Written questions by Jogee.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of new nuclear development on local communities.

Public consultation and community engagement is an essential part of the planning process. We are in the process of designating a new National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation, called EN-7, which we consulted on earlier this year. EN-7 makes clear that as part of the planning process the applicant must assess the socioeconomic the impact of the construction, operation and decommissioning of the proposed nuclear infrastructure. This assessment should demonstrate that the applicant has taken account of, amongst other things, potential pressures on local and regional resources, population density and economic benefits. New nuclear projects provide considerable benefits to the communities that host them. For example, EDF report that £5.3 billion has already been invested into the South West regional economy because of Hinkley Point C development.

How (a) Small Modular Reactors and (b) Advanced Modular Reactors can support energy-intensive industries.

Small and Advanced Modular Reactors (SMRs and AMRs) can support energy-intensive industries by providing scalable, low-carbon energy with the ability to co-locate at industrial sites. These reactors are well-suited for hard-to-decarbonise sectors and emerging demands such as AI data centres, which require reliable, continuous electricity and options for co-generation. The Government recognises the potential of advanced nuclear to power such facilities and is exploring ways to unlock this opportunity.

How nuclear energy can support the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries.

Nuclear can support the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries by providing a source of reliable, low carbon energy. Nuclear will play an important role in helping the UK achieve a secure, resilient Clean Power system, in turn enabling large industrial consumers of electricity to decarbonise their operations. There are further opportunities for nuclear to support industrial decarbonisation by supplying electricity and/or heat directly to industrial sites. Government recognises the potential for nuclear to play a wider role in the UK energy system, including the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, and is exploring ways to unlock this opportunity.

If he will support the aims of Age Without Limits Day.

Age Without Limits Day is the Centre for Healthy Aging’s event which aims to challenge ageism across the country through community and workplace activities. More information is available at the following link:https://www.agewithoutlimits.org/about-the-campaignThe Department is committed to improving outcomes for older people through a range of cross-cutting strategies and initiatives. It is embedding a focus on health inequalities across its work, including through the Core20PLUS5 approach in the National Health Service, which includes older age-related conditions such as dementia. It is also supporting improvements in adult social care to promote choice and to help people live as independent and fulfilling lives as possible.

Whether his Department is taking steps to help tackle ageism in healthcare services.

The Department is committed to improving outcomes for older people through a range of cross-cutting strategies and initiatives.Addressing healthcare inequalities is a fundamental part of the Health Mission and the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the National Health Service is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it. The Plan will be published in summer 2025 and aims to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention. This includes how services can be better integrated and tailored to improve quality of life and reduce inequalities in later life.The Department is embedding a focus on health inequalities across its work, including through the Core20PLUS5 approach in the NHS, which includes older age-related conditions such as dementia. It is also supporting improvements in adult social care to promote choice and to help people live as independent and fulfilling lives as possible.

If she will take steps to mark Age Without Limits Day.

We acknowledge the commitment of the organisers of the Age Without Limits Day and will follow it with interest. Ageism has no place in our society where we want to see and build inclusion, not exclusion. Questions on Ageism have been likely used in the past to possibly probe a perceived void in Government for looking after the interests of older people, but we continue to monitor and support legislation to tackle ageism or age discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against direct and indirect age discrimination in employment. These protections have been in place for some years and were most recently set out in Part 5 of the 2010 Act. The 2010 Act therefore makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee or a job applicant because of their age.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on Church-owned hospices.

Thanks to the pioneering work of Dame Cicely Saunders, many modern hospices started off as church-affiliated institutions. The majority of these organisations and charities have now become affiliated to Hospice UK, which supports over 200 hospices across the UK. Adult hospices in the UK receive on average only a third of their funding from the state, and for the rest, many rely on charitable support.Professional bodies in the hospice sector have given written and oral evidence to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill Committee to highlight their concerns about the legislation.The precarious funding of palliative and end of life care means not everyone has full and equal access to the care that they need, which is one of the reasons why it is wrong to legislate for assisted suicide. It is crucial that the public funding that hospices currently receive does not come into question in relation to the provision of assisted suicide, should the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill pass.Most recently, the Rt Revd Lord Bishop of London gave written evidence to the Bill Committee on behalf of the Church of England. The evidence can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpublic/TerminallyIllAdults/memo/TIAB28.htm

When she expects the Child Poverty Strategy to be published.

The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious cross-government strategy focused on long-term change and improving children’s life chances. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years. We will bring forward the Child Poverty Strategy as soon as we are able.

