Written questions by Stephenson.

With reference to the press release entitled Landmark plan to rebuild NHS in working-class communities of 25 June 2025, what definition his Department plans to use for working-class communities.

The 10-Year Health Plan has set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it whenever they need it.The 10-Year Health Plan refers both to “working class jobs” and “working class communities”, as do other more recent publications. These terms are used in the standard way they are used in English to indicate people who are employed for wages and generally experience greater job insecurity, lower benefits, and less financial security than others in society.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of building regulations on the speed of development of new towns.

The Building Regulations 2010 are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They establish minimum legal performance standards for the design and construction of new building work. The government assesses the impact of any proposed changes to building regulations, including the potential impact on development where appropriate and proportionate.The New Towns Taskforce will submit its final report with detailed recommendations on new towns this summer, including on potential locations. We will start building as quickly as possible, with work beginning in some sites by the end of the Parliament.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of delivery timescales for New Towns Development Corporations on the ability of those corporations to build beautiful houses.

Development corporations are well placed to achieve significant volumes of housebuilding at the same time as delivering high-quality and well-designed homes and neighbourhoods.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the waste hierarchy to encourage councils to assign more black bin waste to the production of sustainable aviation fuels.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Falkirk on 8 May 2025 to Question 49143.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people working for state schools who possess a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification.

The requested information is not collected centrally.

If he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of Ministerial pensions in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial year.

MPs and Ministers have membership to the Parliamentary Contributions Pension Fund (PCPF) of which the ministerial share is typically around 8% of the total exchequer contribution. In 2023/24, the Exchequer paid contributions totalling £7,693,885 into the fund and the Ministerial share was £643,123.98. The total contribution information is available in the PCPF 2023-24 accounts (p45) using the link below: https://mypcpfpension.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PCPF-Accounts-2023-24-Final-SIGNED-amended-and-certified-no-signature-10-December-24-002.pdf The 2024-25 figures will be published by the PCPF Trustees in October 2025.

Whether she has considered opening new specialist SEND schools, in the context of trends in the number of education, health and care plans.

We recognise the vital role that special schools play catering to children and young people with the most complex needs.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 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.This funding can be used to improve access to schooling for children and young people with a variety of SEND. It is intended 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.We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through Resourced Provision and special educational needs units.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the Chagos Islands deal.

The UK/Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago and Diego Garcia has not been discussed.

Whether she has had recent discussions with NHS Employers on planned changes to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people, whose rate of apprenticeship starts has fallen by almost 40% over the last decade.This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including NHS employers.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on costs to the public purse in each of the next five years.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.From January 2026, we will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable government funding to be rebalanced towards young people and training at lower levels.Apprenticeship spend is dependent on employers choosing to offer apprenticeships and learners choosing to take them.The department does not publish information on projected apprenticeship spend.

If he will make an estimate of the number of Civil Service employees who possess a Level 7 Apprenticeship qualification.

The Cabinet Office does not hold this information. We are committed to apprenticeships as a route to improving the skills of our workforce and opening up careers in the civil service around the UK.

What the most common causes of school absences were in the 2024-25 academic year.

The department publishes figures on pupil attendance using daily data submitted by state-funded schools. The latest data for the 2024/25 academic year to date is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools/2025-week-24.According to the absence codes recorded by schools, the most commonly used code is ‘authorised illness absence’, followed by ‘unauthorised other absence’. A full breakdown of absence codes used is available at the aforementioned link.

When she plans to make a further announcement on the future of the Bedford Free School.

The review of mainstream free schools has focused on ensuring that government funding is targeted where it is most needed.We understand that trusts and local authorities want to have certainty about their projects as soon as possible. We will provide an update on next steps to trusts and local authorities in due course.

With reference to the press release entitled Government pledges greater growth for the coach sector ahead of National Coach Week, published on 6 May 2025, whether she plans to take steps to support the coach sector in the East of England, in the context of the Universal UK theme park project.

The Department recognises the important role the coach sector plays in connecting people and supporting economic growth. The UK coach sector was deregulated by the Transport Act 1980 and as such, services are operated on a commercial basis without receiving government funding. It is for local authorities to review the needs of people and businesses in their area, including where development is planned, and consider how all modes of transport, including coaches, can meet those needs.

If he will make an estimate of the potential impact of reducing GREAT campaign funding on economic growth.

I refer the hon. member to the PQs 63750 and 64200.In 2025/26, GREAT has allocated its budget to maximise the economic returns that the programme can deliver with the available resources. This includes delivering targeted campaigns and events in high-priority markets to continue to drive international trade, investment, tourism and student recruitment for all nations and regions of the UK.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for the Help to Save scheme.

The Help to Save scheme promotes financial resilience among working people on low incomes by encouraging a regular, long-term savings habit and building a financial buffer to help people to plan and prepare for the future. The scheme is only available to working individuals in receipt of certain benefits. This ensures it is targeted at its intended population. The government has recently extended the eligibility criteria for the Help to Save scheme. From April 2025 it is available to all Universal Credit claimants in work, not just those earning over a certain amount. These changes mean that around 550,000 more people will be able to take advantage of the scheme, bringing the eligible population to 3 million.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey Report 2025, published on 18 March 2025.

The Government is determined to help local authorities fix our local road network and has drawn on a range of evidence to develop policy and determine funding for local highway maintenance, including the ALARM survey that is commissioned annually by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA). At the Spending Review the Chancellor announced we will provide £24 billion between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads across the country. This funding increase will allow National Highways and local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys.

With reference to her Department's guidance entitled Persons with Reduced Mobility National Technical Specification Notice, published in December 2017, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Appendix B.

We recently published the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice (NTSN), replacing the Persons with Reduced Mobility NTSN. The Accessibility NTSN preserves many specifications inherited from EU law while updating ones that did not have a clear case for change. This update was published following an extensive review and public consultation facilitated by the Rail Safety and Standards Board.During our review and public consultation, we did not receive any feedback on the adequacy of Annex B. However, we keep all NTSN content under regular review and will consider any further feedback as part of our continuing monitoring.

How much funding her Department has allocated to reducing the number of rail replacement services required on Thameslink services in the 2025-26 financial year.

The Department requires its train operators to use reasonable endeavours to provide alternative means of transport where they cannot provide their planned train service. Rail replacement bus services are typically provided when parts of the railway are closed for planned maintenance and upgrade work or unplanned maintenance and repair work. The Department does not specifically allocate funding for the purpose of reducing the number of rail replacement services.

With reference to her Department's press release entitled New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, what her plans are for operators who fail to meet the standard required to become part of Great British Railways.

Great British Railways will set a clear quality standard for our railways, so a world class public service can be rebuilt. Ministers intend to recover performance to acceptable levels at all operators, ensuring their leadership has a relentless focus on performance and rigorous standards, held to account by Ministers. The focus is on supporting and challenging train operating companies to reach the tough standards that we will set.