Written questions by Dance.

If she will provide a timeline for the bringing into force of section 47 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

Through our Crime and Policing Act, which recently received Royal Assent, we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.Commencement of individual provisions, including section 47, will be brought forward through regulations at the appropriate time, and the Government will set out further details in due course.We are working also in close partnership with the police and retail sector to mobilise the actions that will make the most difference through our Retail Crime Forum, chaired by the Minister for Crime and Policing.This includes tackling the most prolific retail offenders where a few individuals can drive a large proportion of the local crime problem. We are testing better approaches to identify and target these individuals.

What steps he is taking to ensure staff working in specialist deaf education settings have access to appropriate professional (a) development and (b) support.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Food Standards Agency official control charges on costs faced by medium-sized abattoirs in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting educational settings in Yeovil constituency with the delivery of Romanian language.

Decisions about which languages are taught in schools are made locally. Individual schools are free to decide which languages to offer as part of their curriculum and the government does not prescribe which languages should be taught or how they should be delivered. ​ In making these decisions, schools should consider the needs and interests of the communities they serve. Commercial and free resources are available to help schools who may wish to teach Romanian.

What steps she is taking to ensure the process of learning to drive places increased emphasis on (a) coaching, (b) independent decision-making, (c) hazard awareness and (c) real-world risk management in England.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) already provides a nationally recognised framework for learning to drive through its National Standards and the learning to drive syllabus. These set out the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed for safe and responsible driving. The Department has recently consulted on further measures to strengthen the learning process, including an updated and mandated syllabus, a minimum learning period and supervised practice requirements.The current National Standards and syllabus place strong emphasis on coaching, independent decision-making, hazard awareness and real‑world risk management. These skills are embedded throughout the National Standards and associated learning materials and are assessed through the practical driving test. This approach supports the development of safe, responsible drivers.There is no requirement for learners to learn to drive with an approved driving instructor.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure greater transparency in fertiliser and red diesel supply chains.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) understanding of and (b) consideration given to autism in the family court system.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to ensure that service children with SEND are included in (a) initial teacher training, (b) continuing professional development, (c) SEND practitioner training and (d) school leadership training.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure temporary accommodation in rural areas is (a) safe and (b) accessible for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The statutory homelessness code of guidance sets out that temporary accommodation placements must be suitable to the needs of a household, including the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The code of guidance sets out that authorities should ensure that all accommodation is free of health and safety hazards at the most dangerous ‘category 1’ level, assessed using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. You can access Chapter 17 of the code of guidance through gov.uk here. The government is helping councils invest in good-quality temporary accommodation through delivery of the £950 million fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund. To increase the support available to children placed in temporary accommodation, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act will introduce a new duty on local housing authorities to notify health and education bodies when a child is placed in temporary accommodation. This will improve partnership working and unlock appropriate support.

What assessment he has made of the need to take further action following Capita's confirmation of a data breach on the Civil Service Pension Scheme portal in April 2026.

The administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme. The Cabinet Office has addressed the data breach of 30 March 2026, where a technical failure during a surge of 60,000 access requests allowed 138 members to view others' benefit statements. Investigations confirmed this was a session management malfunction and not a cyber-attack. Following the Cabinet Office’s notification to the Information Commissioner’s Office, Capita performed a root cause analysis and strengthened system controls to prevent a recurrence. The Cabinet Office has further mandated that Capita provide formal accounts to the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee to ensure the provider remains fully accountable for the security of member information.

What steps she is taking with the Financial Conduct Authority to regulate the online (a) wealth creation and (b) property investment industries.

