Written questions by Voaden.

What his planned timetable is for informing local transport authorities of their Local Transport Grant allocation.

The Local Transport Grant (LTG) is a £2.3bn grant for local transport enhancements and maintenance, comprising both capital and resource funding from 2026/27 onwards. The grant is allocated to local transport authorities in England outside of London and areas that receive City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) or Transport for City Regions (TCR) funding. In June, individual local transport authority allocations for the £2.2bn of LTG capital funding were published on gov.uk, covering the years 2026/27 to 2029/30. In September, allocations for the remaining £104m of LTG resource funding were published, covering the years 2026/27 to 2028/29. Further transport funding allocations for local transport authorities from 2026/27 onwards, including for highways maintenance, buses and active travel, will be announced in due course.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the guidance entitled Reliefs from VAT for disabled and older people (VAT Notice 701/7), published on 18 December 2014, for people with permanent disabilities who are reliant on care provided by organisations which fall outside the exemption regime.

HMRC supports its customers by providing accessible digital services, tailored help for those with additional needs, and clear guidance to manage their tax affairs confidently. VAT Notice 701/7 - Reliefs from VAT for disabled and older people explains which goods and services for disabled people are zero-rated for VAT, and which mobility aids for people aged 60 or over are reduced-rated (subject to VAT at a rate of 5%). HMRC guidance in VAT Notice 701/2 - Welfare services and goods explains the reliefs available for individuals with permanent disabilities. The VAT exemption applies to care provided to disabled individuals by organisations that are public bodies, charities, or state-regulated institutions. HMRC keeps its guidance under review for accuracy and usability, providing updates in relation to changes in policy and processes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on levels of protection for national parks.

Government remains committed to safeguarding our National Parks and National Landscapes and enabling Protected Landscapes organisations to make land greener, wilder, and more accessible to all.

With reference to page 17 of his Department's publication entitled Reforming elective care for patients, published on 6 January 2025, what progress has been made with reviewing local patient transport services.

As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that reforming elective care must be done equitably and inclusively for all adults, children, and young people. We know there is also geographical variation in waiting times. It is important patients do not miss or cancel hospital appointments due to a lack of affordable and/or accessible transport options in their area. This is why the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, committed to reviewing, developing and increasing the uptake of existing national health inequalities improvement initiatives. NHS England are funding and co-ordinating a range of Patient Transport projects to explore more effective approaches to supporting patients with their National Health Service travel needs.A number of trusts (including Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust) are working on promoting, and streamlining the administration of the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) locally to better support eligible patients to access the transport support they need. A number of other trusts are offering targeted patient transport interventions, such as pre-paid bus tickets, to specific groups of patients who may need additional support to access their NHS care.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure biosolids used as fertiliser do not contain (a) per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and (b) microplastics.

We recognise the need to ensure the safe and sustainable use of sludge in agriculture to help clean up our waterways and promote healthy soil. We will continue to work constructively with stakeholders on our ongoing review of the regulatory framework to ensure it is fit-for-purpose. The Government has been working with water companies under their Chemical Investigations Programme (CIP), to improve the evidence base on the behaviour and fate of contaminants during treatment processes. CIP phase 4 will include a Groundwater, Soil and Biosolids investigation. This will explore the fate and behaviour of multiple chemical compounds, including PFAS substances and microplastics, to establish whether detected substances may pose a risk to long-term soil health, groundwater quality and the wider environment. This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate contaminants in the environment. We discuss the progress of this work on a frequent basis. Earlier this year, we published this Option Appraisal for Intentionally Added Microplastics, which provides a welcome addition to our sum of knowledge on the options to protect human health and the UK environment from the risks of microplastics. We are considering the results of this study.

Food and Rural Affairs, what process her Department uses to reallocate unused licences that allow fishing for bass.

Bass authorisations are administered by the Marine Management Organisation. They are separate to fishing vessel licences and allocated to the vessel with a track record of landing bass between 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2016. Unless approved by MMO to transfer an authorisation to another vessel under specific circumstances, bass authorisations cannot be transferred between individuals. A review of the current bass authorisation system is underway.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered extending temporary licences to (a) crab and (b) lobster fishers who have been affected by recent trends in the number of octopuses.

No temporary licences are issued. To fish for shellfish, fishers need a shellfish entitlement on their fishing vessel licence from the Marine Manamgent Organisation (MMO) and if fishing in the 0-6 nautical mile zone, a permit from their local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA). In this case, applications may be made to the Devon and Severn IFCA

Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to allocate funding for seafish-related (a) skills and (b) other training for the 2025-26 financial year.

Seafish were eligible to apply for skills and training-related funding through the recently closed Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FaSS). The Marine Management Organisation is currently reviewing and testing eligibility of applications submitted under the scheme. Outcomes of all FaSS applications will be communicated once the assessment process is complete.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 56493 on Teachers' Pensions, what progress she has made on resolving outstanding Cash Equivalent Transfer Value cases.

