Written questions by Snowden.

How many staff previously employed in Commissioning Support Units are without allocated work but continue to receive full pay.

The Department recognises that the current process of transition for Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) directly impacts staff. NHS England is working to support CSUs as part of the change process, and the Department and NHS England are committed to treating people with the care, respect, and fairness they are owed throughout this process. The Government is committed to the modernisation of the National Health Service as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including abolishing CSUs as part of the refocussing of the role of integrated care boards on strategic commissioning. This will help support delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future. No formal assessment has yet been made about the number of staff employed in CSUs without allocated work.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that staff impacted by the abolition of Commissioning Support Units are kept informed of their (a) employment status and (b) future prospects.

The Department recognises that the current process of transition for Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) directly impacts staff. NHS England is working to support CSUs as part of the change process, and the Department and NHS England are committed to treating people with the care, respect, and fairness they are owed throughout this process. The Government is committed to the modernisation of the National Health Service as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including abolishing CSUs as part of the refocussing of the role of integrated care boards on strategic commissioning. This will help support delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future. No formal assessment has yet been made about the number of staff employed in CSUs without allocated work.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the abolition of Commissioning Support Units on (a) staffing levels and (b) management capacity within NHS England.

The Department recognises that the current process of transition for Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) directly impacts staff. NHS England is working to support CSUs as part of the change process, and the Department and NHS England are committed to treating people with the care, respect, and fairness they are owed throughout this process. The Government is committed to the modernisation of the National Health Service as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, including abolishing CSUs as part of the refocussing of the role of integrated care boards on strategic commissioning. This will help support delivery of the three shifts, from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention, that are needed to build a health service fit for the future. No formal assessment has yet been made about the number of staff employed in CSUs without allocated work.

What the average age of the prison estate is; and how many prisons are rated as being in (a) poor and (b) very poor condition.

The average age of a currently operating prison in England and Wales is c. 82 years. In reality, there have been more recent additions/replacements to many existing establishments. Information on the condition of establishments, and how they are rated, is available at: Prison Estate Conditions Survey Programme Summary Information - GOV.UK.

How much Lancashire County Council has received in adult skills funding since 1 July 2024.

Lancashire County Council do not receive either Adult Skills Fund (ASF) or Advanced Learner Loans from the Department for Education, nor do they receive an ASF allocation from any Strategic Authorities who have devolved ASF. It should be noted that Lancashire County Council is not the only council in Lancashire, and the other councils may receive an ASF allocation. Funding is not devolved in Lancashire, and therefore providers are directly funded by the Department. Lancashire County Council has received Skills Bootcamps allocations from the Department for Education in Financial Year 24-25 and Financial Year 25-26. The allocated amount for Lancashire in Financial Year 24-25 was £6,442,906, and in Financial Year 25-26 it was £7,034,047.09 (including an element for additional construction). Skills Bootcamps funding allocations: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK The total grant allocated represents the maximum amount allocated. The Department for Education does not expect areas to spend their full allocation. Areas typically spend about 50% to 60% of their allocation due to the payment milestone approach.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 79081 on Tourism, what her Department's objectives are for the Local Visitor Economy Partnership programme; and how her Department plans to measure the effectiveness of the programme (a) locally and (b) nationally.

The purpose of the LVEP programme is to attract investment and ultimately drive growth, training, and help places tell their own unique stories to visitors. Through a collaborative approach that unites local authorities, businesses and regional partners, LVEPs enhance the quality of the visitor offer and ensure that the positive impacts of tourism are distributed widely across communities. economy together. 37 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) are currently accredited across England, covering a broad mix of urban, rural and coastal destinations. In some other places, such as Bedfordshire, LVEPs are still in development. These areas are still working through how best to organise their destination management functions, align multiple local authorities, and secure the long-term funding and governance arrangements required for accreditation. The current geographical distribution reflects a strong spread of partnerships across regions, and the Department continues to work with VisitEngland to provide guidance, regional development support and resources to all destinations. VisitEngland offers dedicated assistance through Regional Development Leads and programme tools to help local areas strengthen governance, build capability and work towards accreditation. This support is available to both accredited and aspiring LVEP areas, including Bedfordshire. LVEP performance is monitored locally through delivery plans and nationally through evaluation by VisitEngland. VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s Business Plan 2025-26 allocated £1.5 million to supporting regional and local growth. This includes working with LVEPs to achieve local growth strategies and supporting the LVEP structure. VisitEngland’s regional leads and the regional pilots in the NorthEast and West Midlands have also benefited from a direct £1.35 million funding boost in 2025/26 to help the regions attract even more tourists and investment to the UK.

