Written questions by Mayer.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to coordinate policy on the development, validation and uptake of non-animal methods.

The Department is working closely with colleagues across Government to strengthen coordination on the development, validation and uptake of non‑animal methods. The first cross‑departmental ministerial meeting on the delivery of the strategy is scheduled to take place next month and will provide a formal mechanism to drive progress and ensure alignment across policy areas.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of families who will benefit from the financial support package to cover travel costs to and from cancer appointments in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) England.

The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families across the United Kingdom.Through the National Cancer Plan, the Government is committing up to £10 million a year to a new fund open to all children and young people in England with cancer and their families regardless of income, to support them with the cost of travelling to and from treatment. This commitment sits alongside wider action to transform cancer care for children and young people.The Department has not made a formal estimate of the number of families who will benefit from the financial support package to cover travel costs to and from treatment in Bedfordshire specifically. However, the Department’s work to-date estimates that approximately 3,100 young cancer patients will benefit across England.

What recent estimate she has made of the average length of time taken by local authorities to adopt roads serving new housing developments.

The time taken for local authorities to adopt roads on new housing developments varies significantly across the country, as each authority follows its own processes and timelines. The Government recognises that road adoption rates for new developments have been declining in recent years. To address this, we are undertaking research to better understand the causes of this trend and to identify how the adoption process can be improved going forward.

What plans her Department has make it easier for passengers to receive Delay Repay compensation.

Ten of the 14 Department for Transport contracted operators now offer delay repay schemes that provide automated, one-click delay repay, and we are also developing plans to make it even easier and more convenient to claim Delay Repay, including through the upcoming Great British Railways website and app.

What subsidy reduction targets her department set for train operating companies in England in (a) 2024/2025 and (b) 2025/2026.

In 2024/25, the Department’s resource settlement for train operating companies was £2.4 billion, and in 2025/26 it is £2.0 billion. Business plans and net subsidy budgets for train operating companies were agreed to align with and deliver within these settlements.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Office of Rail and Road’s decision not to extend the Rail Transparency Order to cover rail maintenance costs.

As stated by the ORR following its review of the Transparency Order, the ORR does not have the powers to vary or revoke the Transparency Order, which are powers reserved to the CMA. This includes maintenance costs, which are beyond the scope of the current remedy and would require a new market investigation by the competition authorities. The Government recognises the value and importance of transparency in the rolling stock market, however, and its draft Rolling Stock & Infrastructure Strategy is currently looking at maintenance arrangements to see how they could be improved under GBR to deliver more reliable, better value for money trains.

What data her Department collects on the reasons given for the issuing of Penalty Fares on the rail network.

Deliberate fare evasion reduces the revenue needed to support the railway and disadvantages passengers who pay the correct fare. We are making fares easier to understand, so that passengers can buy tickets with confidence, knowing they are getting the right fare every time. The Department does not collect data on reasons given for the issuing of Penalty Fares on the rail network; however, Train Operating Companies are required to conduct surveys to determine the percentage of passengers carrying a valid ticket. This data enables the Department to understand revenue at risk. The Department will shortly be publishing its formal response to the Office of Rail and Road’s review of revenue protection practices.

Whether Great British Railways will record and publish standardised data on the causes of Penalty Fares.

This Government’s vision for the railways will see the creation of a unified and simplified rail system with a single public rail body, Great British Railways (GBR) focused on delivering for passengers. Under GBR, passengers will enjoy a consistent, reliable offer across the entire network. The Department cannot confirm whether GBR will publish standardised data on the causes of Penalty Fares.

Whether he plans to revise his Department’s autism strategy when the current one expires in July 2026, in the context of the provisions of section 1 of the Autism Act 2009.

On 23 January 2026, we published our response to the House of Lords Autism Act 2009 Inquiry Committee’s report Time to deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy. We welcomed the committee’s report, and are carefully considering its recommendations, as well as our approach to developing a new national autism strategy, and we will set out a position, including our plans to engage with stakeholders, in due course.We recognise that a large amount of evidence was gathered by the committee and we will consider this evidence, along with evidence from various other reviews, papers, and reports. We recognise that meaningful engagement will take time, so a balance will need to be struck as to what level of further engagement is required. The current strategy will remain in effect until a revised strategy is published.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Natural England has enacted byelaws under Section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for the (a) protection and (b) management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

Natural England has not enacted any byelaws under section 28R since the provision’s introduction in 2001. A set of Model SSSI Byelaws for this purpose was agreed with Defra in 2020 and was published by Natural England at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/natural-england/byelaws-for-sssis/.

What estimate he has made of the number of people who will benefit from the Warm Homes Plan in (a) Central Bedfordshire, (b) the East of England and (c) England.

We have invested £15 billion in the Warm Homes Plan, making it the biggest investment in home upgrades ever. We will reach 5 million homes by 2030, through direct support for those on low incomes and in fuel poverty, and innovative low-interest finance available to all. The Warm Homes Plan will help lift up to one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030 through public investment and new minimum energy standards for private landlords. The Department will publish monitoring statistics and evaluation of policies announced in the Warm Homes Plan. DESNZ currently publishes statistics covering the uptake and impacts of energy efficiency measures here.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with his Australian counterpart on lessons learned from Australia’s introduction of a law to ban under-16s from social media platforms.

