Written questions by Morello.

Whether he plans to review company insolvency rules that permit company directors to retain significant personal assets following corporate bankruptcy.

Companies are separate legal entities and directors only become liable for company debts under limited circumstances. This protection encourages entrepreneurship and is central to the health of the UK economy. Most companies do not become insolvent due to any wrongdoing by the company directors. However, when there is evidence of misconduct, the Insolvency Service may take action to disqualify a director, and where the disqualified director’s conduct has caused a quantifiable loss, can apply to the court for a compensation order to recover personal assets for the benefit of creditors. There are no plans to review this legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that planning exemptions for campsites in national landscapes maintain protections for the environment.

The Government is committed to working with local partners and Protected Landscapes organisations to understand how planning measures can protect the unique landscape and natural assets of these areas, while supporting sustainable tourism and rural economic growth. Exempted organisations are encouraged to consult with the relevant National Landscape teams about what might be done to minimise environmental impacts of a site. Permission must still be sought from Natural England by exempted organisations to use land within protected sites.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the minimum age for social media use for children.

On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, building on the Online Safety Act. While there is consensus that more action is needed, there is not yet consensus on what form that action should take.The consultation will be accompanied by a national conversation, putting children and parents at the heart of this issue. It will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is, as well as explore a ban for children under a certain age. We will also look closely at Australia and their ban on social media for under 16s.The government is clear that it will act quickly and robustly to deal with concerns that are being raised.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to protect children and young people from harmful social media content.

Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must consider different age groups when assessing for risk of content harmful to children. They must implement age-appropriate measures to protect children from harmful content such as violence or bullying. They must also use age assurance to prevent all children encountering the most harmful content such as pornography. Ofcom provides guidance on the risks of harmful content to different age groups.On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, accompanied by a national conversation. It will seek views on a range of measures, including exploring ways to improve the accuracy of age assurance for children to support the enforcement of minimum age limits.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of unpaid HMRC liabilities following corporate insolvency on the economy.

No specific analytical assessment has been made of the potential impact of unpaid HMRC liabilities following corporate insolvency on the economy.

Media and Sport, how much COVID-19 loan support is currently outstanding by each Premiership Rugby Union club.

DCMS acted to support Premiership Rugby during the COVID-19 pandemic when their need was most acute. Loan financing was provided on favourable terms to applicant organisations, and DCMS is now collecting those repayments as intended.DCMS is not able to comment on the specifics of individual loans given their commercial sensitivity.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has considered a tiered age-based approach to social media access based on platform safety standards.

Under the Online Safety Act, in-scope services must consider different age groups when assessing for risk of content harmful to children. They must implement age-appropriate measures to protect children from harmful content such as violence or bullying. They must also use age assurance to prevent all children encountering the most harmful content such as pornography. Ofcom provides guidance on the risks of harmful content to different age groups.On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, accompanied by a national conversation. It will seek views on a range of measures, including exploring ways to improve the accuracy of age assurance for children to support the enforcement of minimum age limits.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to support urban and peri-urban horticulture projects in West Dorset constituency and other rural areas.

The Government recognises that expanding urban and peri‑urban food growing can support communities by increasing access to fresh produce, improving local green spaces and contributing to public health and environmental outcomes. Defra’s revised Environmental Improvement Plan, published in December 2025, describes the actions the department will take to restore nature, improve environmental quality, create a circular economy, protect environmental security and improve people’s access to nature. Community‑led initiatives are available to support projects in West Dorset that create opportunities for people to grow food locally and sustainably in urban and peri-urban areas, and will play an important part in supporting urban greening.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of taking steps to help support the expansion of urban and peri-urban food growing on the environment, public health and communities.

The Government recognises that expanding urban and peri‑urban food growing can support communities by increasing access to fresh produce, improving local green spaces and contributing to public health and environmental outcomes. Defra’s revised Environmental Improvement Plan, published in December 2025, describes the actions the department will take to restore nature, improve environmental quality, create a circular economy, protect environmental security and improve people’s access to nature. Community‑led initiatives are available to support projects in West Dorset that create opportunities for people to grow food locally and sustainably in urban and peri-urban areas, and will play an important part in supporting urban greening.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce reliance on imported fruit and vegetables.

The Government is committed to our horticulture sector and its role in providing fresh home-grown produce that helps to feed the nation. Future support for the horticulture sector is being considered as part of Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and taxpayer value. The new Farming and Food Partnership Board, bringing together industry and government leaders, will also develop tailored growth plans for sectors including horticulture. 27% of the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) grant awards to date, over £41 million, has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector, offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Further opportunities for farmer and grower led trials to test ideas and solutions are also now available in FIP via ADOPT grants, and we have committed to allocating at least £200 million to FIP through to 2030. Wider Government support includes: the five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses and extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to increase domestic fruit and vegetable production to improve food security.

