Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraphs 24 and 26 of the National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, if she will issue guidance to councils on joint working to meet housing targets across different (a) local and (b) neighbourhood plans.

The changes made to paragraphs 24 – 28 of the National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024 will ensure that we are making the most of opportunities for greater collaboration between local planning authorities and that the right engagement is occurring in respect of the sharing of unmet housing need and other cross-boundary issues.There is existing government guidance to support authorities in complying with the relevant policy in this area.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for her policies of the length of Speech and Language waiting lists.

We recognise the impact that long waits to access speech and language therapy can have on the individual, and their families and carers. The Department and NHS England are committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including speech and language therapy.We continue to improve access to speech and language therapy by including the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinder project within the Department for Educations’ existing Change Programme, in partnership with NHS England.It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population.

If he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of consultations conducted by the Government since July 2024.

The Cabinet Office does not centrally collect data nor monitor consultations across Government. The Cabinet Office provides high level advice on the Consultation Principles to help departments consider how they should manage their consultations. Each department is legally responsible for how they run their consultations.

How many pupils in Bedfordshire had an EHC plan in each academic year since 2019/20.

Information on the number of pupils in schools in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton with education, health and care (EHC) plans is available in the publication ‘Special Educational Needs in England’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england. The table linked below shows the figures for pupils in schools with EHC plans in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton local authorities for each academic year since 2019/20: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c81e3eb7-09ad-4267-78dd-08dd3ba46a29.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle backlogs in the processing of statutory assessments for education, health and care plans.

The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. EHC plans must be issued within 20 weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. The most recent dataset shows there were 138,200 initial requests for an EHC plan and 90,500 assessments took place in 2023. 50.3% of new EHC plans in 2023 were issued within 20 weeks.The department knows that local authorities have seen an increase in the number of assessment requests and that more needs to be done to ensure that local areas deliver effective and timely services. This includes better communication with schools and families.The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the problems and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.Central Bedfordshire underwent an Ofsted and Care Quality Commission joint area SEND inspection in October 2019, with the report published in February 2020. The local area was required to produce a written statement of action to address six significant weaknesses. During a revisit in July 2022, Ofsted found sufficient progress in three of the six areas. Consequently, the area was required to produce an accelerated progress plan to outline the necessary improvements for the remaining three areas.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of funding provided to local authorities to promote tourism.

I note that the honourable member is asking us to spend more money and would be grateful if they could advise me on which other budget should be cut or tax should be commensurately increased. Government recognises the vital role that local authorities play in supporting the Visitor Economy and showcasing the unique assets of their areas. Through DCMS’ Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) programme - that is being rolled out across England to transform the landscape of destination management organisations, and the two Destination Development pilots - Local Authorities are being provided with strong local and regional leadership and governance, enabling them to develop their visitor economies in their respective destinations. VisitBritain has also launched a new international marketing campaign this year - Starring Great Britain - to ensure that tourism remains a key driver of economic growth across the country.

Whether she has made an estimate of the number of SEN pupils in Bedfordshire that are expected to leave the Independent school sector in 2024-25.

The department has made no estimate of the number of pupils specifically in Bedfordshire with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who will leave the independent school system in the 2024/25 academic year.As set out in HM Treasury’s tax information and impact note on applying VAT to independent school fees, published on GOV.UK, the government estimates that approximately 3,000 pupils will move from independent schools in the UK to state schools in the 2024/25 academic year.There is no separate assessment by local authority. The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary.HM Treasury’s impact note considers SEND, but does not provide a separate assessment broken down by SEND. It is important to note that pupils who need a local authority-funded place in an independent school will not be impacted by the changes. To protect pupils with special educational needs (SEN) that can only be met in an independent school, local authorities and devolved governments that fund these places will be compensated for the VAT they are charged on those pupils’ fees.Most pupils who have SEN are educated in mainstream schools (whether state-maintained or independent) where their needs are met. The overwhelming majority attend state schools. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. At Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced a £2.3 billion increase to the core schools' budget in 2025/26, increasing per pupil funding in real terms. This included an almost £1 billion uplift to high needs funding in 2025/26, providing additional support for the more than one million children in the state sector with SEND.

