Written questions by Cooper.

What information does her Department hold on the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest period of time between (i) Electric Vehicle charging hub operators agreeing a lease with a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) and (ii) securing permission to install a DNO connection from highways authorities.

We do not hold that information.

What recent discussions she has had with the British Transport Police on the adequacy of access to train operating company CCTV systems.

Police access to CCTV is an essential tool for use not only when investigating crime on the rail network, but also to equip Police Officers with effective situational awareness and evidence when making decisions in ongoing incidents. The Department is working with British Transport Police (BTP) and train operators to ensure sufficient access to CCTV, so that the force can carry out its policing duties across the rail network.

What assessment she has made of the potential of out-of-home delivery collection points to reduce the carbon footprint of home deliveries in the last-mile logistics sector.

The Department for Transport has not made an assessment relating to out-of-home delivery collection points and associated carbon footprint reductions. Tackling emissions from the freight sector, including last-mile deliveries, will support Government to make Britain a clean energy superpower and to meet the UK’s net zero commitments. We have recently confirmed that zero emission vans will continue to receive a grant for the 2025/26 financial year worth up to £5,000 depending on the model. The Department is currently consulting on proposals to reduce regulatory burdens for businesses operating zero emission vans (closes 3 March). This includes vehicles that may be used for last-mile deliveries and seeks views on measures to make it easier to use these vehicles in place of existing fossil fuel vans. The Government is also making it easier to switch to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), by laying legislation on 25 February to amend driving licence rules for heavier ZEVs in line with their petrol and diesel equivalents. Subject to parliamentary approval, this change is expected to come into force in spring. In addition, through the Freight Innovation Fund the Government has supported EAV Ltd, a UK based SME, to undertake a large-scale trial of its e-cargo bike offer supporting the decarbonisation of last-mile deliveries.

What the average processing time is for passports for children born outside the UK.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate costWhere no further information is required, His Majesty's Passport Office advises that British passport applications from the UK will normally take around three weeks. This includes applications for children, whether they were born in the UK or overseas.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the prevalence of alleged aggressive council tax debt collection practices.

Councils are responsible for the collection and enforcement of council tax. The government’s clear expectation is that councils will be proportionate and sympathetic to those in hardship when determining the most appropriate action to collect tax. The government will publish a consultation in 2025 to consider options to improve council tax billing and wider council tax administration changes to support taxpayers.

What steps she is taking to notify eligible Ukrainians on the Ukrainian Permission Extension scheme.

To promote and raise awareness of the Ukraine Permission Extention scheme, the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), alongside trusted partners, have run 9 community outreach events in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. The department also engaged directly with stakeholders who have close links to the Ukrainian diaspora in the UK.This is supported by online guidance published on Gov.uk.We continue to explore further engagement opportunities where applicable.

Whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow opposite sex civil partners to convert their partnerships into a marriage without requiring a dissolution order.

In 2019, when civil partnerships were made available for opposite-sex couples in England and Wales, the Government ran a public consultation on the future of conversion rights between marriage and civil partnerships for both opposite and same-sex couples in England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/civil-partnerships-next-steps-and-consultation-on-conversion#:~:text=We%20are%20seeking%20views%20on,be%20brought%20to%20an%20end This Government is considering all options, and we will update the House in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February to Question 29060 on Electric Bicycles: Accidents, whether she plans to require police forces to report on the number of accidents involving an e-bike.

Road injury collisions are reported to the Department by the police via a system known as STATS19. While there are no current plans to require forces to identify e-bikes within STATS19, the system is periodically reviewed to ensure that the collection remains relevant while managing reporting burdens for police forces. The identification of collisions involving e-bikes will be considered as part of the next such review.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing DBS checks that are portable for an individual applicant rather than an organisation.

A DBS certificate is sent directly to the applicant only. Where an individual applies for another role within the same workforce which is eligible and requires the same type of DBS check, they may use their existing certificate if the employer is content to accept it. In this context, it is the employer’s decision whether to use an existing certificate or to request a new one.The DBS Update Service, launched in June 2013, supports the portability of an individual’s certificate by ensuring the information is up to date. Once an individual joins the Update Service, they are able to keep their certificate up to date by giving employers permission to check if anything has changed on their certificate, as long as the role is in the same workforce and eligible for the same level of check as the existing certificate.The Update service allows existing and new employers to undertake instant online checking of DBS certificates with the individual’s consent, thus saving time and money. The applicant would only need to obtain a new certificate in cases where there has been a change in recorded information, or in cases where they need to apply for a different type of criminal record check. The Update Service is free to use for volunteers and costs £16 a year for paid employees.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 25911 on Fractures: Health Services, if he will set targets for making fracture liaison services available for all NHS trusts.

Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are a globally recognised care model and can reduce the risk of refracture for people at risk of osteoporosis by up to 40%. They can play a vital role in improving quality of life and increasing the number of years that can be lived in good health.We remain committed to rolling out FLS across every part of the country by 2030. Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services.In the meantime, we are investing in 14 high-tech DEXA scanners, which are expected to provide an extra 29,000 scans to ensure that people with bone conditions get diagnosed earlier.

