Written questions by Egan.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of walking, wheeling and cycling routes on disused railways to access to new housing sites.

The provision of walking, wheeling and cycling routes plays an important role in new developments and has wide ranging benefits, including reducing impacts associated with traffic, as well as supporting health and wellbeing. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, using a vision led approach to identify transport solutions that deliver well-designed, sustainable and popular places. This includes identifying and pursing opportunities to promote walking and cycling, which could include routes on disused railways, to help ensure safe and suitable access to new housing sites for all users.

What assessment his Department has made of the value for money of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft contract since its commencement in 2008.

The RAF Voyager fleet provides value for money by serving as a versatile asset for air-to-air refuelling, strategic airlift, and VIP transport. Under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, Air Tanker is required to provide the Department with their performance data. This gives the Department complete transparency, ensuring regular monitoring and compliance with the terms of the agreement.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating the use of alternatives to snares for animal control practices.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra has not made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of any particular alternatives to snares for animal control practices. This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation and this included a commitment to bring an end to the use of snare traps in England. Defra is considering the most effective way to deliver this commitment and will be setting out next steps in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69695, what are the timescales for improving access to palliative care at home for children nearing the end of life; and what assessment he has made of the (a) provision and (b) commissioning of such services in Bristol.

The Department and NHS England are currently working at pace to develop plans on how best to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. I will be able to say more about our timelines for that work in the near future.We will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.Children’s palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and a service specification for children and young people.  The statutory guidance states that ICBs, including the NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative care and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.We are providing £26 million of revenue funding for children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. Jessie May Children’s Hospice in Bristol has received £182,000 from this funding. We are also committing £80 million for children’s and young people’s hospices over the next three financial years, giving them stability to plan ahead and focus on what matters most, caring for their patients.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure parents of children with SEND are informed of (a) their rights and (b) the protections available to them.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to publish a Local Offer, setting out in one place information about provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people in their area who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those without an education, health and care plan.Every local authority must have a SEND information, advice and support service. These provide free and impartial advice to children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers.The department works with national organisations such as Contact, IPSEA and the National Network of Parent Carer Forums. We also fund local parent carer forums across England who gather the views and experiences of local SEND families to help shape and inform policy and provision and offer a valuable peer support network for parents and carers navigating the SEND system.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of whether the Palestinian Authority education curriculum (a) for 2025-2026 and (b) in general meets UNESCO standards for (i) peace and (ii) tolerance in school education.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 29 October to question 79968.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing introducing compulsory first aid training for teachers.

The provision of first aid training is a matter for early years, schools and colleges as employers who are best placed to make decisions about the training and development required to meet the needs of their staff and pupils.The department publishes guidance to support settings to carry out their duties relating to first aid issues both on their premises and off-site.

What steps her Department is taking to support the hospitality sector with increased employment costs.

The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector across the UK. The UK hospitality sector is largely made up of small businesses. The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year. To reduce wider burdens for the hospitality sector, we have also established the Licensing Taskforce and will call for evidence on a National Licensing Policy Framework which will set out national direction for licensing authorities to consider economic growth and cultural value. In addition, the English Devolution Bill will protect businesses from upward only rent clauses, and we are introducing a strong new ‘Community Right to Buy’ to help communities safeguard valued community assets.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken by the Building Safety Regulator to process (a) applications and (b) approvals on levels of employment in the construction sector.

The department recognises the importance of Gateway 2 approvals to the supply of new homes and the construction sector. That is why the government announced in June 2025 changes to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR). These reforms include delivering operational improvements in the BSR which will allow decisions on applications submitted to the BSR to be made more quickly. The department will continue to work with the BSR to deliver further improvements in its performance in the short and medium term.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the cycle to work scheme available to people who are self-employed.

The Cycle to Work scheme is a benefit-in-kind provided by employers to their employees. A benefit-in-kind is a form of non-cash remuneration provided by employers to their employees. Income tax and National Insurance contribution relief is provided on the scheme to both employers and their employees via salary sacrifice arrangements. As a result, the scheme is not open to the self-employed, who are not eligible for salary sacrifice.

What steps his Department takes to ensure that information in official leaflets on (a) access to and (b) guidance on benefit entitlements is accurate.

