Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's plans for English Devolution on levels of housebuilding.

As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Strategic Authorities will play a central role in the government's long term strategy for delivering housebuilding across England. All Strategic Authorities will be empowered to develop Spatial Development Strategies. These strategies, which identify strategic growth locations and the infrastructure needed to facilitate housing growth, will align housing with infrastructure, prioritise social and affordable housing. We will also grant Mayors powers to intervene in strategic planning applications to support large-scale housing developments, and to raise a Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy to fund the infrastructure required to unlock housing. Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will receive funding for local priorities through the integrated settlement, and be held to account for local delivery through an outcomes framework.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport supporting the delivery of transport infrastructure through the planning system.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. My Department continues to work closely with the Department for Transport on matters relating to transport infrastructure and planning, as appropriate.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled AI doctors’ assistant to speed up appointments a ‘gamechanger’, published on 27 April 2025, what steps he is taking to ensure quality control safeguards.

NHS England is committed to supporting and enabling the safe deployment and adoption of new technology for the National Health Service. The adoption of ambient voice technology (AVT) solutions holds transformative potential for any care setting. Their adoption, when used safely and securely, is to be encouraged to improve both the quality of patient care and operational efficiency. NHS England has published guidance on how digital technologies should be approved for use in the NHS, covering key areas such as implementation, information governance, data, security, privacy, and controls. Additional national guidance explains how AVT solutions should be selected, deployed, and scaled. These standards are required for any AVT solution to be considered safe, effective, and eligible for NHS adoption. There are strict safeguards in place throughout the NHS to protect data. All providers of services which handle patient data must protect that data in line with UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, and every health organisation is required to appoint a Caldicott Guardian to advise on the protection of people’s health and care data, and to ensure it is used properly. This includes where artificial intelligence (AI) is used in relation to patient records. To mitigate the likelihood and severity of any potential harm to individuals arising from the use of data in AI, the Information Commissioners Office has developed detailed AI guidance which provides information on data protection, including Data Protection Impact Assessments and UK GDPR. It has also produced an AI toolkit to support organisations auditing the compliance of their AI-based technologies. NHS bodies are expected to make use of this guidance and toolkit, including those using AVTs.

How much capital funding will be provided for maintenance at (a) Bedford and (b) Luton & Dunstable hospitals as part of spending commitments made in the Autumn Budget 2024.

In 2025/26, the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been provided with £10.5 million from the Estates Safety Fund to address critical infrastructure and safety risks. Of this, £9.3 million will go to Bedford Hospital and £1.2 million will go to Luton and Dunstable Hospital.This funding is in addition to the £62 million of operational capital, including Primary Care Business as Usual Capital, provisionally allocated to the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board in 2025/26 for addressing local priorities, including investment in maintenance and repairs at Bedford and Luton and Dunstable hospitals.Specific allocations and funding beyond the current financial year are subject to further planning.

With reference to the UKHSA's guidance entitled Epidemiological evidence review in the UK and EU, following implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive, published on 9 June 2025, what assessment his Department has made of that guidance; and what role his Department played in (a) drafting the guidance and (b) reviewing the draft guidance.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is consulted by the Environment Agency (EA) on environmental permit applications to operate municipal waste incinerators (MWIs), in their role as regulator in England. UKHSA reviews the latest scientific evidence on the health impacts of emissions from MWIs. The overall evidence analysed by UKHSA does not suggest an association between exposure to emissions from modern well-run incinerators and adverse physical health effects.UKHSA reviewed epidemiological studies in European countries with measured physical human health outcomes which were published after implementation of the Waste Incineration Directive in 2000. This criterion ensured that the studies considered in the review were applicable to United Kingdom MWIs and considered health effects from the emissions from the incineration process only. UKHSA will continue to review its advice as new evidence on the health effects of incinerators is published in peer-reviewed journals.The Department of Health and Social Care has noted the guidance which has been provided to relevant departments and their agencies. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs leads on waste management policy and the legislation relating to MWI, and the EA regulate MWI under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, which are available at the following link:https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1154/contentsUKHSA responds to consultations on environmental permits received from the EA.

If he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of people who entered the UK on a social care work visa in each of the past ten years who are (a) still in the UK and (b) still working in social care.

In February 2022, care workers became eligible for the Health and Care Visa and were added to the Shortage Occupation List. Senior care workers were added to the list of eligible occupations for the Health and Care Visa in January 2021, therefore, we are not able to provide data on this visa route prior to this time. Published data on entry clearance visa grants for the "Caring Personal Services" occupation code (613) illustrates the broad trend in international recruitment into adult social care in recent years. This shows that 37,091 Health and Care Worker visas were granted to main applicants under the Caring Personal Services category in 2022. Volumes peaked in 2023, with 107,772 grants, before falling to 9,539 in 2024. This data does not include in-country visa grants. The Department does not hold data that directly links visa status to ongoing employment in adult social care or residence in the United Kingdom over time. As such, it is not possible to estimate the number or proportion of individuals who entered the UK on a social care work visa and who are still in the UK or working in the social care sector. Individuals may cease working in the sector for a variety of reasons, for example to return to their country of origin or to switch to another immigration route.

