Written questions by Maguire.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the recycling of blister packs.

Waste is a devolved policy, and the devolved administrations have their own arrangements for household and business recycling and waste collections. There are currently no plans for blister packs to be included in the list of materials to be collected at kerbside through Simpler Recycling reforms. Modulation of pEPR fees, which will be introduced in from year 2 of the scheme, will be used to disincentivise packaging formats that are not readily recyclable.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle private parking companies issuing penalties to customers for taking too long to purchase a ticket due to (a) queues at the parking payment machine and (b) limited mobile phone/internet signal.

The Government is committed to driving up standards across the private parking sector for the benefit of motorists.The Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 places a duty on the Government to prepare a code of practice containing guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities.We hope to announce our proposals regarding the code as soon as possible.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the NHS dental contract to (a) make appointments more accessible and (b) to tackle the backlog of people waiting for NHS dental appointments.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of National Health Service dentists. There are no perfect payment systems and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system so that we deliver a system better for patients and the profession.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) expanding the base money supply and (b) other alternative monetary policy.

Monetary policy is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. This includes decisions on Bank Rate and the stock of UK government bonds held in the Asset Purchase Facility. It is for the MPC to judge how it uses its tools to maintain price stability and Bank Rate is the MPC’s primary macroeconomic tool. The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, so the government does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog of people waiting for NHS dental appointments in North Cornwall constituency.

This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For North Cornwall constituency, this is the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB. The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB is taking actions to make NHS dental care more accessible, including the commissioning of additional urgent dental care appointments across the South-West, a dental helpline for urgent advice; and an access pilot project in Cornwall to support the most vulnerable people to access an NHS dentist.

If he will commission an independent review of alternative renewable energy technologies.

The Secretary of State does not intend to commission a separate independent review of alternative renewable energy technologies. DESNZ monitors new developments through the Net Zero Innovation Programme. Additionally, since 2012 the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund has received proposals for alternative technologies, which are reviewed independently. The link to more of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-entrepeneurs-fund

What recent steps her Department has taken to (a) reduce the number of abandoned leisure boats and (b) mitigate environmental damage from those boats.

The department has taken no recent steps to address either of the two issues raised in the question. The department has issued advice in the port marine safety code around the issue of abandoned vessels, but that advice is aimed at vessels which pose a threat to safety. The department would expect that each port would use its powers in a reasonable manner to the limit of its authority to address any issue caused by abandoned leisure vessels, and would do so in would environmentally responsible way.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural communities remain connected following the digital switchover.

The digital switchover is an industry led programme. Customers in rural communities will not have their landlines migrated to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) without an available stable internet connection (VoIP only requires a minimum speed of 0.5mbps).The Government has taken several initiatives to boost rural connectivity and mobile coverage throughout the UK, including Project Gigabit, the Shared Rural Network deal with the industry, and publishing the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy 2023.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of families dependent on food banks.

The Government has committed to producing a Food Systems Strategy which will provide an opportunity to set out how the food system can deliver for growth, health and the environment. A particular focus will be ensuring that families in poverty can afford healthy food which will improve child welfare, reduce the burden on the NHS, and benefit UK productivity in the long term. Moreover, the Child Poverty Taskforce is working to publish a comprehensive strategy to tackle child poverty. This includes consideration of how the Government can tackle the key drivers of essential costs for low-income families, such as food. The Government has put in place several measures to support the households who face the greatest hardship, including the Fair Repayment Rate for debt deductions in Universal Credit, which means approximately 1.2 million families will keep more of their award each month. The Household Support Fund in England has also been extended until 31 March 2026, which will mean those most in need can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food, energy and water. We are investing over £30 million in the rollout of free breakfast clubs in every primary school, so that every child is well prepared for the school day and can achieve their full potential.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional (a) funding and (b) support for (i) local authorities and (ii) harbourmasters to (A) safely dispose of and (B) reclaim abandoned vessels.

Many ports already have powers to remove, dispose of, and recoup costs pertaining to abandoned vessels. Environmental impact is a factor that may be considered as a part of a decision to intervene. If ports do not have powers to remove vessels, they can seek additional powers if needed by means of a Harbour Revision Order As these legal avenues already exist, the Department has taken no recent action, nor plans to undertake an assessment but we continue to welcome input from stakeholders on these issues.

If she will take steps to ensure that Local Housing Allowance rates reflect rents in (a) rural and (b) urban areas.