How many and what proportion of SEN pupils attend a school in a different local authority area to the one in which they live in the East of England.

The number and proportion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) who attend a school in a different local authority area to the one in which they live in the East of England is shown below. Pupils1,2 with SEN resident3 in local authority areas in East of England by whether they go to school within or outside their local authority areaSource: January school census 2024 PrimarySecondary Special Number of pupils with education, health and care (EHC) PlanResident pupils15,77511,50914,356School within local authority area15,38910,89813,397School outside local authority area386611959Percentage of pupils with EHC Plan School within local authority area97.6%94.7%93.3%School outside local authority area2.4%5.3%6.7%Number of pupils with SEN support (without EHC Plan)Resident pupils69,32346,86379School within local authority area67,70644,74169School outside local authority area1,6172,12210Percentage of pupils with SEN support (without EHC Plan)School within local authority area97.7%95.5%87.3%School outside local authority area2.3%4.5%12.7%Total number of pupils with SEN resident in East of EnglandResident pupils85,09858,37214,435School within local authority area83,09555,63913,466School outside local authority area2,0032,733969Total percentage of pupils with SEN resident in East of EnglandSchool within local authority area97.6%95.3%93.3%School outside local authority area2.4%4.7%6.7%Total percentage of all pupils resident in East of England attending a school outside local authority area 2.4%5.6%6.7% 1. State-funded school pupils in national curriculum years reception to 11, includes a small number of special school pupils for whom year group is not recorded.2. Excludes pupils who board and dual subsidiary enrolments.3. Resident is based on the pupil’s home postcode.

If she will make an estimate of the number of SEN pupils who attend independent schools in Bedfordshire.

Information on the number of pupils in schools in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton attending independent schools with both education, health and care (EHC) plans and special educational needs (SEN) support is available in the publication ‘Special Educational Needs in England’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.The table linked below shows the figures for pupils in schools with both EHC plans and SEN support in independent schools and independent special schools in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton local authorities for the 2023/24 academic year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0c775324-f4bf-4a80-18a7-08dd3ba4043a.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of standardising the funding models local authorities use to support pupils with special educational needs.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion.Of that total, Bedford Borough Council is being allocated over £38 million through the high needs funding block, and Central Bedfordshire Council is being allocated over £49 million.We are keeping the high needs funding arrangements, including the appropriate level of flexibility and standardisation in local authorities’ funding models, under review as we progress wider SEND reforms.

What estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in poverty during the winter of 2024-25; and how this compares to the winter of 2023-24.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2025 to Question 24306 Statistics on the number of people living in relative and absolute poverty both before and after housing costs are produced on an annual basis and published in the Households Below Average Income statistics. The latest available data covers financial year ending 2023, and is published by the Department here Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK Poverty figures relating to the financial year 2024-25 will be published in due course.

If she will make an estimate of the number of additional individuals her Department expects to pay tax in financial year 2025-26 as a result of the freeze on income tax thresholds.

The information requested on the impact on taxpayer numbers as a result of threshold freezes is published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The published table sets out the estimated numbers of taxpayers with and without indexation of the thresholds and the impact of the thresholds being frozen. This information is updated in the EFO in each fiscal event. An excerpt from Table 3.18 from the October 2024 EFO: 3.18 Effect of threshold freezes on additional taxpayers Million Forecast 2023-242024-252025-26Number of taxpayers With indexation34.134.335.1Without indexation36.237.638.6…brought into income tax2.23.33.5Number of higher-rate taxpayers With indexation4.74.44.5Without indexation6.16.67.0…brought into higher-rate band1.42.22.5Number of additional-rate taxpayers Previous £150,000 threshold0.70.70.8Aligned to the end of PA taper0.91.11.2…brought into additional-rate band0.30.40.4…brought into higher and additional rates1.62.62.9 As shown in the table, 3.5 million more individuals are expected to pay income tax in 2025-26 as a result of the threshold freezes. The number of Higher rate taxpayers is expected to increase from 6.6 million in 2024-25 to 7.0 million in 2025-26 (a rise of 0.4 million), and additional rate taxpayer numbers are expected to increase from 1.1 million to 1.2 million (a rise of 0.1 million). The full table is available as Table 3.18 in the detailed forecast of receipts: October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts (obr.uk) The latest ONS estimate for median earnings for 2023-24 is £31,602, and this can be projected using OBR’s average earnings growth forecasts, which gives an estimate of median earnings for 2024-25 of £33,035 and 2025-26 of £34,011. An individual with solely income from these earnings would expect to have total Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of £5,730 in 2024-25 and £6,003 in 2025-26. Individuals aged 21 and over earning minimum wage and working 35 hours per week would be expected to earn £20,821 and £22,222 in tax years 2024-25 and 2025-26 respectively. These would result in Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of:£1,650 and £660 in 2024-25,£1,930 and £772 in 2025-26. Further information on the ONS data for median earnings can be found in their annual publication: 2024 provisional earnings and hours worked, all employees (ons.gov.uk) Earnings growth forecasts are published in the OBR’s forecast tables: October 2024 Detailed forecast tables: Economy (obr.uk)

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Autumn Budget 2024 on recent trends in the level of mortgage rates.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK’s official forecaster of the economy and public finances. The OBR published its assessment of the UK economy, and the effect of policies announced at the 2024 Autumn Budget, in its October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.The OBR will publish its next assessment of the UK economy on 26 March 2025, as commissioned by the Chancellor.

If she will make an estimate of the average annual cost of a five year fixed rate mortgage (a) on the week commencing 21 October 2024 and (b) in January 2025.

The pricing and availability of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders, in which the Government does not intervene. Changes in offered mortgage rates are broadly driven by changes in financial market expectations for Bank Rate.Monetary policy, including decisions on Bank Rate, is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the Bank of England. The Government remains committed to monetary policy independence and supporting the MPC to return inflation to target sustainably, and does not comment on the conduct or effectiveness of monetary policy.External organisations, such as the Bank of England and Moneyfacts, track movements in offered mortgage rates.

If she will make an estimate of the number of taxpayers set to pay the higher rate of income tax in financial year 2025-26 compared with financial year 2024-25.

The information requested on the impact on taxpayer numbers as a result of threshold freezes is published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The published table sets out the estimated numbers of taxpayers with and without indexation of the thresholds and the impact of the thresholds being frozen. This information is updated in the EFO in each fiscal event. An excerpt from Table 3.18 from the October 2024 EFO: 3.18 Effect of threshold freezes on additional taxpayers Million Forecast 2023-242024-252025-26Number of taxpayers With indexation34.134.335.1Without indexation36.237.638.6…brought into income tax2.23.33.5Number of higher-rate taxpayers With indexation4.74.44.5Without indexation6.16.67.0…brought into higher-rate band1.42.22.5Number of additional-rate taxpayers Previous £150,000 threshold0.70.70.8Aligned to the end of PA taper0.91.11.2…brought into additional-rate band0.30.40.4…brought into higher and additional rates1.62.62.9 As shown in the table, 3.5 million more individuals are expected to pay income tax in 2025-26 as a result of the threshold freezes. The number of Higher rate taxpayers is expected to increase from 6.6 million in 2024-25 to 7.0 million in 2025-26 (a rise of 0.4 million), and additional rate taxpayer numbers are expected to increase from 1.1 million to 1.2 million (a rise of 0.1 million). The full table is available as Table 3.18 in the detailed forecast of receipts: October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts (obr.uk) The latest ONS estimate for median earnings for 2023-24 is £31,602, and this can be projected using OBR’s average earnings growth forecasts, which gives an estimate of median earnings for 2024-25 of £33,035 and 2025-26 of £34,011. An individual with solely income from these earnings would expect to have total Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of £5,730 in 2024-25 and £6,003 in 2025-26. Individuals aged 21 and over earning minimum wage and working 35 hours per week would be expected to earn £20,821 and £22,222 in tax years 2024-25 and 2025-26 respectively. These would result in Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of:£1,650 and £660 in 2024-25,£1,930 and £772 in 2025-26. Further information on the ONS data for median earnings can be found in their annual publication: 2024 provisional earnings and hours worked, all employees (ons.gov.uk) Earnings growth forecasts are published in the OBR’s forecast tables: October 2024 Detailed forecast tables: Economy (obr.uk)

