Written questions by Hinchliff.

What progress he has made on creating a National Care Service.

The Government is launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.Chaired by Baroness Casey of Blackstock, the Commission will start a national conversation about what people expect from adult social care, setting us on the road to fundamental reform that will build a social care system fit for the future.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the timing of the start of the school budget year in April and the academic year in September on schools' ability to budget effectively for staffing needs when pupil numbers increase in September.

Schools are generally funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, therefore meaning the funding that schools receive for the 2025/26 funding year will be based on pupil numbers as of October 2024. This practice means that the department can publish allocations with enough time to give schools certainty over funding levels and to aid in their planning. It also gives schools time to adjust to any declines in pupil numbers, before these have an impact on their funding.However, the department understands that this can cause problems where schools are experiencing significant growth in pupil numbers. The department also allocates ‘growth funding’ to local authorities. This can be used by local authorities to support both maintained schools and academies in managing a significant growth in pupil numbers, in advance of this increase being reflected in schools’ core funding allocations.

Whether the permanent cost of pay rises for primary school teachers implemented in September 2024 has been factored into school budgets beyond April 2025.

The overall core schools budget is increasing by £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning the core schools budget will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. This includes the £2.3 billion announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 and over £930 million being provided to support schools and high needs settings with the increases to employer National Insurance contributions from April 2025.The funding announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 includes funding to cover the remaining costs of the 2024 teachers’ pay award in the 2025/26 financial year.For mainstream schools, all of this funding has been rolled into the schools national funding formula in 2025/26, ensuring that it forms an ongoing part of schools’ core budgets.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of renewable energy projects on local communities.

This government has a very simple principle: if you live near new clean energy infrastructure, you should benefit from it. That's why the Planning and Infrastructure Bill proposes much-needed reforms, including direct bill discounts for communities, easier access to community funds, and a streamlined, less burdensome planning process. We know that to deliver on our mission we must bring communities with us.

Whether he has had recent discussions with Stellantis on the closure of their Luton plant.

Ministers have engaged closely with Stellantis on the future of its operations in the UK, with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade most recently meeting the Chair of the Stellantis board on 1 February to discuss how the Luton plant could be kept open as well as ensuring appropriate support for affected workers should a closure proceed.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Better Care Fund policy framework 2025 to 2026, published on 30 January 2025, what plans he has to consult on changes to the maximum Disabled Facilities Grant limit.

In England, we continue to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes. We are providing an immediate in-year uplift of £86 million in 2024/25. This is on top of the £625 million paid to local authorities in May 2024. The Government also announced an £86 million additional investment in the DFG for the 2025/26 financial year at the Budget, bringing the total funding for 2025/26 to £711 million.To ensure the DFG is as effective as possible, we will continue to keep different aspects of the grant under consideration. As part of this, we are reviewing the suitability of the current upper limit and will set out further detail in due course.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of special educational provision in North East Hertfordshire constituency.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. The department is also working closely with experts on reforms who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.The department is providing support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership. In July 2023, Ofsted’s inspection of local arrangements in Hertfordshire for children with SEND concluded that there were widespread and/or systemic failings, leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.Since then, the department has been using a SEND expert adviser to monitor progress against Hertfordshire’s priority action plan and improvement plan. In January 2025, the department sent the local area partnership a letter following a stocktake into their progress. This letter outlines that improvements are being made at pace, including on governance arrangements and quality assurance. However, there are still areas for the local area to address, for example on the impact and sustainability of improvements. The letter can be accessed here: https://sendnews.hertfordshire.gov.uk/31-january-2025#stocktake.The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, which is independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan, to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the Sovereign Grant for the 2026-27 financial year.

The rules governing the Sovereign Grant have been set by Parliament in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011. The Grant will be reviewed again in 2026 and the government is committed to bring forward legislation to reset the Grant to a lower level from 2027-28 once Buckingham Palace reservicing works are completed.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the time taken for Pension Credit applications to be approved and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken for Pension Credit applications to be processed.

DWP works to a planned timescale of 50 working days to clear Pension Credit claims. The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (ARA) on 22nd July 2024. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The next publication of the ARA will include claims processed in the Financial Year 2024 to 2025, which is due for publication in the summer. As a result of the increase in Pension Credit claims, the Department has deployed over 500 additional people to ensure it has the capacity to assess all claims in reasonable timescales. The latest available information for week commencing 20 January 2025 shows that the Average Actual Clearance Time for Pension Credit is 45 working days. However, Pension Credit is a complex benefit, and some claims require additional investigation or information from the customer, which can result in longer processing times. Please note, the Average Actual Clearance Time figure shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It is rounded to the nearest working day and based on the week the claim was cleared, rather than the week the claim was made.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of qualifying benefits for the Winter Fuel Payment.

The Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control. Linking Winter Fuel eligibility to Pension Credit and other means tested benefits for pensioners ensures the least well-off pensioners still receive the help they need. There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80. We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit. We want to ensure as many people as possible have access to this support and urge pensioners to check their eligibility. Pension Credit will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payments in future, alongside other benefits – including help with rent, council tax, fuel bills and a free TV licence for those over 75. That’s why Government is taking significant steps to raise awareness and maximise take-up. The Government also offers direct financial help to low-income pensioners through Cold Weather Payments (in England & Wales) – and the Warm Home Discount scheme which provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their winter energy bill. We expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme this winter. Low-income pensioners and others struggling with the cost of living should contact their local council to see what further support may be available to them, whether through energy support programmes or through the Household Support Fund (in England).

