Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that specialist speech and language therapies are available to children with education, health and care plans in Surrey Heath constituency.

The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This includes extending the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is now in its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist, helping to grow the pipeline.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support younger people into agricultural careers in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Young farmers are essential to the long-term resilience of UK agriculture and DEFRA works closely with the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, alongside other industry bodies, to understand the challenges facing new entrants and how best to support them. During my recent visit to Harper Adams University, we explored how this partnership approach can help equip the next generation with the skills and opportunities they need. Through our agricultural reform programme, we are investing £2.7 billion a year in the sector. This includes measures designed to improve business resilience, productivity and skills development, all of which help make agriculture a more accessible and attractive career option for young people, including those in Surrey and Surrey Heath.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken a cost–benefit analysis of potential changes to sanitary and phytosanitary procedures applying to UK–EU exports.

An SPS agreement could increase the volume of UK exports of major agricultural commodities to the EU by 16% [Methodology Note: How Defra has estimated the impact of a Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement on the UK agricultural sector - GOV.UK ].Defra commissioned research highlights significant non-tariff measure costs for exporting GB agri-food and plant products to the EU [Quantifying Non-Tariff Measures on GB to EU Agri-Food, Plant Products and Fisheries Trade - WR0717 ]:Export Health Certificates cost up to £200 for agri-food goods.Phytosanitary Certificates cost approximately £25 alongside inspection fees of at least £127.60.Organic Certificates of Inspection, required for the export of organic lamb and cheese, cost on average £35.Identity check fees on meat and dairy exports adds £31 per load on average.For beef and salmon, queueing times for checks can add costs of up to £149 per load.Additional driver charges, paid to hauliers for border-related friction, typically £200 per shipment.Sampling can add approximately £1,200 to a cheese load, £1,400 to a salmon shipment, £440 to a load of apples, and £1,200 to a beef load.The SPS agreement will significantly reduce these costs. Details are subject to negotiation. The government will follow normal processes for any necessary legislative changes and assess impacts accordingly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trading arrangements with the European Union on British agri-food exporters.

An SPS agreement could increase the volume of UK exports of major agricultural commodities to the EU by 16% [Methodology Note: How Defra has estimated the impact of a Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement on the UK agricultural sector - GOV.UK ].Defra commissioned research highlights significant non-tariff measure costs for exporting GB agri-food and plant products to the EU [Quantifying Non-Tariff Measures on GB to EU Agri-Food, Plant Products and Fisheries Trade - WR0717 ]:Export Health Certificates cost up to £200 for agri-food goods.Phytosanitary Certificates cost approximately £25 alongside inspection fees of at least £127.60.Organic Certificates of Inspection, required for the export of organic lamb and cheese, cost on average £35.Identity check fees on meat and dairy exports adds £31 per load on average.For beef and salmon, queueing times for checks can add costs of up to £149 per load.Additional driver charges, paid to hauliers for border-related friction, typically £200 per shipment.Sampling can add approximately £1,200 to a cheese load, £1,400 to a salmon shipment, £440 to a load of apples, and £1,200 to a beef load.The SPS agreement will significantly reduce these costs. Details are subject to negotiation. The government will follow normal processes for any necessary legislative changes and assess impacts accordingly.

What steps her Department is taking to help support families to read with children before they start (a) nursery and (b) school in Surrey Heath constituency.

The government is investing £500 million in the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, which will be available in every local authority by 2028. These hubs bring together services for families with children aged 0 to 19, with a particular focus on support in the early years, recognising the Plan for Change’s ambition to give every child the best start in life and improve child outcomes by age 5. A key priority is strengthening the home learning environment, because what happens at home makes the biggest difference. The services provided by Best Start Family Hubs will help families to build simple, everyday routines to chat, play and read more with their children, such as sharing stories at bedtime and visiting local libraries. We also work with trusted voluntary and community partners, including the National Literacy Trust, to provide books, resources and activities that make reading fun and accessible. Alongside this, the National Year of Reading will launch in January, offering practical resources to help parents read with their children before nursery and school.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many consignments of agri-food products were exported from the UK to the European Union in each (a) week, (b) month and (c) year since July 2024.

Data on the number of export health certificates issued for Great Britain to EU exports is available at: Export Health Certificates (Live Animals and Animal Product Origins) Issued between Great Britain and European Union by APHA - data.gov.uk. This data includes the exports of live animals and the products of animal origin.