If she will make an estimate of the total amount of tax someone on the median salary will pay in financial year (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

The information requested on the impact on taxpayer numbers as a result of threshold freezes is published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The published table sets out the estimated numbers of taxpayers with and without indexation of the thresholds and the impact of the thresholds being frozen. This information is updated in the EFO in each fiscal event. An excerpt from Table 3.18 from the October 2024 EFO: 3.18 Effect of threshold freezes on additional taxpayers Million Forecast 2023-242024-252025-26Number of taxpayers With indexation34.134.335.1Without indexation36.237.638.6…brought into income tax2.23.33.5Number of higher-rate taxpayers With indexation4.74.44.5Without indexation6.16.67.0…brought into higher-rate band1.42.22.5Number of additional-rate taxpayers Previous £150,000 threshold0.70.70.8Aligned to the end of PA taper0.91.11.2…brought into additional-rate band0.30.40.4…brought into higher and additional rates1.62.62.9 As shown in the table, 3.5 million more individuals are expected to pay income tax in 2025-26 as a result of the threshold freezes. The number of Higher rate taxpayers is expected to increase from 6.6 million in 2024-25 to 7.0 million in 2025-26 (a rise of 0.4 million), and additional rate taxpayer numbers are expected to increase from 1.1 million to 1.2 million (a rise of 0.1 million). The full table is available as Table 3.18 in the detailed forecast of receipts: October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts (obr.uk) The latest ONS estimate for median earnings for 2023-24 is £31,602, and this can be projected using OBR’s average earnings growth forecasts, which gives an estimate of median earnings for 2024-25 of £33,035 and 2025-26 of £34,011. An individual with solely income from these earnings would expect to have total Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of £5,730 in 2024-25 and £6,003 in 2025-26. Individuals aged 21 and over earning minimum wage and working 35 hours per week would be expected to earn £20,821 and £22,222 in tax years 2024-25 and 2025-26 respectively. These would result in Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of:£1,650 and £660 in 2024-25,£1,930 and £772 in 2025-26. Further information on the ONS data for median earnings can be found in their annual publication: 2024 provisional earnings and hours worked, all employees (ons.gov.uk) Earnings growth forecasts are published in the OBR’s forecast tables: October 2024 Detailed forecast tables: Economy (obr.uk)

If she will make an estimate of the total amount of (a) income tax and (b) employee national insurance paid by a full time minimum wage worker in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

The information requested on the impact on taxpayer numbers as a result of threshold freezes is published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The published table sets out the estimated numbers of taxpayers with and without indexation of the thresholds and the impact of the thresholds being frozen. This information is updated in the EFO in each fiscal event. An excerpt from Table 3.18 from the October 2024 EFO: 3.18 Effect of threshold freezes on additional taxpayers Million Forecast 2023-242024-252025-26Number of taxpayers With indexation34.134.335.1Without indexation36.237.638.6…brought into income tax2.23.33.5Number of higher-rate taxpayers With indexation4.74.44.5Without indexation6.16.67.0…brought into higher-rate band1.42.22.5Number of additional-rate taxpayers Previous £150,000 threshold0.70.70.8Aligned to the end of PA taper0.91.11.2…brought into additional-rate band0.30.40.4…brought into higher and additional rates1.62.62.9 As shown in the table, 3.5 million more individuals are expected to pay income tax in 2025-26 as a result of the threshold freezes. The number of Higher rate taxpayers is expected to increase from 6.6 million in 2024-25 to 7.0 million in 2025-26 (a rise of 0.4 million), and additional rate taxpayer numbers are expected to increase from 1.1 million to 1.2 million (a rise of 0.1 million). The full table is available as Table 3.18 in the detailed forecast of receipts: October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts (obr.uk) The latest ONS estimate for median earnings for 2023-24 is £31,602, and this can be projected using OBR’s average earnings growth forecasts, which gives an estimate of median earnings for 2024-25 of £33,035 and 2025-26 of £34,011. An individual with solely income from these earnings would expect to have total Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of £5,730 in 2024-25 and £6,003 in 2025-26. Individuals aged 21 and over earning minimum wage and working 35 hours per week would be expected to earn £20,821 and £22,222 in tax years 2024-25 and 2025-26 respectively. These would result in Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of:£1,650 and £660 in 2024-25,£1,930 and £772 in 2025-26. Further information on the ONS data for median earnings can be found in their annual publication: 2024 provisional earnings and hours worked, all employees (ons.gov.uk) Earnings growth forecasts are published in the OBR’s forecast tables: October 2024 Detailed forecast tables: Economy (obr.uk)

