Written questions by Goldsborough.

How many new applications have been made to the Child Maintenance Service in each of the last ten years.

The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the latest statistics are currently available to June 2025. Table 1 of the latest National tables includes the information on the total applications received by CMS for each of the last five quarters, from quarter ending June 2024 to quarter ending June 2025. Statistics from August 2016 to March 2024 are available in ‘Table 1’ in the ‘National tables’ of previous releases and the resulting annual data, from August 2016 to June 2025, has been provided in the table below. Annual Applications to the Child Maintenance Service, Great Britain, August 2016 to June 2025

Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff have been employed by the Dover Port Health Authority in each of the last 20 years.

Defra does not hold this information. Dover District Council is designated as port health authority for the Port of Dover.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing levels of funding and (b) widening the responsibilities for the Border Force to include animal products originating from the rest of world.

Border Force is funded by Home Office. Defra has committed £3.1 million for Dover Port Health Authority to work in partnership with Border Force in seizing meat smuggled via the Port of Dover in 2025/26, additional to over £9 million of funding provided to date. Border Force is responsible for enforcing the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 in England in relation to animal products in any place, other than Border Control Posts, where goods are subject to customs supervision.

How many staff working days have been lost to sick leave in the Child Maintenance Service in each of the last 10 years.

The information is not available for the whole period requested. The data is only available from October 2023. This is due to changes in departmental reporting hierarchies.

What the average length of time was that staff had been employed in the Child Maintenance Service in each of the last 10 years.

The information requested for the average length of time in service is not held at Child Maintenance Service level. It is only available at Department for Work and Pension level.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department has provided for (a) biosecurity and (b) food importation public awareness campaigns in each of the last 10 calendar years.

Marketing and campaign activity is based on need and in-year circumstances. The vast majority of communications is delivered through no-cost communications channels owned by the department (such as outreach to partner organisations, webinars or content posted to Defra social media channels) and earned communications (such as media coverage).

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of Mandatory Provident Fund saving being withheld from Hong Kong BNO visa holders.

We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the BN(O) route are having difficulties accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong.  Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority has declared that they will not accept the BN(O) passport or its associated visa as evidence in support of an application for early withdrawal of the Fund because they claim it does not prove permanent departure from Hong Kong. We have called on the Hong Kong authorities to work with trustees to find an immediate solution.  Ministers have raised the issue directly with Hong Kong's Chief Secretary and Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury respectively this year, and we will continue to do so.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle antisocial behaviour in libraries.

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities, and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour. It is for local areas to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.Libraries aim to deliver their services and activities within a safe and comfortable environment. The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 provides for a local authority to make byelaws regulating the use of and the conduct of persons in their public libraries.The revised public library byelaws for England were published in March 2025, following close consultation between DCMS and Libraries Connected. The byelaws are intended to help libraries deliver their service within a safe and comfortable environment, to safeguard library property and to make libraries places everyone can enjoy. They assist the library workforce to deal with disruptive behaviour and allow for flexibility in dealing with local concerns.

Whether she has considered taking legislative steps to ensure that leaders of UK political parties publish their tax returns.

Under the MPs Code of Conduct, the Leaders of UK political parties who are MPs are required to declare any financial interest which might reasonably be thought to influence their actions, however there is no requirement in the parliamentary rules for Leaders, or any other MP, to publish their tax returns. The Government has no plans to introduce requirements for the leaders of UK political parties to publish their tax returns.

What estimate her Department has made of the financial cost of heritage crime in each of the last 10 years.

This Government recognises the distress and disruption that heritage theft and vandalism can cause to local communities. We have supported the work of Historic England which leads on a number of initiatives to tackle heritage crime, particularly theft from church roofs and other buildings primarily in rural locations.We all have a part to play in preventing heritage crime. For example, the Heritage Watch scheme, a project brought together by Historic England and Country Eye Ltd encourages communities and other partners to get involved in protecting heritage buildings, by knowing how to spot the signs a crime has taken place and making it easier for local residents to report these crimes.There is no separate recording code to disaggregate ‘heritage crime’ from the broader range of offences involved, such as theft, vandalism, arson and anti-social behaviour. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other agencies with a range of powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, including damage to heritage sites caused by vandalism or graffiti.

What steps she is taking through the Road Safety Strategy to reduce fatalities on rural roads.

This Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More details will be set out in due course.

What steps she is taking to reduce the number of young people classed as NEET in South Norfolk constituency.

Local authorities have statutory duties to support young people into education and training, including identifying and helping those who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET).Under the September Guarantee, local authorities are required to ensure that all 16 and 17-year-olds receive an offer of a suitable place to continue in education or training. The government monitors NEET data and liaises with local authorities regarding their duty to track and support young people who are NEET, or are at risk of becoming NEET.We have invested over £7.5 billion in 16 to 19 programme funding during the 2024/25 academic year. However, we are aware of the particular challenges around access to education and training in Norfolk which relate to the local provider market. Departmental officials are working closely with these local authorities to actively address the issues.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Skilled Workers visa route on recruitment in (a) the biological sciences research sector, (b) universities and (c) the NHS.

On 12 May, we published our Immigration White Paper, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. We have now made Immigration Rules changes to bring the first of these reforms into effect.It is our intention to publish an Impact Assessment (IA) at the earliest opportunity. A technical annex (www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-technical-annex) was published alongside the Immigration White Paper setting out the impact of some of the key policy changes.

What steps the Treasury is taking to support the biological sciences research sector through the 10 Year UK Infrastructure strategy, published in June 2025.

The 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy is core to delivering the Government’s growth mission and supporting our priority growth sectors, including life sciences. The Strategy will fund at least £725 billion for infrastructure over the next decade and transform how projects are planned and delivered. This includes investment of £2.5 billion to continue delivery of East West Rail in full, enabling the growth of the Oxford to Cambridge corridor and support the world class life sciences, digital and technology sectors. In addition to the infrastructure strategy, we launched our Life Sciences Sector Plan, supported by over £2 billion of funding. The includes investing up to £600 million in the Health Data Research Service alongside Wellcome Trust, and committing up to £520 million to the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, supporting the UK to become a medical research powerhouse and the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the readiness of (a) her Department and (b) the Animal and Plant Health Agency for any potential increase in the number of Avian Influenza cases in the next 6 months.

APHA regularly monitors the prevalence and spread of avian influenza, supported by epidemiological modelling, during critical disease transmission periods. This information is used to help with scenario planning and the allocation of resource. APHA also keeps readiness to respond under review in its animal disease readiness index. Defra has robust, well-established protocols for exotic disease response, outlined in its annually updated Contingency Plan for Exotic Notifiable Diseases, including how resource might be increased to deal with additional demand through mutual aid across Government. As a department Defra has strengthened its approach to resilience over the past few years. This approach has been reviewed by the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA), who said it was well-structured, comprehensive, aligned with key frameworks, and supported by strong governance, communication, and lessons management processes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of holding an inquiry with HSBC and Standard Chartered on the withholding of the Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong BNO visa holders.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 September to question 73901.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Hong Kong BNO immigration pathway on diplomatic relations with (a) China, (b) NATO allies and (c) Ukraine.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 September to Question 76322.

If her Department will make an assessment of the proportion of inmates on the women’s estate who have immediate access to menstrual products in their cells.

All women in prison have access to menstrual products, which are typically stored in locations that allow women to collect items themselves as needed. They are then able to store them in their cells. In circumstances – such as overnight – where a woman is confined to her cell and does not have access to menstrual products, she can alert a member of staff, who will ensure that appropriate provision is made without delay.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered increasing funding for the Capital Grants scheme, in the context of levels of demand.

As of 1 August, strong demand for the Government’s £150 million Capital Grant offer means that all available funds for this round have now been allocated. We plan to make further improvements to the offer for future rounds. We expect to open a new round for farmers to secure more funding during 2026. Other Countryside Stewardship capital grants which remain open for applications now are Woodland Tree Health grants, Capital grant plans, woodland management plans, Protection and Infrastructure grants and Higher Tier capital grants.

How many psychologists have been employed on (a) the secure estate, (b) the open estate and (c) young offenders’ institutions in each of the last 10 financial years.

The requested information is published in Table 15 of the HM Prison & Probation Service Workforce Statistics, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-prison-probation-service-workforce-statistics.Psychologists in HM Prison and Probation Service are organised into regional teams. Although each is based at an individual establishment, they work across sites, depending upon demand.A breakdown of establishments by category can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers.