Written questions by Stephenson.

If she will make an estimate of the cost of new sign ups for Pension Credit between July and December 2024.

The latest data on Pension Credit applications and awards covers the period between 1 April 2024 and 17 November 2024 and is available here: Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK. In the 16 weeks since the announcement on 29 July to means-test Winter Fuel Payment (which is up to and including end of week beginning 11 November), the Department received around 150,000 Pension Credit claims. The Department does not yet have an estimate of the value of these claims. However, the Department estimates that the legislation to means-test Winter Fuel Payments would generate a saving of £1.3 billion in England and Wales for 2024/25. An estimated increase in Pension Credit take-up of five percentage points would reduce the overall saving by £0.3 billion in 2024-25 in England and Wales, but there is significant uncertainty around this element of the costing. For further details, please see: Economic and fiscal outlook – CP 1169.

If she will make an estimate of the number of pensioners no longer eligible for winter fuel payment in winter 2024-25.

It is estimated that 9.2 million pensioners will lose their Winter Fuel Payments. This estimate was published in the OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook

If he will make an estimate of the number of pensioners hospitalised in winter 2024-25.

Information on hospital admissions by pensioners, specifically, is not available. NHS England publishes information on admissions by age group, with the following table showing the latest data for those aged 65 years old and over:MonthAdmitted hospital attendances for people aged 65 years old and over, EnglandNovember 2024160,630December 2024 (provisional)154,995Source: NHS England https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2024-25/Notes:This data is provided as a percentage of total admissions; therefore, the figures have been calculated from these percentages and rounded to the nearest whole number.The data publication is released monthly, with December 2024 being the most recent publication. December figures are provisional and are subject to revisions.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a transient visitor levy on the UK visitor economy.

Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury and there are no plans to introduce a visitor levy in England. Levies either have been or are being introduced in Scotland, Wales and some English cities and DCMS continues to monitor their impact on the visitor economy.

If he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of NHS treatment for pensioners in winter (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2023-24.

The information requested is not held centrally.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of recent answers to Written Questions in the context of improving transparency in Government.

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account. I have written to all members of Cabinet to remind Ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' PQs.The Procedure Committee regularly monitors individual department’s PQ performance, and recently published a report on department’s performance in the 2023-24 session (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/126/procedure-committee/publications/). I look forward to working with the Committee on this and other matters.I would encourage hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost of constructing East-West Rail in 2024 prices.

£1.3bn has been provided towards the delivery of East West Rail Connection Stage 1 (CS1) which will provide services from Oxford to Bletchley and Milton Keynes. The capital cost estimate for Connection Stages 2 (Oxford-Bedford) and 3 (Oxford-Cambridge) is £5bn-£6bn in 2021 prices. Final costs for the project will be driven by scope and design choices.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the equality of access to public services in rural areas.

Public bodies, in exercising their statutory responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), consider the adequacy of equality of access to public services, including through the use of tools such as Equality Impact Assessments. We are already working across Government to ensure that all policy decision making is rural proofed, which will help ensure that rural communities are not disadvantaged by policy developments and their implementation.

What steps his Department is taking to support off-grid properties to transition to clean fuels.

Currently, the Government’s Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) provides grants for energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to low-income households living in the worst performing, off-grid homes in England. In September 2024, the Government announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) which will provide energy performance measures and low carbon heating to low-income households in England including privately owned EPC band D-G homes both on and off the gas grid. £500 million has been allocated as part of the Autumn Budget for the Warm Homes: Local Grant to be delivered from 2025 to 2028 by eligible local authorities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to enhance the protection of (a) ancient and (b) veteran trees.

The Ancient Woodland Inventory, updated Planning Practice Guidance and the Standing Advice on ancient woodlands and ancient and veteran trees are in place to support local decision makers make informed decisions about planning applications near these habitats. Protections have been further strengthened by the Town and Country Planning Consultation Direction 2024 which includes suitable criteria and arrangements that must be followed for consulting Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of State once a local planning authority has resolved to grant planning permission for development affecting ancient woodland. The National Planning Policy Framework makes it clear that planning decisions should not result in the deterioration or loss of ancient woodland or ancient or veteran trees. We will continue to work to ensure our ancient woodlands and trees remain protected.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential role of (a) ancient and (b) veteran trees in place-making for (i) large-scale new towns and (ii) urban extensions.

