Written questions by Mayer.

If her Department will outline a planned timeline for the rollout of Young Futures hubs.

The Government is committed to rolling out a new Youth Futures programme, including a network of Young Futures Hubs which will bring together services to help improve the way young people can access the support they need.Officials from across a range of departments are already working together, using evidence of what works to start to shape how the prevention partnerships and hubs will work in practice. As part of this we are engaging with local communities, the police, charities, and other key partners to support the design of the programme and explore options for its delivery, ensuring we are making use of the vast knowledge and experience that already exists. This includes considerations of the most suitable locations as well as how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from their support.We will provide further detail on the future timelines for delivery as the work develops.

Whether her Department plans to publish an integrated national transport strategy.

Better integrating transport networks is one of the Transport Secretary’s five strategic priorities. The current transport system is fragmented, lacks join up and cohesion and does not cater for the needs of all the people who use it. In future, transport should be designed, built and operated with people and their needs at its heart. The Secretary of State will set out further details shortly.

What steps his Department is taking to improve prostate cancer (a) screening and (b) awareness in Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency.

Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended by the UK National Screening Committees (UK NSC). This is because of the inaccuracy of the current best test, the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. A PSA-based screening programme will harm some men as many would be diagnosed with a cancer that would not have caused them problems during their life. This would lead to additional tests and treatments which can also have harmful side effects, for instance sexual dysfunction and incontinence.The UK NSC regularly reviews its recommendations, and an evidence review for prostate cancer screening is underway, and plans to report within the UK NSC’s three-year work plan. NHS England is taking steps to raise awareness of prostate cancer, where there are opportunities to do so. For example, NHS England partners with Cancer Alliances, charities, and local representatives to reach people through projects in the heart of their communities. Cancer Alliances have also been undertaking action to alert at risk groups about prostate cancer, which is determined at a local level and so will vary depending on local needs and priorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on its commitment to launch a four-country tree planting task force.

Defra has been engaging with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive on the establishment of a Tree Planting Taskforce.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of land for burials.

The Government is aware of increasing localised pressure on burial spaces in certain parts of the country and we welcome information from burial providers and local communities about the situation in their areas, as this is helpful in enabling us to build an up-to-date national picture. However, we do not have day-to-day operational responsibility for burial grounds which are managed locally. It is a matter for each authority to allocate local resources in line with local priorities.The Law Commission is currently consulting on its proposals for reforms to burial law. The consultation includes consideration of the availability of burial space in England and Wales. The Government looks forward to the Law Commission’s final recommendations in due course.The consultation can be found at: https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/burial-and-cremation/.

What progress his Department has made on the implementation of the Declarations between the UK and North Seas countries at the North Sea Summit in April 2023.

The Ostend Declarations commit signatories to delivering cross-border projects in the North Seas, and set out a shared target of 300GW of offshore wind in the North Seas by 2050. We are committed to radically increasing the deployment of offshore wind, essential to meet our net zero goals. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind, with 14.8 GW of generation capacity, the highest deployment in Europe. We have been working closely with the North Seas partners to unlock the renewable potential of the North Seas, including offshore wind and offshore hybrid assets. Minister McCarthy will attend the North Seas Energy Cooperation Ministerial Meeting in Denmark on 24 October to advance these goals, and we are preparing for the North Sea Summit in Hamburg next June.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to use the Government's tree planting programme to help tackle (a) flooding and (b) upper catchment management of rivers.

Defra recognises the role tree planting has to support the management of England’s rivers. Defra works with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure tree planting is appropriately targeted. Defra supports a number of projects and grants in this area. These include: - The England Woodland Creation Offer supports riparian tree planting, flood management and improved water quality;- The Woodlands for Water project works with the Riverscapes Partnership to facilitate the creation of riparian woodland corridors in six river catchment areas;- The Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England;- The introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive action for the management of habitat strips next to watercourses to support the planting of trees and scrub for biodiversity, flooding and water quality benefits.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to help ensure that all domestic insurers signed up to the Build Back Better flood insurance scheme offer those provisions across all their products.

I hosted a roundtable in September 2024 with leaders from the insurance industry, as well as experts in research and development. At this event, the importance of Build Back Better was stressed to the insurance industry and all providers were encouraged to offer this. Flood Re and the insurance industry responded positively to this ask.

If she will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the adequacy of the level of VAT charged on fares for (a) demand responsive transport and (b) other public transport services that use private hire vehicles with fewer than 10 seats.

The government has consulted on the potential tax impacts on the sector and its passengers of court judgments on the interpretation of private hire vehicle (PHV) legislation. The consultation considered the VAT treatment of PHVs when used for conventional services and demand responsive transport. The Department for Transport and HMT are considering the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department had made of the potential merits of producing an animal protection strategy.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. We will be outlining more detail in due course.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to set a target date for the long-term replacement of animal experiments in medical research with human-specific technologies.

The manifesto commits us to partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing, and we are currently engaging with the sector as to how to take this commitment forward. Any policy changes as a result of this work will be assessed appropriately. It is not yet possible to replace all animal use due to the complexity of biological systems and regulatory requirements. Any work to phase out animal testing must be science-led, in lock step with partners, so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for reducing their use.