The UK and Australia signed an Online Safety and Security Memorandum of Understanding in February 2024 to share learnings and approaches to online safety.The government is looking at what is happening in Australia. The Australian government plans to monitor the impact of their ban and we are engaging closely with them on this. Both the Secretary of State and the Minister for Online Safety hope to visit Australia soon.

Whether his Department has undertaken an analysis of the potential impact of Single or Double British Summer Time on pubs during major international sporting tournaments.

The government believes the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the optimal use of the available daylight across the UK. Since the government does not intend to make changes to the existing system, we have not conducted an assessment of the potential impact of Single or Double British Summer Time on pubs during major sporting tournaments.

Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with (a) FIFA and (b) the Football Association on the selection criteria for hosting future FIFA World Cup tournaments.

As the rights holder for FIFA World Cup tournaments, FIFA publishes the criteria and associated timeline for prospective future host nations to meet in order to be deemed viable. The Football Association works closely with the UK Government and UK Sport when considering whether to bid for future major football events.This occurred recently, with the UK-wide bid submitted to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035. Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2035 on home turf would be a monumental moment in our sporting history, driving growth and leaving a lasting legacy. The UK Government, alongside the four Home Nation Football Associations and Devolved Governments, are supporting FIFA as they evaluate the bid - prior to their decision on hosts in April 2026.For the FIFA Men’s World Cup tournaments, FIFA has determined the host nations for the next three tournaments, until 2034. The government has not been part of discussions regarding future selection criteria at this time.

What steps her Department is taking to increase uptake of foreign language GCSEs.

The government is committed to supporting modern foreign languages across schools, and across the languages pipeline. In our response to the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, we made a commitment to work with the sector to understand successful approaches to supporting the languages pipeline. This starts at primary by reforming the curriculum, increasing take up at GCSE, and boosting demand at A level and degree level, to meet future social and economic needs, including learning from successful local models.Subject to the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are also requiring academy schools to teach the revised national curriculum, including languages programmes of study. We are also supporting the quality of languages teaching through continued investment in the National Consortium for Languages Education, which provides teachers with national high-quality professional development.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether local authorities are required to record the habitat type affected by each reported fly-tipping incident.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents to Defra, which are published annually here. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is currently being processed. Local authorities are required to report to Defra the size of a fly-tipping incident, its waste type and the land-type where it occurred. However, this does not cover if the area is a particular habitat or a woodland.Defra regularly evaluates the data on fly-tipping incidents we collect from local authorities. There are no current plans to require local authorities to report additional data on fly-tipping to Defra. While the Environment Agency (EA) collects data on the land type at the location of an illegal dumping incident and its environmental impact, the EA does not routinely collect data on whether it is a woodland area or the specific habitat type.

Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department and its arm’s-length bodies hold on the number of recorded fly-tipping incidents in England in 2023–24 that occurred on or adjacent to woodland.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents to Defra, which are published annually here. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is currently being processed. Local authorities are required to report to Defra the size of a fly-tipping incident, its waste type and the land-type where it occurred. However, this does not cover if the area is a particular habitat or a woodland.Defra regularly evaluates the data on fly-tipping incidents we collect from local authorities. There are no current plans to require local authorities to report additional data on fly-tipping to Defra. While the Environment Agency (EA) collects data on the land type at the location of an illegal dumping incident and its environmental impact, the EA does not routinely collect data on whether it is a woodland area or the specific habitat type.

What data her Department holds on the volumes of imported single-life budget tyres in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 1 January to 1 August 2025.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. However, due to classification codes, we are not able to distinguish between single-life budget tyres, and other kinds of tyres.Car tyres are classified under commodity code 4011 1000 00. It is not possible to identify single-life budget tyres separately within this commodity code.HMRC releases imports and exports information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to improve the collection of data on the environmental impacts of fly-tipping on habitats.

Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents to Defra, which are published annually here. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is currently being processed. Local authorities are required to report to Defra the size of a fly-tipping incident, its waste type and the land-type where it occurred. However, this does not cover if the area is a particular habitat or a woodland.Defra regularly evaluates the data on fly-tipping incidents we collect from local authorities. There are no current plans to require local authorities to report additional data on fly-tipping to Defra. While the Environment Agency (EA) collects data on the land type at the location of an illegal dumping incident and its environmental impact, the EA does not routinely collect data on whether it is a woodland area or the specific habitat type.

Food and Rural Affairs, what powers public authorities have to restrict vehicular access to Sites of Special Scientific Interest that span multiple land ownerships where ecological damage is taking place.

All public bodies have a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the special features of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), including where an SSSI spans multiple landownerships. Natural England (NE) works with all relevant parties to ensure appropriate protection is in place. The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides the main framework for protecting SSSIs. It controls operations likely to damage an SSSI’s special features and includes enforcement powers to stop harmful activities, including those involving vehicles. Any owner or occupier of land on a SSSI who wishes to carry out, or permit others to carry out, an activity likely to damage an SSSI, must obtain consent from NE. Failing to do so is an offence in the absence of a reasonable excuse. NE has various powers in such circumstances, including a power to issue enforcement notices, and require restoration. These consent procedures provide NE with powers to restrict or regulate vehicular access to SSSIs where ecological damage has occurred or is at risk. In addition, section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 enables NE to make byelaws for the protection of SSSIs, which could include restricting vehicular entry.