If she will make an estimate of the number of pensioners with a net worth of over £1 million who are eligible for pension credit.

The Department does not collect data on individuals’ net worth.

What steps her Department plans to take to reduce regulations on financial service businesses.

In the March Regulation Action Plan, the government committed to cutting the administrative costs of regulation for business by 25% by the end of the Parliament. This will take a whole-of-government approach to establish a baseline for the administrative costs of regulation and deliver an ambitious programme of reforms that remove or streamline administrative processes. The Action Plan also announced that it will consolidate the Payments Systems Regulator into the Financial Conduct Authority, to provide a more streamlined approach to regulation for businesses. It also confirmed that the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are taking steps to review and streamline reporting requirements for financial services firms. The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, part of the Industrial Strategy, will set out the government’s next steps to ensure that the UK’s financial services regulatory environment is proportionate, predictable and internationally competitive. This will be published on 15 July .

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing funding to Natural England’s programme to designate or expand National Landscapes on employment.

Natural England (NE) has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations. Given the pressures on public finances, Defra has had to make difficult decisions about funding. It was not affordable to continue Defra funding to NE to continue the new National Landscapes designations programme in 25/26. As such, NE have made the decision to stop work on some of the planned programme. Other elements of the programme, including the Surrey Hills boundary review and potential new National Landscape in the Yorkshire Wolds, are being maintained and progressed as the work was further advanced.

If she will make an estimate of the number of pensioners with a net worth of over £1 million who will be eligible to receive Winter Fuel Payments.

The Department does not collect data on individuals’ net worth.

If she will make an estimate of the (a) decile, (b) upper quartile, (c) lower quartile and (d) median annual income of pensioners with a net worth of £1 million or above.

The Department does not collect data on individuals’ net worth.

What assessment her Department has made of the barriers to direct retail investment in shares by UK citizens; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of those barriers on economic growth.

The government is committed to supporting retail participation in UK capital markets to ensure consumers can benefit from the long-term financial security that investing in shares can provide. The government ran a Call for Evidence as part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and welcomed views on how to improve consumer engagement with investing. The Strategy will be published at Mansion House on 15 July.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System on economic growth; and when she expects the regulatory framework to be finalised.

I refer the Member to the answer given to his question in PQ UIN 57791 on 12 June 2025.

If she will make an estimate of how many non-domiciled residents have left the country in each month since July 2024.

Official Statistics around non-domiciled taxpayers in the UK [1] will be published in July 2025 and will contain information about taxpayers who claim non-domiciled status in the UK for the tax year 2023-24.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-non-domiciled-taxpayers-in-the-uk

With reference to the press release entitled PM: North will no longer be held to ransom by broken transport system, published on 28 March 2025, how these projects will be funded.

Spending Review 2025 set transport budgets for day‑to‑day spending until 2028‑29, and until 2029‑30 for capital investment.This included funding for our city regions receiving the final year of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS 2026-27) as well as £15.6bn (2027-28 to 2031-32) for the elected Mayors of some of our largest city regions via the Transport for City Regions (TCR) settlement, supporting them to invest in their local transport priorities.In addition, the North will receive £3.5bn for the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) to drive forward delivery at pace. This will improve connectivity across the North between Manchester and York, electrifying the entire route, increasing reliability, slashing delays and cancellations and reducing journey times. For instance, the journey time for commuters travelling between Manchester and Leeds will fall from 55 to 41 minutes.

When he plans to make a further announcement on social care reform.

The independent commission into adult social care, chaired by Baroness Casey, is looking at what fundamental reforms will be needed as we build towards a National Care Service, including what social care should look like, who it should serve, and who should be responsible for its services.This will be delivered in two parts. The first report will be delivered next year, with work able to begin on implementing its recommendations after publication.We are also making tangible improvements in the short-term and laying the foundations for a National Care Service that will enable more people to live independently and make social care more productive. This includes funding more home adaptations for disabled and older people, the largest ever uplift to the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit, new standards for care technologies, and legislating for the first Fair Pay Agreement for care workers.Meanwhile, the Spending Review allows for an increase of over £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of social care workforce demand on levels of immigration in each of the last ten years.

In February 2022, care workers became eligible for the Health and Care Visa and were added to the Shortage Occupation List. Senior care workers were added to the list of eligible occupations for the Health and Care Visa in January 2021.Published data on entry clearance visa grants for the Caring Personal Services occupation code (613) illustrates the broad trend in international recruitment into adult social care in recent years.This shows that 37,091 Health and Care Worker visas were granted to main applicants under the Caring Personal Services category in 2022. Volumes peaked in 2023, with 107,772 grants, before falling to 9,539 in 2024. This data does not include in-country visa grants.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 7 of the New Towns Taskforce’s interim update Building new towns for the future, published in February 2025, what models other than local authority maintenance of assets are being considered.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 3 of the New Towns Taskforce’s interim update Building new towns for the future, published in February 2025, whether sites will be considered which were not submitted as part of the Call for Evidence.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment on the potential implications for her policies on New Towns of the decision to end Chartered Town Planning Level 7 apprenticeship funding.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.