Written questions by Anderson.

What data his Department holds on the proportion of low-income households in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency expected to benefit from changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy.

The Department does not have an estimate of the projected number of children in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency who will become newly eligible for support measures introduced under the Child Poverty Strategy or hold data on the proportion of low-income households in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency expected to benefit from changes to income-related thresholds outlined in the Child Poverty Strategy. Estimates are available for the number of children and households that are expected to gain from the removal of two-child limit at constituency level here Poverty impacts of social security changes at Budget 2025 - GOV.UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of restricting stablecoin use in wholesale markets on the development of tokenised settlement systems.

The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance. This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting interest-earning reserves on the commercial viability of pound-backed stablecoins.

The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance. This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.

What discussions she has had with regulators on permitting multi-jurisdiction reserve models for pound sterling stablecoin issuance.

The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance. This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the regulatory approach on investor adoption of pound sterling based stablecoins.

The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance. This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.

What steps is taking to support UK participation in digital settlement markets.

The government is committed to making the UK a global hub for digital assets. It recognises the huge potential posed by tokenised asset innovation, and for stablecoins to support innovation in both retail payments and wholesale settlement. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, including stablecoin, and maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue with the financial regulators as they develop detailed rules and guidance. This legislation complements other measures being taken forward by the government on digital assets, including: the Digital Securities Sandbox, which supports settlement using distributed ledger technology; the Digital Gilt Instrument pilot issuance; and the publication of the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy.

What plans his Department has to issue guidance to councils covering Buckingham and Bletchley constituency on monitoring local outcomes of the Child Poverty Strategy.

We are strengthening our partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) with our Civil Society Covenant. We recognise that the VCSE sector has a strong record of supporting families and is the bedrock of our communities. We are putting tackling child poverty at the heart of local government by including child poverty in the new Outcomes Framework for local government as a contextual outcome. The Framework also includes wider priority outcomes that will help tackle child poverty such as preventing and reducing homelessness and rough sleeping; access to a decent, safe and affordable home; local growth; and promoting health and wellbeing in children. Alongside the Strategy, we have set out our initial plans for monitoring and evaluation to ensure our strategy is on track to tackle child poverty as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and continued learning.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of local voluntary sector organisations in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency expected to deliver services linked to the Child Poverty Strategy.

We are strengthening our partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) with our Civil Society Covenant. We recognise that the VCSE sector has a strong record of supporting families and is the bedrock of our communities. We are putting tackling child poverty at the heart of local government by including child poverty in the new Outcomes Framework for local government as a contextual outcome. The Framework also includes wider priority outcomes that will help tackle child poverty such as preventing and reducing homelessness and rough sleeping; access to a decent, safe and affordable home; local growth; and promoting health and wellbeing in children. Alongside the Strategy, we have set out our initial plans for monitoring and evaluation to ensure our strategy is on track to tackle child poverty as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and continued learning.

What assessment his Department has made of energy-related cost pressures on low-income households in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency referenced in the Child Poverty Strategy.

Thanks to decisions in the Government's Autumn Budget, and as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy, the Government will deliver an average £150 of costs off household energy bills from April 2026. As a result of this action, people in Buckingham and Bletchley can expect to make a significant saving on their bills. In addition, in 2024-2025, 3,489 households (7.8%) in Buckingham and Bletchley benefited from the Warm Home Discount - a £150 discount on their energy bill. This winter, we are expanding this discount so that around 6 million low-income households will receive this support, including an approximate additional 350,000 households in the South East region. We will also be publishing a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that many more fuel poor households are protected by 2030, in parallel to the Warm Homes Plan.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of children in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in households newly eligible for debt-prevention or money-management support under the Child Poverty Strategy.

We do not hold data on the expected uptake of family financial resilience programmes, and have not made any assessment of the number of children in households newly eligible for debt-prevention or money-management support in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency under the Child Poverty Strategy.The Strategy recognises the important role that financial resilience must play in supporting families in poverty. The new £1 billion (including Barnett consequential) Crisis and Resilience Fund, launching in April 2026, will invest in local financial resilience to enable communities to better deal with crises in the long-term, reducing dependence and repeat need. Alongside this, the government is boosting financial resilience through helping low-income families to save, increasing debt advice provision and providing financial education and money management tools. The Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, published on 5 November 2025, brings together the foundations of financial resilience in support of the Child Poverty Strategy.Alongside the Child Poverty Strategy, we have set out our initial plans for monitoring and evaluation to ensure our strategy is on track to tackle child poverty. We will work with departments and policy owners to complement existing monitoring and evaluation plans, and support them to further assess the delivery and impact of their policies on child poverty, particularly for policies where it is important to capture wider benefits. Further details on our approach to monitoring and evaluation will follow in a baseline report in Summer 2026.

