Written questions by Snowden.

Whether (a) families and (b) attorneys holding Power of Attorney are notified immediately when a DNR notice is added to a vulnerable adult’s medical record.

The Department remains clear that it is unacceptable for Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions to be applied in a blanket fashion to any group of people and should be fully discussed with the individual and their family where possible and appropriate. NHS England clinical leaders have issued a number of statements and letters to health and care providers which emphasise personalised approaches to care and treatment and which reiterate that there has never been an instruction or directive issued by the National Health Service to put in place a DNACPR solely on the basis of disability, learning disability, or special needs.Agreement to a DNACPR is an individual decision and should involve the person concerned or, where the person lacks capacity, their families, carers, guardians, or other legally recognised advocates. Guidance from clinical bodies such as the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council UK, and Royal College of Nursing reflects this. These decisions should take into account the patient’s wishes, or those of people close to the patient, informed by a sensitive explanation of the risks and burdens associated with giving cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The treating doctor should try to reach agreement with the patient or those close to the patient. If, after discussion, the doctor remains of the view that cardiopulmonary resuscitation would not be clinically appropriate, there is not an obligation to attempt it. However, the rationale for not doing so should be clearly articulated. NHS England has published public-facing guidance on DNACPR decisions on the NHS.UK website. This includes advice on asking for a second opinion or review if patients, or their families, disagree with a DNACPR decision.The Department has not received any complaints regarding DNACPR decisions being applied without consent in the last five years.

What steps she is taking to ensure there are sufficient rail services on alternative routes when planned maintenance works cause the closure of lines.

Network Rail plans its timetables 12 months in advance, meaning it can schedule in the time needed for planned works to improve the network. Network Rail plan works that cause the least disruption to passengers and include Bank Holidays, Sundays, and overnight when the network is less busy. However, when planned engineering works necessitate the closure of lines, train operating companies provide alternative transport and travel arrangements to help passengers complete their journeys. Alternative transport provision may include rail replacement services, ticket acceptance on other routes/operators, or diverted trains.

What assessment she has made of the inclusion of the book 'Pigeon English' in the English GCSE curriculum in England and Wales.

Schools have the autonomy to choose the specific books and resources they use within the framework of the national curriculum. The department defines the genres of literature that must be covered, but does not prescribe individual authors or texts, other than Shakespeare which must be taught. At GCSE level, exam boards set out a range of set texts in their specifications, and schools are free to select those they wish to teach.

Whether the Government has considered recognising listed church buildings as national heritage assets in the tax system.

Church buildings are not usually owned by individuals and so are not usually chargeable to inheritance tax. Where an individual inherits and wishes to retain heritage property they can claim Conditional Exemption, so that there is no inheritance tax for as long as the property is maintained and open to the public to enjoy. Comprehensive guidance is available on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-taxation-and-tax-exempt-heritage-assets Otherwise, gifts of property to charities or to a recognised National Body (listed at https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm11224 ) would be exempt from inheritance tax.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the VAT-recovery cap on the number of listed places of worship that are proceeding with planned repair or reordering works.

DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impact on introducing an annual cap of £25,000 per place of worship for the 2025/26 financial year. The changes to the scheme were necessary given the level of fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 2025 Budget’s changes to personal taxation on average earners in the Fylde constituency.

The government has published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) setting out the impact of maintaining income Tax and equivalent National Insurance contributions thresholds.

What the expected distributional impact is of the 2025 Budget measures on households in the North West of England.

The government is committed to growing living standards in all parts of the country in a fair and progressive manner, and has acted at Budget 2025 to cut the cost of living for households across the nation. HM Treasury’s ‘Impact on households’ publication, produced alongside the 2025 Budget, shows that the impacts of government tax, welfare and public service spending decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards. This analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69269c6222424e25e6bc31bb/Impact_on_households.pdf HM Treasury does not produce a distributional assessment of policy decisions at a subnational level.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on local employment and SME supply chains of reducing the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.

To bring domestic energy bills down for all, ECO will not continue when the current schemes end. Government recognises that this is likely to have an impact on some companies in the supply chain. Government has instead committed additional grant funding of £1.5 billion, which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. Government will set out the details of this in the Warm Homes Plan. Government continues to improve home energy efficiency through other existing schemes, such as the Warm Home: Social Housing Fund, Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 2025 Budget on local authority funding settlements in the North West of England for 2025–26.