What steps his Department is taking to use technology to improve (a) prison management and (b) prisoner monitoring.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to developing modern digital platforms and processes to improve prison management and prisoner monitoring. The Ministry of Justice is continuing to deploy Digital Prison Service (DPS) which will provide a new set of digital services to manage and record data on offenders, which will replace the legacy system NOMIS.

With reference to page 64 of the 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of complying with mandatory targets to increase the healthiness of sales in communities on businesses.

As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.With measures like mandatory business reporting and targets, we are moving to a more strategic, outcomes-based approach focussing on reducing less healthy food consumption, in line with United Kingdom dietary guidelines. Businesses will have the freedom to decide how to achieve the targets, through improving products, changing shop layouts, and introducing new healthy products or changing incentive/loyalty schemes to make healthy products available to all.The Government will collaborate with industry to minimise the impact of the regulatory burden on businesses, from clarity of policy design to sufficient lead in time for implementation of both mandatory reporting and targets.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to introduce a national standard or accreditation scheme for consultants conducting fire risk and structural integrity assessments under the Building Safety Act 2022.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry report made recommendations for reform relating to certain built environment professions, including regulation of fire engineers and mandatory accreditation of fire risk assessors. We have accepted these recommendations in full. We are aware of the importance of competence, accountability and good regulation to achieve a safer built environment and will continue to engage with the sector on this. Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022 requires that building safety risks in Higher Risk Buildings are assessed, managed and controlled.  The assessment must be suitable and sufficient and all reasonable steps must be taken to manage and control the building safety risks.  Along with the Building Safety Regulator we keep under review the operation of the Building Assessment Certificate regime to ensure appropriate management of risks in Higher Risk Buildings.

Whether her Department has conducted any recent reviews of the harms associated with ketamine use and its current legal classification.

Ketamine is a dangerous substance, which can cause irreversible bladder damage and in some cases death. Ministers are concerned about the harms ketamine causes and on 16 October 2025 the Department for Health and Social Care launched a campaign to alert young people to its dangers.In January 2025 the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to provide an updated harms assessment of ketamine, and advice on reducing those harms, and in particular whether ketamine should be moved from Class B to Class A within the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The ACMD carried out a public call for evidence in August and we expect to receive its report soon. We will then carefully consider its recommendations.

If she will make an assessment of the effectiveness police operation to find Brahim Kaddour-Cherif.

The Government fully supports the police to use all of the powers available to them to track and arrest fugitives that have been released in error from the prison estate. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif has been arrested and returned to custody.The police are operationally independently of government and therefore the Home Office will not comment on a specific policing operation.

Communities and Local Government, whether he has had recent discussions with Lancashire County Council on inactive landlords in that area. Lancashire.

My Department has had no recent discussions with Lancashire County Council regarding ‘inactive’ landlords in Lancashire.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with representatives of the build-to-rent sector on the effect of regulatory delays on property transactions and investment inflows.

My Department engages regularly with the sector on a range of issues.

With reference to page 25 of the Modern Industrial Strategy: Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, published on 23 June 2025, what steps her Department is taking to support access to (a) skills courses and (b) technical colleges for food and drink manufacturers.

