Written questions by Hinchliff.

Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions his Department has had with representatives of the (a) music and (b) arts sector on the Data (Use and Access) Bill.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a range of stakeholders from the creative industries about the Data (Use and Access) Bill.Ministerial meetings and engagements are published through quarterly transparency reports on GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Data, Use and Access Bill on the long-term sustainability of the music and arts sector.

The Data (Use and Access) Bill does not contain any provisions relating to the music and arts sectors.

If she will make an assessment of the benefits of creating a long service award to recognise PCSOs with 20 years of service.

The Home Office will consider any proposal for national long service recognition for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).It is only right that we recognise the commitment shown by PCSOs across the country and whose role are undeniably at the sharp end of policing, diffusing community tensions and providing visible policing presence in our communities.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that all Integrated Care Systems in England commission Maternal Mental Health Services.

We recognise how important it is for women with perinatal mental health problems to get the right care and support they need. Women who need support can access specialist perinatal mental health services, including mother and baby units, specialist perinatal community teams, and newly established Maternal Mental Health Services.Maternal Mental Health Services have been set up to provide care for women with moderate to severe or complex mental health difficulties arising from birth trauma or loss in the maternity and neonatal context.As of April 2025, 41 Maternal Mental Health Services are live, with services in every integrated care system area in England due to be operational by end of the first quarter of 2025/26.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health support for (a) fathers and (b) partners impacted by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby provided by (i) maternal mental health services, (ii) improving access to psychological support services and (iii) community mental health services.

We recognise that experiencing baby loss can be devastating and we are committed to ensuring that all families receive safe, personalised, equitable and compassionate care.Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services offer mental health assessments and signposting to support as required for partners of women accessing services. This contributes to helping to care for the 5-10% of fathers who experience mental health difficulties during the perinatal period.To date, we have not undertaken an assessment of the adequacy of mental health support for fathers and partners impacted by baby loss provided by Maternal Mental Health Services.Mental health services within the National Health Service can support adults who are experiencing mental health problems because of baby loss. The Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies. These offer well-governed, evidence-based, and effective psychological therapy services for common mental health problems, including depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress reactions. These services are available in every integrated care system through self-referral.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to publish a horticulture strategy.

The Government’s commitment to the horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of home-grown fresh produce remains steadfast. We are taking a strategic approach to support for horticulture recognising the specific needs of the sector. This includes developing a Farming Roadmap, which will set out a 25-year vision and blueprint to make our farming and food production more sustainable and profitable. Alongside this our Food Strategy will deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system - boosting our food security, improving our health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on the horticulture sector.

It is not possible to precisely determine the direct impacts of the war in Ukraine on the UK horticulture sector, as they are dependent on a range of interrelated factors. The war in Ukraine led to rising oil, fuel and energy prices, which created inflationary pressures right across the food chain. Difficulties stemming from the rising input costs and shortages were initially reported by the horticulture sector with farmers experiencing higher energy and fertiliser costs. International energy prices subsequently fell as the global economy adjusted to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This contributed to an easing of input price inflation. We continue to keep the situation and any impact on our agri-food sectors under close review, including through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG) which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the House of Lords Hoticultural Sector Committee Report entitled Sowing the seeds: A blooming English horticultural sector, published on 6 November 2023, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Government funding to the horticultural sector.

The Government recognises the specific needs of the sector, and Defra ministers and officials meet regularly with growers to discuss a wide range of issues to help us understand how best to support the sector. Our proposed approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature.

How many children were admitted into NHS care for more than seven days in the latest period for which data is available.

