Written questions by Swayne.

What discussions her Department has had with Apple Inc. on the continuing provision of its advanced data protection system in the UK.

The Home Office does not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any notices. This has been the longstanding position of successive UK Governments for reasons of national security.The UK has a longstanding position of protecting people’s privacy whilst also ensuring action can be taken against child sexual abusers and terrorists.

If she will make it her policy to abolish clawback by pension providers.

The aim of integrated or so-called ‘clawback’ schemes is to provide, overall, the same level of benefits before and after a person reaches State Pension age. A higher amount of occupational pension is paid before the member begins to receives their State Pension, thereby smoothing benefit income over time. The Government has no plans to abolish the provision of integrated pensions.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the development of new agricultural technologies.

The Government recognises the importance of innovation and technologies in supporting farmers to drive productivity and profitability, boosting Britain’s food security and improving nature’s recovery. The Government is supporting the development of agricultural technologies through a range of policies. Defra has announced the Accelerating Development of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) Fund which will launch in Spring 2025, enabling farmer-led trials to bridge the gap between new technologies and their real-world application. Legislation to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 will be introduced in Parliament before the end of March. When in force, this will enable farmers to grow crops with higher yields and that are more resistant to drought, pests and diseases. Defra will collaborate closely with industry partners, such as The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture, a professional body established in 2021 that aims to drive greater uptake of professional skills, including in relation to new technologies, among farmers and growers for a more prosperous Sector. Defra will continue to look carefully at how to position future investment and support to enable the benefits of new technologies to be fully realised and integrated into farming practices.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned increase in employer National Insurance contributions on charities.

The Government highly values the charity sector, and its positive contribution across society.Due to the difficult economic inheritance from the previous government, we have had to take a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.The Government has considered the implication of this policy change on the charity sector, and the impacts have been published in the usual way by HMRC as part of the Autumn Budget process.A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN), which gives a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts, was published alongside the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on 13 November 2024. This Note includes the impacts of the policy on the Exchequer; the economic impacts of the policy; and the impacts on individuals, businesses, civil society organisations and equality impacts.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of temporarily closing the capital grants scheme for new applications on farmers.

We have allocated the largest ever budget for sustainable food production through the farming budget. In the first week of December, we paid £343 million into the rural economy, benefiting more than 31,000 farmers. After unprecedented demand, parts of the Capital Grant have been temporarily closed. We are reviewing the offer and will provide a further update in early 2025.

What steps she is taking to enable private schools to register for VAT.

Since the announcement on 29 July, HMRC has extensive taken action to support private schools and has allocated additional resource to process VAT registration applications.HMRC has published bespoke guidance for schools, as well hosting live webinars to support schools in understanding how to register for, and charge, VAT.HMRC has also set up an online interactive guidance tool, allowing schools to check when they may be required to register for VAT based on their specific circumstances.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the UN implements the recommendations of the Final Report of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality, published on 20 April 2024.

The government is confident that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is taking action to ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality and is strengthening its procedures. £1 million of the £21 million of UK funding announced in July is earmarked to support UNRWA to implement the management reforms recommended by the Colonna review. Together with other donors, we will continue to monitor UNRWA's progress on implementation of its action plan. The FCDO will also continue to conduct our own annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA.

What discussions she has had with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education on a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification for teachers of sensory impairment; and when the apprenticeship is expected to start.

The department recognises the significant impact this profession has on the lives of children and families, and is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including children with a sensory impairment.The department is reforming the apprenticeship levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers.At the same time, the department is prepared to make the tough choices needed on how funding should be prioritised in future. That is why, taking advice from Skills England, we will be asking more employers to step forward and fund level 7 apprenticeships outside of the apprenticeship budget in future.The department will be setting out our final decisions on funding level 7 apprenticeships, such as the qualification for teachers of sensory impairment, in the new year.

Whether he plans to take further steps to encourage NHS Hospital Trusts to adopt the GIRFT pathway for Cauda Equina Syndrome.

We are aware of the challenges faced by those living with rare diseases such as Cauda Equina Syndrome and remain committed to making improvements across the healthcare system through implementation of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change. GIRFT’s work to raise awareness and support implementation of the NHS England pathway for patients with suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome is ongoing, and we have been encouraged to see signs of progress in many trusts across England since the pathway was shared in February 2023. Where trusts report barriers to implementation, for example, in the staffing of magnetic resonance imaging scanners 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are working to support them by sharing best practice and recommendations to help ensure the pathway can be fully adhered to. We are undertaking a programme of stakeholder engagement events at the national, regional, system and site level to promote the benefits of the pathway.