Written questions by Cane.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the Royal Society of Chemistry entitled Future workforce and educational pathways, published in January 2025.

The department is aware of the report and we recognise the importance of skills in all sectors, including the chemical sector, which is why the government is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce in all areas and drive economic growth in all sectors.The department has established Skills England to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. It will ensure that the skills system is clear and navigable for individuals, for both young people and older adults, strengthening careers pathways into jobs across the economy.The department published a Jobs and Skills Dashboard in May 2024, which allows users to explore employment, demand and education pathways for both science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations and occupations most relevant to the UK critical technologies. This dashboard can be accessed here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/ufs-jobs-and-skills-dashboard/?_inputs_&navbar=%22Jobs%20and%20skills%22&tabsID=%22Summary%22&sectorChoice=%22STEM%22&shortageTimeChoice=%22Air-conditioning%20and%20refrigeration%20engineers%20SOC2010%22.An accompanying ad-hoc statistics release was also made available on Explore Education Statistics in May 2024, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supply-of-skills-for-jobs-in-science-and-technology.Skills England will continue to assess the skills needs of the tech sector and the skills provision required to meet these skills needs. It is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Industrial Skills Council to bring businesses, training partners and unions together with national and local government, including Mayoral Strategic/Combined Authorities, to develop a clear assessment of the country’s skills needs for the tech sector and map pathways by which they can be filled.

Whether her Department is taking steps to help increase access to (a) technical and (b) vocational pathways for (i) training and (ii) employment in the chemical sciences sector.

I refer the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire to the answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30787.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle illegal sewage dumping.

This Government has taken immediate and substantial action to address the performance of water companies who are not delivering for the environment or their customers. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers for the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies in the next investment period. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. The regulators will take action if any illegality is identified. The regulators have launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company sewage discharges ever. As part of their investigation, Ofwat has proposed fines of £168 million against three water companies. This investigation is a priority for Ofwat, and it will continue to work as quickly as possible on all remaining companies. On 23 October 2024 the UK and Welsh Governments launched an independent commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe and supported by expert advisors, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. The commission aims to build consensus for a resilient and innovative water sector and a robust wider regulatory framework that will deliver long-term benefits, restore rivers, lakes, and seas to good health, provide a reliable and efficient water supply in a changing climate, and ultimately serve both customers and the environment. Once the commission has made recommendations, both Governments will respond and consult on proposals, including potential legislation.

What steps she is taking with the police to help reduce the number of burglaries.

We recognise the profound impact burglary can have on individuals and the wider community. For too long a culture has been allowed to develop whereby victims of burglary believe if they report what has happened, no one will come and nothing will be done.This is why we have been clear that when someone calls the police, they should come; and when a person reports a crime it should be properly investigated no matter who they are, or where they live.We therefore welcome the police's commitment across England and Wales to attending the scene of every home burglary, and the specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations, setting the standard for the entire investigation, not just initial attendance, including victim care. More information is available at: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglaryAs part of reforms being delivered through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities. This includes delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues.As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing to kickstart the delivery of 13,000 additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables into neighbourhoods.

What steps she is taking to increase railway capacity.

The department requires its operators to plan services and rail timetables that are designed to meet expected passenger demand. These should be resilient and provide value for money for the taxpayer. Timetables are kept under review and, where appropriate, adjusted to reflect fluctuations in demand. Individual infrastructure enhancement schemes that may increase capacity will be assessed on their alignment with Government Missions and Transport Priorities, the strength of their business case, and their affordability. Great British Railways will provide the opportunity to take joined up, whole system decisions that make the best use of the network for passengers and taxpayers.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department taking to promote the sustainable development of AI capacity.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for growth, driving adoption and building UK capabilities. We recognise that data centres face sustainability challenges, from energy demands to water use. Through the AI Energy Council, we will be exploring bold, clean energy solutions from next-generation renewables to small modular reactors to ensure our AI ambitions align with the UK’s net zero goals. This builds on DSIT’s contribution to make Britain a clean energy superpower by investing in relevant research on clean energy and climate change. Additionally, we recently signed agreements on sustainability at the French AI Action Summit and joined the Coalition for Sustainable AI.

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help SMEs adopt digital technology.

To support more small businesses' digitisation efforts, we announced at Budget 2024 that we would extend the work of the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce. The Taskforce is made up of industry experts and focuses on addressing the challenge of how to support SMEs to adopt and implement productivity-enhancing technologies, such as customer relationship management, accountancy, and resource planning software. We intend to publish a summary of the Taskforce's draft recommendations shortly and their full report will be published later this year.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that workforce skills adapt to the role of AI in the economy.

Lifelong learning and adaptability are key to ensuring everyone can prosper in an increasingly technology-driven world. The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines the steps the UK will take to build a strong, diverse talent pipeline, realising AI benefits across the economy. Working with DSIT and the Industrial Strategy Council, Skills England will bring together businesses, training partners, and unions with national and local government to assess the country’s skills need – including AI and digital skills – and map pathways to fill them.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that smaller platforms are adequately regulated to protect children from online harms.