Final local authority funding allocations for financial year 2025-26 were confirmed at the Final local government finance settlement: England, 2025 to 2026. There are no plans to review the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement in view of the 2025 Autumn Budget. We will publish the provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.

What assessment he has made of potential changes in the level of demand for insulation and heating upgrades following the reduction of the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

The government recognises that demand for energy efficiency upgrades will remain strong. To bring energy bills down for all, the decision has been made not to continue the Energy Company Obligation when the current scheme ends. The government has instead committed an additional £1.5bn of grant funding, which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. The details of this will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan. The government continues to improve home energy efficiency through schemes, such as the Warm Home: Social Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade scheme.

What assessment she had made of the potential impact of changes to pension salary sacrifice relief on the number of people saving for retirement in the Fylde constituency.

Automatic enrolment into pension saving has driven up the number of employees saving for retirement. The existing income tax relief regime for pensions is unaffected by this change, whilst employer contributions can continue to be made free of National Insurance Contributions (NICs). At £2,000 cap means the majority of people usoing salary sacrifice for pension saving will be entirely unaffected by this change. Individuals earning below £30,000 are overwhelmingly protected, with few (c. 5%) making salary sacrifice contributions above this threshold. employee pension contributions up to £2,000. In line with the OBR assessment of this change, the costing assumes some employer costs will be passed through into lower employer pension contributions. The government continues to support and incentivise pension saving, with tax relief worth over £70bn per year, even after this change. Employers must continue to meet their automatic enrolment obligations. The policy balances encouragement of pension saving with ensuring the system remains fiscally sustainable and fair. A Tax Information and Impact Note will be published in due course alongside the legislation when it is introduced to Parliament.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the new Electric Vehicle Excise Duty mileage charge from April 2028 on Electric Vehicle uptake.

The Government intends to create a fair motoring tax system while supporting the automotive industry and ensuring EVs remain an attractive choice for consumers. As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. While it is fair for EV drivers to contribute for their car usage, the government is also committed to ensuring that driving an electric vehicle is an attractive choice for consumers. Therefore, the rate of eVED paid by electric vehicle drivers will be half the fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that it will still be cheaper to own and run an EV for the majority of EV drivers. The Government is also providing generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs. This support will be introduced before the tax takes effect to support continued momentum in EV take-up. The Government has set out the expected impacts from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf

What estimate she has made of the number of households in Fylde who will be brought into paying income tax or higher tax bands as a result of extending the freeze on income tax personal allowance.

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below: https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing receipts from the international student levy for funding in higher education and skills.

As set out in the Budget Document, the income raised by the Levy will be fully reinvested into higher education and skills, including to fund maintenance grants for disadvantaged students studying priority courses.

If he will make it his policy to publish data relating to carbon offsetting for all government flights.

The Government does not have a general policy of carbon offsetting flights. Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. The yearly payment to carbon offset flights using the G-GBNI aircraft is calculated at the end of each financial year based on the flights that have taken place to ensure accuracy.

What replacement scheme will support energy efficiency for low-income households after ECO4 ends on 31 March 2026.

The government has committed to additional grant funding of £1.5bn which will be directed to upgrading low-income households, benefitting those in fuel poverty. This will take total Warm Homes Plan funding to around £15 billion; more details will be set out soon. The government continues to improve home energy efficiency through Warm Homes: Social Housing Decarbonisation, Warm Homes: Local Government and the ongoing Boiler Upgrade Scheme supporting thousands of households to upgrade their heating systems.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the administrative cost to local authorities of implementing the High Value Council Tax Surcharge from April 2028.

The Government has set out, in its guidance, that it will carry out a new burdens assessment to ensure local authorities are fully funded for these costs.

When she plans to provide an answer to Question 22764 on Government Securities: Public Sector Debt.

A response was provided for Question 22764 on 13 January 2025. The government does not comment on specific financial market movements.

When he plans to provide an answer to Question 89730 on Chronic Illnesses: Diagnosis.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 November 2025 to Question 89730.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 91601 on Prime Minister: Climate Change Convention, on what basis possibility is assessed in respect of publishing offsetting data.

Prime Ministerial flights are carbon offset where that is possible. This takes into account a range of factors. GBNI flights are carbon offset at the end of the financial year. Information about official overseas travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website, in line with the approach of successive administrations.