What her priorities are for the Education World Forum.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education was pleased to host the Education World Forum in London from 18 to 21 May, with over 140 education and skills Ministers from around the world joining. The forum supports the government’s priorities and our Growth and Opportunity Missions through engaging with international Ministers and showcasing our international education strengths and offer. It is a key opportunity to demonstrate UK government leadership in this area and a valuable soft power event.The theme of this year’s event, ‘From stability to growth: Building stronger, bolder better education together’, allowed us to discuss and learn from each other across multiple priority areas in education such as artificial intelligence and technology in education, skills for the future, early years, and special educational needs and disabilities, among many others.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what the age profile is of members of the clergy in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

The Diocese of Lichfield has licensed clergy ranging in age from 32 to 72 years. The most recent Ministry Statistics held by the National Church Institutions were published in 2024 and cover the years 2022-23. See: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/data-services/resources-publications-and-data#na The information can be found on sheet M in columns BA and BB of the 2022 data.This data indicates that the Diocese of Lichfield has a total of 244 clergy in active ministry, including bishops, clergy, curates and non-parochial clergy. 17% of stipendiary clergy are under 40, with 50% being 40-59 and 33% being aged 60+. This is roughly comparable to the national landscape where 16% of stipendiary clergy are under 40, 55% are between 40-55 years old and 29% are aged 60+. It is not possible to say what age bracket the self-supporting clergy are, as this information is not held centrally. For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the leaders of other faith groups on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

The Church of England General Synod voted on this issue in 2012 and 2022 and on both occasions there was near-unanimous opposition to a change in the law. The position of the Church has always been grounded in a concern for the welfare of the most vulnerable and the theological principles set out in scripture to care for those in need, the widow, orphan and stranger. The precarious funding of palliative and end of life care means not everyone has full and equal access to the care that they need, which is one of the reasons why it is wrong to legislate for assisted suicide. Most recently, the Rt Revd Lord Bishop of London gave written evidence to the Bill Committee on behalf of the Church of England. This evidence can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpublic/TerminallyIllAdults/memo/TIAB28.htmThe House of Bishops and National Church Institutions are in regular dialogue with other churches and faiths in the UK. Leaders from a variety of faith traditions, including the Church of England, issued a joint statement in November 2024 against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and expressed their shared concerns with the legislation. You can read their letter here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/faith-leaders-join-oppose-bill-legalise-assisted-suicide In April 2025 the Bishops of London, Gloucester, Bristol, Dover, Stepney, Croydon and Aston issued a joint letter with 105 other senior women of faith to highlight the impact of the Terminally Ill Adults Bill on vulnerable womenhttps://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/in-the-news/2025/04/04/open-letter-from-women-of-faith-on-assisted-dying

Representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle poverty in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Many churches across the Diocese of Lichfield are involved in initiatives to help those in poverty, including offering Warm Welcome Spaces, foodbanks, and school uniform banks. Such initiatives are developed according to locally identified needs and available resources in parishes.St Thomas’ Church in Kidsgrove, St Luke’s Church in Clayton, and All Saints Church in Madeley are three of the six local distribution points for the Newcastle-Staffs Foodbank. These churches work with other denominations in Chesterton, Silverdale and Newcastle town centre to provide this service to the local community in Newcastle under Lyme. On the 22nd May, the Foodbank published data to show that in one year, it had provided 8,720 emergency food parcels to people in need. 3,018 of these parcels went to children across Newcastle under Lyme. More information is available here: https://newcastlestaffs.foodbank.org.uk/2025/05/22/end-of-year-stats-2/The Diocese of Lichfield Strengthening Communities team works with communities and individuals, churches and other faiths across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, the Black Country and north Shropshire, to support community building and improve lives. More information about the work of the diocese can be found here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/about-us/strengthening-communities/ For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church has taken to encourage more people under 40 to attend Sunday services in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

Nationally, the Church of England has committed to three priorities: to develop and grow more disciples, to develop a mixed ecology of churches and to grow a younger and more diverse congregation. More information about the national work is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/vision-and-strategy A key priority for the Diocese of Lichfield in its Diocesan Strategic Framework is to reduce the age profile of congregation members. Various work strands are being developed to achieve this, including building on already strong relationships between churches and schools. Across some parishes good work is taking place ecumenically on initiatives that support younger people in their explorations of faith and build their confidence within the church.In 2024, the Diocese of Lichfield was awarded £837,608 grant funding from the National Church Institutions Strategic Mission and Ministry Board (SMMIB). The Diocese has recently been awarded further SMMIB funding for new work beyond 2025, specifically operating in Stoke to establish new worshipping communities focused on those aged under 40For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to fill vacancies left by members of the clergy at parish churches in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