Government’s priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 so that children can benefit from its wide-reaching protections. The Act’s illegal content duties and, where relevant, child safety duties, will apply to services of all sizes. All companies in scope of the Act, regardless of their size, will have duties to prevent users from encountering illegal content and activity. Additionally, all services which are likely to be accessed by children are required to protect children from harmful content. This includes content such as pornography, or content that promote, encourages or provides instructions for self-harm, eating disorders or suicide.

What steps his Department plans to take to improve access to mental health services.

People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.

What steps his Department is taking to support community pharmacies.

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible front door to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. To support these private contractors, NHS England is providing fully funded national training opportunities to help them deliver quality NHS services.We have now recommenced our consultation with Community Pharmacy England regarding funding arrangements for 2024/25 and 2025/26.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help farmers prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease.

Following confirmation of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Germany on the 10 January 2025, the Government took decisive action to protect the UK by suspending the commercial import of susceptible animals from Germany and restricting personal imports of animal products from across the EU. The UK has contingency plans in place to manage the risk of this disease as set out in the Foot and Mouth Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England. This includes a comprehensive veterinary surveillance system to detect new and emerging disease threats. All exotic disease control and prevention measures are kept under regular review as part of the Government’s work to monitor and manage the risks of exotic disease. Livestock keepers are reminded of the importance of maintaining strict on-farm biosecurity and reporting of all suspicions of notifiable disease promptly.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support farmers impacted by flooding.

Defra’s Environmental Land Management schemes provide payments for managing land and water in a way that reduces flood risk. The Sustainable Farming Incentive provides payments for several actions to improve soil health, including herbal leys and multi-species cover crops. Healthy soils have improved resilience to extreme weather and will recover faster from flood events. Sustainable Farming Incentive actions can also be used to slow down the flow of water within catchments, helping to mitigate wider catchment flood risk. We have also recently announced a significant expansion of the flood and drought resilience offer within Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier with new actions to store water, which can be used to protect agricultural land from flooding. Tree planting along rivers can help slow water flow and temporarily store water as part of natural flood management. The England Woodland Creation Offer provides financial support for tree planting and incentivises woodland creation that reduces flood risk through supplementary payments. In addition, the floods investment programme delivers a range of schemes, including natural flood management. The Government inherited an outdated funding formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences. Established in 2011, the existing formula slows down the delivery of new flood schemes through a complex application process, and neglects more innovative approaches to flood management such as natural flood management. A consultation will be launched in the coming months which will include a review of the existing formula.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve water quality in rivers.

Cleaning up England’s rivers, lakes and seas is a priority for the Government. The Government has taken immediate and substantial action to address the performance of water companies who are not delivering for the environment or their customers. For example, we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill. This includes giving Ofwat the power to ban bonuses for executives when companies fail to meet standards on environmental performance, financial resilience, customer outcomes or criminal liability, and enabling severe and automatic fines for wrongdoing. The Bill will also introduce new, statutory reporting requirements for emergency overflows and pollution incidents. In addition, for Price Review 2024, which runs from 2025 – 2030, water companies will be delivering record levels of investment: £104 billion over the next five years. This gives the sector the opportunity for transformation, delivering better outcomes for customers and the environment In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of people who commit hate crime.

Hate crime is truly abhorrent and can have a devastating impact on victims and their communities.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) takes such offending very seriously.The CPS works closely with the police to build robust cases and secure prosecutions for these offences.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on backlogs of court cases.

I welcome the strong action already taken by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor to bring down the outstanding caseload that this Government inherited, and measures introduced to help ensure victims have swift access to justice.These actions include extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 12 months and funding additional Crown Court sitting days, taking them to the highest levels since financial year 2015/16 .In the longer term,  the Lord Chancellor has commissioned an independent review of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to consider the merits of wider reforms, as well as assessing the efficiency and timeliness of court processes.These important issues have been discussed as part of our cross-government approach through the Safer Streets Mission Board.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of rural crime.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime to ensure the safety of those in all communities.We are introducing tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthening neighbourhood policing, and introducing robust laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime.The CPS provides legal guidance on Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime, which is available to all its prosecutors, to assist them in dealing with these cases. They also provide specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support flood preparedness projects.

We are investing a record £2.65 billion over two years in building, maintaining and repairing our flood and coastal defences, protecting 66,500 properties and funding around 1,000 projects. This includes £108 million we are shifting towards maintenance to shore up creaking defences. Farmers and rural communities across the country will see their resilience to flooding improved thanks to the £50 million funding for Internal Drainage Boards. In addition, £57 million has been paid out to support 12,700 farm businesses through the Farming Recovery Fund.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle fuel poverty in winter 2024-25.

There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. The Warm Home Discount provides £150 off bills to over 3 million low-income households. The Government has kickstarted delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, including an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next 3 years. We are also reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy.

What steps he is taking to support community energy projects.

The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change, Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will also partner with and provide funding and support to community groups, Local Authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities to develop renewable energy projects and up to 8 GW of cleaner power. This will build on our existing support for the community energy sector; this includes the £10 million Community Energy Fund, which enables communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.