Written questions by Norris.

Media and Sport, what plans he has to extend the rollout of Young Futures Hubs.

In order to start the roll-out of Young Futures Hubs, up to £2m is being made available for 8 Early Adopters Local Authorities, so that the first Young Futures Hubs will be operational later this financial year.As the Prime Minister stated in his speech on 15th July, we have plans to open 50 hubs over the next four years. The design and implementation of the programme will be informed by our work with early adopters, and they will be located where they will have the most impact.

What steps she is taking to increase access to higher technical qualifications and degree courses by low-income students.

The Post-16 White Paper sets out our vision for a reformed system that helps everyone with the desire and aptitude to access higher education (HE), breaking down barriers to opportunity and supporting growth.Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are a key route into HE for disadvantaged learners. At Level 5, 54% of learners come from the 40% most deprived areas. As of September 2025, 281 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across 13 occupational routes, and the growth of HTQs will help to address key skills gaps.We aim to reform regulation of Access and Participation Plans, allowing the Office for Students (OfS) to be more risk-based. There will be greater accountability for providers lagging behind in supporting disadvantaged students, and reduced bureaucracy for those doing well, with a greater focus on continuous improvement.We will introduce targeted maintenance grants to support students from low-income households studying courses at Levels 4 to 6, including technical qualifications and degrees, aligned with the government’s missions and the Industrial Strategy. The department is also introducing the lifelong learning entitlement, to help people study flexibly in a way that suits their needs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made in developing an evidence base to consider whether decapods should have greater protection.

Defra has commissioned research to address a knowledge gap about how live decapods move from sea to plate. This is due to finish in 2026. In addition, a project on the welfare of decapod crustaceans across the supply chain is included in the Animal Welfare Committee’s current work plan.

What progress she is making on supporting people that want to use electric vehicles.

The Government is investing over £4.5 billion to help industry and consumers transition to zero emission vehicles. The £650 million Electric Car Grant has supported around 30,000 drivers to choose an electric vehicle since its launch in July. As of 1 October 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 86,021 publicly available charging devices (including 17,354 rapid charging devices), an increase of 23% year on year. In September 2025, battery electric vehicles represented over a fifth (23.0%) of new UK car registrations, and the UK now has the largest market share for electric cars of any major European economy.

What recent progress his Department has made on protecting people from cyber threats.

I refer to my answer for UIN 80985, tabled on 10 October 2025.

What steps he is taking to improve cross-Government coordination on preparedness for a future pandemic.

The Government is committed to improving pandemic preparedness. As the response to Module One of the Covid-19 inquiry made clear, the Cabinet Office is playing a greater role in preparedness for cross-cutting catastrophic risks. Our preparedness for future pandemics has been stepped up through Exercise Pegasus, the largest ever national pandemic response exercise. The exercise will test national to local coordination arrangements, and lessons from the exercise will help strengthen pandemic preparedness at national and local levels.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the progress made by her Department on improving biodiversity.

We are committed to improving biodiversity by delivering on our four legally binding targets for species abundance, species extinction and habitat creation and restoration. These targets are driving significant action for nature recovery, alongside statutory targets on tree canopy and woodland cover, water and air quality, marine protected areas, and resource efficiency. We are investing in protected sites and landscape-scale action through delivery of a Nature Recovery Network and our 30by30 commitment and taking action to increase the adoption of nature-friendly farming. Through our Landscape Recovery scheme, we have supported 56 projects to work alongside farmers, landowners and environmental organisations to develop strategies for long-term nature recovery. These projects will restore over 600 km of rivers, restore more than 35,000 hectares of peatland, sustainably manage more than 20,000 hectares of woodland, and benefit more than 160 protected sites. We have also commissioned an evaluation framework which will strengthen our understanding of progress towards meeting our biodiversity targets.

Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of holiday lets in the West of England.

DCMS is developing a registration scheme to collect data on short-term lets across England. The Scheme, which is launching in 2026, will give the Government and local authorities valuable insights on the number of short-term lets in local areas.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on improving broadband coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Good progress on improving broadband coverage has been made in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, approximately 91% of premises in this constituency have access to gigabit-capable broadband (of 1000 Mbps or faster), this is up from 87% in 2024. This figure exceeds the UK average, which currently stands at 89%.

What estimate she has made of the number of families which will receive 30 hours of free childcare in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency in 2025.

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.The latest January 2025 statistics relating to funded early education and childcare were published on 11 July 2025. Statistics at constituency level are not readily available. Figures on the number of 3 and 4 year-olds registered for the 30-hour working parent entitlement in Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/440c7635-9b30-45ae-7a83-08de11c58191.Following the expansion from September 2025, figures on the number of children aged 9 months to 2 years registered for the 30-hour working parent entitlement, at local authority, regional, and national level, will be published in next year’s January 2026 statistics on GOV.UK.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing taxes on the gambling industry on the economy.

The Government makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events. If any changes are made to gambling duties at Budget, legislation will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts.

What recent progress his Department has made on preparing for COP30.

Net Zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st Century – one that has the potential to reignite our industrial heartlands, create good jobs for the future, and lower bills in the long termWe’re restoring the UK as a global leader on climate action and green growth, and you can expect to see the PM driving forward that agenda at COP30. As he did last year at COP29, the Secretary of State will be leading the UK delegation in Brazil supported by myself and other Ministers. We will work with others to support multilateralism and push for maximal ambition.