NHS England collects data on patient discharge episodes, including for children. Discharge data does not represent the number of individual children with a hospital stay, as a child may have more than one discharge from hospital within the reporting period.Between April 2023 and March 2024, 67,421 discharge episodes were recorded where the patient was in hospital for more than seven days and was aged between zero and 17 years old when admitted into National Health Service care.The following table shows a count of finished discharge episodes where the patient was aged between zero and 17 years old, including both total discharges and episodes where the patient was in hospital for more than seven days, each discharge month for 2023/24, for activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector:Discharge yearDischarge monthTotal dischargesDischarges over seven days2023April150,9255,2032023May167,8865,7312023June164,2065,4892023July160,9815,3932023August153,1185,1632023September162,5775,2032023October178,5835,6862023November186,6826,1442023December169,8075,9972024January174,4925,6982024February170,2585,6672024March180,7896,047Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS England.Notes:a discharge episode is the last episode during a hospital stay, or spell, where the patient is discharged from the hospital or transferred to another hospital. Discharges do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one discharge from hospital within the period;the patient age is recorded at the point of admission, and this is used to determine the most appropriate setting for the patient. For the purposes of this data, we have only included discharges where the patient was aged zero to 17 years old at the point of admission;total discharges are a count of the total number of finished discharge episodes;discharge month episodes have been counted against the month in which the discharge occurred. It is possible that a patient may have been admitted in a month prior to their discharge; andfor the financial year 2023/24, the data in the HES is held by the financial year in which the episode ends. This is to ensure that all clinical and administrative data relevant to the episode is available at the time of collection.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of outsourcing on collection and delivery of blood products to hospitals.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. NHSBT’s Logistics Department plays a key role in planning for, collecting, and delivering life saving and life changing donated blood products to hospitals across England. It does not deliver to hospices directly.Last year over 150,000 deliveries were made to hospitals around England, with over 2,000 of those being emergencies. Of the total blood units supplied, NHSBT’s Logistics Transport delivered approximately 64%, and third parties delivered approximately 27%. Hospitals can collect their own blood unit order, making use of their own internal transport, couriers, or blood bike charity groups, and this equates to approximately 9% of total blood units supplied. Utilising couriers for ad hoc delivery is financially and environmentally advantageous, as NHSBT only pays for the delivery costs rather than the empty return journey of the vehicle, which may then be used for other purposes by the courier.The current performance of courier delivery is audited through NHSBT’s Governance and compliance, and a key factor for measuring the effective running of the contract is that the courier partner collects blood products for delivery on time. The performance level that NHSBT sets is 98.5% on time collection, and this performance is currently exceeded. There are currently no plans to extend the use of third-party couriers for the delivery of blood products or to publish further information in this area.

If he will publish a report on the potential impact of outsourcing on collection and delivery of blood products on the NHS and hospices.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for blood services in England. NHSBT’s Logistics Department plays a key role in planning for, collecting, and delivering life saving and life changing donated blood products to hospitals across England. It does not deliver to hospices directly.Last year over 150,000 deliveries were made to hospitals around England, with over 2,000 of those being emergencies. Of the total blood units supplied, NHSBT’s Logistics Transport delivered approximately 64%, and third parties delivered approximately 27%. Hospitals can collect their own blood unit order, making use of their own internal transport, couriers, or blood bike charity groups, and this equates to approximately 9% of total blood units supplied. Utilising couriers for ad hoc delivery is financially and environmentally advantageous, as NHSBT only pays for the delivery costs rather than the empty return journey of the vehicle, which may then be used for other purposes by the courier.The current performance of courier delivery is audited through NHSBT’s Governance and compliance, and a key factor for measuring the effective running of the contract is that the courier partner collects blood products for delivery on time. The performance level that NHSBT sets is 98.5% on time collection, and this performance is currently exceeded. There are currently no plans to extend the use of third-party couriers for the delivery of blood products or to publish further information in this area.

If she will publish a response to the report by the National Farmers Union entitled An impact analysis of APR reforms on commercial family farms, published on 25 November 2024.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 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. The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27. The tax base consists of all estates subject to inheritance tax that are projected to claim agricultural property relief or business property relief across the scorecard period. The tax base is estimated using HMRC administrative data, and is grown over the forecast in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast for inheritance tax receipts. More detail on the Government’s estimates, including why these projections should be viewed as a maximum, are also available in a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee in November 2024, which is available at committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/. The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent OBR certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. The OBR published information in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024 and this is available at https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/. The OBR recently published more detail in January 2025 on the costings at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-APR-and-BPR-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the report by the National Farmers Union entitled APR and BPR reform alternative, published on 19 February 2025, on changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 32918.