What plans his Department has to publish annual constituency-level child poverty indicators in relation to the Child Poverty Strategy.

Details of new statistics currently under development are also set out in the DWP Statistical Work Programme, available at: Statistical work programme - GOV.UK. This includes proposals for a new measure of low income for families in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) and new local area Official Statistics on children in low-income families on an after housing costs (AHC) basis, which will provide additional local area level insights.The Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Strategy, sets out how we will track progress and evaluate success as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability and continued learning. We will use two complementary headline metrics, relative poverty (after housing costs) and deep material poverty, as well as a comprehensive programme of analysis focussing on the drivers of child poverty and the impact of specific interventions. We will publish a baseline report next summer with further details, which will set out the latest statistics and identify what further indicators and wider evidence will be used to monitor and evaluate the Child Poverty Strategy at both a national and local level.

What data his Department holds on the expected uptake of family financial resilience programmes in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency under the Child Poverty Strategy.

We do not hold data on the expected uptake of family financial resilience programmes, and have not made any assessment of the number of children in households newly eligible for debt-prevention or money-management support in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency under the Child Poverty Strategy.The Strategy recognises the important role that financial resilience must play in supporting families in poverty. The new £1 billion (including Barnett consequential) Crisis and Resilience Fund, launching in April 2026, will invest in local financial resilience to enable communities to better deal with crises in the long-term, reducing dependence and repeat need. Alongside this, the government is boosting financial resilience through helping low-income families to save, increasing debt advice provision and providing financial education and money management tools. The Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, published on 5 November 2025, brings together the foundations of financial resilience in support of the Child Poverty Strategy.Alongside the Child Poverty Strategy, we have set out our initial plans for monitoring and evaluation to ensure our strategy is on track to tackle child poverty. We will work with departments and policy owners to complement existing monitoring and evaluation plans, and support them to further assess the delivery and impact of their policies on child poverty, particularly for policies where it is important to capture wider benefits. Further details on our approach to monitoring and evaluation will follow in a baseline report in Summer 2026.

What data her Department holds on expected changes in childcare demand in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency associated with childcare measures in the Child Poverty Strategy.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.The government’s landmark Child Poverty Strategy sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. From next year, parents claiming Universal Credit who are starting or returning to work (including after parental leave) will be able to have their childcare costs paid before they pay them - removing the need to front the money and claim it back later. Previously, Universal Credit covered childcare costs for up to two children. Under the new policy, families with more than two children will receive support for all their childcare costs.Although we do not hold this data on a constituency level, there are no reported issues in the South East region.

What estimate his Department has made of the additional public health support needs of families in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency targeted by the Child Poverty Strategy.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and its commitment to raising the healthiest generation of children in history. We know that poverty can have a long-lasting impact on children’s health. In the ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, the Government reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen the support available for families to address their health needs. For example, we have committed to supporting those who need access to healthy, affordable nutrition by increasing the value of Healthy Start by 10% and setting out measures to give parents and carers the confidence to choose lower priced infant formula and to make infant formula more affordable.The assessment of the health needs of a local population is the responsibility of local authorities through a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. These assessments are funded through the Public Health Grant. In Buckingham and Bletchley, Buckinghamshire County Council and Milton Keynes City Council provide these assessments, with further information available at the following link:https://miltonkeynes.jsna.uk/jsna/children-young-people/Child health data, including obesity and physical activity, is held on Fingertips at national, regional, and local levels in England. Data from the National Child Measurement Programme can serve as proxy measures of nutritional status. Aggregated data on obesity and overweight prevalence is not available at Parliamentary constituency level but is available at ward and local authority levels. The following table shows the percentage of obesity, including severe obesity, and the prevalence of overweight, including obesity, within each ward in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, from 2022/23 to 2024/25:Ward namePercentage of obesity (%) including severe obesity 2022/23 to 2024/25Prevalence of overweight (%) including obesity 2022/23 to 2024/25Reception aged 4 to 5 years oldYear 6 aged 10 to 11 years oldReception aged 4 to 5 years oldYear 6 aged 10 to 11 years oldBletchley East11.826.524.738.8Bletchley West11.525.527.138.7Bletchley Park13.527.527.940.4Buckingham West7.416.521.029.9Buckingham East6.315.818.826.3Great Brickhill9.114.121.228.2Tattenhoe5.816.915.528.2Winslow10.414.322.925.0

