Written questions by Paffey.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on water safety education for primary school children.

Departmental officials had discussions with their Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs counterparts in drawing up the new relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. The department has made water safety and the Water Safety Code part of statutory health education, taught as part of RSHE. It is included within the new topic of ‘personal safety’. The new curriculum comes into force from September 2026. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.Swimming and water safety are also compulsory elements of the primary physical education curriculum at key stages 1 and 2.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) insurance fraud and (b) ghost brokers in the motor insurance industry.

The Government recognises the harm caused by insurance fraud, including ghost broking. This is why we have launched an Insurance Fraud Charter with key firms setting out a series of voluntary measures to disrupt and deter insurance fraud. As part of the Stop! Think Fraud public communications campaign, the Government supported a campaign led by the Association of British Insurers, the City of London Police, and the Insurance Fraud Bureau to highlight the signs of Ghost Broking and encourage public reporting to CheatLine. We continue working with law enforcement and industry partners, including the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department, to combat this crime and protect consumers. The Government also launched a cross-government motor insurance taskforce, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury, to help drive down the costs of motor insurance and will consider related fraud as part of this. The taskforce is expected to publish its final report in the autumn.

Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has independently reviewed the most recent Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls completed by Vistry for French Court, SO14 2DZ.

The Department has not commissioned an independent review of a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls for this building.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of unsafe cladding on the ability of leaseholders to sell their flats; and what steps his Department plans to take to support those leaseholders.

Ten major mortgage lenders have pledged to consider lending on properties in buildings which are 11 metres or above even if there are unresolved building safety issues. The building must be in a remediation scheme, and/or the leaseholder must qualify for the protections in the Building Safety Act and have completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it. We engage with lenders to make sure they are upholding the pledge and gather supporting data.

Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with insurance companies on costs for (a) residents and (b) leaseholders in buildings with (i) cladding and (ii) fire safety defects.

As set out in the Remediation Acceleration Plan published in July 2025, the department has been regularly engaging with the insurance industry to test the feasibility and scope of any potential options to reduce high insurance bills for some leaseholders while their building undergoes remediation for fire related defects.

What steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for access to work applications.

As set out in the Green Paper, we are reforming Access to Work to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people into and on in work. We are committed to reducing waiting times for claims and we prioritise customers starting a job in four weeks. Nevertheless, Access to Work is demand-led and tailored to the needs of each customer. We are continuing to streamline delivery practices and have increased the number of staff processing claims. Since May 2024, 118 additional staff have been redeployed to support Access to Work.

Communities and Local Government, when the (a) results of the Remediation Programme Insurance Survey and (b) Government response to that survey will be published.

The Remediation Programme Insurance Survey closed on 31 July. We are using the data collected to test the feasibility and scope of any future possible government intervention to reduce high insurance bills for some leaseholders while their building undergoes remediation for fire related defects. Due to the commercial sensitivity of the data, we will not be making the results public.

What recourse is available in situations where an employment tribunal award has been made but cannot be enforced because the company is no longer trading and has not gone into formal insolvency.

In the absence of any formal insolvency proceedings, the Redundancy Payment Service, which is part of the Insolvency Service, can pay redundancy pay awarded by the Employment Tribunal to a former employee.It is unable to consider payment of any other elements that may have been awarded, such as arrears of wages, holiday pay, compensatory notice pay or compensation for unfair dismissal.

Communities and Local Government, what support is available to leaseholders to meet the costs of remediating non-cladding related fire safety defects (a) of fire doors and (b) in general.

Qualifying leaseholders are protected from the costs of non-cladding defects, with the maximum amount that can be charged capped at £15,000 in Greater London (or £10,000 elsewhere in England). In certain circumstances that cap may be zero, such as when the landlord is (or is associated with) the developer. Regarding Fire doors specifically, those which have been incorrectly installed, or which have degraded prematurely may meet the definition of a non-cladding relevant defect and the cost of replacing them will be covered by the leaseholder protections. Fire doors need to be replaced due to wear and tear, however, are not covered by the leaseholder protections and costs can be passed to leaseholders via their service charge.

What options her Department is considering to reduce fatalities involving young drivers through the Road Safety Strategy; and when that strategy will be published.

The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. More details will be set out in due course. We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign. We are considering measures to address this and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety - the first in over a decade.

What her planned timetable is for the review of the child maintenance calculation.

The Government is conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose. This includes updating the underlying research and considering how to ensure the calculation reflects current and future societal trends. Options for proposed reforms are currently being considered. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to an extensive public consultation, which we are planning to publish late in 2025, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny in the course of 2026.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential benefits of permitting (a) homeowners, (b) renters and (c) small businesses to install sub-1kW grid-tied solar systems without requiring prior approval from energy companies.

