Written questions by Smith.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a pathway for British citizens by descent to upgrade citizenship status after a defined period of continuous UK residency.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under review. However, British nationality law is governed by the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. There is no power in law to grant British citizenship outside of the statutory provisions of that Act 1981. Further details of all the measures announced in the White Paper will be set out in due course, and where necessary, subject to consultation.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment eligibility on the number of people qualifying for PIP experiencing homelessness.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is there to help people, now and into the future, with the extra costs of living with a disability. PIP is not intended to cover housing costs, which are paid through Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, but my department is committed to identifying and preventing homelessness amongst all customers. Tailored support is available to those at risk of and experiencing homelessness. This includes easements for those with work-related requirements, to give the space to resolve housing issues; referrals to local authority housing teams under ‘duty to refer’ legislation; and signposting to money advice services. We are continuing funding this year for local authorities to provide additional financial support for people struggling with housing and other essential living costs through the Household Support Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments. Through the Spending Review, we announced £1bn a year including Barnett consequentials from 2026 to reform crisis support in England. The Pathways to Work Green Paper announced a broad package of plans and proposals to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. Our reforms will ensure the most vulnerable and severely disabled people are protected, so they can live with dignity and security, while supporting those who can work to do so. As we develop detailed proposals for change, we will continue to consider the potential impacts of reforms. Ending all forms of homelessness is a priority for this Government. £1 billion has been invested in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year. DWP is fully committed to playing its part in homelessness prevention and supporting MHCLG to develop a new cross-government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.

Whether she plans to review the operation of section 3(5) of the British Nationality Act 1981.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under review. However, British nationality law is governed by the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. There is no power in law to grant British citizenship outside of the statutory provisions of that Act 1981.

With reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Energy of 21 May 2025 to the Scottish Parliament's Economy and Fair Work Committee, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure a 20% renewable liquid fuel blend in oil heating.

Renewable liquid fuels are a limited resource, and the Government expects sustainable biomass to be prioritised where there are limited alternatives for decarbonisation. Renewable liquid heating fuels are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions. Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating including as a 20% blend, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstock.

Whether she plans to differentiate between small family businesses and major corporations for overall tax liabilities.

The Government provides support through the tax system to small businesses in a range of ways.The Small Profits Rate and taper rate mean almost 70% of actively trading companies are taxed at a rate of 19%, with only 10% of businesses paying the full 25%.Within National Insurance, the Government has protected the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year.The Government also increased the Small Employer Compensation rate, which compensates small employers for the additional costs of paying National Insurance when employees receive statutory payments (e.g. Statutory Maternity Pay).At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of businesses out of the VAT regime altogetherSmall Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000, which an additional c.60,000 businesses benefit from.

What plans she has for reforming education, health and care plans for children with special educational needs; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that children who require additional support in school receive adequate levels of assistance, in the context of the provisions in the (a) Children and Families Act 2014 and (b) Special educational needs and disability code of practice.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for North Northumberland, to the answer of 02 June 2025 to Question 54205.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support British students in the United States.

US Visa policy and immigration issues are a matter for US authorities. We are seeking clarity from US officials, tracking announcements, and keeping our Travel Advice under constant review, to give students that currently study or want to study in the US clarity and confidence. We stand ready to provide consular support to British nationals abroad 24/7.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle the accrual of debt to their pension by divorcing service personnel due to the application of the current actuarial rules on Pension Sharing Orders.

The legislative basis for Pension Sharing Orders (PSOs) was borne out of the Welfare Reform and Pension Act 1999, which contained provision for the making of PSOs for couples divorcing after 1 December 2000. The legislation is owned by the Department for Work and Pensions and, where a PSO is awarded in respect of a serving or former member of the Armed Forces, the relevant pension scheme is obliged to comply with the provisions of the Act. The rules on PSO’s are applied to all public sector pension schemes in the same manner as stipulated by the primary legislation.

What steps he is taking to ensure the availability of stroke-related medicines in Northumberland; and what steps he is taking to ensure the equal provision of medicines across England.

We are aware of a supply issue affecting aspirin 300 milligram suppositories until late June 2025, which are used outside of their license of pain and inflammation, for their antiplatelet effect after a stroke. We have issued shortage management guidance to the National Health Service advising on the alternative, aspirin 150 milligram suppositories, which remain available for affected patients. The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Northumberland is not held centrally.Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. We have drawn on up-to-date intelligence and data on the root causes of medicine supply issues, with manufacturing problems being the most dominant root cause. The Department works closely with industry, the NHS, manufacturers, and other partners across the supply chain to make sure patients across the UK can access the medicines they need.The resilience of UK supply chains is a key priority, and we are continually learning and seeking to improve the way we work to both manage and help prevent supply issues and avoid shortages. The Department, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve our ability to mitigate and manage shortages and to strengthen our resilience. As part of that work, we continue to engage with industry, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and other colleagues across the supply chain as we progress work to co-design and deliver solutions. We have plans underway to increase the awareness of our work.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of emergency healthcare in (a) rural and (b) urban areas in the North East.

Integrated care board are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local communities, including in the North East, as they are best placed to take those decisions.However, more broadly, the Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance is not at the high standard that patients should expect. We are committed to returning to the safe operational waiting time standards set out in the NHS Constitution.We have set out plans on the action to be taken to improve services this year and will shortly publish a 10-Year Health Plan, which will set out the radical reforms needed to make the National Health Service fit for the future.