What data his Department holds on projected child nutrition needs in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency associated with interventions in the Child Poverty Strategy.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and its commitment to raising the healthiest generation of children in history. We know that poverty can have a long-lasting impact on children’s health. In the ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, the Government reaffirmed our commitment to strengthen the support available for families to address their health needs. For example, we have committed to supporting those who need access to healthy, affordable nutrition by increasing the value of Healthy Start by 10% and setting out measures to give parents and carers the confidence to choose lower priced infant formula and to make infant formula more affordable.The assessment of the health needs of a local population is the responsibility of local authorities through a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. These assessments are funded through the Public Health Grant. In Buckingham and Bletchley, Buckinghamshire County Council and Milton Keynes City Council provide these assessments, with further information available at the following link:https://miltonkeynes.jsna.uk/jsna/children-young-people/Child health data, including obesity and physical activity, is held on Fingertips at national, regional, and local levels in England. Data from the National Child Measurement Programme can serve as proxy measures of nutritional status. Aggregated data on obesity and overweight prevalence is not available at Parliamentary constituency level but is available at ward and local authority levels. The following table shows the percentage of obesity, including severe obesity, and the prevalence of overweight, including obesity, within each ward in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, from 2022/23 to 2024/25:Ward namePercentage of obesity (%) including severe obesity 2022/23 to 2024/25Prevalence of overweight (%) including obesity 2022/23 to 2024/25Reception aged 4 to 5 years oldYear 6 aged 10 to 11 years oldReception aged 4 to 5 years oldYear 6 aged 10 to 11 years oldBletchley East11.826.524.738.8Bletchley West11.525.527.138.7Bletchley Park13.527.527.940.4Buckingham West7.416.521.029.9Buckingham East6.315.818.826.3Great Brickhill9.114.121.228.2Tattenhoe5.816.915.528.2Winslow10.414.322.925.0

What estimate her Department has made of the number of schools in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency that will require capital adjustments to deliver expanded breakfast provision under the Child Poverty Strategy.

The department has so far successfully delivered 5 million meals through 750 early adopter free breakfast clubs and schools have told us about the many benefits these clubs provide including improved attendance, behaviour and attainment. We have seen our early adopters successfully manage space constrains and we continue to encourage local authorities, responsible bodies, academy trusts, schools and providers to work together to solve problems collaboratively, ensuring the needs of parents and children are met. Schools have flexibility to decide where to deliver their provision, in accordance with the minimum expectations. They are expected to consider all space available onsite, including classrooms. Alternatively, they can opt to offer the provision offsite at a nearby venue. Schools will receive a £1000 start-up grant to spend on any equipment, materials, training and infrastructure and systems needed to deliver.

Whether she plans to participate in the OECD PISA financial literacy assessment to benchmark pupils’ financial education.

The government has made a commitment to strengthen pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. The department will engage with sector experts and young people in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be a public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study in 2026, to seek views on the content before they are finalised. ​To support schools with teaching now and longer-term, Oak National Academy, an independent Arm’s Length Body, provides adaptable, optional and free curriculum support for schools, which can be found here: https://www.thenational.academy/ . The department will be examining what further support and training may be needed to help deliver the new financial education curriculum. No decision has yet been made on whether to participate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment financial literacy assessment and will confirm a decision in due course.​

What support and training will be provided to teachers to deliver financial education, as part of the Government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

The government has made a commitment to strengthen pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. The department will engage with sector experts and young people in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be a public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study in 2026, to seek views on the content before they are finalised. ​To support schools with teaching now and longer-term, Oak National Academy, an independent Arm’s Length Body, provides adaptable, optional and free curriculum support for schools, which can be found here: https://www.thenational.academy/ . The department will be examining what further support and training may be needed to help deliver the new financial education curriculum. No decision has yet been made on whether to participate in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment financial literacy assessment and will confirm a decision in due course.​

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the staffing requirements needed to support expanded UK engagement in Indo-Pacific economic initiatives.

Building strong relationships in the Indo-Pacific is crucial to the UK's long-term economic growth. The global economic centre of gravity is already shifting - by 2050 the Indo-Pacific region will generate over half of global growth.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade, and other colleagues, to ensure that our work in the Indo-Pacific supports the delivery of the UK's Industrial and Trade Strategies, including securing the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and finalising UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. UK Diplomatic Posts in the Indo-Pacific incorporate relevant regional strategic priorities into their country plans, and all Posts provide twice-yearly updates against the objectives set out in those plans.

What estimate he has made of the laboratory capacity required to meet anticipated levels of HIV screening during the HIV Action Plan for England 2025–2030 period.

As part of the new HIV Action Plan, we will continue the success of the blood-borne virus emergency department opt-out testing programme, investing £156 million from April 2026 to March 2029 to deliver opt-out HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C testing in emergency departments in very high and high HIV prevalence areas.We will also expand digital provision of HIV testing, investing £5 million in 2025/26 to trial HIV testing through the NHS App, working in partnership with existing commissioned sexual health providers, such as those already used by local authorities, rather than building a new service from scratch. These services have a strong track record in at-home HIV testing, and the NHS App will provide a new entry point that routes people into that established service.National Health Service trusts are responsible for ensuring laboratories have adequate capacity for all testing, including HIV screening.