In line with the Government’s commitment to unleash a rooftop revolution, households and businesses are permitted to connect small-scale generation (3.68kW or less) to the grid without prior approval from their Distribution Network Operator (DNO). They must notify the DNO of the installation within 28 days of commissioning. In its consultation on the end-to-end review of connections [1], Ofgem has proposed requiring all DNOs to review the 3.68kW threshold. In the recent Solar Roadmap, the Government also committed to conducting a safety study to unlock opportunities of ‘plug-in solar’, where small solar systems are plugged directly into household power sockets. Connections end-to-end review of the regulatory framework | Ofgem

What recent discussions he has had with Ofgem on ensuring that consumers are treated fairly in relation to historic overpayments to energy network operators; and whether he has considered options for returning any such overpayments to bill payers.

The unexpected inflation shock of 2022-23 increased equity value for network companies due to fixed-rate debt financing. Following a public consultation, Ofgem took action to adjust how it regulates network company investment, deliverables and returns, so this cannot happen again going forward. Ofgem considered reclaiming previous excess profits but decided against this to avoid raising the cost of capital and costs for consumers. Ofgem has made clear that it expects network companies to use any inflation benefit to accelerate network upgrades and find additional ways to support consumers struggling with bills.

What assessment he has made of (a) the potential merits of adding fluoride to drinking water and (b) the potential impact of this on oral health for children.

Water fluoridation is an evidence based, effective public health intervention for improving the oral health of children and adults. The 2022 Health Monitoring Report showed that five-year-olds were less likely to experience dental caries, and less likely to experience caries of high severity, in areas with a fluoridation scheme. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-fluoridation-health-monitoring-report-for-england-2022The 10-Year Health Plan sets out our plans to expand water fluoridation in the north east of England by 2030, and that we will assess further rollout in areas where oral health outcomes are worst.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of using (a) no-deposit and (b) deposit alternative schemes in the private rented sector on tenants; and what plans she has to ensure tenants are protected from costs associated with those schemes.

The government is aware of the issues raised in 2023 by the Competition and Markets Authority in relation to deposit products.While my Department has not conducted a detailed assessment of ‘zero-deposit’ or ‘deposit alternative’ products, we continue to monitor their impact on private rented sector tenants.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for the Tenancy Deposit Protection system, managing the six contracts which deliver the government-arranged schemes that protect tenants' deposits.As part of the upcoming re-procurement of these contracts we are reviewing the current tenancy deposit system and will explore what improvements can be made to ensure the best possible protection for tenants.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the role of the mitigation hierarchy of (a) avoidance, (b) mitigation and (c) compensation in ensuring ecological protections (i) during the planning process and (ii) following the approval of new developments.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should apply the principle that if significant harm to biodiversity resulting from a development cannot be avoided, adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort, compensated for, then planning permission should be refused.Any mitigation or compensation would be set out in the planning conditions and obligations associated with the planning permission, enabling local planning authorities to monitor the development's implementation and, if necessary, take enforcement action.

What proportion of eligible families were in receipt of Healthy Start in Southampton Itchen constituency on 9 June 2025.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start and does not currently hold data on the number of people eligible for Healthy Start. The NHSBSA does not hold data on local constituencies. The table below shows the number of people on the digital scheme in the relevant local authorities as of 23 May 2025:Local authorityNumber of people on the digital schemeBlackpool1,434City of Bristol2,778County of Herefordshire736Southampton1,677Worthing348Brighton and Hove1,041East Suffolk1,129

What steps his Department plans to take with the Department for Education to monitor the potential impact of the (a) expansion of free school meal eligibility and (b) changes to School Food Standards on children's health.

Free school meals offer a critical nutritional safety net to those children who require it most. Expanding the eligibility criteria to all families in receipt of universal credit will provide 500,000 more children with access to a nutritious lunchtime meal each school day from September 2026. The Government is now considering how best to monitor the impact of the expansion of free school meal eligibility and the update the School Food Standards on child health.

If she will change the ownership arrangements for equipment funded through the Access to Work scheme to allow disabled employees to retain their assistive technology when they change or leave employment.

In March 2025, the Department published the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which is consulting on the future of Access to Work. We are also considering the role of employers in creating accessible and inclusive workplaces as well as how we can shape the market for aids, appliances and assistive technology, to reduce their cost and spread their adoption. We will review all aspects of the Scheme following the conclusion of the consultation on the 30th June and encourage people to have their views and voices heard on how they think the programme and the welfare system could be improved.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that wheelchair users have reliable access to priority spaces on buses.

The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) require buses and coaches designed to carry over twenty-two passengers and used on local and scheduled services to incorporate features to support disabled people to travel safely and in reasonable comfort. This includes provision of a wheelchair space and lift or ramp suitable for a passenger using a standard “reference wheelchair”. We know that wheelchair users are sometimes unable to board a bus because the statutory wheelchair space is already occupied, and we welcome efforts by operators to relieve pressure on it, including through dedicated announcements and signage, the provision of taxi guarantee schemes, and by incorporating a second wheelchair space into vehicle designs. We want disabled people to be able to travel easily, confidently and with dignity, and the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill includes a comprehensive package of measures aiming to improve local bus network accessibility and safety.