The government is committed to delivering a new generation of new towns. We have made clear these must be well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live and that they must have all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities. In addition to making recommendations to ministers regarding appropriate locations, we have tasked the New Towns Taskforce chaired by Sir Michael Lyons with advising on a ‘New Towns Prospectus’ – standards that developers must meet in these new settlements (covering social and affordable homes, design, transport links to towns and city centres, public transport, green spaces). The Taskforce’s full terms of reference can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Tree Protection Order regime in protecting (a) ancient and (b) veteran trees.

Ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees are already strictly protected in national planning policy, while Tree Preservation orders safeguard individual trees or groups of trees of particular value. Local planning authorities have the principal responsibility for applying these protections effectively.We keep policy in this and other areas under review, working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).Defra recently completed a review on the implementation of national planning policy for protecting ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting additional protections to (a) ancient and (b) veteran trees in planning policy.

Ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees are already strictly protected in national planning policy, while Tree Preservation orders safeguard individual trees or groups of trees of particular value. Local planning authorities have the principal responsibility for applying these protections effectively.We keep policy in this and other areas under review, working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).Defra recently completed a review on the implementation of national planning policy for protecting ancient woodland and ancient and veteran trees.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of her policies on (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief on ancient woodlands.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential.

Whether she plans to produce a national kinship carers strategy.

The government is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this.In November 2024, the government published ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’, which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67375fe5ed0fc07b53499a42/Keeping_Children_Safe__Helping_Families_Thrive_.pdf. This statement set out the government's intention to rebalance the children’s social care system and improve outcomes for children in care, care leavers and families. This publication includes the key principle of supporting children to live with kinship carers when it is in their best interest.The department recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date. This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home, by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years and allowing them to focus on schooling and building friendships.

Whether she plans to carry out kinship carers pilot trials in eight local authority areas.

Through the Autumn Budget 2024, this government announced a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. This trial will help the department make decisions about future national rollout. The department will share further detail on the process for selecting the local authorities taking part in the programme in due course.

What information her Department holds on the number of delayed services on the Bedford Line in (a) Q3 and (b) Q4 2024.

Information relating to the number of delayed services on the Bedford line is not held by the department. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) publishes quarterly statistics on punctuality and reliability for passenger trains in Great Britain at: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/. Table 3133 shows Train punctuality at recorded station stops by operator in Great Britain, quarterly from April 2014 to June 2024. The operators servicing the Bedford line are Govia Thameslink Railway and the East Midlands Railway.Ministers have been clear that rail services have been failing passengers. Cancellations are at a ten-year high and punctuality is inconsistent across the network. We need to improve services for passengers and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer.Ministers continue to meet with the Managing Directors of the worst performing TOCs and their Network Rail counterparts, to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.

Communities and Local Government, what changes she expects to make to governance arrangements in Bedfordshire through the English Devolution White Paper.

In July, the Deputy Prime Minister invited places without devolution agreements, including Bedfordshire, to come forward and submit devolution proposals for their areas. This process closed in September and the government is now working closely with local leaders and stakeholders to review these proposals. The upcoming English Devolution White Paper will set out further detail on this government’s ambitions, including the benefits that can be gained through the establishment of combined authorities and combined county authorities over sensible economic geographies and supported by a mayor.

What discussions she has had with Thameslink on the performance of services on the Bedford Line.

Recent levels of disruption experienced on Thameslink due to delays and cancellations are clearly not acceptable and passengers deserve better. Ministers are meeting with the Managing Directors of all Train Operating Companies and their Network Rail counterparts to address poor performance and what is being done to improve it. Department officials also continually monitor the Train Operators’ performance and meet with them and Network Rail to ensure they deliver improvements to services.

Communities and Local Government, how much she expects (a) Central Bedfordshire Council and (b) Bedford Borough Council to increase council tax in 2025/26.

Council tax levels are decided by each council. The local government finance policy statement 2025 to 2026 proposed a core council tax referendum limit of up to 3% and an adult social care precept of 2% for all local authorities responsible for adult social care services, including Central Bedfordshire Council and Bedford Borough Council. The policy statement is available here.