Written questions by Costigan.

If she will review the effectiveness of the mechanisms in place to ensure parties in tribunal cases comply with information requests in a timely manner.

The management and listing of tribunal cases, and decisions on whether to reimburse the legal fees of a party in individual cases, are functions of the independent judiciary.​Although orders for costs are not generally made in tribunal proceedings, tribunal procedure rules do provide for the tribunal to award costs in certain circumstances, for example where a party, or their legal representative, has conducted the litigation unreasonably.HMCTS works closely with the judiciary to actively manage the progression of cases through the tribunal system. Legal officers regularly review the live caseload to ensure that tribunal cases are progressed in accordance with the directions of the tribunal so that they are ready to be heard when listed.HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Turkey on the freedom of journalists in (a) Turkey and (b) Turkish Kurdistan.

Media freedom is a priority for the FCDO. The UK believes that freedom of expression is a fundamental right and we regularly engage the Turkish government on urging respect for freedom of media, which is essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy. Further high-level engagement is planned in coming months.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a deposit return scheme on levels of (a) litter and (b) public disamenity caused by litter; and if he will make an estimate of the monetary value of that impact.

Across the UK, it is estimated that approximately 4 billion plastic and 2.5 billion metal drinks containers are not recycled every year – a significant amount being littered. Once the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers is introduced, the Deposit Management Organisation will be required to reach a collection rate of 90% of DRS containers in year 3 of the scheme. Further details, including monetary analysis on the reduction of disamenity of litter, will be provided in the DRS Final Impact Assessment. This will be published when the Statutory Instrument is laid in Parliament.

If she will make an assessment of the adequacy of measures to prevent parties from adjourning tribunal hearings without valid cause.

The management and listing of tribunal cases, and decisions on whether to reimburse the legal fees of a party in individual cases, are functions of the independent judiciary.​Although orders for costs are not generally made in tribunal proceedings, tribunal procedure rules do provide for the tribunal to award costs in certain circumstances, for example where a party, or their legal representative, has conducted the litigation unreasonably.HMCTS works closely with the judiciary to actively manage the progression of cases through the tribunal system. Legal officers regularly review the live caseload to ensure that tribunal cases are progressed in accordance with the directions of the tribunal so that they are ready to be heard when listed.HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

What his planned timetable is for rolling out home insulation upgrades.

Our Warm Homes Plan will transform homes across the country by making them cheaper and cleaner to run, rolling out upgrades from new insulation to solar and heat pumps. We have already launched the Warm Homes Plan: Local Grant, a government-funded scheme delivered by Local Authorities that will take the first steps to delivering on the ambitions of the Warm Homes Plan. It will provide grants for energy performance upgrades and low carbon heating to low-income households living in the worst quality, privately owned homes in England to achieve energy bill savings and carbon savings. These upgrades will be open to all fuel types, including on gas households (those heated by mains gas), and off gas households (those heated by electricity, oil, coal, or liquid petroleum gas). We will set out the full details of our ambitious Warm Homes Plan next spring.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to (a) ensure there is sufficient housing supply to meet demand and (b) reduce the number of families living in (i) overcrowded and (ii) unsuitable accommodation.

This Government is committed to delivering 1.5 million homes over this Parliament, to ensure everyone has access to housing.We are taking bold action to reform our planning system, delivering affordable homes, a new generation of New Towns, unblock stalled housing sites and reform the housing market.The Renters’ Right Bill, which is currently before Parliament, will apply a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. We will launch a consultation on a new Decent Homes Standard across both the Private and Social Rented Sectors in due course to ensure everyone has a decent, warm and safe place to call home.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reimbursing the legal fees of claimants whose tribunal proceedings have been adjourned as a result of an unavailability of court resources.

The management and listing of tribunal cases, and decisions on whether to reimburse the legal fees of a party in individual cases, are functions of the independent judiciary.​Although orders for costs are not generally made in tribunal proceedings, tribunal procedure rules do provide for the tribunal to award costs in certain circumstances, for example where a party, or their legal representative, has conducted the litigation unreasonably.HMCTS works closely with the judiciary to actively manage the progression of cases through the tribunal system. Legal officers regularly review the live caseload to ensure that tribunal cases are progressed in accordance with the directions of the tribunal so that they are ready to be heard when listed.HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.

What steps he is taking to ensure adequate provision of early support for people with poor mental health that live independently.

We know prevention is better than a cure, and early intervention is vital. Part of successful early intervention is ensuring that people, including those that live independently, have access to the mental health support that they need. As part of our mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to child and adult services to reduce delays, bring waiting times down, and intervene earlier.Our early commitment to roll out Young Futures hubs is also key to this and will offer open-access mental health support for young people in every community. In addition, there are currently approximately 65 locally funded early support hubs in England open to those aged 25 years old and under. During 2024/25, the Department is running a Shared Outcomes Fund project, backed by £8 million, to boost and evaluate the impact of 24 of these existing early support hubs.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact on patient safety of adult social care workers (a) administering vaccines and (b) undertaking other NHS delegated tasks.

Employers in the health and care system are responsible for ensuring that adult social care workers are competent to undertake the healthcare activity delegated to them, with sufficient training, development, and support to the required standard.The adult social care provider is also responsible for ensuring and demonstrating the delegation arrangements are being provided safely and effectively and the care workers have appropriate supervision and support.We published national guidance and resources on the Skills for Care website in May 2023, setting out voluntary guiding principles for the safe, effective, and person-centred delegation of healthcare activities. We will also consider whether further support or regulation is needed.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent flooding in urban areas.