What steps she is taking to promote (a) walking, (b) wheeling and (c) cycling in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

The Spending Review in June 2025, which covers multiple years from 2026/27 onwards, allocated £616 million for Active Travel England to support local authorities to build and maintain walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure including dedicated cycling routes. This comes on top of £222.5 million announced in February 2025 for local authorities over 2024/25-25/26. Active Travel funding supports local transport authorities with developing and constructing walking, wheeling and cycling facilities, as well as supporting behaviour change activities and capability building measures. The West of England Combined Authority, of which North-east Somerset and Hanham constituency is part, has been allocated £3,481,065 from the Consolidated Active Travel Fund 2025-26.

What information her Department holds on the number of pupils who were persistently absent from school in (a) north east Somerset and (b) South Gloucestershire between September 2024 and July 2025.

The department publishes figures from the school census on pupil absence in England. The latest data covers the autumn and spring terms of the 2024/25 academic year and is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2024-25-autumn-and-spring-term. This data has been available since 23 October 2025.The published data includes numbers and rates of persistent absence by local authority, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/917c09ab-3598-4b7e-95ac-08de11382822. Absence data from the school census is not yet available for the full 2024/25 academic year.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the steps she has taken to help (a) improve school attendance and (b) reduce the numbers of pupils persistently absent.

This government is determined to tackle the challenge of school absence. Missing school regularly is harmful to children’s attainment and wellbeing.We are continuing our focus on improving school attendance through a ‘support first’ approach as set out in our statutory guidance. We have also developed real-time data tools that allows schools to compare attendance against similar schools and enable earlier intervention. Alongside this, we are investing in targeted support, including £15 million to set up the attendance mentors programme supporting 10,800 pupils and establishing 90 attendance and behaviour hubs that will support thousands of schools around the country.Thanks to the efforts of schools, absence is moving in the right direction, with children attending over 5.31 million more days this year compared to last. However, around one in five pupils are still missing 10% or more of school, which is why the department is continuing to drive further improvement.

Whether he will take steps to make Integrated Care Boards coterminous with strategic authorities.

The English devolution white paper made clear the Government’s long-term ambition to align public service boundaries, including health and strategic authority boundaries. We reaffirmed this commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025. Our aim is that integrated care boards should be coterminous with strategic authorities wherever feasibly possible.I also refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS915 I made to the House on 9 September 2025, which provided an update on further progress.

What assessment he has made of the progress of reform of the private pension system.

We are committed to making reforms to the workplace pensions system to deliver better outcomes for UK savers and pensioners and to increase productive investment in the UK economy.We have already completed our landmark Pensions Investment Review, which reported in May 2025. The Pension Schemes Bill, which was introduced in June, will legislate for the outcomes of the Review, in addition to other reforms to the pensions system. Our Bill Impact Assessment shows around 20 million savers could benefit and an average earner saving over their career could have around £29,000 more in their defined contribution pension pot at retirement as a result of the package of measures.Additionally, the Bill will unlock some of the estimated £160 billion of surplus funds from well-funded Defined Benefit pension schemes to benefit sponsoring employers and members, with appropriate safeguards in place to protect members.In July we launched the next phase of our reform agenda. The time is now right to finish the job started by the Turner Commission two decades ago and that is why we have revived the Commission, which is led by Baroness Jeannie Drake, Sir Ian Cheshire and Professor Nick Pearce. The Pensions Commission will make recommendations to ensure we have a pensions system that is strong, fair and sustainable.Our reforms will also boost investment and growth in the UK. The Mansion House Accord will see leading workplace pension providers invest 10% of their workplace portfolio in productive assets such as infrastructure, property, and private equity. At least half of this will be in the UK.

What steps he is takin to support young people into employment, education and training in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency.

As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people are either learning or earning. This includes access to high-quality training, apprenticeships, and personalised support to find work. As a first step, eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England began mobilising the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in April. These Trailblazers are testing new local approaches to identify and support young people at risk of falling out of education, employment or training and becoming NEET. North East Somerset and Hanham constituency are part of the West of England Trailblazer, supporting young people into employment, education and training opportunities together with transport issues around reaching available job vacancies and opportunities. In addition to this young people claiming Universal Credit can access support through our Youth Offer. This includes a range of support designed to help young people move closer to employment, such as dedicated support from Youth Employability Coaches, access to Youth Hubs, and intensive guidance from Jobcentre Work Coaches during the first 13 weeks of a Universal Credit claim.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of using geothermal heat from former, flooded coal mines to help reach his Department's clean energy targets.

To achieve net zero at lowest cost, we must look at how to accelerate all low carbon technologies including geothermal. The Government recognises that the mine water from coal mines shows good potential as a renewable source for heat networks. The government is therefore supporting such mine water schemes as Gateshead and Seaham Garden Village through the Heat Network Investment Project and the Green Heat Network Fund. The Mining Remediation Authority has also released opportunity maps for 10 Cities in England Mine Water Heat Opportunity Mapping for 10 Cities in England - data.gov.uk

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve levels of community (a) involvement and (b) engagement in planning processes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Questions UIN 58236 on 17 June 2025 and UIN 72839 on 15 September 2025.