Our Post-16 education and skills white paper sets out plans to equip people with the skills and knowledge to succeed, drive growth, and support national renewal. We are introducing rigorous new qualifications so that all learners have access to high quality study pathways and can progress to employment or further study. Apprenticeships are being transformed with a new growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors launched in August, shorter apprenticeships available, and short, flexible training courses starting April 2026 to meet business needs.We are also establishing technical excellence colleges (TECs) in the Industrial Strategy growth-driving sectors. This includes 4 advanced manufacturing TECs, with delivery beginning from April 2026. Advanced Manufacturing TECs will help secure a skilled workforce pipeline and will focus on skills provision for key subsector specialisms such as agri-tech, which may include supporting improvements to the efficiency and productivity of food production, ultimately benefiting the food and drink manufacturing industry.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with regional leaders on supporting tourism growth outside London.

DCMS is committed to ensuring that tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country and particularly in coastal areas including Fylde, home to attractions including Lytham St Annes and the historic Lytham Hall.A number of regional leaders are represented in the joint industry and Government-led Visitor Economy Advisory Council, which I co-chair. In this way, the views of regional leaders help to inform and shape Government policy. The Council is also helping to deliver the forthcoming sector growth plan which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth.The Lancashire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), which includes the constituency of Fylde, works collaboratively with both local authority and private sector partners to communicate investment opportunities and to showcase Lancashire’s strengths as a place to live, work, study and invest in, as well as a premier destination for visitors.

Whether West Lindsey District Council has raised legal objections with her Department on housing asylum seekers at RAF Scampton.

Following a review, this Government announced the discontinuation of plans to use former RAF Scampton as asylum accommodation, in September 2024.The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment not to use former RAF Scampton for asylum accommodation on 25 September 2025.The Government is now going through the process of disposing of the site on the open market.

What mechanisms his Department has put in place to allow people to report (a) poor performance and (b) untidy workmanship from Government contractors.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for monitoring contract performance. The Procurement Act 2023 will require contracting authorities to publish Key Performance Indicators and performance against them on major contracts. These will be published on the Central Digital Platform. Under the Procurement Act, poor performance has been established as a new discretionary exclusion ground, making it easier for contracting authorities to exclude suppliers who have under-performed on other relevant contracts. Contracting authorities must notify the Procurement Review Unit (PRU) of any supplier exclusions via its page on gov.uk.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of public confidence in Government-backed net zero projects.

79% of the UK public are concerned about climate change [1], and are aware of and support the government’s net zero target [2]. We have a credible plan for delivering net zero. The Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan sets out how the UK will continue to reduce emissions in a way that lowers bills and secures good jobs, as well as bringing warmer homes, cleaner air and increased access to nature – delivering tangible improvements to the everyday lives of people now and for generations to come.[1] Public Attitudes Tracker, Summer 2025[2] 91% are aware of UK’s net zero goal (Public Attitudes Tracker, Summer 2025) and 63% support it (Climate barometer 2025)

Whether her Department plans to review the use of (a) confidentiality clauses and (b) NDAs in consumer redress agreements involving alleged (i) harm or (ii) injury to animals.

DBT does not currently have any plans to review consumer redress agreements involving alleged harm or injury to animals.The MoJ recently introduced an amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill which ensures that confidentiality clauses or NDAs used in any context cannot be legally enforced to the extent that they purport to prevent victims and direct witnesses of crime (including those who reasonably believe they fall into these categories), from making allegations of, or disclosing information relating to, relevant criminal conduct. This could include any animal cruelty which constitutes criminal behaviour.Earlier this year, DBT also announced reform in the Employment Rights Bill to address the misuse of NDAs in cases of relevant harassment and discrimination. The government will be consulting on this reform in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that VAT policy does not discourage participation in Remembrance events organised by (a) charities and (b) local authorities.

The Government recognises the importance of Remembrance events and the role they play in honouring those who have served. Where a charity chooses to offer its goods or services for free and invite voluntary donations, no VAT is charged. Charities also rightly enjoy generous tax reliefs, worth over £6 billion in 2024, including Gift Aid, exemptions from corporation tax and a number of VAT reliefs to support fund-raising activities. However, where charities sell goods and services, for example charging a set price, and the charity is VAT registered, it must charge VAT unless a VAT relief is available. HMRC does not hold information on VAT charged on specific products or services. This is because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level within their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.