

The apprenticeship funding rules are reviewed each year. They are applied to all apprentices and potential apprentices consistently. The Department does not hold the data requested.

Communities and Local Government, whether district elections in one area can go ahead if another district in the reorganisation area has requested postponement due to capacity issues in areas in which Mayoral elections have been postponed to 2028 and councils are undergoing reorganisation.

The Secretary of State will take his decision on whether or not to postpone a council’s elections having regard to any views provided by councils, together with any other representations received.  The Secretary of State will consider the position of each council individually, weighing up the evidence received. This means that different decisions may be taken for different councils within the same area, depending on the representations received.

What discussions her Department has had with teaching unions on the role of schools and education settings in the development and implementation of the Government’s strategy on tackling violence against women and girls.

The Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy recognises that we must take a whole system approach to tackle and halve VAWG in a decade. The government has undertaken stakeholder engagement to inform the development of the strategy, meeting with key sector leaders, unions, academics, police representatives, and has an established the VAWG Strategy Advisory Board. The department meets teaching unions and school stakeholder groups regularly. We will continue this engagement as work progresses on the implementation of our contribution to the strategy, which includes a departmental investment of £11 million in further support.

Communities and Local Government, when he briefed leaders of upper-tier local authorities on the Government’s decision to postpone mayoral elections in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent and Sussex and Brighton.

I spoke to leaders in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent and Sussex and Brighton following the announcement of funding and next steps for the devolution agreements that are being developed through the Devolution Priority Programme. I have engaged closely with them since the announcement, jointly discussing the benefits devolution will bring to these areas.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that people with a serious or terminal diagnosis are not required to repay benefit overpayments that arose due to official error, particularly in cases in which the claimant notified the Department promptly that they believed they were receiving benefits to which they were not entitled.

All DWP colleagues are trained to support our most vulnerable customers and have access to a wide range of guidance to support them. DWP will always strive to set affordable and sustainable repayment plans and encourages customers to make contact if they are unable to afford the proposed repayment rate. People with a serious or terminal diagnosis can request that DWP cease recovery of their overpayment. This is a waiver request and details for claimants can be found here in Chapter 8 of this link : Benefit overpayment recovery guide - GOV.UK. Claimants can also request mandatory reconsiderations and have the right to appeal overpayment decisions. This link sets out the path for this: Challenge a benefit decision (mandatory reconsideration): Eligibility - GOV.UK

What her expected timeline is for publishing the Schools White Paper including the SEND reform package.

The department will publish the Schools White Paper early this year. It will set out our proposed reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.To ensure these reforms are as effective as possible, and building on conversations to date, we launched a public engagement campaign spanning every region of the country. This put families at the heart of plans to create a reformed SEND system that will stand the test of time.As part of this campaign, I have hosted regional face-to-face events across the country, run in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children. The department also set up a number of online events, including a panel of experts, in discussions covering the department’s five principles of reform. Further details can be found at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-reform-national-conversation/.The experiences and insights shared during these engagement opportunities will be vital in ensuring that our proposals effectively deliver meaningful reforms for families.

What steps she is taking to ensure that proposals in the SEND White Paper do not reduce the rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.

I refer the hon. Member for Guildford to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 98569.

Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective use of Ofcom’s powers under the Online Safety Act 2023.

The Secretary of State has written to Melanie Dawes and made absolutely clear the Government's full backing for Ofcom using all its powers to enfore the Act. Ofcom has issued fines under the Act to three services, including fining a pornography company £1 million. I welcome Ofcom's decision earlier this month to look into whether major social media platforms are meeting their duties to remove illegal terrorist and hate content. There are no more excuses for failing to protect users.

What information her Department holds on the incidence of academy trusts undertaking new capital projects on school playing fields while requesting parental contributions for curriculum activities that schools are not permitted to charge for.

The Education Act 1996 prohibits schools from charging for education provided during school hours, subject to very limited exceptions. The department publishes guidance to assist schools to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Parents who have concerns about their school’s charging policy should raise this with the school. They may be able to complain to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if they remain unsatisfied once they have exhausted the school’s complaints procedure.The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and has a set of criteria used to assess applications for consent. These include assessing whether the school can continue to meet its curriculum needs. The department gives consent only if the criteria are met, and where the proceeds from sales are to be reinvested in improvements to sports and education facilities.

What assessment she has made of the level of compliance of Multi Academy Trusts with statutory guidance on charging for school-time activities, including WOW days, curriculum-required trips and transport to compulsory swimming lessons.

The Education Act 1996 prohibits schools from charging for education provided during school hours, subject to very limited exceptions. The department publishes guidance to assist schools to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Parents who have concerns about their school’s charging policy should raise this with the school. They may be able to complain to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if they remain unsatisfied once they have exhausted the school’s complaints procedure.The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and has a set of criteria used to assess applications for consent. These include assessing whether the school can continue to meet its curriculum needs. The department gives consent only if the criteria are met, and where the proceeds from sales are to be reinvested in improvements to sports and education facilities.

What assessment he has made, as part of his Department’s responsibilities for access to justice and the protection of victims of domestic abuse, of the risk that delays caused by a non-engaging spouse in divorce and financial remedy proceedings may facilitate ongoing coercive or controlling behaviour.

It is a top priority for this Government to tackle violence against women and girls, including economic abuse and coercive control. The Law Commission’s 2024 scoping report on financial remedies on divorce considered the issue of domestic abuse in financial remedy cases. The Government is carefully considering this report as it prepares to consult on issues identified by the Law Commission. We will issue our consultation by Spring next year.It is a matter of concern that perpetrators of domestic abuse may fail to engage with divorce proceedings. The courts have powers to deal with parties who fail to engage, including to make orders confirming a perpetrator has received a divorce application when they have refused to acknowledge it. In September this year, the process of asking the court to make orders about sending applications became easier, when His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service extended the online application system for litigants-in-person.