To ensure information is accurate, all new and amended leaflets are subject to a quality assurance process where content is checked and approved by subject matter experts before publication. In addition, the department undertakes an annual uprating review of all leaflets that are impacted by rate changes.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the maintenance of historic religious buildings.

Since 2010, the Government has returned over £400 million to listed churches, synagogues, mosques and temples through the grant scheme. This has helped protect our listed places of worship and enabled them to continue their work as centres of worship and community assets.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of taking (a) one and (b) two week holidays with family during school term time on the long-term educational performance of primary school children.

Research by the Children’s Commissioner in 2023 found that any amount of term-time holiday is associated with lower GCSE results. This research is accessible here: https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2023/11/CC-REPORT-_-Attendance-and-Attainment-_-Oct-23.pdf.Recent research conducted by the department in 2025 found that at both key stage 2 and key stage 4, attending an extra two weeks of school is associated with a 30% higher chance of achieving the expected outcome at key stage 2 and a 10% higher chance at key stage 4. This research is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67c96d7dd0fba2f1334cf2ed/The_link_between_attendance_and_attainment_in_an_assessment_year_-_March_2025.pdf.Absence does not just affect the child missing school, it also increases teacher workload. Research published by the National Foundation for Educational Research in 2019 shows that school absence disrupts learning for the whole class. The research is accessible here: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594391.pdf.

What plans she has for the Holiday activities and food programme after 31 March 2026.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bristol North East to the answer of 3 October 2025 to Question 73205.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that children nearing the end of life can access palliative care at home.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations.To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.  The statutory guidance requires ICBs to work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of palliative and end of life care services to meet the needs of their local populations.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care. This funding will also help to develop and better outreach services to support people in their own homes when needed.Additionally, we are providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.I have tasked officials to look at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all- age palliative and end of life care, including services provided at, or closer to, home, in line with the 10-Year Health Plan. It is our intention to work together with stakeholders to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need, in the right place, at the right time, at the end of life.

What steps her Department plans to take to support children with complex needs whose therapeutic support requirements exceed the maximum funding available for each child specified in the guidance entitled Adoption and special guardianship support fund, last updated on 24 April 2025.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bristol North East to the answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 53958.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to monitor the treatment of UK citizens detained at foreign airports.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is contactable 24/7 to provide consular assistance to British nationals abroad. Our assistance services are set out on gov.uk, including the help we can give when a British national is detained overseas. We take all reports of mistreatment seriously, and with the individual's consent we raise such incidents with the local authorities.

What her Department's planned timeline is for the (a) launch and (b) operational availability of non-government pensions dashboards.

Private sector (non-government) dashboards will be launched when the Secretary of State is satisfied that the dashboards ecosystem is ready to support widespread use by the general public, following consultation with the Money and Pensions Service, The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority. Insights gained from the launch and operation of the MoneyHelper will help inform this. The Secretary of State will announce the date for the public availability of private sector dashboards at least six months in advance, in line with the Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022.

What assessment her Department has made of the likely readiness of hydrogen-powered aircrafts for commercial use at the planned completion of the expansion of Heathrow Airport; and what steps her Department is taking to align aviation decarbonisation initiatives with future airport infrastructure developments.

The government recognises the potential decarbonisation and growth benefits that new forms of zero-emission aircraft using hydrogen could provide. However, construction and operational timelines of any Heathrow Airport expansion remain a matter for the scheme promoter. The government has been clear that any airport expansion proposals must be delivered in line with the UK’s legal, climate and environmental obligations. The government will set out detail on plans for meeting legislated carbon budgets later this year, including for aviation.Also, the Jet Zero Taskforce, convening representatives from government, industry, and academia, has established a dedicated Task and Finish Group to review barriers to the commercial operation of zero-carbon hydrogen aircraft.

What recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the provision of independent travel training for young people with SEND.

The department publishes statutory guidance to assist local authorities in meeting their home to school travel duties. The guidance says that wherever possible, local authorities should offer independent travel training to children with special educational needs or disabilities who are eligible for free travel to school and who they think will be able to complete the programme. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.Departmental officials engage regularly with local authorities and host bi-monthly online meetings, to which all local authority school travel officers are invited, to share good practice and seek advice from one another and the department.