Written questions by Stephenson.

If she will make an estimate of the number of Government announcements which were made in the House of Commons prior to a Ministerial announcement in the media since July 2024.

The Ministerial Code is clear, when Parliament is in session the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to Parliament. This is an important principle that the government stands by.As of 9th July 2025 there have been 185 oral statements in 165 sitting days – more than one per day and more than in the previous session.While the Government remains committed to making the most important announcements on the floor of the House, we do need to balance this with the time available for both government and backbench business.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish the New Towns Taskforce recommendations before 23 July 2025.

The New Towns Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the amount of capital funding that public sector bodies will spend on (a) building and (b) purchasing houses between July 2024 and July 2029.

Local authority capital expenditure and financing estimates for the current financial year can be found on gov.uk here.At the Spending Review, we announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July (HCWS771).The government is also providing £950 million capital for the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund - the largest round of the fund to date – to deliver up to 5,000 homes.

If she will take steps to provide provide financial support for communities seeking to bring disused pubs back into use.

The Government recognises the important role pubs play on our high streets and in community spaces and we want to see them thrive.That is why we have funded a wide range of community assets, including pubs, through the Community Ownership Fund. On 23 December 2024, this Government announced the outcome of Round 4 of the Community Ownership Fund, the largest ever round to date which approved funds for 6 community pub projects.Through The Hospitality Support Scheme, we are working with Pub is the Hub and providing funds to help community pubs adapt to changing local needs, ensuring these vital social hubs continue delivering for their communities.As part of the English Devolution Bill, the Government will legislate to introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets, such as empty shops, pubs and community spaces. This will empower local people to bring community spaces back into community ownership and end the blight of empty premises on our high streets. More details will be announced in due course.In addition, we will soon be publishing our Small Business Strategy, which will announce further measures to support small businesses in the pub and hospitality sector which will help revitalise high streets.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the business rates system on pub closures.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. From 2026-27, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000, which will benefit almost all pubs in England. We will confirm the rates for these new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. Until these new tax rates are introduced, in 2025-26, RHL businesses will receive a 40 per cent relief on their eligible properties up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Under the previous Government, RHL relief was due to end entirely in April 2025. By extending the relief, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring landlords to update Efficiency Performance Certificates regularly.

The government is reforming Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to ensure that people, including tenants, have access to even more reliable and accurate information about the properties they are renting. Having a regularly updated EPC provides tenants with up to date information including relative energy bills and thermal comfort of their homes compared to other rental properties. More information, including the consultation stage impact assessment, can be found in the consultation ‘Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime’ on gov.uk.

How many NHS employees have a level 7 apprenticeship qualification.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question 55512 on Flood Control: Owner Occupation, if he will direct the Environment Agency to hold a community engagement event on flood risk in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Since the flooding across Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire in Autumn last year, the Environment Agency (EA) has hosted community events alongside other partner agencies. These were well received and strengthened local engagement around flood risk. In the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, the risk of flooding is predominantly from surface water or watercourses that are the responsibility of Local Authorities or Internal Drainage Boards, who would be better placed to take a lead role on community engagement around these sources of flooding. The EA is however working closely with all Flood Risk Management Authority partners to ensure communities are prepared and resilient to all sources of flood risk. They will support any community engagement events led by others wherever possible.

What estimate he has made of the level of UK investment generated by the GREAT campaign since 5 July 2024.

I refer the hon. member to the PQ 63750. The campaign uses a comprehensive evaluation framework with timeframes for results tailored to each participating organisation's activities. Evaluation results for the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign have not yet been finalised for financial year 2024/25.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question 55512 on Flood Control: Owner Occupation, how much funding (a) his Department and (b) the Environment Agency have allocated for promoting awareness of flood risk in the 2025-26 financial year.

Raising awareness of flood and coastal erosion risk is one of the Environment Agency’s (EA) key priorities and supports actions set out in the National FCERM Strategy. Flood resilience engagement advisors lead the EA’s work with communities at risk of flooding at the local level. Funding for these activities comes from resource allocations. There is no national database tracking the money specifically allocated to these activities as they often form part of a larger project or programme of work. Flood Action Week is the EA’s annual public action week, raising awareness amongst the public of their flood risk, the actions they should take, and the work the EA does to prepare and respond during a flood. Flood Action Week 2025 is planned for October and will focus on raising awareness amongst communities of our flood warning service and what to do when they receive a warning, and about property flood resilience measures.

