Written questions by Snowden.

What assessment she has made of the number of households that will become eligible for the Warm Home Discount following her Department's planned changes to the eligibility criteria in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The Warm Home Discount statistics for 2024-25 were published on 26th June 2025. These statistics cover receipt of the WHD for winter 2024/25. Estimates of future eligibility are not available at county or constituency level. Across Great Britain, we will be extending the WHD to an estimated additional 2.7 million households and bringing the overall number of households supported to around 6 million.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for SEND provision in mainstream schools.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lancashire County Council has been allocated £19.6 million.This funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure NHS trusts provide consistent (a) care and (b) guidance to intended (i) parents and (ii) surrogates.

The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family. To support intended parents and surrogates, the Department has published the guidance Care in surrogacy: guidance for the care of surrogates and intended parents in surrogate births in England and Wales, which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/having-a-child-through-surrogacy/care-in-surrogacy-guidance-for-the-care-of-surrogates-and-intended-parents-in-surrogate-births-in-england-and-wales

Media and Sport, what funding is available for (a) local authorities and (b) other organisations to (i) maintain and (ii) develop (A) heritage and (B) leisure buildings.

Organisations are able to apply for funding to maintain and develop heritage buildings through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Arms-Length Bodies.The National Lottery Heritage Fund awards grants ranging from £3,000 to over £5 million for projects that conserve and enhance heritage, making it accessible to everyone. Last year it invested £330 million. Historic England, the government’s statutory advisor on the historic environment, offers grants for the repair and conservation of historic buildings, monuments, and landscapes that are of national importance.In February of this year, the Secretary of State announced an additional £20 million in funding for the heritage sector, more than doubling the support for Heritage at Risk to £15 million.The Architectural Heritage Fund is delivering the £4.85m Heritage Revival Fund, which supports community organisations to take ownership of, adapt and reuse heritage assets. In addition, DCMS directly funds the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship.The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions. Additional funding for grassroots sport facilities is also provided through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which is delivering £98 million in funding across the UK in 2025/26.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of available bus routes for residents accessing hospital appointments in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The government recognises the importance of accessible, frequent and affordable bus services in keeping communities connected and ensuring access to vital services, including hospital appointments. Buses in England outside London were deregulated by the Transport Act 1985 and at present are largely run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision. The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them, including in Fylde, Lancashire and right across England. In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which Lancashire Council has been allocated £27 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to bus services in this Spending Review by confirming continued funding each year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward bus franchising pilots in areas including York and North Yorkshire, and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.

What support is available to local authorities to meet demand for SEND provision.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lancashire County Council has been allocated £19.6 million.This funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to residents of Fylde constituency who are attempting to evacuate from Israel.

As the Foreign Secretary announced in the House of Commons our first flight departed Tel Aviv on 23 June. Further flights departed on 24 June, 25 June, 26 June, and 29 June.The situation in the Middle East remains very grave and volatile. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) teams are working around the clock to support British nationals. Our staff have also reinforced this capacity by rapidly deploying specialist staff from London. Across the region FCDO embassy staff are focused on this crisis.We have updated our travel advice to advise against all travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), and Royal Air Force flights are departing from Israel to transport vulnerable British nationals and their dependents safely back to the UK. We are working around the clock to secure more flights and bring more people home based upon demand and the prevailing security situation. British nationals should continue to register their presence in Israel and the OPTs to be contacted with further guidance on these flights.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the number of places at schools equipped to accommodate special educational needs.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lancashire County Council has been allocated £19.6 million.This funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

Whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the (a) physical and (b) mental health outcomes of women who act as surrogates.

Ensuring that women are healthy during their pregnancy is important for ensuring good outcomes for women and babies. This includes surrogates, also known as gestational carriers. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee reviews the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including surrogates. The last 10 years of evidence were recently reviewed, and further information on the findings of this review can be found at the following link:https://www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/our-authority-committees-and-panels/scientific-and-clinical-advances-advisory-committee-scaac/#hidden-text-79513bc0-43bb-4f5d-8aa7-fb3fe2c792e0-1General practitioners are contractually required to offer a maternal consultation between six and eight weeks postnatally which all women, including surrogates, are entitled to. This consultation should be holistic and balance how physical and mental issues can impact each other. The consultation’s focus includes a review of the mother’s mental health and general wellbeing, and the return to physical health following childbirth and pregnancy.

