Written questions by Snowden.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increased bus fare cap on public transport use in Lancashire.

In the Budget on 30 October, the government confirmed it will invest over £150 million to introduce a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January until 31 December 2025. Under the plans of the previous administration, the current £2 cap on bus fares had been due to expire on 31 December 2024, and prior to the Budget, there was no further funding available to maintain the cap beyond this point. The published interim evaluation of the £2 fare cap showed that patronage continued to recover following the COVID 19 pandemic. The final evaluation of the £2 fare cap will be published in due course. Considering all its impacts, the fare cap is not financially sustainable for taxpayers and bus operators at £2. Capping fares at £3 will keep bus travel affordable while ensuring the cap is fair to taxpayers, helping millions of people access better opportunities, travel for less and protect vital bus routes, in Lancashire and right across England.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the funding her Department provides Visit Britain.

Funding allocations for VisitBritain are reviewed as part of the comprehensive spending review process, which in turn depends on the recent Budget. I note the Honorable Member’s bid for additional funding - and his opposition to the Budget. It is difficult to see how one can will the ends but not the means.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase the number of prosecutions for people found to be driving under the influence of drugs.

Enforcement of drug driving legislation and how available resources are deployed is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine in conjunction with local crime and policing plans, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes cases that are referred to it by the police.The Government has announced more than half a billion pounds of additional central government funding for policing next year to support the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, introduced in 2015, aligned enforcement of drug driving with that of drink driving by introducing a strict liability offence to avoid the need to prove impairment. CPS management information shows that in the financial year 2023/2024, 25,559 offences were charged under this section which proceeded to a first hearing in the magistrates’ courts.

What plans he has to roll out further Clinical Diagnostic Centres.

Approximately £1.5 billion of additional capital funding has been allocated in the budget for 2025/26, to support National Health Service performance across secondary and emergency care, and to begin to deliver against the Government's three strategic shifts, which include moving care from the hospital to the community.This investment will deliver new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners. This creates new capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures, and over 1.25 million diagnostic tests, as they come online. The investments made at the October Budget also add new beds across the NHS estate.Collectively, these investments will create more treatment space in emergency departments, reduce waiting times, and help shift more care into the community via the expansion of community based diagnostic capacity. More details will follow at the earliest opportunity.The NHS is prioritising the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, and is currently delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs), with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics. In August 2024, NHS England published an updated list of 168 CDC sites currently delivering activity. A total of 170 CDCs have been approved and will be delivering activity by March 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2024 to Question 12181 on Typhoon Aircraft: Procurement, what steps he is taking to ensure that skilled workers in the defence sector are retained.

This Government is committed to bringing forward a Defence Industrial Strategy which ensures the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned. The defence sector, including the combat air sector, provides highly skilled jobs across the UK and the Defence Industrial Strategy will consider how we grow and retain the skills needed, working closely with partners across Government, industry and skills bodies to ensure we retain and attract a skilled workforce across the sector.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed increases in employer's national insurance contributions on future trends in the cost to the public purse of Government contracts with private sector companies.

At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that the rate of Employer National Insurance contributions will increase from 13.8% to 15% from 6 April 2025. In order to raise the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability, difficult decisions need to be taken on tax, which is why the Government is asking employers to contribute more.The Chancellor also set out, at the Autumn Budget, the departmental spending allocations for 2024-25 and 2025-26. Departmental allocations for future years will be set out at the next phase of the Spending Review. The responsibility for prioritising these budgets effectively and making assessments on the costs of procurement rests with contracting authorities.

If her Department will issue guidance on whether film and television productions that use generative artificial intelligence qualify for (a) the Independent Film Tax Credit and (b) rate relief for VFX spend.

