Written questions by Snowden.

If she will make an estimate of the revenue from applying VAT to independent schools in Fylde constituency in the next financial year.

The Government does not have an estimate of the revenue from this measure specifically from the Fylde constituency. At the Autumn Budget the Government published a detailed response to the consultation conducted between July and September. Annexed to this is the costing methodology used to calculate the total revenue generated by this policy. Included is a breakdown of the exchequer impact by year, including 2025/26. This was published online and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6734864af6920bfb5abc7a29/Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf

How many people in Fylde constituency are awaiting winter fuel payments for 2024-25.

We do not hold the data requested at constituency level. However, where the customer is eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment, the Department aims to make this payment within 2 weeks of the award of their qualifying benefit. Customers won't miss out on Winter Fuel Payments even if their qualifying benefit takes longer to process than usual. Statistics on Winter Fuel Payments are published annually. The latest publication contains data on Winter Fuel Payments made in 2023/24.

If she will make an estimate of the revenue from applying business rates to independent schools in Fylde constituency in the next financial year.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it is removing private schools’ eligibility for charitable rate relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year.Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue. As such, the increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rate relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government.

What the change is in the rate of unemployment in Fylde since the Autumn Budget 2024.

No estimate is available of the unemployment rate in Fylde since the Autumn Budget 2024. The latest estimates of unemployment, covers the period October 2023 – September 2024. This is available via ONS Nomisweb site: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp Guidance for users can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp

Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available from his Department to set up a new Internal Drainage Board for the Fylde coast.

Internal Drainage Boards (IDB) are local independent statutory public bodies, mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work; this includes farmers who pay drainage rates and local authorities that pay special levies. Determining where new IDBs should be created is a matter of local choice, and the Government will only consider proposals where there is clear local support, including from local authorities and farmers. Defra is addressing the current barrier to establishing new IDBs and expanding existing ones. Changes were made to the Land Drainage Act 1991, via the Environment Act 2021, enabling new IDBs to be created and existing IDBs to expand their boundaries. Defra will bring forward the necessary statutory instrument when Parliamentary time allows.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislation on sustainable drainage systems.

The Government is strongly committed to requiring standardised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in new developments. These should be to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions as well as delivering wider water infrastructure benefits, reduce run off and help to improve water quality, amenity and biodiversity. It is also important to ensure appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place. We believe that these outcomes can be achieved through either improving the current planning led approach using powers now available or commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. A final decision on the way forward will be made in the coming months. We have made some immediate changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to support increasing SuDS. The NPPF now requires all development to utilize SuDS where they could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. We will review the planning system holistically and consider whether further changes are required to address SuDS when we consult on further planning reform, including national policy related to decision making, in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent soil degradation on agricultural land impacted by repeated flooding.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive provides payments for several actions to improve soil health, including herbal leys and multi-species cover crops. Healthy soils have improved resilience to extreme weather and will recover faster from flood events. Sustainable Farming Incentive actions can also be used to slow down the flow of water within catchments, helping to mitigate wider catchment flood risk. We have also recently announced a significant expansion of the flood and drought resilience offer within Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier with new actions to store water, which can be used to protect agricultural land from flooding.

What steps he is taking to ensure women presenting symptoms of endometriosis receive sufficient care during early stages of diagnosis.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis. Several measures are in place to raise awareness of endometriosis among clinicians and support diagnosis and care.National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines support healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat conditions. In November 2024, NICE published updated recommendations on the diagnosis, management, and treatment of endometriosis. These are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73Endometriosis is included in the core curriculum for general practitioners, and for obstetricians and gynaecologists. The General Medical Council is introducing the Medical Licensing Assessment for most incoming doctors, including all medical students graduating from academic year 2024/25 and onwards. Within this assessment are several topics relating to women’s health, including endometriosis. This will encourage a better understanding of endometriosis among doctors as they start their careers in the United Kingdom.Never again will women’s health be neglected. We will prioritise women’s health as we reform the NHS and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions.

What the membership is of the motor insurance taskforce announced on 16 October 2024; and what progress the taskforce has made.

The cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. The Government is committed to tackling high costs as part of our Plan for Change to raise living standards across Britain and we will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.

What steps she is taking to support the uptake of apprenticeships and technical education.