With reference to the Law Commission report entitled Building families through surrogacy: a new law, published on 28 March 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of implementing the recommendation on taking away a mother’s parental rights at birth* on levels of risk of adverse mental health effects for the mother should she change her mind after birth.

The Ministry of Justice has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of implementing this recommendation. The Government will publish a response in due course. Any consideration of this specific recommendation and its implications would form part of this wider work.

Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing booking systems at Household Waste Recovery Centres on fly tipping.

This Government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the impact of introducing booking systems at Household Waste Recovery Centres (HWRCs) on fly-tipping.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 June to Question 60125 on Armed Forces: Buildings, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing formal (a) criteria and (b) guidelines for leasing its properties to third parties.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has formal criteria and guidelines for the leasing of properties to third parties. Criteria and guidelines for Service Family Accommodation (SFA) leased to non-military personnel is set out in the MOD’s contract with Pinnacle Service Families. A separate process is in place for SFA that is utilised under the Afghan Resettlement Programme. The remaining leases criteria and guidelines are set out in Joint Service Publication 850.

If he will make it his policy to work with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to improve access to funding for people whose homes require adaptations for health reasons.

In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We have provided an additional £172 million across this and the last financial year to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government share policy responsibility for the DFG. We also work with other Government departments more widely on relevant issues.We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG and are currently considering the findings.

How many complaints have been (a) received and (b) resolved from residents living in his Department's properties that are leased to third parties in the last 12 months.

The number of complaints received and resolved for third parties leasing Ministry of Defence properties in the last 12 months is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

What steps she is taking to help reduce fatalities involving young drivers in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are exploring options to tackle the root causes of this. THINK!, the Government’s flagship road safety campaign aims to change attitudes and behaviours among those at risk of injury on our roads. The primary audience for THINK! is young men aged 17-24. The campaign runs nationally across England and Wales targeting priority issues such as drink driving and speeding, as well as communicating key policy interventions. Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing its Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to modernise public transport technology for buses in Fylde constituency.

The government is committed to delivering better bus services for passengers and has confirmed investment of £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £712 million allocated to local authorities which can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, including modernising the technology used to support bus services. Lancashire County Council has been allocated over £27 million of this funding. The government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in buses at the Spending Review by confirming continued funding each year to maintain and improve vital bus services, including taking forward franchising pilots and extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027. The Spending Review also confirmed £2.3 billion through the Local Transport Grant over the Spending Review period for local transport improvements in places outside areas receiving Transport for City Regions settlements, which could include supporting improvements to bus technology and infrastructure. Lancashire County Council have been allocated £215 million of this funding over the financial years 2026-2030.

What discussions she has had with (a) local authorities and (b) communities in Lancashire on relocation plans for migrants.

The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders including in Lancashire, to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels, by the end of this Parliament.

What steps his Department is taking to support HIV (a) prevention and (b) care services in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.

The Government is committed to ending new transmissions of HIV in England by 2030 and is developing the new HIV Action Plan which we aim to publish this year. The plan will address ways to improve and support HIV prevention and HIV care services across the whole of England, including in Lancashire and the Flyde constituency.Local authorities such as the Lancashire County Council are responsible for commissioning comprehensive open access to sexual health services, including HIV prevention. It is for individual local authorities to commission HIV prevention services that best suit their population. In 2025/26, the Department has increased funding through the Public Health Grant to £3.858 billion, providing local authorities with an average 3% real terms increase, the biggest real-terms increase after nearly a decade of reduced spending.NHS England is responsible for providing HIV treatment and care, which continues to have very high coverage and effectiveness across England. Commissioning responsibility for adult specialist services for people living with HIV has been delegated by NHS England to the integrated care boards.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 60613 on Undocumented Migrants: Lancashire, what criteria her Department uses to determine suitable (a) locations and (b) accommodation types for relocating irregular migrants housed in hotels in Lancashire.

The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders including in Lancashire, to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels, by the end of this Parliament.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to NHS-funded fertility treatment in Fylde constituency.

We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations for access to National Health Service-funded treatment are still appropriate.In the light of broader pressures on the NHS and on-going changes within NHS England, we have been looking again at achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services and fairness for all affected couples.