Written questions by Lewis.

Communities and Local Government, whether funding for the Rough Sleeping Initiative will continue after April 2025.

The Government is committed to addressing current high levels of rough sleeping and deliver long term solutions. We will look at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.As announced by the Chancellor on 29 July 2024, spending plans for 2025-26 will be set alongside the Budget on 30 October 2024. Following departmental review and processes, funding allocations for rough sleeping services will be announced via gov.uk.

What the Government's planned timetable is for introducing legislation to establish the National Wealth Fund.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has been established and can operate under the UK Infrastructure Bank Act 2023. The government will bring forward new legislation when parliamentary time allows to broaden its mandate beyond infrastructure and cement its position as a permanent institution at the heart of the country’s long-term growth and prosperity.

Whether private equity firms will be eligible to receive funds via the National Wealth Fund.

As the UK's new impact investor, the National Wealth Fund will mobilise private investment – including from institutional investors such as private equity firms – and catalyse investment that would not have otherwise taken place. The National Wealth Fund may also outsource management of its capital to third party managers, such as private equity firms, where doing so provides the best route to deploy capital into the UK’s world-leading clean energy and growth industries and to support the delivery of our new Industrial Strategy.

Whether organisations in receipt of funding via the National Wealth Fund will be required to (a) have a UK headquarters and (b) be UK taxpayers.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) will mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK's world leading clean energy and growth industries. In order to be eligible for consideration for NWF finance, the project must meet the NWF’s investment principles, with proceeds going to UK-based projects. These are: The investment helps to support the objectives to drive regional and local economic growth or tackle climate change;The investment is in infrastructure assets or networks, or in new infrastructure technology;The investment is intended to deliver a positive financial return; andThe investment is expected to crowd in significant private capital over time. Individual investments will be considered on a case-by-case basis in line with the NWF’s mandate and strategic priorities, which can be found on www.uknwf.org.uk.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect human rights defenders in Azerbaijan ahead of COP29.

Along with our international partners, the UK continues to urge Azerbaijan to improve human rights protections for all its citizens; Azerbaijan's hosting of COP29 in November provides the country with an opportunity to demonstrate meaningful action in this regard. We remain concerned at the increased number of detentions of independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society representatives over the last year. We are clear that freedom of expression is the foundation of an open, pluralistic society, and must be respected. British Embassy Baku regularly raises our concerns with the Azerbaijani authorities at senior levels, including ahead of COP29.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help promote stability in Bangladesh.

The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. The Interim Government in Bangladesh has the UK Government's full support as it works to provide stability and promote human rights in Bangladesh. We encourage the work of the United Nations as it conducts an impartial and independent fact-finding mission to identify human rights violations. The UK Government is providing up to £27 million from March 2023 to February 2028 under the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme for protecting civic and political space, fostering collaboration, reducing corruption and mitigating tensions that lead to violence.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help uphold human rights in Bangladesh.

The UK has a long-standing commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights. The Interim Government in Bangladesh has the UK Government's full support as it works to provide stability and promote human rights in Bangladesh. We encourage the work of the United Nations as it conducts an impartial and independent fact-finding mission to identify human rights violations. The UK Government is providing up to £27 million from March 2023 to February 2028 under the Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme for protecting civic and political space, fostering collaboration, reducing corruption and mitigating tensions that lead to violence.

Whether the National Wealth Fund's statement of strategic priorities will include (a) meeting net zero targets and (b) the promotion of poverty reduction.

The National Wealth Fund will operate at arm’s length from the government. The government will provide the National Wealth Fund with a new framework of investment principles and a statement of strategic priorities in the coming months.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6326 on Probation Service, what new funding has been allocated to (a) the Probation Service, (b) the Electronic Monitoring Service and (c) support other services provided to offenders in the community, in the context of the early prisoner release scheme.

Recognising the Probation Service’s crucial role in protecting the public and rehabilitation, the Department has committed to funding at least 1,000 additional trainee probation officers by the end of March 2025.Given the multitude of factors involved, each with its own budget, it is not feasible to isolate a single expense figure for SDS40 borne by the Probation Service. Commercial discussions are ongoing to confirm the level of additional expenditure the electronic monitoring service provider may charge.Throughout the SDS40 implementation process, HMPPS and partnered agencies have ensured robust support is in place for offenders leaving custody, including continuity of health and substance misuse provision and access to employment, benefits, and accommodation. For example, the Lord Chancellor has authorised probation directors to use alternative arrangements for accommodation which can include budget hotels and B&Bs. This has been funded through reprioritisation of existing budgets. This is a temporary measure and we will ensure all appropriate safeguards are in place.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the announced expansion of the Stansted airport on net zero targets.

