Written questions by Snowden.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to provide an answer to Question 87476 on Pets: Shops.

A response was published to Question 87476 on Tuesday 18 November here: PQ 87476.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential risks cryptocurrency market volatility poses to financial stability.

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying and monitoring risks to UK financial stability. The FPC’s latest Record (October 2025) sets out its views on the financial stability outlook, including its assessment of market related risks. The government intends to bring forward legislation this year to create a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK. The UK also continues to play an active role internationally on work to respond to the global challenges and opportunities posed by digital asset innovation, including potential risks to financial stability, through fora such as the Financial Stability Board.

Whether the her Department will review the tax treatment of capital gains on cryptocurrency transactions to ensure clarity and compliance.

The government recognises the significant potential for cryptoassets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets. We are committed to making the UK a world leading destination for cryptoassets. Noting the novel and evolving nature of cryptoassets, it is right that the government keeps their tax treatment under review.

What assessment has been made of police and enforcement capacity to investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes, including scams, ransomware payments, and illicit trading platforms.

The UK government has strengthened UK policing capabilities to tackle cryptocurrency-related crime effectively.Through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (2023), law enforcement agencies (LEAs) gained new powers to seize illicit cryptoassets. As set out in the UK’s National Risk Assessment (NRA) of Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorist Financing (TF) 20251, this is supported by the recruitment of 475 new financial investigators across UK law enforcement, investment in advanced crypto forensic tracing technologies for LEAs, provision of specialist training for officers in crypto investigations and the creation of public-private operational crypto partnerships. Together, these measures enhance the UK’s ability to investigate cryptoasset crimes of all types and confiscate criminal proceeds.This year LEAs also received £3.2m of additional funding through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) Top Slice grant to tackle crypto crime through innovative projects which further build capability within the LEA system. A further c£3.9m of funding is committed for next year. Monitored by the Home Office, these projects strengthen efforts to investigate and seize crypto attributed to crime.The Home Office is developing legislative proposals to counter ransomware, which will provide law enforcement and operational partners with a robust evidence base and understanding of the ransomware payment landscape to support investigations and wider activity. The UK has led significant disruptions against ransomware gangs and their criminal ecosystem. In October 2024, we sanctioned 16 members of the prolific cyber-crime gang, Evil Corp, and in February 2025, UK sanctions targeted ZSERVERS, a prolific Russian cybercrime entity responsible for facilitating crippling ransomware attacks globally.The Government will also soon publish a new fraud strategy designed to tackle all types of scams, including those involving cryptocurrencies.1National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2025 - GOV.UK

With reference to the reforms announced in her Department's press release entitled Schools to cut bills with Great British Energy solar panels, published on 17 November 2025, will schools be required to bear any maintenance costs for the solar panels.

The department has used a delivery model which sees schools supported throughout the scheme, so whilst schools will be required to bear any maintenance costs for solar photovoltaics installed on their roofs, this is expected to be affordable from savings generated.Solar installs are already producing significant savings for schools with estimates suggesting that on average, a typical school could save up to £25,000 per year if they have solar panels with complementary technologies installed.The programme is on track with new installations at additional schools and colleges each month. Some contracts are still in procurement and, owing to the commercial sensitivity of this, it would not be appropriate to disclose evolving spend to date at this stage.

With reference to the reforms announced in her Department's press release entitled Schools to cut bills with Great British Energy solar panels, published on 17 November 2025, how much of the £100 million funding has been spent, and how much remains unallocated to date.

The department has used a delivery model which sees schools supported throughout the scheme, so whilst schools will be required to bear any maintenance costs for solar photovoltaics installed on their roofs, this is expected to be affordable from savings generated.Solar installs are already producing significant savings for schools with estimates suggesting that on average, a typical school could save up to £25,000 per year if they have solar panels with complementary technologies installed.The programme is on track with new installations at additional schools and colleges each month. Some contracts are still in procurement and, owing to the commercial sensitivity of this, it would not be appropriate to disclose evolving spend to date at this stage.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of prolonged dry weather on wildlife and natural habitats in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.

Following the prolonged dry weather incident of 2025 the Environment Agency (EA) responded to numerous dry weather-related environmental incidents. These included incidents in: a) FyldeThe Fisheries Operations Team carried out a fish rescue at a pond near Larkholme in May, following reports of fish mortalities. b) wider LancashireThe EA attended multiple reports of fish in distress / mortalities, algal blooms and low water levels in the Leeds Liverpool canal. Fish rescues were carried out (where necessary) along with advice and guidance to fishery owners. Following the driest February to April since 1929, most drought reported incidents were confined to April and May. Intermittent rainfall from May onwards helped reduce environmental impacts, with the EA responding to just one dry weather incident in July in Lancashire.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of local authorities currently use digital waste tracking services.

The Digital Waste Tracking Service goes live from April 2026 for waste receivers, with requirements to digitally track waste received becoming mandatory in October 2026. Waste operators currently use multiple systems – some paper based and others digital - to collect certain elements of waste tracking data. By introducing digital waste tracking, data will be collected centrally in near real time, making it much more difficult for rogue operators to compete in the industry and commit waste crime. As part of our user research, it has been shown that the large majority of local authority waste disposal and waste collection authorities use third party contractors to manage waste in their areas, even if they are the holder of the environmental permit. As such it is difficult to quantify the number of local authorities that currently run their services in-house. From April 2027, subject to funding, Digital Waste Tracking will onboard other waste operators including carriers which will provide an end to end view of how waste moves through the system.

What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her budget on the pubs and brewing sector.

The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way. The government does not comment on speculation outside of fiscal events.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of delaying publishing provisional funding allocations will have any impact on schools’ and local authorities’ budget planning for 2026-27.