Whether she has received representations about extending the Adoption and special guardianship support fund to ensure it covers 12 months of therapeutic support.

No representations have been received on this issue. Under the current guidelines for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, applications for therapeutic support can already be submitted for up to a 12 month period. This has allowed children who start therapy at different points within the financial year to continue to receive it for 12 months. Although business planning decisions for next financial year have not yet been finalised, applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) heat pumps and (b) other renewable heating solutions are (i) accessible and (ii) affordable.

Under the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, policies including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Local Grant and Energy Company Obligation are delivering financial support for low carbon heating. Heat pump installations are also zero-rated for VAT. The Government will also amend Permitted Development Rights, removing the 1m rule for air source heat pump installations in England. We expect most properties will ultimately switch to heat pumps, with evidence showing they are widely suitable across UK housing archetypes. The Government will keep this position under review as the evidence base on possible alternatives develops.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) local authorities and (b) community groups that provide energy efficiency improvements receive adequate funding to implement his Department's policies as set out in the Warm Homes Plan.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. We will set out full details of our Warm Homes Plan in due course.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2025 to Question 28103 on Flats: Fire Prevention, whether she has held recent discussions with (a) mortgage lenders and (b) insurers on the form of alternative evidence they would accept in place of an EWS1 form issued by Adam Kiziak and Tri Fire.

As per the answer given to Question UIN 28103 on 11 February 2025, my officials continue to regularly engage with the mortgage lending and insurance industries.Where a mortgage lender who is a signatory to the statement on cladding is not accepting an EWS1 for a building which requires work to remediate building safety defects, then leaseholders should provide alternative evidence that their building is in the Cladding Safety Scheme, Building Safety Fund or covered by a developer that has signed the Developer Remediation Contract. This evidence could be, for example, a letter from MHCLG or the developer. Leaseholders can also complete a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate to evidence they qualify for the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.For buildings which do not need remedial works, then lenders or insurers may accept Fire Risk Appraisals of External Walls.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the (a) workforce, (b) skills of the workforce and (c) funding is adequate to support the roll-out of his Department's retro-fitting schemes.

The Department has invested over £25 million to establish three Skills Training Competitions and the Heat Training Grant, which subsidise 33,000 retrofit training opportunities. The Heat Training Grant is on track to train 10,000 trained heat pump and heat network installers by April this year. These initiatives support the delivery of the Department’s retrofit schemes. The Government will continue to work with industry to facilitate a competent and robust retrofit supply chain in which businesses can grow. Further detail will be set out in our Warm Homes Plan later this year.

What steps his Department is taking through the Warm Homes Plan to help ensure that (a) homes occupied by low-income families and (b) all homes meet high energy efficiency standards.

The Government has pledged to take action to stand with tenants and deliver the safety and security of warmer, cheaper homes, and has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1bn of this allocated to 2025/2026. We have published our consultation on improving energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector in England and Wales, containing proposals that could lift up to half a million households in England out of fuel poverty by 2030. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 27888 on Brain: Tumours, if he will make it his policy to ensure that the National Institute for Health and Care Research provides feedback to each application for brain tumour research which does not secure funding.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR funding opportunities relevant to brain tumours are advertised, highlighting scope and remit, with guidance documents to assist applicants in shaping their applications. All unsuccessful applications receive extensive committee feedback and, where a study may be fundable with changes, applicants may be invited to resubmit at either the outline or full stage. In areas of strategic importance, including commissioned calls relevant to brain tumours, the NIHR will support with direct engagement with the study team to ensure the feedback is well understood and adequate support is in place, including that provided by the NIHR Research Support Service.Brain tumours remain one of the hardest to treat cancers in both adults and children. More research is urgently needed to inform efforts. This is why in September 2024, the NIHR announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. The Department is committed to increasing our support for high quality brain tumour research, ensuring that funding is used in the most meaningful and impactful way. Further information on the new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research is available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/new-funding-opportunities-novel-brain-tumour-research-launched

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February to Question 28158 on Public Lavatories: Men, whether he will produce guidance for local authorities on he provision of sanitary waste bins in men's bathrooms.

The maintenance of public toilets is a matter for local authorities. The Government has no plans to produce guidance for local authorities on the provision of sanitary waste bins in men's bathrooms.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to provide free anytime bus travel to all disabled bus pass holders.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the times of use, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. Local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations under the ENCTS and offer additional discretionary concessions, such as extending the travel time criteria for the ENCTS. The Department for Transport’s concessionary travel statistics for the year ending March 2025, report that 60% of travel concession authorities provide discretionary concessions for disabled concessionary passholders to travel before 9:30am and after 11pm.

If she will make an estimate of the number of sick days taken by (a) teachers and (b) other school staff due to mental ill health in each of the last five years.

The information requested is not held centrally.The department collects absence data for teachers and teaching assistants employed directly by state-funded schools via the school workforce census. This includes absences due to sickness but does not include the reason for the sickness absence. Each census collects data for absences from the previous academic year. The latest data available covers the 2022 /23 academic year and is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.