From 1 April 2025, films with a UK lead writer or director and budgets of under £15 million will be able to claim an enhanced 53% rate of Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), known as the Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC). Generative artificial intelligence costs are not excluded from the IFTC. Costs that qualify for the IFTC will be the same costs that currently qualify for the normal rate of AVEC. Guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-audio-visual-expenditure-credits-for-corporation-tax. From 1 April 2025, film and high-end TV companies may claim an enhanced AVEC rate of 39% on their UK visual effects costs. UK visual effects costs will be exempt from the AVEC’s 80% cap on qualifying expenditure. Generative artificial intelligence costs are not excluded from the additional tax relief for visual effects. Further information on the costs that will qualify for the additional tax relief can be found in the Government’s response to its consultation on the design of the policy, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-additional-tax-relief-for-visual-effects-costs. HMRC will publish specific guidance on the additional tax relief for visual effects in due course.

If he will include the South Fylde Passing Loop Project in new rail infrastructure spending.

Following the closure of the Restoring Your Railway (RYR) programme, the Department is now reviewing its portfolio, including proposals for the South Fylde line. There is currently no DfT funding allocated to develop this project any further, but we encourage local authorities to lead the development of transport schemes that have a strong business case and clear benefits to their communities.

Following the Chancellor's commitment of £3 billion a year for the Ukraine war effort, what similar commitment does this budget make for our continued support of Israel's war effort.

A resolution to this conflict has been a priority since day one of this Government. An immediate ceasefire is just the first step towards a lasting solution to the crisis. The UK continues to fund our operational presence in Middle East to support regional stability as we push for a long-term political solution that includes the implementation of a two-state solution.

Whether her Department plans to provide additional funding to increase the number of school places in Fylde before January 2025, in the context of the introduction of VAT on independent school fees.

The department has already set out funding allocations for all schools in the current year. The removal for the school fees exemption to VAT does not change those allocations.The government has also set out that it expects the number of additional pupils joining the state-funded sector to be low, around 35,000 pupils UK-wide, which is less than 0.5% of the state-funded pupil population, over several years.The impact on individual schools and local authorities will vary and interact with other pressures. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places. Deciding whether to move a child part-way through the school year in January 2025 is a matter for parents. Requirements for state-funded places for children that would have attended a private school will be addressed in each local authority through normal processes.

Whether his Department's budget for 2025-26 includes 24 Typhoon jets.

Budget allocations for 2025-26 will be set in the usual way and informed by the findings of the Strategic Defence Review.

Communities and Local Government, what funding is available for the redevelopment of town centres in Fylde constituency.

The Government will set out its long-term vision for local growth at the muti-year spending review in the Spring. This will end the approach of Local Authorities and MCAs bidding against each other for growth funds, targeting funding where it is needed most and empowering local leaders. The Government will also set out more detail on its strategy for regional growth alongside, and integrated with, plans for infrastructure, investment, and the Industrial Strategy.This being said, Fylde Council will continue to receive the departments full support in delivering £5.8 million of Getting Building Fund which was allocated to Fylde Council to deliver the M55 Heyhouses link and improve connectivity around The Fylde coast including St Annes.Likewise, Kirkham has received £6.3 million of Future High Street Funding towards regeneration of the town including an educational and employment skills centre.

With reference to paragraph 2.51 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, what guidance her Department issues to small business farmers who wish to keep an inherited family farm.

The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief#:~:text=From%206%20April%202026%2C%20the,rather%20than%20the%20standard%2040%25. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief in 2026-27 are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. Individuals can pass up to £325,000 inheritance tax free, and £500,000 if includes a residence to a direct descendant, and £1m when a tax free allowance is passed to a surviving spouse or civil partner. The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief mean that farmers can access 100% relief for the first £1 million and 50% relief thereafter - meaning an effective tax rate of up to 20% on those assets. These reliefs are in addition to the normal inheritance tax allowances, and mean any couple, whether or not married, could pass on up to £1.5 million each or £3 million tax-free between them. Individuals will need to consider their own circumstances and may wish to speak to a tax advisor or accountant.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding his Department plans to provide for flood defences in Fylde constituency in the 2025-26 financial year.

Across England, we will invest £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees, with local representation.