How many (a) unauthorised and (b) sickness absences there were in the civil service in each of the last five years.

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. Individual departments are responsible for managing their workforces, including any instances of unauthorised absence. This information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Food and Rural Affairs, how much his Department spent on the Chilterns National Landscape Boundary Review project.

The total cost of Natural England’s consultancy contracts on the Chilterns National Landscape Boundary Review project is approximately £430,000.00. This cost includes the production of all the technical reports as well as support for some engagement work with stakeholders. The total cost expensed internally by Natural England is detail we do not hold as many different teams and individuals have been involved in the project since its inception.

Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities will be required to provide funding towards infrastructure for New Towns.

The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.

Whether ICBs will be expected to fund redundancy costs from re-organisation from their day-to-day budgets.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as reducing integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate costs, in order to reduce waste and bureaucracy. Good progress is being made, with the Department and NHS England having announced voluntary exit or redundancy schemes. We have recently announced the Spending Review settlement which provides an additional £29 billion of annual day to day spending in real terms by 2028/29, compared to 2023/24. Ahead of asking the NHS to commence a multi-year planning round, we are now carefully reviewing how the settlement is prioritised, including making provision for redundancy costs.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the planned re-organisation of the BLMK ICB with (a) Hertfordshire and (b) Cambridgeshire & Peterborough on the provision of GP services in Wixams.

The clustering of integrated care boards (ICBs) in Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes (BLMK), and Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is not expected to have a direct impact on primary care provision. ICBs will remain responsible for ensuring adequate primary care provision for the communities they serve. There are exploratory discussions underway between the BLMK ICB, the Central Bedfordshire Council, the developer of Wixams Town Centre, and Bedford Borough Council regarding options for delivering permanent healthcare provision in Wixams. These discussions are ongoing.As the plans for ICB reconfiguration progress, there remains a focus on place-based working and maintaining strong relationships with local partners.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the press release by the United Nations Human Rights Office entitled Agreement between Mauritius and the UK fails to guarantee rights of Chagossians say UN experts, published on 10 June 2025.

The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia, and the deal has been welcomed by international organisations including the UN Secretary General, African Union and Commonwealth. The UN Special Procedures are Independent Experts. Their views are not binding and do not represent the views of the UN system as a whole. We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure the agreement reflects this. We will increase our support to Chagossians, including through: the establishment of a £40 million fund to benefit Chagossians; the ability Mauritius will have, for the first time, to resettle the islands other than Diego Garcia; and work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. We have also maintained the current route to British citizenship for Chagossians, so all Chagossians will remain eligible and free to make their home in the UK. The UK Government regularly engages Chagossian groups and representatives at both official and Ministerial levels and a new 'Contact Group' will facilitate dialogue between the Chagossian community and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on future programmes.

If he will make it his policy to create a single public reporting service for problems at (a) local and (b) national government level.

This Government is determined to reforming the state to deliver high quality public services and better value for money for the taxpayer. The Government recognises the importance of transparency of public services, that appropriate feedback mechanisms help to ensure accountability by identifying and resolving problems, and that public participation can help to improve future service design to meet the needs of end users. The Service Manual provides guidance on creating and running public services in accordance with the Service Standards, both of which are available on GOV.UK.

Media and Sport, whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact of the Parthenon Marbles on the economic value of tourism.

No.

With reference to the press release entitled NHS leaders face both ‘carrot and stick’ in new performance drive, published on 15 May 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the provision to not implement pay rises on equal pay in the NHS.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care accepted the headline pay recommendations for National Health Service staff from the independent pay review bodies, and staff will receive their backdated pay uplifts from August The Department conducted an equality impact assessment of the new pay framework for very senior managers (VSMs), which includes the provision to withhold pay uplifts for VSMs working in underperforming organisations, defined as the organisations placed in segment five of the new NHS Oversight Framework.It found that, overall, the proposal to withhold pay uplifts for VSMs in segments five is not expected to result in a statistically significant difference in relation to protected characteristics. As VSMs are not employed on national contracts, local remuneration committees will be required to assess the impact on equalities in relation to decisions on pay at an organisation level.

What the expected population coverage of each ICB in England is following the proposed re-organisation.

In order to optimise the impact of strategic commissioning, and release resources to the frontline, we are working with integrated care boards to so that they cover populations of approximately two million people.