The department wants apprenticeships and technical education to be part of career conversations in every school so that young people can access the opportunities they deserve. We have set clear requirements through strengthened legislation and statutory guidance, backed by over £30 million of investment in 2024/25 to support schools and colleges to improve careers provision for young people.Since January 2023, schools have been required to offer at least six opportunities for pupils to meet providers of technical education or apprenticeships, during years 8 to 13.We promote apprenticeships in schools and colleges through our Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge Programme (ASK). During the 2023/24 academic year, ASK engaged with 2,366 schools and colleges. The ASK sessions, spanning awareness assemblies, mock assessment centres and interview workshops, reached over 575,000 students, as well as almost 37,000 parents and carers.Young people aged 13 to 18 can discover their career options via the National Careers Service website, which can be accessed at https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ and includes around 800 job profiles. Young people can access information and advice via webchat and a telephone helpline which is supported by local community-based career advisers. This is supported by the Skills for Life campaign, ‘It all starts with skills’, which promotes a range of priority skills programmes to young people, including apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications. We have collaborated with UCAS so that pupils can now explore apprenticeship vacancies alongside university courses on the service. We are confident this is responding to demand, with the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) reporting that nearly three in five young people in years 9-12 are considering apprenticeships.These interventions are part of a national careers system that is driving improvements in careers advice and work experience for young people. 93% of secondary schools and colleges are in a Careers Hub, linking with networks of employers and apprenticeship providers.Through Careers Hubs, we are using data and front-line insight to support conversations about what is preventing the take-up of technical and vocational pathways at the local level, enabling solutions to be devised by local partners.Ofsted’s review of careers, published in 2023, found that most providers are making good progress towards improving students’ access to options such as apprenticeships and technical qualifications. In addition, the latest data from a survey of the career readiness of 230,000 students shows that they are more than twice as likely to understand apprenticeships by the time they take their GCSEs, compared to students in year 7. Awareness of year 11 students is 80% and almost on a par with A Levels at 84%.

Whether proposals to temporarily close parts of St Anne’s beach to lay cables to connect the Morgan and Morecambe windfarm to its substations includes provisions to compensate affected business owners.

All relevant information on the Morgan and Morecambe transmission assets can be found on the appropriate project page of the Planning Inspectorate website. The developers set out their proposals for a contingency fund to address temporary business disruptions caused by necessary construction works in their Development Consent Order Application documents.[1] [1] https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/EN020032/EN020032-000632-D1.1_MMTA_Annex%201%20Morgan%20Offshore%20Wind%20Limited%20Property%20Cost%20Estimate.pdf

What assessment he has made of the potential impact on the area’s badger population of proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe (a) cabling corridor and (b) substations.

National Energy System Operator considered the onshore and offshore impacts of the proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe windfarms cable corridor and substation on sensitive habitats as part of its Holistic Network Design.[1] Following this, the developers BP and EnBW submitted detailed environmental assessments as part of the project planning application, which include assessment of the impacts on specific species such as badgers.[2] [1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind[2] https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN020032/documents?date-to-day=6&date-to-month=12&date-to-year=2024&itemsPerPage=25&lang=en&page=8

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on biodiversity of proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe windfarm (a) cabling corridor and (b) substations.

National Energy System Operator (NESO) considered the environmental impacts of the proposed Morgan and Morecambe windfarms cabling corridor and substation as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND).[1] The developers, BP and EnBW, have submitted detailed environmental assessments addressing the impacts on biodiversity as part of the Morgan and Morecambe transmission project planning application.[2] [1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind[2] https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/EN020032/EN020032-000718-Morgan%20and%20Morecambe%20Offshore%20Wind%20Farms%20Examination%20Library.pdf

What steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Fylde constituency, this is the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB.

Whether nursing positions for the provision of care in corridors will be advertised in Lancashire.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased long term gilt rates on Government borrowing costs.

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets. The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.

How many people were (a) arrested and (b) charged for (i) drink and (ii) drug driving in December 2024.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Home Office because drunk and drug driving offences are not among the list of offences for which police forces are currently required to notify the Home Office of data on arrests, charges and outcomes.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on the number of police officers in Lancashire.

If it maintains officer numbers at the required level of 3,586 officers.Total funding to police forces in 2025-26will be up to £17.4 billion, an increase of up to £987 million compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement.This includes a £657.1 million additional Government grant funding to police forces, which includes: £230.3 million to support forces with the increase to the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions as set out by the Chancellor in the Autumn Budget; and£100.0 million to deliver the first steps of this Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Commitment in 2025-26. In addition to the force’s government grant of up to £284 million, Lancashire Police will receive £12,596,034 to directly support the maintenance of officer numbers in FY2025/26

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2024 to question 19898 on Wind Power: Fylde, what account the cost assessments have taken of existing infrastructure connecting Stanah to Penwortham.

National Energy System Operator (NESO) recommended the transmission infrastructure required to connect Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind projects to the grid as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND). In producing the HND, NESO assessed multiple onshore and offshore design options against future generation and demand scenarios, existing infrastructure in the National Electricity Transmission System, and total capital and operational costs. NESO then used an economic optimiser to determine the optimal economic design from the options.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government will take with respect to councils who do not meet the targets set out in the National Policy Planning Framework, announced on 12 December 2024.

The government expects local planning authorities to explore and exhaust all options to deliver the homes their communities need.An authority’s ability to meet their housing need through plan-making will be tested at a public examination, which will assess whether there are any justified reasons for not being able to meet a target in full.There are two tests of whether authorities are meeting housing need: the Housing Delivery Test, which measures authorities’ delivery record over the previous three years, and the ‘five-year housing land supply’ policy, which tests whether authorities have allocated sufficient land to provide a housing pipeline.Where authorities fail against these tests, ‘the presumption’ in favour of sustainable development kicks in. The government are clear that ‘the presumption’ cannot be a gateway to poor quality housing, and through the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December we have added new safeguards to ensure this is the case.