Written questions by Dixon.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing fines paid by water companies for the Water Restoration Fund.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities. In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good. Defra is continuing to work with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding continued reinvestment of the water company fines and penalties on water environment improvement.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the baseline accessibility standard for new build homes to Part M4(2) of the building regulations.

I refer my Hon Friend to my answer to Question UIN 12990 on 25 November 2024.

What the timeline is for members of the Immediate Choice Police pension group to receive their McCloud remedy pension payments.

While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces.It is for each chief constable, in their role as schem...

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national bank of lesson and curriculum resources for primary and secondary school teachers.

The department has provided funding to Oak National Academy (Oak), a non-departmental public body, to provide free, optional and adaptable curriculum and lesson resources for primary and secondary school teachers. These resources are available on Oak’s we...

What steps his Department is taking to increase the supply of GLP-1 receptor agonist medications for diabetic patients in Shipley constituency.

There are ongoing global supply issues with some medications used to treat diabetes, and we continue to work closely with industry partners to improve the situation. Supplies of Rybelsus, which is an oral semaglutide available in tablet form, have been bo...

When her Department plans to decide (a) how and (b) when people affected by the loss of the enhanced disability premium when migrating to Universal Credit will receive the additional amount prescribed i

Regulations to provide additional transitional protection for those in receipt of Enhanced Disability premium came into force on 14th February 2024 for eligible customers to Universal Credit. The Department is fully committed to identifying and paying eli...

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2024 to Question 10637 on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, whether he plans to (a) extend the scheme and (b) offer an alternative scheme to veterans who served before May

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 30 October 2024, to Question 10637.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme available to all veterans.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 30 October 2024, to Question 10637.

Whether her Department is taking steps to provide financial support to people to make deposit payments on wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The Department for Work and Pensions are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. The Scheme is operated by the Motability Foundation. Should an individual choose to join the Motability Scheme, then Scheme ...

What number and proportion of pupils in (a) state and (b) independent schools had access arrangements for extra time during (i) GCSEs and (ii) A-Levels in the summer exams 2024.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

If she will conduct a review into apprenticeships that includes taking representations from existing functional skills teachers.

The department keeps all aspects of apprenticeships policy under review, including the English and mathematics requirements, to make sure it is striking the right balance in equipping apprentices with the right skills, without putting up unnecessary barri...

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) reduce and (b) prevent fraud against people paying Clean Air Zone charges online via fake websites.

The Government is aware of fake and fraudulent websites relating to Clean Air Zone payments and takes this matter very seriously. We continue to monitor this issue and take appropriate action. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) investigates re...

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme to all veterans.

The Ministry of Defence runs two main active no-fault compensation schemes:Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS)War Pension Scheme (WPS) The AFCS provides compensation for injury or illness caused or made worse by Service; or death caused by Service fro...

If she will make it her policy to ring-fence Business Asset Disposal Relief in the upcoming Budget.

At Autumn Budget, the government announced that it would maintain Business Asset Disposal Relief, with its £1 million lifetime limit. The Chancellor also announced that the Capital Gains Tax rate for Business Asset Disposal Relief will increase from 10% t...

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to increase statute of limitations to 20 years for faulty medical devices.

The Consumer Protection Act, which contains our product liability legislation, has been in place since 1987 and my department is indeed undertaking a review of it, during which we will consider all aspects, including those claim limits my Honourable frien...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the McCloud remedy is implemented for affected NHS workers by April 2025.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is implementing the McCloud remedy for impacted members of the NHS Pension Scheme. Remedy implementation is a complex and large-scale undertaking. The core element of the remedy will provide members with a choi...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Section 51 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, what steps his Department has taken to help British Overseas Territories establish a publicl

The FCDO has funded an expert NGO, Open Ownership, to provide technical assistance to Overseas Territory governments to establish publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership (PARBO). The UK Government has also provided legal drafting assistance ...

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2024 to Question 3887 on Conveyancing, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) speed up and (b) reduce the cost of conveyancing.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 3887 on 10 September 2024.

Whether she has had discussion with the Financial Conduct Authority on the racial disparity in motor insurance premiums identified in the Citizens Advice report, Discriminatory pricing: exploring the ethnicity penal

Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis. Under the Equality Act 2010 insurers cannot use race as a risk factor when determining the price of insuranc...

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of hoax calls to emergency services.

Making a hoax phone call to the police is a criminal offence. All calls to the Police are recorded and the number can be traced, even if withheld. Local forces regularly remind the public of the serious consequences of wasting police time.Emergency servic...