What assessment HMRC has made of the causes of customs delays affecting parcels entering the UK from the European Union during the period 1 November 2024 to 31 January 2025.

HMRC understands the importance of consumers receiving their parcels on time and has robust procedures alongside Border Force to help maintain the flow. HMRC have confirmed there were no significant system outages during the period requested but has not conducted an assessment of what factors may have negatively influenced clearance times during that period. Whilst HMRC does have average customs clearance times for declarations made on the Customs Declaration Service, it is not able to identify parcels specifically from this data and does not hold data on the average customs clearance time for parcels imported by the UK’s designated postal operator, Royal Mail.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with local councils on the future of (a) community arts and (b) cultural infrastructure in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Secretary of State, her ministerial team, and officials engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders including local councils and DCMS Arm’s Length Bodies regarding support for local arts and cultural organisations. Typically, DCMS does not directly fund local authorities, nor their arts and cultural organisations, which are commonly funded by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Arts Council England. We have committed an additional £3.4 billion in grant funding to local government by 2028-29, including investment in culture. The department also partnered with MHCLG on the "Pride in Place" strategy, and has recently committed £270 million through the Arts Everywhere Fund which will help support long-term viability of venues in communities across the country.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the resilience of (a) cultural and (b) community venues in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

We recognise the challenges that cultural and community venues face. The government is committed to supporting these venues across the country which is why we announced the Arts Everywhere Fund earlier this year, committing £270 million to support cultural venues to carry out urgent repairs, upgrade infrastructure and improve financial resilience. As part of that, both the £85 million Creative Foundations Fund and the £25 million Museum Estate Development Fund are supporting non-profit cultural organisations to undertake urgent capital works, building repairs, retrofits and equipment upgrades improving safety, energy efficiency, accessibility and long-term viability of venues in communities across the country. The government has also kept in place improved tax reliefs on theatre productions (via the Theatre Tax Relief), which helps theatres better absorb rising running costs. Since April 2025, theatres, orchestras and museums and galleries have benefited from higher tax relief rates of 40 percent for non-touring productions, and 45 percent for orchestral and touring productions. On top of tax reliefs, we support arts and cultural venues through the 2023-2027 Arts Council England National Portfolio Investment Programme, and National Lottery Project Grants. This funding has provided over £570 million in 2024/25 to cultural venues across the country, of all shapes and sizes; of which £11.5 million of that funding has been in Surrey.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken for construction at cultural venues on access to the arts in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The government has not made a specific assessment of how the time taken for construction at cultural venues would impact access to the arts in either Surrey or the Surrey Heath constituency. As part of the introduction of the new Creative Foundations Fund, which is addressing urgent capital needs in the arts and cultural sector, the government did however consider the temporary loss of access caused by possible necessary closures while works are completed. The conclusion was that the long-term benefits outweighed the short-term impact, and that the renewal of assets will help retain and attract audiences.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the risk of large-scale water outages during periods of cold weather in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. Companies are required under the SEMD framework to plan for a wide range of disruptive scenarios, including continuous monitoring of risks such as severe winter weather. In addition to SEMD requirements, companies are also incentivised under Ofwat’s performance targets regime to minimise supply interruptions and resulting customer impacts. The Drinking Water Inspectorate regulates water company performance on SEMD performance. Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have duties to plan for emergencies. Defra maintains regular strategic engagement with water companies on resilience planning – including South East Water and Thames Water – throughout the winter. This includes preparedness in advance of forecast periods of severe weather. Water companies also engage with their Local Resilience Forums in understanding risk, planning and exercising.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions her Department has had with sporting bodies on strengthening (a) welfare and (b) safeguarding arrangements for women in non-professional sport in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport, including women and girls, is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm.Sport England and UK Sport (DCMS’s Arm’s Length Bodies for sport) also require National Governing Bodies to implement safeguarding policies and practices as a condition of public funding at grassroots and elite level, respectively. DCMS officials regularly meet with both organisations to discuss issues and ongoing work in this area. The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to recovery support for women in grassroots sport in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport, including women and girls, is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm.Sport England and UK Sport (DCMS’s Arm’s Length Bodies for sport) also require National Governing Bodies to implement safeguarding policies and practices as a condition of public funding at grassroots and elite level, respectively. DCMS officials regularly meet with both organisations to discuss issues and ongoing work in this area. The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, are able to participate in sport and physical activity.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions her Department has had with water companies on contingency planning for (a) prolonged water loss or (b) low pressure during winter in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. Companies are required under the SEMD framework to plan for a wide range of disruptive scenarios, including continuous monitoring of risks such as severe winter weather. In addition to SEMD requirements, companies are also incentivised under Ofwat’s performance targets regime to minimise supply interruptions and resulting customer impacts. The Drinking Water Inspectorate regulates water company performance on SEMD performance. Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have duties to plan for emergencies. Defra maintains regular strategic engagement with water companies on resilience planning – including South East Water and Thames Water – throughout the winter. This includes preparedness in advance of forecast periods of severe weather. Water companies also engage with their Local Resilience Forums in understanding risk, planning and exercising.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring water companies to improve operational preparedness for treatment works failures during winter 2025-26 in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a supply of wholesome water under the Water Industry Act 1991 and associated water quality regulations. Additionally, the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have duties to plan for emergencies. Water companies also engage with their Local Resilience Forums in understanding risk, planning and exercising. This Government has been clear there is no excuse for poor performance, and that water companies must take seriously their role in meeting the public and regulators’ expectations. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) regulates water company performance against SEMD requirements. The DWI has a range of tools to hold companies to account, including serving companies with enforcement orders. The Independent Water Commission made several recommendations on increasing resilience across the water sector and on strengthening the enforcement powers available to the regulator for SEMD. The Government is preparing to respond to these recommendations and our White Paper will set out more detail on our approach.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of regulatory measures to prevent repeated water supply failures during winter in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a supply of wholesome water under the Water Industry Act 1991 and associated water quality regulations. Additionally, the Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have duties to plan for emergencies. Water companies also engage with their Local Resilience Forums in understanding risk, planning and exercising. This Government has been clear there is no excuse for poor performance, and that water companies must take seriously their role in meeting the public and regulators’ expectations. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) regulates water company performance against SEMD requirements. The DWI has a range of tools to hold companies to account, including serving companies with enforcement orders. The Independent Water Commission made several recommendations on increasing resilience across the water sector and on strengthening the enforcement powers available to the regulator for SEMD. The Government is preparing to respond to these recommendations and our White Paper will set out more detail on our approach.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the resilience of household water supplies during winter 2025-26 in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Security and Emergency Measures Direction 2022 (SEMD) requires water companies to ensure continuation of their water distribution functions during an emergency. Companies are required under the SEMD framework to plan for a wide range of disruptive scenarios, including continuous monitoring of risks such as severe winter weather. In addition to SEMD requirements, companies are also incentivised under Ofwat’s performance targets regime to minimise supply interruptions and resulting customer impacts. The Drinking Water Inspectorate regulates water company performance on SEMD performance. Water companies are also Category Two Responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) and have duties to plan for emergencies. Defra maintains regular strategic engagement with water companies on resilience planning – including South East Water and Thames Water – throughout the winter. This includes preparedness in advance of forecast periods of severe weather. Water companies also engage with their Local Resilience Forums in understanding risk, planning and exercising.