The UK’s financial promotions regime is designed to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. As a technology-neutral framework, the regime holds financial promotions shared online to the same standards as those shared offline. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for enforcing the regime and can take action against any financial promotions that are illegal or which do not comply with its rules. This includes the promotion of wealth creation services or products shared online by unauthorised financial influencers. The FCA has taken action to address influencers sharing unlawful financial promotions. Last month, the FCA led a week of action against illegal financial influencers, which resulted in one guilty plea, 4 targeted warning letters, 34 warning alerts, and 120 takedown requests to social media platforms. This follows a previous international week of action in June 2025.The sale and promotion of physical property is not generally in scope of financial services regulation, as the provision of physical property is not a financial service. However, the financial promotions regime does apply where investment in property is offered by way of a financial services product. The FCA has issued a warning to consumers about the risks of investing in unlisted loan notes to finance property development. The Government and Parliament are responsible for establishing the regulatory framework for financial services and the Government engages regularly with the FCA on issues relating to its regulatory perimeter and remit.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities into farming.

Awaiting answer.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of Ukraine's implementation of improvements to animal welfare standards for livestock, including a ban on battery cages.

Awaiting answer.

When she will provide details on how the role of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities tribunal will be reformed.

Awaiting answer.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to strengthen protections for victims of sexual abuse from (a) harassment and (b) threatening or coercive communication online.

Awaiting answer.

Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to bring forward secondary legislation to implement changes to marriage value under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

Awaiting answer.

Whether guidance on universal screening for neurodivergence will be included in the proposed National Inclusion Standards.

The department will appoint an independent panel of experts, selected for their skills, knowledge, and professional standing, and led by health and education co-chairs, to design the National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision Packages.The National Inclusion Standards will set out what ordinarily available provision should be in every setting across the 0 to 25 system, as well as the evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs, including for those who are neurodivergent.New government-backed research led by UK Research and Innovation will develop and test approaches to early identification, including screening tools, that can be embedded in education settings nationwide. Together, these measures are intended to ensure that every child receives the right support at the right time, helping them to thrive both in education and beyond.

What steps he is taking to ensure better understanding amongst Personal Independent Payment assessors of how much Cystic fibrosis symptoms can vary.

The department is committed to ensuring that individuals with cystic fibrosis receive high-quality and accurate Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments. All health professionals (HPs) carrying out PIP assessments receive comprehensive training in disability analysis, with a clear focus on understanding the functional effects of a claimant’s condition rather than the diagnosis itself.To support this approach, the department provides assessment suppliers with core training and guidance materials on the varying symptoms of cystic fibrosis. These materials include clinical background information and detail the potential functional impacts of the condition, enabling HPs to deliver informed, consistent and accurate assessments.In addition, all training and guidance materials are currently subject to a comprehensive review and update programme. A dedicated team is overseeing this work to ensure alignment with national best practice helping to ensure that guidance remains accurate, relevant and up to date.

What steps he is taking to help reduce the number of avoidable severe allergic reactions in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Last year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence approved two sublingual immunotherapy treatments for moderate to severe allergic rhinitis.National Health Service partners in Somerset encourage all patients with a diagnosis of severe allergy to have prescribed and to carry with them an adrenaline injection device which when used early enough in a severe allergy response can prevent patient harm and admission.Over the past five years, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has delivered a substantial programme of work to improve allergy safety in restaurants and food businesses, including in Yeovil. The FSA published new best practice guidance in March 2025 to improve allergen information when eating out. The FSA has also expanded its free online allergen training, which has now been taken by over one million people since 2020. Through this work, the FSA is aiming to enable people with food allergies to make informed and safe choices and trust the food that they receive.The Department for Education is developing new statutory guidance which will significantly strengthen how schools support pupils with allergy. The Government has also amended the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to place a new statutory duty on schools to develop and publish an allergy safety policy, and to give powers to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to make regulations relating to allergy safety, including requiring schools to stock adrenaline devices, to secure allergy awareness training, and to record and report incidents of near misses. These measures should help to prevent instances of children experiencing severe allergic reactions while at school.

What steps she is taking to ensure that service children with SEND are included in (a) initial teacher training, (b) continuing professional development, (c) SEND practitioner training and (d) school leadership training.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.