If she will make an estimate of the number of taxpayers set to pay the additional rate of income tax in financial year 2025-26 compared with financial year 2024-25.

The information requested on the impact on taxpayer numbers as a result of threshold freezes is published as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The published table sets out the estimated numbers of taxpayers with and without indexation of the thresholds and the impact of the thresholds being frozen. This information is updated in the EFO in each fiscal event. An excerpt from Table 3.18 from the October 2024 EFO: 3.18 Effect of threshold freezes on additional taxpayers Million Forecast 2023-242024-252025-26Number of taxpayers With indexation34.134.335.1Without indexation36.237.638.6…brought into income tax2.23.33.5Number of higher-rate taxpayers With indexation4.74.44.5Without indexation6.16.67.0…brought into higher-rate band1.42.22.5Number of additional-rate taxpayers Previous £150,000 threshold0.70.70.8Aligned to the end of PA taper0.91.11.2…brought into additional-rate band0.30.40.4…brought into higher and additional rates1.62.62.9 As shown in the table, 3.5 million more individuals are expected to pay income tax in 2025-26 as a result of the threshold freezes. The number of Higher rate taxpayers is expected to increase from 6.6 million in 2024-25 to 7.0 million in 2025-26 (a rise of 0.4 million), and additional rate taxpayer numbers are expected to increase from 1.1 million to 1.2 million (a rise of 0.1 million). The full table is available as Table 3.18 in the detailed forecast of receipts: October 2024 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts (obr.uk) The latest ONS estimate for median earnings for 2023-24 is £31,602, and this can be projected using OBR’s average earnings growth forecasts, which gives an estimate of median earnings for 2024-25 of £33,035 and 2025-26 of £34,011. An individual with solely income from these earnings would expect to have total Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of £5,730 in 2024-25 and £6,003 in 2025-26. Individuals aged 21 and over earning minimum wage and working 35 hours per week would be expected to earn £20,821 and £22,222 in tax years 2024-25 and 2025-26 respectively. These would result in Income Tax and Employee National Insurance liabilities of:£1,650 and £660 in 2024-25,£1,930 and £772 in 2025-26. Further information on the ONS data for median earnings can be found in their annual publication: 2024 provisional earnings and hours worked, all employees (ons.gov.uk) Earnings growth forecasts are published in the OBR’s forecast tables: October 2024 Detailed forecast tables: Economy (obr.uk)

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions the New Towns Taskforce has had with (a) Bedford Borough Council, (b) Central Bedfordshire Council and (c) Luton Borough Council.

As set out in its Terms of Reference, which can be found on gov.uk here, the New Towns Taskforce will work in partnership with local leaders and communities, but its selection of sites will be made in the national interest.

Communities and Local Government, what engagement the New Towns Taskforce will have with hon. Members.

As set out in its Terms of Reference, which can be found on gov.uk here, the New Towns Taskforce will work in partnership with local leaders and communities, but its selection of sites will be made in the national interest.