What steps her Department is taking to support the financial sustainability of childminding roles in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. The department has implemented new flexibilities for childminders that will help them to join and stay in the profession, giving them the flexibility to work with more people and spend more time working from non-domestic premises if they prefer. Childminders can contribute to the delivery of the expanded entitlements and may also benefit from an expected increase in demand for places. While we do not retain constituency level data, the hourly funding rates for Surrey are £12.89, £9.01 and £6.25 for children under two years old, aged two, and aged three to four respectively. We will work with local authorities and others to ensure that childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. We will also keep working with Jobcentre Plus to encourage more people to become childminders.

What steps her Department is taking to improve access to (a) affordable and (b) flexible childcare provision through childminders in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. The department has implemented new flexibilities for childminders that will help them to join and stay in the profession, giving them the flexibility to work with more people and spend more time working from non-domestic premises if they prefer. Childminders can contribute to the delivery of the expanded entitlements and may also benefit from an expected increase in demand for places. While we do not retain constituency level data, the hourly funding rates for Surrey are £12.89, £9.01 and £6.25 for children under two years old, aged two, and aged three to four respectively. We will work with local authorities and others to ensure that childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. We will also keep working with Jobcentre Plus to encourage more people to become childminders.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of strengthening safety requirements for diesel generators located near residential buildings in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are the regulator responsible for health and safety, including relevant safety requirements relating to electrical equipment. Government will continue to work closely with HSE to ensure that the highest safety standards are maintained.