Written questions by Hack.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to outdoor sports facilities during school holidays.

Everyone, including children and young people, should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity. The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities which will ensure that communities have access to high-quality, inclusive facilities, no matter where they live. The Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment, so that sites can provide a more inclusive and sustainable offer throughout the year, including the school holidays. More widely, the Government has confirmed more than £200 million of funding for the Holiday, Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the 2025/26 financial year. The HAF programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families over the school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the offence of assaulting a retail worker to wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level with ever greater numbers of offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers as part of their crime. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work.Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we have therefore introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores, sending a strong message to offenders and would-be offenders that violence against retail workers will not be tolerated. The Bill is making its way through Parliament and committee stage started on 27 March.As introduced, the definition of a ‘retail worker’ does not include wholesale workers operating in business-to-business premises, but it does include wholesale workers operating in premises that provide retail sales to the public. Keeping a tight definition provides legal clarity and ensures there is less ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job. Workers whose roles are not included are already covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH).That said, the purpose of the parliamentary process is to scrutinise the provisions in the Bill and we will, of course, consider carefully any proposed amendments and supporting evidence.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of index-linking all future funding with the Holiday Activities and Food Programme to ensure it (a) keeps pace with inflation and (b) continues to effectively support children experiencing holiday hunger.

The government is committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme and the impact it has on children, young people and families. The department is very pleased that the overall funding for the HAF programme in 2025/26 will again be more than £200 million, with delivery across England taking place at Easter, summer and Christmas.Funding beyond March 2026 is subject to the multi-year spending review and any decisions will be made as part of the spending review taking place later this year.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of formally extending the scope of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme to include all children in households with below-average resources.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefiting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM) is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision.

How many animals housed in (a) UK laboratories, (b) breeding centres and (c) universities were not used in scientific procedures in 2023.

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.

How many unused animals originally acquired for scientific procedures were euthanized in 2023 due to (a) a surplus to requirement and (b) any other reason.

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals, Great Britain 2023 was published on the 11 September 2024. The statistics provide full details on the number of licensed procedures carried out, the species of animals and the purposes for which the procedures have been undertaken.The 2023 Annual Statistics show that 2.68 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain in 2023; this is a decrease of 3% on last year and the lowest number since 2001.In 2017, the Home Office published additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. That data is available at: Additional statistics on breeding and genotyping of animals for scientific procedures, Great Britain, 2017. The additional statistics are not presently routinely collected. Future publication of this data is under review.

What steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for ambulances in the East Midlands.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.As a first step, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure that ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter, sent to all integrated care boards, including those in the East Midlands, is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities

When she plans to announce the rates that will be paid to (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools for universal infant free school meals this academic year.

An uplift to the per-meal rate for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) and further education (FE) free meals was announced on 4 December 2024. The uplifted meal rate will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.To support the provision of benefits-related free school meals (FSM), the government provides funding at £490 per eligible FSM pupil per year as a factor value within the national funding formula. This value will be increasing to £495 per eligible FSM pupil in 2025/26. UIFSM and FE free meals are funded separately through a direct grant to schools and colleges. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach, including for FSM, under continued review.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that at least 50% of all food purchased by the public sector is (a) locally produced and (b) sustainable.

The Government has an ambition to be able to supply half of all food into the public sector from British producers or certified to higher environmental standards, whilst being in line with World Trade Organisation and domestic procurement obligations. Officials are developing a range of proposals to develop public sector food and catering procurement policy, to set the tone for Government ambition, as well as driving net zero, public health and animal welfare outcomes. In the meantime, the Procurement Act 2023 allow contracts below certain spending thresholds to be reserved for smaller UK suppliers which presents a real opportunity for small and medium sized enterprises and public procurement.

If she will conduct a review of the funding model for school meals in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.

An uplift to the per-meal rate for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) and further education (FE) free meals was announced on 4 December 2024. The uplifted meal rate will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.To support the provision of benefits-related free school meals (FSM), the government provides funding at £490 per eligible FSM pupil per year as a factor value within the national funding formula. This value will be increasing to £495 per eligible FSM pupil in 2025/26. UIFSM and FE free meals are funded separately through a direct grant to schools and colleges. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach, including for FSM, under continued review.

Whether her Department plans to take further steps to ensure that Government Food Standards are adhered to in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day.School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.Additionally, the department and the Food Standards Agency, along with support from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, ran a pilot with 18 local authorities during the 2022/23 academic year to find out whether food safety officers were able to ensure the compliance of School Food Standards when carrying out routine food hygiene inspections in schools. Analysis of the final phase has now been completed, and the final report was published August 2024.We will keep our approach to the School Food Standards and our approaches to compliance under continued review.

With reference to the guidance entitled School food standards: resources for schools, published on 26 March 2019, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that this guidance is being followed in all (a) locally maintained and (b) multi-academy trust schools.

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day.School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.Additionally, the department and the Food Standards Agency, along with support from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, ran a pilot with 18 local authorities during the 2022/23 academic year to find out whether food safety officers were able to ensure the compliance of School Food Standards when carrying out routine food hygiene inspections in schools. Analysis of the final phase has now been completed, and the final report was published August 2024.We will keep our approach to the School Food Standards and our approaches to compliance under continued review.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement a national food strategy.

Defra is developing an ambitious food strategy which will set the food system on the path for long-term success, ensuring it is able to feed the nation, realising its potential for economic growth, boosting our food security, improving our health, and ensuring environmental sustainability now and in the future. We know this will require a whole-of-Government effort – the issues the food system faces cut across the work of many Departments. We also know that this is not a job for government alone. We will work side-by-side with industry and stakeholders across the food system to deliver lasting change, forming a partnership that draws on shared expertise and collective commitments, backed by a clear vision and framework for change.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps her Department has taken to reduce backlogs of cases before the Planning Inspectorate.

