Written questions by Denyer.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7788 on Air Pollution, what guidance his Department provides on safe limits of NOx.

The Air Quality Standards Regulations (2010) set a limit of 40µg/m³ for the annual average concentration of NO₂ (a component of NOx). This threshold, determined with consideration of pertinent health guidelines, aims to safeguard human health. NOx is extensively monitored across the UK, and monitoring data is made available to the public in near real-time on Defra’s UK-AIR website. Defra annually publishes Air Quality Accredited Official Statistics, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/air-quality-and-emissions-statistics. Through the NO₂ programme, Defra is working closely with local authorities to deliver air quality measures to meet legal limits for NO₂ and improve the health of their residents. Further to this, in 2022, Defra updated the statutory policy and technical guidance for local authorities on their responsibilities for Local Air Quality Management, including achievement of legal air quality limits for local communities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Scottish Government's (a) Energy and Climate change directorate and (b) External Affairs directorate on whether any Scotland based companies are undertaking (i) recruitment, (ii) training, (iii) technical management services for Seapeak LLC in relation to the shipping of Russian Liquified Natural Gas to (A) EU and (B) other third countries.

The UK has taken extensive action to limit energy revenues that fund Russia's war. The UK prohibited the import of Russian LNG in January 2023 and banned the export of energy related goods, including those that support LNG production. We continue to consider all lawful and practical options to limit Russian energy revenues.

Whether he has had discussions with the Foreign Secretary about the potential implications for his Department’s policies of reports the Rosebank oil field’s minority owner is owned by a firm operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.

Whether his plans to provide mental health professionals in schools include access to children and young people’s counsellors trained to Level 4 Diploma of Higher Education in counselling with clinical experience of working with children and young people.

We know that waits for mental health services are far too long, including for children and young people. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across children and adult mental health services, and introduce a specialist mental health professional in every school We are not considering counsellors trained to Level 4 Diploma of Higher Education in counselling for these roles, however children and young people can be referred to higher qualified professionals if needs identified.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2024 to Question 17936 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, if she will publish her assessment of the differences in the cost per kWh of public and home electric vehicle charging.

There are no current plans for the Department for Transport to publish an assessment of the differences in cost of public and home vehicle charging. A number of assessments are already publicly available such as this analysis by the RAC: Electric car public charging costs | RAC Charge Watch | RAC Drive

If he will make it his policy to retain the Acoustic Fish Deterrent aspect of the Development Consent Order to the Hinkley Point C (Nuclear Generating Station) Order 2013.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Minister cannot enter into a discussion on this area. This will be a quasi-judicial decision to be taken by a DESNZ Minister under the Planning Act 2008, based only on the facts, evidence and arguments made in the case as presented to us once it has been through the formal planning process.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2024 to Question 16304 on Pension Credit: South Derbyshire, how many pensioner households in receipt of Housing Benefit and identified as potentially entitled to but not claiming Pension Credit her Department has targeted in Bristol Central constituency; and how many of those pensioner households have since claimed Pension Credit.

102 pensioner households were targeted in the Bristol Central constituency as part of the Invitation to Claim initiative. The letters sent to these households encourage them to claim Pension Credit by 21 December which is the latest date for making a successful backdated claim and still receive a Winter Fuel payment. Data on the number of claims received from the households targeted as part of the initiative, and the number of awards made will be established once the Department has completed processing all those applications and the necessary analysis is completed.

Pursuant to the Answer on 2 December 2024 to Question 15939 on Electric Vehicles: Charging Points, whether she is taking steps to analyse pricing data to compare the cost of using (a) public and (b) home electric vehicle charging points.

As set out in the Manifesto, the Government is committed to delivering an equitable transition to zero emission vehicles which works for all drivers. The Government regularly monitors the cost of public and home electric vehicle charging.

Whether the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption has had meetings with representatives of (a) Leonardo, (b) Glencore, (c) Enwell Energy, (d) BP and (e) Centrica since being appointed to that role.

The work of the Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption, including any engagement undertaken, is conducted independently from the Home Office.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take legislative steps to reinstate Council Tax Benefit.

The Government has no current plans to reinstate Council Tax Benefit.

With reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Secondary Care of 19 November 2024, Official Report, column 146, whether she has sought commitments from the suppliers of medicines; and what the remaining issues are.

Following on from my answer to the question raised at health oral topical questions by the Hon. Member of Parliament for Gravesham, Dr Lauren Sullivan about the shortages of medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), I would like to confirm that the Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some ADHD medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues, where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We expect the supply to improve in the UK throughout the rest of 2024. However, we anticipate supply to be limited for some strengths and we continue to work with all suppliers to ensure the remaining issues are resolved as soon as possible. To improve supply chain resiliency, we are also working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK supplier base.We are supporting an ADHD taskforce that NHS England is establishing to examine ADHD service provision. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand. In collaboration with NHS England’s national ADHD data improvement plan, we plan to combine modelling for future growth forecasts, which will be shared with industry to improve demand forecasting for ADHD medicines.To minimise the impact of the shortages on patients, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the NHS, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7946 on Sizewell C Power Station: Compensation, what (a) output in MWh his Department has assumed for Hinkley Point C and (b) discounting rate has been applied for sharing First-of-a-Kind costs with Hinkley Point C over the first 35 years of its lifetime; and whether the cost of the discounting rate is included in expenditure eligible for a Sizewell C Regulated Asset Base.

EDF’s assumed maximum capacity of HPC is 3.2GW, overlaid with assumptions for planned and unplanned outages. There isn’t a specific discounting rate applied to the First-of-a-Kind cost sharing. Instead, the payment for this cost sharing is included in the forecast expenditure eligible for the SZC RAB, along with other eligible project costs; and the consumer costs, driven by the RAB, are discounted at the applicable Social Discount Rate used in the Government’s Value for Money assessment of the SZC project.

If she will publish details of meetings (a) held by the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption since he was appointed to that role and (b) that he plans to hold in the next 12 months.

The Home Office has no current plans to publish details of meetings held by the independent adviser on political violence and disruption.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2024 to Question 8297 on Prisons: Food and Prescription Drugs, what steps he is taking to monitor the adequacy of (a) suicide prevention provision, (b) palliative care, (c) medical emergency care and (d) mental health care in prisons; and whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of those steps.

NHS England, via the regional health and justice teams, has regular meetings with prison healthcare providers to ensure the quality of the services that are provided. These are also supplemented with local partnership boards where governors, commissioners, and providers meet to discuss any issues, risks, and areas of concern. This could include the number of prisoners who are currently under an Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork approach where there is a risk of self-harm, and the overall healthcare provision, including any issues around enablement.The Dying Well in Custody Framework and supporting self-assessment framework describes a set of national standards for local adoption, and provides a tool for a local multi-disciplinary approach to providing agreed standards of palliative and end of life care to people in prison.

With reference to the oral contribution of Leader of the House of Commons on 10 October 2024, Official Report, column 475, for what reason a response from a Minister was not provided before 21 October; and whether a response will be provided before any future decision is made relating to the government's independent adviser on political violence and disruption.

Following the Business Question on the 10th October 2024, I wrote to the Cabinet Office and my office further contacted the Home Office to raise this matter. Where Members raise issues with Ministers, it is important that they receive full and timely responses. I understand that the Home Office has now responded to the Hon. Member.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Development in response to the question from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, during the Urgent Question on Sudan of 3 September 2024, Official Report, column 161, if he will publish a breakdown of the £97 million funding announced for Sudan this financial year by (a) sector (i) multilateral, (ii) non-governmental organisations, (iii) local and (iv) national responders in Sudan and (b) geographic area.

As of the end of September 2024, £70 million of this year's £97 million bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) for Sudan had been disbursed. The rest of the UK's funding to Sudan this year will be distributed by the end of the financial year. The majority of this funding supports key UN agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF who are providing life-saving food assistance in Sudan. UK ODA also contributes to: the Sudan Humanitarian Fund, which is supporting local and national responders, including Emergency Response Rooms; a consortium of International non-governmental organisations delivering protection services, including on sexual and gender-based violence associated with conflict; and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)'s work on emergency preparedness and response, protection of civilians, and providing life-saving healthcare across Sudan.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure that prisoners are (a) being routinely provided with meals that meet the recommended daily allowance calorie intake and (b) receiving prescribed medication on time.

All establishments are required to ensure prisoners receive three nutritionally balanced meals a day as set out in PSI 44/2010 Catering - Meals for Prisoners: Prisoner meals: PSI 44/2010 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). These must meet the religious, cultural, and medical needs of all prisoners.All health treatment in custody is the responsibility of NHS England and NHS Wales. NHS services are commissioned on the basis of equivalence with those received in the community by the general public. His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service is committed to ensuring that people in prison are able to access NHS commissioned services in custody in a timely manner. Should any issues arise, established governance arrangements provide the means for Governors, NHS Health and Justice Commissioners (England) or Local Health Boards (Wales) and providers to address concerns about local healthcare delivery.

With reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in the debate on COP29: UK Priorities on Tuesday 10 September 2024, Official Report, Col 232WH, what the membership is of the Local Net Zero Forum; when the next meeting will take place; and what topics will be on the agenda.

The Government is committed to strong collaboration with local government on net zero, as demonstrated by having recently signed up to CHAMP - the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships for Climate Action.The previous government ran the Local Net Zero Forum of which terms of reference, membership and meeting minutes can be found on the Local Net Zero Forum gov.uk page. The Government is currently reviewing the approach and will set out plans in due course.

With reference to the first bullet point on page 23 of EDF Energy Holdings Limited Annual Report and Financial Statements 31 December 2023, what estimate he has made of the amount of compensation that will be paid from Sizewell C to Hinkley Point C; and how that cost will be allocated between (a) private investors, (b) the UK Government and (c) electricity consumers.

Under the terms of a contractual agreement between HPC and SZC, which was agreed at the time of the Final Investment Decision on HPC, a payment is payable from SZC to HPC if SZC takes a positive FID. This payment reflects benefits for SZC, including the significant learning and ‘avoided First-of-a-Kind’ costs that SZC will gain from being a ‘second-of-a-kind’ replica of HPC. The payment would be financed by the investors in SZC and would be added to the cost base of SZC, and is therefore included in the Government’s Value for Money assessment of the SZC project. The value of the payment to HPC is intended to be broadly equal to £3/MWh in Net Present Value terms, reflecting the size of the reduction in the strike price at HPC if a positive FID on SZC is taken. Taking into account the lower HPC strike price, the overall effect of the payment on GB electricity consumers would be broadly neutral.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 July 2024 to Question 92 on Gender Dysphoria: Children, what his planned timetable is for (a) the study team to finalise their application for funding and (b) this application to be assessed by an independent scientific review study.

A study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as one of the treatment options for children and young people with gender incongruence is being developed through a joint programme between NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the research arm of the Department. The research will be co-sponsored by King’s College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The study team has submitted its research application, and this is currently undergoing scientific review. In August, NHS England stated that the study protocol should be complete by December 2024 and, subject to academic approval, recruitment to the trial would commence in early 2025. Subject to the study achieving the necessary approvals, the NIHR will publish details of the award, including the planned trial duration and study completion date, on its website.