The National Church Institutions are supporting the dioceses of the Church of England with a variety of initiatives to assess vocations and recommend people for training. More information about this work can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/diocesan-resources/ministry-development/vocationsThe Diocese of Lichfield has received £5,980,655 funding between 2022-2025 from the National Church Institutions via its Lowest Income Communities Fund, to support ministry in parishes which would otherwise not be able to maintain it. This is further to the Diocese of Lichfield being awarded £6,230,837 during 2020-2023, and £6,590,111 during 2017-2019The Diocese recognises that, along with many dioceses across the Church of England, it is facing challenges recruiting clergy to vacant parishes. This has been exacerbated by a recent spike in retirements occurring at the same time as a reduction in the number of new ordinations. The Diocese is taking action to address this by proactively taking steps to increase the number of those coming forward for licensed ministries, both lay and ordained. They are working hard with individual parishes through the recruitment process to help them assess vocations and attract the right candidates. For some parishes, finance is an issue. Where this is the case, the Diocese works with them to find the best way forward for both missional and financial sustainability. More details about the strategy of the Diocese of Lichfield are available here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/shaping-for-mission/#:~:text=From%202024%20to%202030%2C%20Lichfield%20diocese%20will%20be,overwhelmingly%20at%20the%20Diocesan%20Synod%20of%20March%202024For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.

Representing the Church Commissioners, what recent progress the Church of England has made on the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

Following an extensive public consultation, which gathered input from over 11,000 individuals, the Church of England has made significant progress in the process of appointing the next Archbishop of Canterbury.The full membership of the Crown Nomination Commission (CNC), including the local and global representatives, has now been published here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/governance/archbishops/canterbury-crown-nominations-commission/members-canterbury-crown-nominations-commission and will soon hold its first meeting, with further meetings in July and September 2025.The CNC members will first establish a ‘Role Profile’ and ‘Person Specification’ for the next Archbishop of Canterbury. They will also review a longlist of candidates, determine a shortlist and conduct interviews, before voting to submit a name to the Prime Minister and the Crown in the usual manner. The committee is expected to be in a position to make this recommendation to the Prime Minister in the autumn of this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to improve standards for kept animals.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. The Department is engaging with key animal welfare stakeholders as part of the development of our overarching approach to animal welfare. We will be outlining more details on this in due course.

What steps he is taking to remove barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The UK Internal Market Scheme enables businesses to move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland without customs proceses where products are not at risk of entering the EU.From 1 May, new arrangements for parcels and freight movements have significantly simplified the process for providing information and moving relevant products, and the Government has also announced it will continue important Trader Support Service arrangements beyond 2026.The Government will continue to guarantee unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the rest of the UK market on a permanent basis, and take forward its manifesto commitment to protect the UK internal market going forward.

What recent discussions he has had with the leadership of the Social and Democratic Labour Party on the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the work of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

As part of its commitment to repeal and replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy & Reconciliation) Act 2023, the Government has committed to introducing primary legislation when parliamentary time allows, including to fundamentally reform and strengthen the independent Commission established by the Act to ensure it is fully human rights compliant and can command public confidence. As part of this process, the Government continues to engage with all interested parties in a spirit of openness regarding an appropriate way forward, including the Northern Ireland parties. I regularly meet the leader of the SDLP to discuss a range of issues, including legacy, and will continue to do so.

What discussions he has had with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister on the appointment of a Victims Commissioner in Northern Ireland.

The appointment of a Commissioner for Victims and Survivors is a devolved matter for Ministers in the Executive Office and is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Office has been kept aware of progress in this matter by the Commission for Victims and Survivors as part of ongoing engagement on legacy related matters. I hope the process of appointing a new Commissioner will conclude soon, allowing the successful candidate to take up this important role representing victims and survivors.

What recent discussions he has had with the leadership of the Alliance Party on the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the work of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

As part of its commitment to repeal and replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy & Reconciliation) Act 2023, the Government has committed to introducing primary legislation when parliamentary time allows, including to fundamentally reform and strengthen the independent Commission established by the Act to ensure it is fully human rights compliant and can command public confidence. As part of this process, the Government continues to engage with all interested parties in a spirit of openness regarding an appropriate way forward, including the Northern Ireland parties. I regularly meet the leader of the Alliance Party to discuss a range of issues, including legacy, and will continue to do so.