What steps she is taking to support local authorities with (a) preventative and (b) early-years support for ECHPs in the North East.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed and thrive in their education and as they move into adult life.Early intervention is critical to prevent unmet needs from escalating. To support early years educators to meet emerging needs, the department has launched new training resources to help educators support children with developmental differences. We have also announced 1,000 further funded training places for Early Years Special Educational Needs Coordinators in the 2025/26 financial year, which will be targeted at settings in the most disadvantaged areas.The department, in partnership with NHS England, continues to improve access to speech and language therapy in early years settings and primary schools through the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinder project. This is being delivered through nine regional pathfinder partnerships within the department’s change programme. In the North East, this is being led by Hartlepool Local Authority.The department’s North East Regions Group also maintains regular engagement with all 12 local authorities in the area, providing tailored support to individual authorities, as well as regionally.

Innovation and Technology, how many newly upgraded mobile masts will be in North Northumberland constituency; and what plans he has to develop the shared rural network in North Northumberland constituency.

In North Northumberland, there are four government funded Home Office masts that are due to be upgraded as part of the Shared Rural Network. The first of these upgrades at Herdlaw Farm should be activated in July and we will write to you with the details once the mast is delivering new coverage. The remaining masts in Mindrum, Bell Hill and The Ladyship Field will be activated no later than by the end of next year in line with the overall programme’s delivery timescales.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to (a) measure and (b) report on progress on reducing youth homelessness through the forthcoming homelessness strategy.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected, including young people. We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.We continue to measure the number of young people owed a homelessness duty through the quarterly and annual accredited homelessness statistics, which remain our official and most robust statistics on youth homelessness.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the safeguards to prevent the misuse of searches of the Office of the Public Guardian Registers by offenders to find the location of their past victims.

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) does not provide location information in the results of register searches. The information given is limited to whether a power of attorney, deputyship order or guardianship order is in place, and the scope and nature of the power. The OPG cannot conduct a search of a register unless the requestor provides the address of the donor of the power or of the person subject to the Court order. A request without this information would deliver a “no result” response.

What steps she is taking with local authorities to help reduce the time taken for ECHP tribunals to be heard in the North East.

The department is working closely with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to help reduce the time families wait for appeal hearings about education, health and care (EHC) plan appeals.MoJ recently recruited 70 new judges and increased administrative staffing by 10% to help process appeals. The use of judicial case management powers to settle cases earlier has also been expanded, and the Tribunal Procedure Committee have recently amended its rules to allow individual judges to determine whether appeals against a refusal to conduct an EHC needs assessment should be conducted in writing (known as ‘on paper’), which is quicker than a full oral hearing.The tribunal always prioritises phase transfer appeals for children and young people who are moving school/placement in September and offers parents and young people the opportunity to have appeals heard throughout school holidays and paper hearings when there is capacity.As the tribunal are hearing 99.5% of appeals remotely, all regions across England are served equitably.

What steps he is taking (a) to ensure the provision of Pfizer vaccines to people who cannot take Moderna and (b) with ICBs which have insufficient supplies of the Pfizer vaccine in North Northumberland constituency.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) procures vaccines that have been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and are advised for use in COVID-19 booster programmes by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The make-up of vaccine availability can vary from campaign to campaign based on the latest JCVI and clinical advice and procured stock available.Published advice in the COVID-19 Green book, chapter 14a recommends that those with known contraindications to COVID-19 vaccination should seek advice from a relevant specialist. This may include an allergy specialist, who can make a clinical assessment of the individual's risks and benefits of vaccination. If suitable, these individuals may be advised to be vaccinated in hospital under medical supervision.During the 2025 Spring COVID-19 vaccination campaign, UKHSA did not receive any reports of supply issues in North Northumberland.Vaccine deployment is managed by NHS England which works with the regional teams and integrated care boards to ensure the vaccine is readily available for those eligible, as per the JCVI advice. UKHSA has worked and continues to work with all deployment partners to ensure the supply and provision of vaccines.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions on imports of aviation fuel on Myanmar.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regularly reviews the effectiveness and impact of UK sanctions and remains committed to continuing to impose and enforce sanctions, alongside our partners, to constrain the Myanmar military's ability to inflict harm against civilians. It is vital for the UK that any sanctions imposed against the Myanmar military and its affiliates, have the desired effect of denying the regime credibility and constraining their access to finance, arms and equipment. Since the coup in 2021, the UK has announced sanctions on 25 individuals and 39 entities under the Myanmar (Sanctions) Regulations, most recently in October 2024, where we announced sanctions against companies involved in the procurement of aviation fuel to the Myanmar Armed Forces.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of multilateral arms embargos on Myanmar.

The UK is clear that countries should not sell arms to the Myanmar military as this will exacerbate the violence. We raise our opposition regularly in international fora. In March 2025, the UK co-sponsored a UN Human Rights Council Resolution, calling for all states to cease the illicit transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Myanmar. UK sanctions include a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar. These sanctions prohibit the provision of military related services, including technical assistance, to or for the benefit of the Myanmar Armed Forces.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the National House Building Council on the effectiveness of its warranty schemes when faults have been identified in new build properties.

The Deputy Prime Minister has not discussed the effectiveness of its warranty schemes when faults have been identified in new build properties with the National House-Building Council (NHBC).However the department regularly carries out engagement with industry and regulators to better understand the effectiveness of new build warranty schemes, which includes those provided by NHBC.

If she has made an assessment of the potential merits of an increased power supply on the East Coast Mainline north of Berwick.

In order to support the planned introduction of the route’s recast timetable in December 2025, Network Rail have conducted detailed route-wide power modelling. Network Rail will continue to undertake similar activity to help inform future plans for East Coast Main Line investment, including sections of the route north of Berwick.