Written questions by Mathew.

Communities and Local Government, how the Department monitors local authority performance in supporting young people facing homelessness.

We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people. Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, if the Department will undertake a formal review of how local authorities assess young people who present as homeless under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people. Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.

Communities and Local Government, what steps the Department is taking to ensure consistency in how local authorities interpret and apply statutory duties to young people presenting as homeless.

We are taking action across government to provide targeted support to young people and their families at an earlier stage. The government is providing more than £3.6 billion funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, which councils can use to meet the needs of people in their area including young people. Housing authorities have a duty to assess any eligible applicant who is homeless or at risk of homelessness. They must work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan with actions to be taken by the authority and the applicant to try and prevent or relieve homelessness. We have also committed to develop a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit and develop a dedicated chapter of the Homelessness Code of Guidance on young people, to support councils to work collaboratively with other public services to prevent youth homelessness.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help support victims of the humanitarian situation in Sudan.

Last week, at the International Sudan Conference in Berlin, the Foreign Secretary announced £146 million of new humanitarian funding for Sudan this year, which will reach more than 1.8 million people.This includes doubling UK support for local Sudanese responders delivering vital aid in the hardest-to-reach areas.But funding alone cannot stop this man-made crisis. That is why, at the same conference, the Foreign Secretary also urged the renewal of diplomatic efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire, allow urgent, safe and unrestricted access for humanitarian relief agencies, and negotiate a lasting resolution to the conflict in Sudan.

When the tender for the new School Sport Partnerships Network will be released, and what steps are being taken to ensure continuity of provision for schools and young people.

​​ My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on 19 June 2025 that the government will establish a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network to ensure all children and young people have access to high quality PE and extracurricular sport, helping young people develop an interest in sport that continues beyond the school environment.​To deliver this, the department is preparing to procure a national partner to lead the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network. This partner will work with the government, Sport England and national governing bodies to make links across provision for children and young people to strengthen support to schools and increase access to opportunities. Further details on the PE and School Sports Partnerships will be confirmed in due course.

How many applications for care workers to switch sponsorship via Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship have been submitted to date.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of allowing US strikes on Iran from RAF Fairford to local communities.

The UK has a well-established system for assessing and reviewing the implications of giving permissions for the use of UK bases by allies.

Whether missions launching from RAF Fairford are strictly for the purposes of defence.

The UK government has been clear throughout that the agreement allowing the US to use UK military bases is for specific and limited, defensive purposes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of the UK's planned multilateral development financing will be spent on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cancellation of the WASH4Health Programme on i) supporting women and girls and ii) tackling global health threats.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much of the UK's International Development Association contribution will be spent on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to support partner governments and organisations whose WASH4Health Programme has been cancelled.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 19 March outlining the UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for the period up to 2028-29, and to the accompanying documents setting out the detail of those allocations. I also refer him to the evidence provided by the Foreign Secretary and the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee on 24 March, where they addressed questions at length about the Government's ODA policies and allocation decisions.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of the Seasonal Shearing Concession on a) ensuring adequate numbers of shearers during the summer season and b) sheep welfare, especially reduction of heat stress and flystrike.

All Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession has been operating for 14 years and the sheep farming sector has made significant efforts to provide skills training within the domestic workforce.To give sheep farmers two years to transition to new arrangements, and move away from using overseas shearers, the concession has been renewed for one more year. The concession will not be renewed in 2027 and will close for a final time on 30 June 2026.

What assessment his Department has made of the (a) prevalence of respiratory disease and (b) number of emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in Melksham and Devizes constituency compared with national averages; and what steps he is taking to ensure respiratory health is prioritised nationally, including through the introduction of a Modern Service Framework for respiratory care.

Data is available for emergency Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’. The following table shows the FAEs where there was a primary diagnosis of 'respiratory conditions’ for Melksham and Devizes, and England, for activity in English National Health Service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector, for 2024/25 and provisionally for 2025/26:Westminster Parliamentary Constituency of Residence2024/25 (August 2024 to March 2025)2025/26 (April 2025 to November 2025)Melksham and Devizes545575England608,449423,588Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England.Available data on trends in respiratory conditions can be found on the Department’s fingertips dataset. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency. Data is available at regional, county, unitary authority, and integrated care board level. Information for Wiltshire can be found at the following link:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/Respiratory#page/1/gid/1/pat/15/ati/502/are/E06000054/iid/40701/age/163/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1The Government will consider long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks (MSFs), including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future MSFs will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. After the initial wave of MSFs is complete, the National Quality Board will determine the conditions to prioritise for new MSFs as part of its work programme.

What assessment his department has made of the current accessibility of Motor Neurone Disease treatments with reference to new breakthrough drugs like Tofersen.

The Government recognises how important it is that patients with motor neurone disease (MND) are able to benefit from access to new clinically and cost-effective treatments. There are currently no new treatments routinely available to National Health Service patients for MND. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently evaluating tofersen, a new licensed treatment for SOD-1 MND, and the company is expected to make an evidence submission to support the appraisal in early June 2026.Relatedly, the Government is investing significantly in MND research, for example via the £8 million EXPERTS ALS trial, with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, being an alternative name for MND, which screens for drugs that have the potential to be successful in clinical trials for people with MND.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the humanitarian situation in Sudan including i) increasing humanitarian access for INGOs and ii) increasing humanitarian funding.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 5 February following her recent visit to the Chad-Sudan border.

If she has considered the efficacy of using FCA fines to fund hospices.

Revenue from Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fines is used to benefit the taxpaying public. First, the FCA deducts the costs of enforcement from its fine income. Any money left over is passed to the Treasury in accordance with the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Treasury must surrender it to the Consolidated Fund and it is then part of the Government’s total revenues, used to pay for all Government spending on public services like hospitals, hospices, and other crucial services. The Government has no plans to change this approach.

What estimate his Department has made for when the backlog of the Civil Service Pension payments will be resolved.

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable. Our full focus is on stabilising the service and supporting any members experiencing hardship. We will conduct a full review once this has been achieved. Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract. The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December. The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.Capita has prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. A similar position will be reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March Alongside these arrangements, Capita has prioritised payment of tax-free pension lump sums for members who had received quotations but were not in receipt of their benefits, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.

What steps he is taking to establish who is responsible for the delays in payments of the Civil Service Pension Scheme and ensure they are held accountable.

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable. Our full focus is on stabilising the service and supporting any members experiencing hardship. We will conduct a full review once this has been achieved. Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract. The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December. The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.Capita has prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. A similar position will be reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March Alongside these arrangements, Capita has prioritised payment of tax-free pension lump sums for members who had received quotations but were not in receipt of their benefits, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what is the budget for humanitarian aid to Myanmar; what steps are taken to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the people who are most in need and is not blocked or diverted by the military; and whether she intends to increase aid to Myanmar.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on the fifth anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-the-fifth-anniversary-of-the-military-coup-in-myanmar) and the answers provided in the House of Lords in February in response to the similar set of Questions HL13818-20, HL13821, and HL13859.