What information his Department holds on the number of NHS prescription fines that have been issued to people on (a) contribution-based Employment Support Allowance and (b) Savings Credit in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held. Contribution based Employment Support Allowances and Savings Credits do not qualify for an exemption from prescription charges. No information is recorded on the FP10 relating to these benefits, nor at the time of issuing a penalty charge notice.Qualifying benefits for exemption from prescription charges are Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit with Savings Credit. Individuals who receive either Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit paid together, or Working Tax Credit including a disability element are entitled to free National Health Service prescriptions if the annual family income used to calculate tax credits is £15,276 or less. Individuals on Universal Credit may qualify for free prescriptions depending on the take-home pay in the last assessment period.People on a low income who do not qualify for an exemption from prescription charges can seek help under the NHS Low Income Scheme, which provides income related help with health costs to people who are not automatically exempt from charges.

Innovation and Technology, what information her Department has on the number of miles of (a) copper wire and (b) fibre in the internet network in (i) Central Bedfordshire and (ii) the East of England; and how many miles of existing copper wire are planned to be replaced by fibre by the end of 2024.

The Department does not hold this information. Openreach’s annual review for 2023-24 provides some information for the largest wholesale broadband and network provider, though this does not reflect the market as a whole and does not provide regional breakdowns. This report estimates that delivering broadband across the UK involves more than 250 million kilometres of fibre optic cable and copper wire. This is available via: https://www.openreach.com/about/our-company/annual-review-and-reports

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in European countries on mitigating the spread of the Ips typographus tree pest.

Ips typographus is present in most of continental Europe, where it is not a regulated pest. In recent years, large populations have built up across western and central Europe causing extensive damage and mortality of spruce trees. Beetles routinely caught in traps in south-east England are probably a result of blow over from mainland Europe. It is not possible to prevent this natural dispersal, but the Government has robust surveillance and control measures in place nationwide to detect and eradicate outbreaks as they occur. The Forestry Commission has visited multiple countries experiencing outbreaks of Ips typographus to discuss different approaches to outbreak management, including participating in a pan-European workshop on outbreak mitigation, and has received critical appraisal of our approach from members of the international community. Experts actively engage with European scientists to develop research projects, including research on the susceptibility of Sitka spruce in Denmark and cross-channel dispersal from Belgium.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase tree planting along riverbanks.

Defra recognises the role tree planting has to support the management of England’s rivers. Defra works with the Forestry Commission, Natural England and the Environment Agency to ensure tree planting is appropriately targeted. Defra supports a number of projects and grants in this area. These include: - The England Woodland Creation Offer supports riparian tree planting, flood management and improved water quality;- The Woodlands for Water project works with the Riverscapes Partnership to facilitate the creation of riparian woodland corridors in six river catchment areas;- The Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund supports the planting of thousands of riparian trees across England;- The introduction of a Sustainable Farming Incentive action for the management of habitat strips next to watercourses to support the planting of trees and scrub for biodiversity, flooding and water quality benefits.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take legislative steps to ensure all domestic insurers offer Build Back Better policies.

I hosted a roundtable in September 2024 with leaders from the insurance industry, as well as experts in research and development. At this event, the importance of Build Back Better was stressed to the insurance industry and all providers were encouraged to offer this. Flood Re and the insurance industry responded positively to this ask.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish best practice guidance for the transport of live decapod crustaceans.

The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to improve welfare standards for decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. My department is continuing to engage with stakeholders and seeking to address evidence gaps to inform future policy decisions in this area. Animal welfare legislation protects all animals from being transported in a way likely to cause injury or suffering. Live decapod crustaceans are protected from injury or unnecessary suffering during transportation by a general duty of care provision in Article 4 of The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 (WATEO) and equivalent national legislation in Wales. There are no plans to publish best practice guidance for the transport of live decapod crustaceans.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to end the sale of live decapod crustaceans.

The Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to improve welfare standards for decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs. My department is continuing to engage with stakeholders and seeking to address evidence gaps to inform future policy decisions in this area. Animal welfare legislation protects all animals from being transported in a way likely to cause injury or suffering. Live decapod crustaceans are protected from injury or unnecessary suffering during transportation by a general duty of care provision in Article 4 of The Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 (WATEO) and equivalent national legislation in Wales. There are no plans to publish best practice guidance for the transport of live decapod crustaceans.

What steps his Department is taking to limit the number of dangerous toys sold by third-party sellers on online marketplaces.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards leads a national programme of regulatory action to tackle risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods from online marketplaces. This includes test purchasing products, including toys, to assess compliance and remove non-compliant products; requiring action from marketplaces to ensure they are taking the steps to meet their responsibilities under the law; and taking enforcement action where necessary. The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, currently before the House of Lords, will enable requirements for online marketplaces to be modernised to improve the safety of products sold on their platforms to UK consumers.

Whether she plans to publish the results of the consultation on Street works: fines and lane rental surplus funds.

The Department for Transport consulted earlier in 2024 on reforms to street works fines and the use of surplus lane rental funds. Publication of this response was delayed due to the general election. We plan to publish the response to this consultation in due course.