Written questions by Snowden.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that British Sign Language is taught in schools.

The government is committed to promoting inclusive education and welcomes the teaching of British Sign Language (BSL) in schools. Schools may choose to offer BSL as part of their school curriculum, or as an extracurricular activity.Following the British Sign Language Act 2022, BSL was formally recognised as a language. In line with this, the department has worked closely with stakeholders to develop a GCSE in BSL. The final subject content was published on GOV.UK in December 2023. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, Ofqual conducted a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements in spring 2025. Ofqual expects to confirm its decisions on the qualification rules this autumn. Exam boards will then be able to develop detailed specifications which will form the basis of course content to be taught in schools and colleges.To support delivery, the department recognises the importance of a skilled teaching workforce. We are engaging stakeholders, including school leaders and BSL organisations, to consider how to support workforce development.

How many primary schools in (a) Lancashire and (b) Fylde constituency do not have access to a library in the latest period for which data is available.

It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils. Headteachers have autonomy to decide how best to spend the core schools funding that the department allocates. Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on the number of school libraries.We welcome the work of the Libraries for Primaries campaign and others, who work to support children’s reading. On 29 September, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, committed over £10 million in funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament. Funding for this scheme will come from £132.5 million of dormant assets unlocked to support young people to access opportunities. The government will set out further details of the scheme in due course.

Communities and Local Government, how many neighbourhood plans have been formally adopted in (a) England, (b) Lancashire and (c) Fylde constituency since 2015.

Neighbourhood Plans which have passed referenda have statutory weight and form part of the development plan. The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider doing so is in their best interests. Neighbourhood planning groups have received over £71 million since 2013. This support has created a network of planners and groups who have the skills and expertise to prepare neighbourhood plans and to help other communities to do so. Local planning authorities have an existing duty under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to provide advice and assistance to neighbourhood planning groups. They can also, at their discretion taking into account their constituents’ needs and priorities, provide funding in support of neighbourhood plan preparation. As of the end of September 2025, the department was aware of c.1850 made neighbourhood plans in England. The Department is aware of 23 neighbourhood plans which have been adopted in Lancashire since 2015, of which 2 were in the Fylde constituency.

What steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnosis rates for postural tachycardia syndrome.

We are investing in additional capacity to deliver appointments to help bring waiting lists and times down. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the specific productivity and reform efforts needed to return to the constitutional standard, that 92% of patients to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029.Additionally, the shifts outlined in our 10-Year Health Plan will free up hospital-based consultants’ time by shifting care from hospitals to communities, utilising digital technology to reduce administrative burdens, and promoting prevention to reduce the onset and severity of conditions that lead to hospital admissions. This includes expanding community-based services, employing artificial intelligence for productivity, developing integrated neighbourhood health teams, and investing in digital tools and data. These shifts will allow specialists to focus on more complex cases of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), enabling earlier identification and management, and improved patient outcomes.The Department funds health and care research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has supported a broad portfolio of research into long COVID, including understanding the links between long COVID and PoTS. The £3.35 million LOng COvid Multidisciplinary consortium: Optimising Treatments and servIces acrOss the NHS, or LOCOMOTION, study confirmed that people with long COVID are more likely than others to have orthostatic intolerance, and that these problems are relatively common.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) improve levels of community cohesion in areas experiencing demographic change.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is leading cross-Government efforts to develop a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion - working in partnership with communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues.Our recently launched Pride in Place Strategy also announced the expansion of the Pride in Place Programme – this will provide up to £20 million of funding and support over the next decade to 244 places across the UK. It focuses on three overarching objectives: building stronger communities; creating thriving places; and helping communities to take back control of their own lives and areas.This Government also wants to ensure that all places are further supported to build cohesion and resilience, and that support is in place rapidly, as and when tensions occur. The Common Ground Resilience Fund will provide funding to local communities to insulate them against threats to social cohesion.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) take-up of the covid-19 vaccine for eligible people in the latest period for which data is available.

Vaccine availability is monitored as part of standard operational practice across the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England, and the devolved administrations. The UKHSA collects and analyses data from the vaccination programmes to understand the impact, effectiveness, and any inequalities.The UKHSA has procured COVID-19 vaccines for the upcoming season in line with uptake forecasts received from all four nations of the United Kingdom. Based on procured volumes, it is expected that there is sufficient COVID-19 vaccine available for those eligible to receive a vaccine across the current autumn and winter campaigns. People aged 75 years old and over, those in older adult care homes, and those aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed are eligible.During the spring 2025 campaign, 60% of those aged 75 years old or over received the COVID-19 vaccine, as did 24.5% of those aged under 75 years old who also have a suppressed immune system. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2025-to-2026-seasonIt is too early in the autumn 2025 campaign to provide coverage data.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect swans.