Protecting all communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. The new Government has established a Floods Resilience Taskforce, a key commitment that marks a new approach to preparing for flooding and working between national, regional and local Government, including the devolved administrations, and flood risk partners. The Government is investing over £1.25 billion in 2024/25 to build and maintain flood defences to scale up national resilience including in urban areas and is strongly committed to requiring standardised sustainable drainage systems in new developments. We need to see sustainable drainage systems in more developments; to designs that cope with changing climatic conditions, deliver wider water infrastructure benefits and help tackle our water pollution problems. We also need to ensure that appropriate adoption and maintenance arrangements are in place. The responsibility for local flood risk management falls to lead local flood authorities. They do this in partnership with highways authorities and water companies. Water and sewerage companies in England must prepare, publish and maintain Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans. They will help water and sewerage companies better plan for extreme weather, such as flooding, and take the actions necessary to mitigate these current and future risks over the next 25 years.

If she will take steps to grant London boroughs legal powers to regulate (a) the use, (b) parking and (c) fleet management of rental (i) e-bikes and (ii) e-scooters.

As you will appreciate, the new Government is still in its early stages, and I am carefully considering next steps for micromobility, including rental e-bikes and e-scooters. The Government remains committed to gathering further evidence to inform future legislation.

What steps he plans to take to reduce the number of people waiting for an adult social care assessment.

We recognise there are challenges in adult social care, with some people waiting too long for a care assessment. There are long-term reforms needed in social care and we will work with the sector to build consensus for the reforms needed to create a sustainable care system. We are committed to building a National Care Service based on consistent national standards to support people in living independent and dignified lives.In the interim, Care Quality Commission (CQC) local authority assessments consider the performance of the delivery of Care Act duties, including the timeliness of assessing care needs. Local authorities are required to submit their waiting list size, median, and maximum waiting times as part of this process. If the CQC identifies that a local authority has failed or is failing its functions to an acceptable standard, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has powers to intervene. The CQC has published its first nine local authority ratings and reports.

If she will bring forward proposals to regulate the management of dockless rental e-bikes.

As you will appreciate, the new Government is still in its early stages, and I am carefully considering next steps and potential policy solutions for micromobility, including dockless rental e-bikes.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the training provided to adult social care workers that undertake tasks delegated to them by NHS staff.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment to patients, which includes the provision of appropriate training for adult social care workers undertaking delegated healthcare activities. The regulated healthcare professional remains accountable for the appropriateness of the activity being delegated and is responsible for working with the adult social care employer to ensure staff are sufficiently trained and competent to carry out delegated healthcare activity.The Department published national, voluntary guiding principles to support effective, safe, and person-centred delegated healthcare in May 2023. We work with Skills for Care, NHS England, and stakeholders to promote and embed the guiding principles and supporting resources, to ensure care providers and their staff receive the right training and support to carry out delegated healthcare activities.

If she will discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the (a) adequacy and (b) efficiency of consular support with processing (i) identity and (ii) travel documents for undocumented migrants who are homeless in the UK.

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office provides consular assistance to British nationals abroad.The Home Office provides the Homelessness Escalation Service for organisations supporting non-UK nationals experiencing homelessness. Local Authorities, homelessness charities and immigration legal advisors can use the service to obtain current status information and to escalate outstanding immigration applications highlighting an individual’s vulnerability connected to their experience of homelessness.If an undocumented migrant does not have permission to remain in the UK, and wishes to return home voluntarily, they can get help to return to their home country from the Voluntary Returns Service.

What steps she is taking to ensure that engagement in physical activity does not put disabled people at potential risk of losing their benefits.

Entitlement to disability benefits is based on a functional assessment of the person’s ability to perform a range of activities relevant to the specific benefit. Engaging in regular physical activity will not automatically result in reduction in benefit or trigger review or reassessment. It will, however, be considered when assessing the person’s functional ability. It is regrettable to note - as reported in the ‘Activity Alliance Annual Disability and Activity Survey (June 2024)’ - that “around two-fifths (38%) of disabled people say that a fear of their benefits or financial assistance being taken away prevents them from trying to be more active”. This government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and to the principle of working with them, so that their views and voices will be at the heart of all that we do.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of migration to eVisas on people with indefinite leave to remain.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020: Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022: Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues in relation to the proposed prioritisation plan for roll out of eVisas, including people with indefinite leave to remain, and ceasing to issue physical documents. We plan to publish an up-to-date version of this EIA on gov.uk in a due course. We will work to ensure all those with Indefinite leave to remain are supported through the transition to eVisas.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help local authorities reduce rough sleeping.

Homelessness and rough sleeping levels in England are far too high. This has a devastating impact on those affected and harms our communities.We must address this and deliver long-term solutions. The Government is taking action by setting up a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group which the Deputy Prime Minister will chair, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy to put us back on track to ending homelessness.Whilst we develop our new strategy, the Rough Sleeping Initiative is providing £547 million over the period from April 2022 to March 2025 to 300 local authorities across England for local, tailored rough sleeping services.

What steps she is taking with (a) the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and (b) relevant organisations to increase the quality of data available to her Department on the number of (i) migrants with no recourse to public funds and (ii) other migrants who become homeless.

The Home Office is committed to understanding how the NRPF policy impacts different migrant groups through engagement with public and private sector organisations on a regular basis, including at the quarterly NRPF Stakeholder Forum. The Government is looking at homelessness levels carefully and will develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to bring an end to homelessness. The Home Office is in the process of migrating its casework operations to the new ATLAS system. Once fully migrated, it will be possible to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced using the new system.

If she will launch a consultation on the potential merits of schools having a named educational psychologist based in their local authority.

The department values the critical role educational psychologists play in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The deployment of educational psychology services is the responsibility of local authorities as the employers of educational psychology services.The department is taking measures to support education settings to have improved access to educational psychology services by investing in growing the pipeline. The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from this year. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023. This investment will help to make specialist expertise more widely available in mainstream settings.