In April 2024, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) increased to the 30th percentile of local market rents for one year at a cost of £7bn over 5 years.LHA rates are set within Broad Rental Market Areas (BRMAs), which are determined by rent officers at the Valuation Office Agency for England, Rent Officers Wales and Rent Services Scotland. There are 192 BRMAs across Great Britain.A BRMA is an area within which a person could reasonably be expected to live with regard to facilities and services for the purposes of health, education, recreation, banking and shopping. The BRMA criteria takes account of travel to and from those services by both public and private transport in both rural and urban areas.Rent Officers gather a representative sample of private rental data across the BRMA of all property types and property sizes from a range of sources. They also survey across the full year to capture current market conditions. This includes collecting a representative sample from all the local authority areas within a BRMA, including larger urban centres and more sparsely populated rural areas where relevant.

What steps he is taking to make NHS dental care more accessible for people in North Cornwall constituency.

This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For North Cornwall constituency, this is the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB. The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB is taking actions to make NHS dental care more accessible, including the commissioning of additional urgent dental care appointments across the South-West, a dental helpline for urgent advice; and an access pilot project in Cornwall to support the most vulnerable people to access an NHS dentist.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) maintaining and (b) reducing levels of fuel duty on (i) households, (ii) small businesses and (iii) the haulage sector.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned inflationary increase for 2025/26, meaning rates will remain frozen at the levels set in March 2022. This support represents a total saving for drivers in 2025/26 of around £3 billion, or £59 for the average car driver. Vans will see an average saving of £126 and heavy goods vehicles will see an average saving of nearly £1,100. Those driving more than average, which includes drivers in rural communities, will generally experience larger savings. The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme provides a 5p reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas. The areas included in the scheme demonstrate certain characteristics such as: pump prices much higher than the UK average; remoteness leading to high fuel transport costs from refinery to filling station; and relatively low sales meaning that retailers cannot benefit from bulk discounts.

What discussions his Department has had with oil and gas companies on renewables policy.

Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rises in fuel duty on rural communities.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned inflationary increase for 2025/26, meaning rates will remain frozen at the levels set in March 2022. This support represents a total saving for drivers in 2025/26 of around £3 billion, or £59 for the average car driver. Vans will see an average saving of £126 and heavy goods vehicles will see an average saving of nearly £1,100. Those driving more than average, which includes drivers in rural communities, will generally experience larger savings. The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme provides a 5p reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas. The areas included in the scheme demonstrate certain characteristics such as: pump prices much higher than the UK average; remoteness leading to high fuel transport costs from refinery to filling station; and relatively low sales meaning that retailers cannot benefit from bulk discounts.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of legislating to increase the minimum percentage of affordable housing requirement when hew housing developments are (a) planned and (b) built.

The golden rules introduced through the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 require that development on the Green Belt delivers 15 percentage points more affordable housing than the existing local plan affordable housing requirements, up to a maximum of 50% (except where the local plan requirement is already higher). We estimate that the median affordable housing target in the Green Belt will be 50%.Outside of the Green Belt, it is for local authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require affordable housing, and to reflect this in planning policies. We will consider what further steps we can take to support social and affordable housing as part of our intent to produce a set of national policies for decision making later this year.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing the Environment Agency with ring-fenced funding from the proceeds of fines placed on water companies for breaching sewage dumping regulations.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. Through the new cost recovery power in the Bill, we will enable the Environment Agency to fully recover costs for the full extent of their water company enforcement activities including prosecutions and civil sanctions, revocation notices of permits and pollution incidents. The Water Restoration Fund, which launched in April 2024, was established to reinvest water company environmental fines and penalties into projects to improve the water environment. Defra is continuing to work with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding continued reinvestment of the water company fines and penalties on water environment improvement. A final decision on this will be made when the Spending Review concludes later this year.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of attaching emergency batteries for mobile phones to telephone masts in rural areas.

Communications providers have a statutory responsibility to take measures to identify, prepare for and reduce anything that compromises the availability, performance or functionality of their networks and services. Some mobile phone masts have battery back-up so that they can continue operating despite a power outage, although the amount of back up currently varies across the access network.Ofcom have recently undertaken a public Call for Input on this issue, and in September 2024 they announced they will undertake further analysis to consider whether additional measures are needed. Government will continue working closely with Ofcom, mobile operators and the power sector to ensure there is appropriate and proportionate resilience across the network.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a protected minimum floor for Universal Credit.

The Government recognises the importance of the social security safety net and the role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay. That is why a Fair Repayment Rate will be introduced from April 2025, reducing the overall cap on Universal Credit (UC) deductions from 25% to 15%. This means approximately 1.2 million of the poorest families will benefit by an average of £420 a year. At this time, the Government have no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a protected minimum floor for Universal Credit at this time.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a detailed national registration system for leisure vessels.

The Secretary of State for Transport has not assessed this the potential merits of introducing a detailed national registration system for leisure vessels. Whilst registering on the Small Ships Register is not mandatory, small ship owners are encouraged to register their vessel. The small ships register (part 3) currently has 34,527 vessels registered.