In England all wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, including Swans. This makes it an offence to kill, injure or take wild birds and to take or damage their eggs and nests.Defra supports the valuable work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and is a principal funder. The unit helps to prevent and detect wildlife crime (including crimes against swans) by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis, and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations.

What criteria his Department is using to evaluate (a) effectiveness and (b) value in the new NHS medical technology procurement model.

The Department is developing Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance to improve the National Health Service’s consistency in the procurement of medical technology in England, shifting the focus from buying the cheapest to considering wider factors to ensure that taxpayer money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff, and the environment.Procurement decisions will be based on a minimum of 60% weighting from five value domains, including the mandated minimum 10% on Social Value. The remaining 40% is a maximum weighting for Whole Life Cost. The guidance includes the choice of 21 questions across the five value domains. For example, where improvement to hospital productivity is assessed, real world evidence on the impact to the length of stay, procedure time, and/or readmission rates will be required.The following 13 NHS trusts, covered by nine procurement teams, are piloting the guidance before national rollout across the NHS in England in early 2026:the Birmingham and Solihull Procurement Collaborative, which itself comprises of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust; the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; and the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust;the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust;the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust;the North Bristol NHS Trust;the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; andthe University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Which 13 NHS Trusts have been selected to pilot the value-based procurement guidance.

The Department is developing Value Based Procurement Standard Guidance to improve the National Health Service’s consistency in the procurement of medical technology in England, shifting the focus from buying the cheapest to considering wider factors to ensure that taxpayer money delivers better outcomes for patients, staff, and the environment.Procurement decisions will be based on a minimum of 60% weighting from five value domains, including the mandated minimum 10% on Social Value. The remaining 40% is a maximum weighting for Whole Life Cost. The guidance includes the choice of 21 questions across the five value domains. For example, where improvement to hospital productivity is assessed, real world evidence on the impact to the length of stay, procedure time, and/or readmission rates will be required.The following 13 NHS trusts, covered by nine procurement teams, are piloting the guidance before national rollout across the NHS in England in early 2026:the Birmingham and Solihull Procurement Collaborative, which itself comprises of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust; the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; the Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; and the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust;the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust;the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust;the North Bristol NHS Trust;the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; andthe University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

If he will set how the Public Sector Fraud Authority is working with local authorities to prevent fraud at the local level.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) works closely with local authorities to prevent fraud through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which is one of the PSFA’s key data and analytics services. The NFI specialises in data matching, which involves comparing sets of data electronically, such as the council tax records of an authority, against other records held by the same or another authority, to see to what extent they match. The NFI is vital in tackling fraud in local authority spending. This includes the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone. It also has a strong record of delivering outcomes for local authorities. To date, the NFI has detected, prevented and recovered over £3bn in fraud and error. The NFI is collaborating closely with local authorities to tackle fraud in other areas of local spending. For example, the introduction of the Legislative Reform (Disclosure of Adult Social Care Data) Order 2025, will once again ensure that fraud in adult social care spending can be identified and investigated by local authorities.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help ensure that local communities are consulted the type of shops permitted on high streets.

We want local people to work together to create thriving high streets. Through our Pride in Place Programme we are investing up to £5bn and giving communities more say over the make-up of their high streets. Alongside this, we have announced other tools such as a community right to buy to help communities take ownership of valued high street buildings, such as shops and pubs. We have also introduced High Street Rental Auctions to bring persistent vacant units back into use. Councils are required to consult on the high street designation and have the power to exclude certain uses at auction.

Innovation and Technology, what the estimated annual cost per user is of maintaining the digital ID system.

The Government will launch a public consultation on the new digital ID by the end of the year. The eventual total cost and savings will depend on the design, build and delivery of the system, matters which will be included in the consultation. We expect the programme to be designed, built and run by in-house Government teams, not outsourced to external suppliers. In the event any specialist external services or expertise are procured to support the delivery of the new digital ID system, this will be subject to all the usual competitive processes to ensure transparency, and value for the taxpayer.

What estimate she has made of the total value of funds likely to be recovered through the Voluntary repayment of Covid-19 funding scheme by 31 December 2025.

This government is leaving no stone unturned to investigate and recover public funds lost to fraud and error during the pandemic - getting back what is owed to the British people. At the recommendation of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner, the government launched the Voluntary Repayment Scheme on September 12th. The scheme is one element in a wider package of measures recommended by the Commissioner and will provide crucial learnings for his final report. The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) has not made an estimate of the value of funds likely to be recovered. The scheme is subject to uncertainty due to its novel nature, the time elapsed since the pandemic, and the time it takes for departments to report recovery success back to the PSFA. However, the PSFA will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the scheme’s impact once it’s concluded. The scheme will continue to provide individuals who received money from COVID-19 support schemes which they did not need or were not eligible for, an opportunity to repay until December 2025, before the introduction of new investigatory powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

With reference to his Department's press notice entitled Civil Service staff networks to only meet outside working hours and have all events signed off by senior managers, published on 23 September 2025, how many civil service staff network events were considered inappropriate in the 12 months prior to the issuance of the guidance on civil service staff networks.

The Cabinet Office does not hold data relating to the number of events deemed inappropriate.

With reference to his Department's press notice entitled Civil Service staff networks to only meet outside working hours and have all events signed off by senior managers, published on 23 September 2025, if he will set out the criteria used to determine whether a staff network event directly benefits an organisation.

In circumstances where organisers believe that the event could be attended during working time, it will be for the Senior Civil Servant signing-off the event to determine whether it is directly related to a business outcome or individual learning and development. Where this is the case individuals would also need to obtain line manager approval before attending.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Record fraud crackdown saves half a billion for public services, published on 24 September 2025, if he will set out how the AI fraud prevention tool will be deployed across departments; and whether training will be provided to civil servants to use it.

The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator is another example of how this government is staying one step ahead of fraudsters, making sure public funds are protected and used to deliver public services for those who need them most. The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator is already being deployed and will be available to all departments by November, offering public bodies access to the latest AI advancements without the additional costs of building and hosting their own solutions.​ We've designed the tool with usability in mind. Users can upload schemes via a GOV.UK​-style frontend, and the AI will assess how fraudsters are likely to target them. The Public Sector Fraud Authority will also continue to provide user training to support wider adoption and usage across government.​

Food and Rural Affairs, what formal powers the Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector will have to (a) investigate complaints and (b) enforce the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice.

As a non-statutory role, the Commissioner will promote and encourage good relations between tenants, landlords, and advisors, and provide a neutral and confidential point of contact for anyone who has concerns that the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice for England is not being followed. Where concerns or issues cannot be resolved the Commissioner will signpost sources of further professional advice as appropriate. The Government is committed to keeping the effectiveness of this approach under review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reopening the Poulton-le-Fylde to Fleetwood rail line.

Business case development from 2023 found a tram-train solution as the most promising option to connect Fleetwood and Poulton-le-Fylde, but it offered “poor” value for money. No further DfT funding has been prioritised in this Spending Review. It is now for Lancashire County Combined Authority to decide whether to prioritise further work.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that neighbourhood plans are given due weight in planning decisions.

Neighbourhood Plans which have passed referenda have statutory weight and form part of the development plan. The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider doing so is in their best interests. Neighbourhood planning groups have received over £71 million since 2013. This support has created a network of planners and groups who have the skills and expertise to prepare neighbourhood plans and to help other communities to do so. Local planning authorities have an existing duty under Paragraph 3 of Schedule 4B to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to provide advice and assistance to neighbourhood planning groups. They can also, at their discretion taking into account their constituents’ needs and priorities, provide funding in support of neighbourhood plan preparation. As of the end of September 2025, the department was aware of c.1850 made neighbourhood plans in England. The Department is aware of 23 neighbourhood plans which have been adopted in Lancashire since 2015, of which 2 were in the Fylde constituency.

What estimate he has made of the number of clean energy jobs created by the Great British Energy solar programme to date.

The Great British Energy Solar scheme is part of a wider initiative to deliver affordable, homegrown power and support clean energy job creation across the UK. Backed by £255 million in government investment, GBE Solar is delivering rooftop solar to hundreds of schools, NHS trusts, and military sites, reducing energy bills and supporting public services, especially in deprived areas. While we are currently unable to estimate the number of jobs attributable to the scheme, GBE Solar is directly contributing to workforce growth in renewables and construction, including skilled roles in installation and maintenance, and is working with further education colleges to promote careers in clean energy.