If she will publish her Department's impact assessments of changes to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 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. The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27. The tax base consists of all estates subject to inheritance tax that are projected to claim agricultural property relief or business property relief across the scorecard period. The tax base is estimated using HMRC administrative data, and is grown over the forecast in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast for inheritance tax receipts. More detail on the Government’s estimates, including why these projections should be viewed as a maximum, are also available in a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee in November 2024, which is available at committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/. The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent OBR certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. The OBR published information in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024 and this is available at https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/. The OBR recently published more detail in January 2025 on the costings at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-APR-and-BPR-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

If her Department will publish the modelling used to set changes to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 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. The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data. The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27. The tax base consists of all estates subject to inheritance tax that are projected to claim agricultural property relief or business property relief across the scorecard period. The tax base is estimated using HMRC administrative data, and is grown over the forecast in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast for inheritance tax receipts. More detail on the Government’s estimates, including why these projections should be viewed as a maximum, are also available in a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee in November 2024, which is available at committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/. The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent OBR certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. The OBR published information in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024 and this is available at https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/. The OBR recently published more detail in January 2025 on the costings at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-APR-and-BPR-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to part three of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, whether environmental delivery plans will be applied in a modular way, with species considered on a case-by-case basis.

Environmental Delivery Plans will only be put in place where Natural England and the Secretary of State are confident that conservation measures will be sufficient to outweigh the negative impact of development. Where this is not the case, existing environmental obligations, including those arising under the Habitats Regulations, will remain in place. We are working with Natural England to explore which species might benefit from strategic approaches.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending regulations on blue badges to include a provision for people who run (a) taxis and (b) other transport vehicles that are designed to provide facilities for people with disabilities.

The Blue Badge scheme provides a range of parking concessions for people with a long-term disability, who travel either as passengers or drivers, that affects their capacity to access the goods and services they need to use. The regulations governing the Blue Badge scheme define a disabled person's badge as: “a badge issued by a local authority for display on any motor vehicle driven by a disabled person or used for the carriage of a disabled person or of several disabled persons.” The concessions can be used by taxis and any other vehicles with the badge on display, to drop off and collect a Blue Badge holder. The Department has no plans to amend the current eligibility criteria.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of overseas voters who did not receive a ballot in time to vote at the general election in 2024; and whether her Department plans to take steps to increase the proportion of overseas voters who receive a ballot in time.

The Department does not hold information on the number of overseas voters that did not receive a ballot in time to vote at the general election in 2024.As set out in our response to the Electoral Commission’s evaluation of the 2024 general election, published last month (Electoral Commission’s reports on the 2024 elections: government response - GOV.UK), the Government recognises the Commission’s findings with regards to the difficulties faced by British citizens living overseas when trying to participate in UK elections.As part of our review of electoral registration and conduct, the government, in partnership with electoral practitioners and the Electoral Commission, is examining several aspects of the system for overseas electors, with a view to identifying practical solutions to some of the challenges faced.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Environmental Development Plans proposed in Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be informed by site level assessments where required.

Environmental Delivery Plans will only be put in place where Natural England and the Secretary of State are confident that conservation measures will be sufficient to outweigh the impact of development. The plans will be evidence based and subject to consultation before coming to the Secretary of State for consideration. Where an Environmental Delivery Plan is in place and a developer utilises it, the developer would no longer be required to undertake their own assessments, or deliver project-specific interventions, for issues addressed by the Environmental Delivery Plan.

Communities and Local Government, whether the Environmental Development Plans proposed in Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be required to follow the mitigation hierarchy.

Environmental Development Plans will provide the flexibility to diverge from project-by-project mitigation and a restrictive application of the mitigation hierarchy. However, this will only be where Natural England consider that this would deliver better outcomes for nature over the course of the delivery plan. An Environmental Development Plan can only be put in place where Natural England and the Secretary of State are satisfied that the delivery of conservation measures will outweigh the negative effects of development.