The department published the financial year 2026/27 schools and central school services national funding formula (NFF) on 19 November. High needs allocations will follow shortly.

If she has make an assessment of the potential impact of reforming business rates on small pubs and breweries.

In April 2026, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible properties, including pubs, benefit from much-needed certainty and support. Breweries that are wholly or mainly open to visiting members of the public (for instance, mainly used as a bar or for providing tours to the public) will also benefit from the lower multipliers. The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context, into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Under the previous Government, RHL relief was due to end entirely in April 2025, and so by extending it, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300.

What the current average waiting time is for a driving (a) practical and (b) test for motor cars; and if she will set out how this compares to the pre‑covid figures.

The national average waiting time for a car practical driving test in October 2025 was 21.9 weeks. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supervise the delivery of light vehicle MOTs through approved MOT garages. As these are private garages, the DVSA does not collate overall average waiting time data for MOTs.

With reference to paragraph 22 of the report entitled The UK’s F-35 capability, HC 989, published by the National Audit Office on 11 July 2025, if he will set out the updated estimate of the whole‑life cost of the (a) equipment, (b) personnel, (c) infrastructure, (d) fuel, (e) ammunition and (f) total cost of the F‑35 programme.

The F-35 programme reports costs to the Departments and National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) policy as a Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). My Department will address the Public Accounts Committee recommendations in the formal Government response to the Committee in due course.

With reference to paragraph 2.6 of the report entitled The UK’s F-35 capability, HC 989, published by the National Audit Office on 11 July 2025, what steps are being taken to address personnel shortfalls within the F‑35 programme.

We inherited a retention and recruitment crisis from the last Government and are determined to fix it. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has introduced a programme of surging recruitment for the RAF so that it returns to workforce balance across every specialisation. This activity includes a significant focus on the engineer profession where, over the last two years, the RAF has offered joining bonuses and increased the capacity of Technical Training Schools to enable more recruits to be trained. To improve retention, the RAF has implemented a Financial Retention Incentive for engineers. The recruitment and retention of personnel remains one of the top two priorities for the Chief of the Defence Staff.

With reference to the UK Health Security Agency's news story entitled Nearly 400 antibiotic-resistant infections each week in 2024, published on 13 November 2025, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the higher rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in more deprived communities.

Actions taken to tackle higher rates of resistant infections in more deprived communities include a health inequalities outcome within the latest United Kingdom antimicrobial resistance (AMR) national action plan, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-5-year-action-plan-for-antimicrobial-resistance-2024-to-2029/confronting-antimicrobial-resistance-2024-to-2029Commitments under this outcome aim to improve data reporting on health inequalities in AMR and antibiotic use, publish a toolkit of resources that supports organisations to develop interventions, and implement and evaluate interventions to address inequalities in AMR.NHS England encourages regions and integrated care boards to focus on building trust to increase the uptake of vaccinations. They work with community and faith leaders particularly in areas of high deprivation, using a make every contact count approach.

When she expects teaching of the British Sign Language GCSE to commence in schools.

The development of a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is an important step toward fostering greater recognition of BSL as a language, and we are committed to developing a qualification that benefits both students and the wider deaf community.The final subject content was published on GOV.UK in December 2023 and Ofqual’s final qualification rules were published on 13 November this year. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications which will form the basis of course content to be taught in schools and colleges.Decisions on whether to develop qualification specifications are for exam boards, and any specifications developed by exam boards will need to be accredited by Ofqual before they are available to schools.

What assessment the DVSA has made of the effect of the current 10-day cancellation period for driving tests on no-show rates.

The measures the Secretary of State for Transport, announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee. The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that many in the industry responded to. Further detail on the rationale will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course. The introduction of the 10-day cancellation period is intended to encourage responsible behaviour from learner drivers to consider their test readiness and to notify DVSA in good time if they are unable to attend.The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents less than 3% of all tests taken which accounts for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests DVSA is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) driving examiners that are supporting DVSA will be based at the driving test centre with the highest demand near their MoD base or home location.

On what evidence the DVSA based its decision to withdraw Approved Driving Instructors’ ability to book driving tests on behalf of their pupils; and whether the DVSA has assessed the likely impact of this change on (a) test readiness, (b) road safety and (c) test centre administration.

The measures the Secretary of State for Transport, announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee. The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that many in the industry responded to. Further detail on the rationale will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course. The introduction of the 10-day cancellation period is intended to encourage responsible behaviour from learner drivers to consider their test readiness and to notify DVSA in good time if they are unable to attend.The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents less than 3% of all tests taken which accounts for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests DVSA is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) driving examiners that are supporting DVSA will be based at the driving test centre with the highest demand near their MoD base or home location.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of no-fault evictions on school stability, attendance and attainment for affected children.

The department understands that insecure housing can affect a pupil’s engagement with education. Our statutory attendance guidance sets out how partners should work together to understand barriers to attendance, which includes housing support where relevant. Where a pupil is temporarily accommodated in a different local authority, the guidance is also clear that both local authorities should work together to ensure continuity of education. The statutory attendance guidance is available in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.The Renters’ Rights Act delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions from 1 May 2026. It will give renters much greater security and stability so that they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities and avoid the risk of homelessness.

What modelling her Department undertook to inform its decision to remove instructor-booked driving tests to reduce waiting times.

The measures the Secretary of State for Transport, announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee. The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that many in the industry responded to. Further detail on the rationale will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course. The introduction of the 10-day cancellation period is intended to encourage responsible behaviour from learner drivers to consider their test readiness and to notify DVSA in good time if they are unable to attend.The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents less than 3% of all tests taken which accounts for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests DVSA is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) driving examiners that are supporting DVSA will be based at the driving test centre with the highest demand near their MoD base or home location.