Written questions by Stephenson.

What steps she plans to take to help prevent Hashem Abedi from endangering other people in prison.

HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has a variety of methods to keep those who live and work in our prisons safe.We are reviewing how the attack happened, and the guidance shows we have suspended use of kitchens in separation centres and close supervision centres.It is not appropriate to comment on the management of a specific individual within the prison system. The safe and secure management of every prisoner within the prison system is a top priority for HMPPS.

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.

Where these projects required funding in 25/26, this funding has already been allocated to the Department for Transport. Funding allocations for future years will be set out at the upcoming spending review on June 11th.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of future rates of Air Passenger Duty on the government’s ambition for the United Kingdom to welcome 50 million international visitors per year by 2030.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) only applies to UK-departing flights. The Government has published Tax Impact and Information Notes (TIINs) assessing the impacts of the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates, which can be found at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2025/air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2025-to-31-march-2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2026/air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2026-to-31-march-2027

For what reason the change in the VAT status of private school fees was introduced during the school year.

Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury.As set out in the government response to the technical note on applying VAT to private school fees, the government believes it was right to introduce these changes as soon as possible in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver our education priorities for the 94% of children who attend state schools in the UK. This response is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees-removing-the-charitable-rates-relief-for-private-schools.As a result of the January 2025 start date, the VAT policy is forecast to raise £460 million in the 2024/25 financial year.The January 2025 start date gave schools and parents five months to prepare from the date the policy was announced.HMRC has taken action to support private schools through the change, including providing detailed guidance, running webinars and allocating additional resource to process VAT registration applications.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage investment into science and technology companies that are based outside of (a) Oxford, (b) Cambridge and (c) London.

Increasing investment into science and technology firms across the UK will be critical to delivering growth.In 2023-24, UKRI invested £4,614 million outside the Greater Southeast; over half its total investment. Specific programme supporting regional innovation include; £80 million for twelve Innovate UK Launchpads, £130 million for Innovation Accelerators in three pilot city-regions, and £316 million for twelve Strength in Places Fund programmes.These are complemented by the British Business Bank’s programmes, including £660 million in northern England through its Nations and Regions Investment Funds.As part of the Spending Review process, DSIT is working with regions across the UK to develop a new approach to growing high-potential clusters in all regions of the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of beekeeping practices on global food security.

Beekeepers are encouraged to adopt good beekeeping practices and there are also worldwide policies on controlling pests and diseases in honeybees. These actions will help to ensure healthy sustainable populations of honeybees which will support food production by contributing to insect pollination of crops.

If he will make an estimate of the potential impact of (a) manufacturing vehicles in and (b) importing vehicles from China on global carbon emissions.

The UK follows the agreed international approach for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, which is for countries to report emissions produced within their territories.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs publishes consumption-based emissions statistics, including emissions from imported goods and services, which can be found here: Carbon footprint for the UK and England to 2022 - GOV.UK. The latest data show that emissions associated with goods and services imported from China were 85 MtCO2e in 2022, however this is not broken down by product type.

Whether he plans to review the treatment guidelines for recurring UTIs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice. The NICE has published a guideline on antimicrobial prescribing for the treatment of recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which is available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng112The NICE keeps its published guidance under active surveillance to ensure that they are up to date and reflect any changes in the evidence base. If any new evidence comes to light, the NICE would consider the need for an update of its guideline. Both integrated care boards and healthcare providers are expected to take the national guidance into consideration when commissioning and delivering services.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to continue approving permits for British trophy hunters who shoot Cheetahs to bring the trophies back to the UK.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. APHA will continue to issue import permits only when the strict criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations are satisfied, including that the import does not have a detrimental impact on the conservation status of a species. This Government has also committed to a ban on the import of hunting trophies of species of conservation concern in its manifesto and will deliver on this. DEFRA is currently engaging with a range of stakeholders in order to decide on the most effective approach.

What steps he is taking to improve testing for chronic urinary tract infections.

Diagnostic tests for chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as urinalysis and urine culture, are widely available across all pathology networks in England. Ensuring accurate diagnostic testing not only aids in the effective identification of infection, but can also reduce the unnecessary prescribing and overprescribing of broad-spectrum antimicrobials, directly benefitting patients who get the right treatment sooner.General practitioners can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards for diagnostic tests, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes. Together, these measures ensure the accuracy and reliability of diagnostic testing.The development of new products to diagnose infections more accurately is essential to ensuring we can continue to treat infections and protect public health. NHS England is also supporting research into newer, more accurate point-of-care tests for UTIs, such as via the Toucan study. Furter information on the study is available at the following link:https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation

How much funding his Department plans to provide for cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research in (a) 2025, (b) 2026 and (c) 2027.

Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer as one of the largest areas of spend, at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. The NIHR funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research.The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists, rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas in advance. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including all cancer types. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition.We are committed to furthering our investment and support for cancer research, ensuring that funding is used in the most meaningful and impactful way.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the vehicle manufacturing industry.

On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This package provides analysis of the potential sectoral impacts of the Bill.It shows the majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill and our assessment finds that workers in low-paying sectors, including social care, hospitality, retail, transport, and some manufacturing sectors will benefit the most.The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of available dental appointments in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the UK.

The 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 the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, 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 has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Mid Bedfordshire constituency, this is the Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes ICB. ICBs have been asked to start making extra urgent dental appointments available from April 2025. The Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes ICB is expected to deliver 6,041 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme. ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. As of 10 April 2025, in England, there are 53 dentists in post with a further 44 dentists who have been recruited but are yet to start in post. Another 256 posts are currently advertised.

Whether it remains his policy to reduce energy bills by £300 a year.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. It remains our ambition to cut energy bills by up to £300 by 2030. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past. We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make a comparative assessment of the number of houses at risk of (a) surface water and (b) all other flooding in (i) the UK and (ii) the G7 in the last 10 years.

Flood risk management is a devolved matter. In England, the Environment Agency’s latest National Flood Risk Assessment published in 2024 estimates that around 6.3 million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from one or a combination of sources: rivers, the sea, and surface water. Around 4.6 million properties are in areas at risk of surface water flooding, of which 1.1 million properties are in areas at high risk. Around 2.4 million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea, of which 367,900 properties are in areas at high risk. Some properties are at risk from more than one source of floods. The data from the latest National Flood Risk Assessment is not directly comparable with previous assessments due to changes in modelling methodologies. There are different approaches in defining and managing flood risk, and in recording residential and non-residential developments between nations.

When he plans to publish a national cancer plan.

The National Cancer Plan for England will be published in the second half of this year, following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan.

How much and what proportion of the capital funding allocated for hospital maintenance at the Autumn Budget 2024 has been allocated to (a) Bedford and (b) Luton and Dunstable Hospitals.

The Government is backing the National Health Service with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26 to fund day-to-day operational investments, including hospital maintenance. The Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System (ICS) has been provisionally allocated over £60 million of operational capital.In addition, a £750 million estates safety fund was put in place to begin addressing some of the poorest quality infrastructure across the NHS estate in 2025/26. Estates safety funding has been provisionally allocated to ICSs based on need, critical infrastructure risk, estates incidents, and responses to the recent maternity estates survey. The Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICS has been provisionally allocated £15.5 million in estate safety funding for 2025/26, which can be allocated according to local priorities.

If she will have discussions with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on an infrastructure strategy for the Universal Studios project in Bedfordshire.

Officials from my Department continue to work closely with their counterparts across government, including HM Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to consider the infrastructure required around the site and in the local area to support the delivery of the Universal Studios resort, ensuring it is well connected and easily accessible. Further information on plans for infrastructure investment around the site will be set out in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's case study entitled Mental health costs of flooding, published on 4 April 2025, whether his Department plans to commission further research on that topic.

The Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme and Mental health costs of flooding case study builds on previous mental health and flooding work. New research into the mental health impacts for those living in areas at risk of coastal erosion is also underway. The Environment Agency has updated its advice for those at risk of flooding based on the research. This showed that mental health impacts are reduced if people have a flood plan and are prepared for flooding. The Environment Agency is working with the UK Health Security Agency on their mental health guidance for the public, and front line responders, who support those who have experienced flooding.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's case study entitled Mental health costs of flooding, published on 4 April 2025, whether the prices used are for 2025.

The Mental health costs of flooding and erosion case study found the mental health losses per adult per flood event to be £1,878 per adult per flood for shallow floods (less than 30cm of water in a home). This increases to £4,136 per adult per flood for deeper, more severe floods (when water is over 1 metre deep). These values are the same as those available in the supplementary guidance Mental health costs of flooding and erosion. The mental health cost values in the case study are at 2018 prices, the same as the underlying guidance.