The Government is not opposed to airport expansion as long as it contributes to economic growth and is compatible with strict environmental standards. We are committed to achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 and have made early progress on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the introduction of a mandate from 1 January 2025 and our plans to legislate for a SAF revenue certainty mechanism. We are also committed to airspace modernisation. Details of the proposals to expand Stansted Airport and the assessment of its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully considered as part of the statutory planning process. Its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully assessed as part of the statutory planning process held between January and March 2021. The independent Planning Inspectorate granted planning approval in June 2021 and a copy of its decision notice and statement of reasons, including views on its impacts on environmental obligations can be found here.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of projected annual carbon emissions from Stansted airport.

The Government is not opposed to airport expansion as long as it contributes to economic growth and is compatible with strict environmental standards. We are committed to achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 and have made early progress on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the introduction of a mandate from 1 January 2025 and our plans to legislate for a SAF revenue certainty mechanism. We are also committed to airspace modernisation. Details of the proposals to expand Stansted Airport and the assessment of its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully considered as part of the statutory planning process. Its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully assessed as part of the statutory planning process held between January and March 2021. The independent Planning Inspectorate granted planning approval in June 2021 and a copy of its decision notice and statement of reasons, including views on its impacts on environmental obligations can be found here.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has issued recent guidance to businesses operating in internationally-disputed territories.

The Overseas Business Risk service provides information on various risks in overseas markets. UK government staff in country produce these guides with specific information provided per country. These can be found on: Overseas Business Risk - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2948 on Special Educational Needs, what estimate she has made of when the review of Norfolk County Council's Safety Valve agreement will be completed.

Norfolk County Council's Safety Valve agreement is currently under review. The local authority is working closely with the department and expert advisers on a plan to achieve a sustainable high-needs budget while delivering better outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. There is no set timetable for this review to be completed. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through its monitoring process and provides support and intervention if they go off track.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 4008 on Childcare: Recruitment, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) enforce the payment of the National Living Wage in the early education and childcare sector.

The Government is clear that anyone entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Robust enforcement action is taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforces the minimum wage on behalf of DBT, and they investigate where they believe an employer is not paying the minimum wage. This includes considering all complaints from workers, conducting proactive enforcement activities in sectors considered high risk, and delivering educational activity to support employer compliance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 October 2024 to Question 6322 on Databases: Blyth, whether HMRC has undertaken an assessment of the projected loss of tax receipts from Blackstone's data centre in Blyth Investment Zone as the result of tax relief.

Estimates of the cost of tax relief for investment in Investment Zones were published in the Spring Budget 2024 – policy document and were estimated at an aggregate level. Estimates for individual projects within special tax sites are not available. HMRC is unable to comment on identifiable individuals or businesses. Guidance on eligibility for tax reliefs in Investment Zone sites is available on gov.uk.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to monitor the water usage of data centres.

The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres. Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 3732 on Pension Credit: Applications, how the Service Modernisation Programme will make service more user friendly and accessible for citizens; and what her planned timeline is for making those changes.

We continuously improve and iterate the Pension Credit application service to make the service more user friendly and accessible for citizens. New features are released regularly to the service in line with user research and feedback on the service from citizens and colleagues and in line with the Pension Credit policy.

If her Department will publish data on how many and what proportion of young people in prison in Norfolk had special educational needs and disabilities in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2021-22, (c) the last five years and (d) the last ten years.

Data relating to special educational needs and disabilities are not collected in a format that would enable the specified information to be provided.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of data processing by data centres on water usage.

The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres. Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2952 on Asylum: Temporary Accommodation, what alternative accommodation her Department plans to use to enable a reduction in the use of hotels; and how much funding she plans to provide for this purpose in each of the next three financial years.

The Home Office is determined to return to using dispersed asylum accommodation and is working with local authorities and partners to find solutions to provide accommodation for asylum seekers across the entire country which work for everyone. We have a comprehensive funding package for local authorities who help to support asylum seekers in their area. We are taking immediate action to clear the asylum backlog which will help reduce the use of asylum accommodation and ensure better use of public money.