What steps he is taking to ensure that private parking companies do not overcharge for facilities at hospitals.

National Health Service trusts are expected to comply with the NHS car parking guidance 2022 for NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts. This guidance states that charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the area. This applies to all NHS trusts, including those that use private parking companies to operate their hospital car parks.NHS organisations are responsible for the actions of the private contractors who run car parks on their behalf, and NHS organisations should act against rogue contractors in line with the relevant codes of practice where applicable.Contracts should not be let on any basis that incentivises additional charges, for example income from parking charge notices only.All NHS trusts that charge for car parking provide free hospital car parking in England for those most in need. This includes Blue Badge holders, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight in hospital, and NHS staff working night shifts. The Department has issued guidance to NHS trusts on the implementation of this commitment.

If he will hold discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) civil servants on the potential merits of introducing a scheme to enable (i) cultural exchange by and (ii) increased mobility of young people between the UK and EU.

The Government set out clear priorities for the reset with the EU in the manifesto. There are no plans for a Youth Mobility Scheme.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure a minimum level of provision for youth services across (a) North East Hertfordshire constituency and (b) the UK.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. In September 2023 DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. Alongside this, DCMS funds a Peer Review programme for local authorities to learn from each other about the best approaches to youth service provision.This government has also committed to co-producing a new National Youth Strategy, which is an opportunity to move away from one-size-fits all approaches from central government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector. We plan to publish the strategy in the summer.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of renewed operations by Israel around the refugee camp in Jenin; and what diplomatic representations he (a) has made and (b) plans to make to (i) his Israeli counterpart and (ii) other international partners.

Stability in the West Bank is crucial to ensure that the fragile ceasefire in Gaza can last. All sides should work to ensure a lowering of tension in the West Bank at this time. The Israeli authorities must exercise restraint. We are urging both sides to accept and honour the terms of the ceasefire deal and move to implement it in full - including an end to the fighting, the release of hostages and more aid getting into Gaza. The UK is ready to play a leading role in this process with international and regional partners. It should be predicated on tangible progress towards a Palestinian state, with Gaza and the West Bank united under one government. The Foreign Secretary has also met Palestinian community members in the West Bank where he heard how communities are affected.

What hat assessment she has made of potential steps to improve and the (a) pay and (b) working conditions of supply teachers in North East Hertfordshire constituency.

Supply teachers make an important contribution to the smooth running of schools by filling posts on a temporary basis and covering teacher absences.A supply teacher’s pay and working conditions will depend on who employs the supply teacher. Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers as set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). If a supply teacher is employed by an agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay and conditions of employment.Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers.

Whether he plans to take steps to recover the costs of compensation from Fujitsu relating to failures of the Horizon Post Office IT system.

The Government welcomes Fujitsu’s acknowledgement of their moral obligation to make a contribution to the cost of the Horizon scandal. Fujitsu’s contribution will be decided once the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry has reviewed all the evidence and the Chair has delivered his report.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on hostages in Gaza.

Securing an immediate ceasefire and the safe release of all hostages, including Emily Damari and three other hostages with strong UK links, remains the UK's top priority. We have continuously supported hostage talks, and continue to work alongside our allies and partners in the region, exercising every possible diplomatic lever to see the hostages immediately released. On 8 December, the Foreign Secretary spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, and stressed the importance of securing a ceasefire to enable the safe return of Emily Damari and the three other UK-linked hostages and see an end to the war in Gaza.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of improving the longevity of gas storage capacity.

The Government recognises the value in having natural gas storage facilities in place as a source of balancing system flexibility when demand for gas is high and allowing for the future storage of hydrogen. Energy security remains a key priority for this government. The Government will continue to work with storage operators, as well as the regulatory community, to explore options around the role storage can play in supporting future gas system resilience in a changing gas landscape.

Whether her Department has prepared improvement action plans for rail franchises due to be brought back into public ownership.

There will be no immediate changes to the specifications of services at the point of transfer. All operators will continue to go through an annual planning process with the Department to agree plans for changes to service specifications, performance improvements and other deliverables. Once transferred, publicly owned operators will be managed by DfT Operator. DfT Operator works closely with its train companies to drive forward improvements for passengers and rail employees through its reform initiatives and it will ensure that its operators continually find better ways to make rail accessible for all. The Government will not tolerate poor performance and will continue to hold all operators to account, regardless of ownership.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of HM Inspectorate of Prisons' report entitled Separation of children in young offender institutions – review of progress, published on 1 October 2024.

Where there is a clear risk of harm, separation is used to prevent harm to the child or young person who is being separated, or to others. Separation should be a last resort when managing behaviour, but it can be critical to reducing the risk of harm in difficult situations.The separation of children and young people is rightly an area for scrutiny. The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has clear oversight at a national level of every child and young person who is separated, including the length of time for which they have been separated, and their access to regime. It should be noted that there are some children and young people who are subject to separation who have elected not to associate with their peers.The increase in use of separation should be seen in the context of the change over time in the level of risk. In 2023-24, on average, 68% of children and young people were in custody for offences of violence against the person, compared with 33% in 2015-16. In Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), approximately 40% of the population are on remand, which adds to high number of new admissions and consequent instability. Unlike other parts of the Children and Young People Secure Estate, YOIs are required to accept any child or young person placed with them.Our YOIs are working hard to reduce the use of separation and non-association, which is often necessary to manage risk and safeguarding concerns. The YCS has taken a range of actions to improve use of separation in the youth estate, including providing additional resources to ensure effective management and to improve national and local oversight. It is working hard to improve regime and time-out-of-room for all children.