The Planning Inspectorate has been performing well across a number of key areas such as local plan examinations, nationally significant infrastructure project applications, s62a applications and planning appeals proceeding by hearings and inquiries. It is, for example:meeting all statutory timeframes for national infrastructure applications;increasingly deciding planning appeals by hearing and inquiry in around 26 weeks (the ministerial measure), having already cleared a backlog of casework; andbeginning to decide enforcement appeals by hearing and inquiry in around 26 weeks (the ministerial measure) for the first time in many years, as it clears a long-standing backlog of casework.The Inspectorate is implementing actions to maintain performance in these areas and to improve end-to-end times for other casework such as those cases decided after a written exchange of evidence. In the short term those actions are focused around increasing capacity by:increasing the available capacity for inspectors/other decision makers by recruiting more. The Inspectorate has significantly increased the number of inspectors it employs over the past 18 months and is on track to recruit additional inspectors later this year;using contract (non-salaried) inspectors to the full extent of their availability and expanding the range of casework they determine; and training inspectors to handle different casework to increase flexibility; andmoving more inspectors onto enforcement written representations casework in Spring 2025 once the work on improving hearings performance has progressed further.In addition, the Inspectorate has designed and developed a new digital Appeals Service currently in Beta phase. This new service improves the process for submitting appeals, including reducing the number of invalid appeals submitted. In turn, this reduces the number of validation checks required and will speed up the time taken to validate appeals. The new service has been expanded to cover all local planning authority areas. Later this year the existing website will be closed so that all new appeals are submitted via the new service.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that children born prematurely are not disadvantaged in education.

The government is determined to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure the best start in life for every child, including those who are born prematurely.The early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow. The EYFS is clear that every child is unique and that they develop and learn at different rates. It also describes the importance of responding to children’s individual interests and needs. Being born prematurely is not classified as a special educational need or a disability, however, when a premature child does need special educational needs and disability support, schools and early years settings are encouraged to identify and support them early as possible.The investment announced at Budget to rebuild school buildings, alongside funding for children’s social care, breakfast clubs and early years, reflects the government’s commitment to putting education back at the forefront of national life.

Innovation and Technology, what information his Department holds on whether customers who are required to transition from Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) landline phones to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) landline phones are being offered equivalent phone-only deals.

The Government engages regularly with communications providers to ensure that the industry-led switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely and with minimum inconvenience for end users. For many users, the upgrade will only involve unplugging their existing landline phone from the wall and plugging it into the back of their broadband router.As part of the migration to VoIP, current landline-only consumers do not need to purchase a general broadband connection if they do not want one. Most users can retain the same telephone devices after the migration, but in scenarios where this is not possible, they will receive a replacement device for free. Existing contracts will not increase in price when customers are migrated to VoIP.The Department does not hold data on the number of landline-only VoIP products but is working with stakeholders to identify those that require additional support during their PSTN migration, including consumers who are dependent on their landline.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department holds data on phone-only Voice over Internet Protocol products available for consumers.

The Government engages regularly with communications providers to ensure that the industry-led switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely and with minimum inconvenience for end users. For many users, the upgrade will only involve unplugging their existing landline phone from the wall and plugging it into the back of their broadband router.As part of the migration to VoIP, current landline-only consumers do not need to purchase a general broadband connection if they do not want one. Most users can retain the same telephone devices after the migration, but in scenarios where this is not possible, they will receive a replacement device for free. Existing contracts will not increase in price when customers are migrated to VoIP.The Department does not hold data on the number of landline-only VoIP products but is working with stakeholders to identify those that require additional support during their PSTN migration, including consumers who are dependent on their landline.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure those switching from public switched telephone network landline phones to Voice over Internet Protocol landline phones are not sold unnecessary services.

The Government engages regularly with communications providers to ensure that the industry-led switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely and with minimum inconvenience for end users. For many users, the upgrade will only involve unplugging their existing landline phone from the wall and plugging it into the back of their broadband router.As part of the migration to VoIP, current landline-only consumers do not need to purchase a general broadband connection if they do not want one. Most users can retain the same telephone devices after the migration, but in scenarios where this is not possible, they will receive a replacement device for free. Existing contracts will not increase in price when customers are migrated to VoIP.The Department does not hold data on the number of landline-only VoIP products but is working with stakeholders to identify those that require additional support during their PSTN migration, including consumers who are dependent on their landline.

What recent steps his Department has taken to introduce a licensing scheme under the Health and Care Act 2022 for people administering botox and lip fillers.

The Government is currently considering what steps may need to be taken in relation to the safety of the non-surgical cosmetics sector. The Government will set out its position at the earliest opportunity.

What data her Department holds on the percentage of driving test bookings where the initial driving licence number on the booking form was subsequently changed in each month since January 2019.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests. DVSA is experiencing some of the highest demand for driving tests it has ever seen. This, and continued high waiting times for tests, has contributed to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Many customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson. DVSA does not employ, encourage or licence anyone to provide a cancellation service checking for newly open slots. These apps or bots are not approved by the DVSA as they make it harder for candidates to get a test and can result in people paying more for a test than the official test fee of £62. Using such services also means that any changes to the test may not necessarily be relayed to the candidate. The attached spreadsheet shows the number and percentage of practical driving test bookings where the initial test candidate’s driving licence number was subsequently changed to a different driving test candidate’s licence number in each month since January 2019.