The Government is committed to our horticulture sector and its role in providing fresh home-grown produce that helps to feed the nation. Future support for the horticulture sector is being considered as part of Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and taxpayer value. The new Farming and Food Partnership Board, bringing together industry and government leaders, will also develop tailored growth plans for sectors including horticulture. 27% of the Farming Innovation Programme (FIP) grant awards to date, over £41 million, has been granted to research projects benefiting the horticulture sector, offering targeted opportunities for fruit and vegetable businesses to become more profitable, resilient, and sustainable. Further opportunities for farmer and grower led trials to test ideas and solutions are also now available in FIP via ADOPT grants, and we have committed to allocating at least £200 million to FIP through to 2030. Wider Government support includes: the five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, providing much needed stability and certainty to businesses and extending the easement on import checks on medium risk fruit and vegetables ahead of the new SPS agreement deal with the EU.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to support grower-led supply chains.

Farmers often face power imbalances within the supply chain and can feel they have little influence on commercial negotiations. Powers in the Agriculture Act have been used to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information (e.g. termination clauses, duration, pricing information) and set parameters around these details. Defra will continue to work closely with all relevant industry stakeholders on the best way to achieve this.

Food and Rural Affairs, what support is available to small and medium-sized growers to develop direct-to-consumer sales models.

Farmers often face power imbalances within the supply chain and can feel they have little influence on commercial negotiations. Powers in the Agriculture Act have been used to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information (e.g. termination clauses, duration, pricing information) and set parameters around these details. Defra will continue to work closely with all relevant industry stakeholders on the best way to achieve this.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support grower-led supply chains in (a) rural areas and (b) West Dorset constituency.

Farmers often face power imbalances within the supply chain and can feel they have little influence on commercial negotiations. Powers in the Agriculture Act have been used to introduce ‘Fair Dealings’ Regulations, applying to businesses when purchasing agricultural products from farmers. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information (e.g. termination clauses, duration, pricing information) and set parameters around these details. Defra will continue to work closely with all relevant industry stakeholders on the best way to achieve this.

Whether he plans to review eligibility criteria for Continuous Glucose Monitoring for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Improving access to diabetes technologies is a priority for NHS England, which uses routine data from the National Diabetes Audit (NDA) to help integrated care boards and providers benchmark themselves and target improvements. The NDA 2025/26 reports that 64% of people registered as living with type 1 diabetes and eligible for Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) had access to the technology and 65% of people registered as living with type 2 diabetes and eligible for CGM had access to the technology. The eligibility criteria for CGM amongst type 2 diabetics are set in guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG28 NICE is an independent body with its own processes for reviewing and updating its guidance taking account of the best available evidence of both clinical and cost effectiveness A new diabetes technology dashboard is in development, for publication in 2026. This will allow health systems and providers to better understand access to technology and target improvement efforts, to support higher uptake of CGM for those eligible.

What steps he is taking to address regional variation in access to continuous glucose monitoring, including in Dorset.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning health services to meet the needs of their populations. In doing so they must have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, including for diabetes. The National Diabetes Audit (NDA), and the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA) along with NHS Digital’s NDA and NPDA dashboards provide comprehensive data on care processes and outcomes and highlight variation. The dashboards help commissioners, providers, and paediatric diabetes units benchmark themselves and target improvements.NHS Dorset has a policy in place for the provision of prescribable continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.In order to ensure that Dorset patients are being treated appropriately, use of CGM is tracked against patient eligibility criteria as set out in NICE guidance and the NHS Dorset CGM policy.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding Continuous Glucose Monitoring for a wider range of diabetes patients.

Improving access to diabetes technologies is a priority for NHS England, which uses routine data from the National Diabetes Audit (NDA) to help integrated care boards and providers benchmark themselves and target improvements. The NDA 2025/26 reports that 64% of people registered as living with type 1 diabetes and eligible for Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) had access to the technology and 65% of people registered as living with type 2 diabetes and eligible for CGM had access to the technology. The eligibility criteria for CGM amongst type 2 diabetics are set in guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG28 NICE is an independent body with its own processes for reviewing and updating its guidance taking account of the best available evidence of both clinical and cost effectiveness A new diabetes technology dashboard is in development, for publication in 2026. This will allow health systems and providers to better understand access to technology and target improvement efforts, to support higher uptake of CGM for those eligible.

Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department will publish full details of the Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for 2026, including eligibility criteria and option specifications.

We will provide more detail on the new SFI offer at the NFU Conference in February ahead of publishing the full scheme details before the first application window opens in June.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent planning exemptions for campsites on protected landscapes in West Dorset.

The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of recent planning exemptions for campsites on Protected Landscapes in West Dorset. However, we are committed to working with local partners and Protected Landscapes organisations to understand how planning measures can protect the unique landscape and natural assets of these areas, while supporting sustainable tourism and rural economic growth.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of releasing details of the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive offer after June 2026 on farmers’ ability to apply.

We will provide more detail on the new SFI offer at the NFU Conference in February ahead of publishing the full scheme details before the first application window opens in June.