As at 4 September 2025, the number of unresolved Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) cases has been reduced to 433 from 3,062 at the end of October 2024. This includes recent CETV applications and as such there will always be a number of outstanding CETV cases at any given time.The scheme administrator is now working through the most complex cases for members who have retired. These cases can currently only be processed clerically and the estimated calculation times are between 20 and 65 hours per case. The department is funding IT changes for the scheme administrator that are expected to significantly reduce calculation times.This issue remains a top priority for the department and the scheme administrator, and the above actions are currently expected to result in the delayed CETVs being fully cleared by spring 2026.

When she plans to publish further information on the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

We are working closely with local authorities and stakeholders on the detailed design of the fund, and we plan to issue guidance as soon as possible ahead of the new scheme starting on 1 April 2026.

What recent progress his Department has made on implementing the UK-EU summit agreements.

At the first UK-EU Summit, the Government agreed a substantial package to take forward our new Strategic Partnership with the EU. We are proceeding swiftly with technical negotiations to implement these commitments. We will keep Parliament updated on significant developments.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the postgraduate loan repayment threshold to be in line with the National Minimum Wage.

The government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure it remains fair, sustainable and delivers value for students, universities and the wider economy.The postgraduate loans schemes were introduced to help remove the financial barrier faced by those wishing to step up to achieve a postgraduate level qualification. They are part of the long-term commitment to make the UK more globally competitive by increasing the number of those with high level skills and knowledge. As part of our ongoing work, we always consider a range of factors which can affect repayment thresholds and recognise the importance of ensuring that the system remains fair for borrowers, as well as being financially sustainable.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support the viability of public swimming pools.

The Government recognises that sports clubs and facilities, including swimming pools, are important to communities up and down the country. Everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, should have access to them and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans. The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure swimming facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government and ensuring that funding goes to the places that need it most through the Local Government Finance Settlement. The Government encourages local authorities and local leaders to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities (including swimming pools) for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities. This is complemented by the support and guidance available through the Government’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England. We will continue to engage with a full range of stakeholders to explore how we can work towards securing a vibrant future for swimming pools, enabling them to continue delivering their full potential for public health, economic growth, and the wellbeing of our communities.

What steps she is taking to ensure buy-to-let mortgage products are available for landlords renting to vulnerable tenants.

The Government welcomes innovation in the mortgage market and continues to work with the sector to improve housing provisions and the safeguards in place for the vulnerable. The availability and design of buy-to-let mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.

What steps her Department is taking to improve transport services in rural areas.

This Government knows that integrated public transport is vital to keeping communities connected. We also know that in rural and semi-rural areas, bus services can be a lifeline for many and can be the only means of accessing services, including other modes of transportation such as rail links. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December to put the power over local bus services back into the hands of local leaders. In addition, we are investing £1 billion this year to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable. The Government confirmed a £2.3 billion investment in local transport through the Local Transport Grant (LTG) at the Spending Review. This funding is for smaller cities, towns and rural areas, and will enable local authorities to deliver more ambitious transport projects.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofwat on the standardisation of social tariff schemes for water bills.

All water companies have a range of measures in place for people who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including social tariffs, WaterSure, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support. The Government is working with industry to keep the current support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers across the country are supported.

What steps he is taking to ensure that care home fee rates set by local authorities include (a) the economic situation, (b) workforce and (c) inflation.

We recognise the importance of local authority fee rates to adult social care providers, which meet the costs of delivering care and enable providers to recruit and retain staff. We have therefore provided the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund to local authorities since 2023/24, with one of the three target areas that local authorities can spend their allocations on being to improve fee rates to providers.A letter sent out to council leaders in January set out the expectation that in 2025/26, when commissioning services, local authorities should ensure fee levels for care and support services take account of the actual costs of care in their area, including inflationary and all other pressures, such as the rise in National Living Wage and the changes to employers National Insurance contributions.As part of our monitoring of the Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund grant conditions, and to understand fee rates more generally, local authorities are required to provide an annual return to the Department, including data on the fee rates they pay care providers. The Government publishes this data annually, with the latest data being available to view at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/market-sustainability-and-improvement-fund-2024-to-2025-care-provider-fees/market-sustainability-and-improvement-fund-msif-provider-fee-reporting-2024-to-2025

What steps she is taking to ensure school behaviour policies are (a) inclusive and (b) supportive of children with speech and language challenges.

All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour. Any policy must be lawful, proportionate and reasonable and comply with the school’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006.The ‘Behaviour in schools’ guidance is clear that a school’s culture should consistently promote high standards of behaviour and provide the necessary support to ensure all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), can achieve and thrive. The appropriate response to misbehaviour will often need to be considered in relation to a pupil’s SEND, although not every incident of misbehaviour will be connected to their SEND. When a pupil is identified as having SEND, the graduated approach outlined in the ‘SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years’ should be used to assess, plan, deliver and then review the impact of the support being provided. The guidance also includes practical examples of how schools can meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010 and Children and Families Act 2014.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support small family businesses that are affected by recent Inheritance Tax changes.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. These reforms were announced on 30 October 2024 and will take effect from 6 April 2026.

Whether she has made an assessment of the merits of putting transitional arrangements in place for changes to inheritance tax rules for family businesses.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. These reforms were announced on 30 October 2024 and will take effect from 6 April 2026.