Written questions by Morello.

Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to increase the level of funding made available to support the (a) growth and (b) financial sustainability of women’s Rugby Union at (i) grassroots and (ii) professional levels.

The Government is committed to supporting every aspect of women’s sport including supporting its expansion.In October last year, the Department for Business and Trade launched the 2024-25 Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator scheme. The aim of the scheme is to attract more private investment in women’s sport and drive growth into the sector. Over 20 leagues, teams and competitions across 9 different sports will benefit including Rugby Union.Sport England have awarded the Rugby Football Union £13,859,000 as one of their long-term system partners for the period 2022-27 to support grassroots men’s and women’s rugby union.In addition to this DCMS has provided £28.76 million of investment to support England hosting the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, including £14.55 million of legacy funding. This ‘Impact 25’ funding is providing substantial improvements in facilities and greater opportunities for women and girls at all levels of the game in England.

What steps his Department is taking to increase the number of NHS dental buses in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other remote areas.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The decision about whether to commission dental vans should be made locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). Local areas know the needs of their population best and are best placed to make decisions about whether or how mobile dental vans can contribute to meeting the dental care needs of their population. For the West Dorset constituency this is the NHS Dorset ICB.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of introducing mandatory toothbrushing programs in primary schools on improving oral health outcomes for children.

Supervised toothbrushing is an evidenced based intervention that reduces the prevalence and severity of tooth decay. We are committed to introducing a national supervised toothbrushing scheme in England. This will be targeted at three, four, and five year olds most in need.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of piloting mobile NHS dental clinics to help improve access to routine dental care in remote communities.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.The decision about whether to commission dental vans should be made locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). Local areas know the needs of their population best and are best placed to make decisions about whether or how mobile dental vans can contribute to meeting the dental care needs of their population. For the West Dorset constituency this is the NHS Dorset ICB.

What steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) availability of mental health services and (b) recruitment and retention of mental health professionals in rural areas.

Waiting lists for those referred for mental health support are too high all across England, including in rural communities. People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health and that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it. Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community. We are working to consider the options to deliver this expansion of the mental health workforce, including where they should be deployed to achieve maximum effect. NHS England is also working to improve retention within the mental health workforce through clearer career progression pathways.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the use of late payments by supermarkets and (b) increase transparency in the food supply chain.

Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists. Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applying to businesses who purchase agricultural products from farmers, which increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information such as payment terms, pricing information and set parameters around these, increasing transparency for producers. A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted, with the first use of these powers leading to Dairy Regulations, which came into force for new contracts in 2024. We will lay regulations in spring 2025 to improve fairness in the pig sector and are making progress on eggs and on fresh produce. Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.

What assessment his Department has made of the threat posed to underwater cables by foreign states; and what steps he is taking to protect this infrastructure.

Subsea cables are critical to UK telecommunications digital infrastructure, and we are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of that infra- structure. We continue to co-ordinate with HMG partners, particularly DSIT who own subsea cables policy, as well as security partners, the subsea cables industry and international bodies to assess and understand risks to subsea cables.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the accessibility of urgent mental health support for people in rural areas; and what steps he is taking to help ensure equitable service provision compared to urban areas.

Integrated care boards are responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of their local populations. We plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England, to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.Anyone in England who needs urgent mental health support can now speak to a trained National Health Service professional at any time through a new mental health option on NHS 111. Trained NHS staff will assess patients over the phone and guide callers with next steps such organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternatives services, such as crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or hospital admission.As set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, we are also committing £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on busy emergency mental health and accident and emergency services, and ensuring that people have the support they need when they need it.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his European counterparts on tackling the threat to underwater cables posed by foreign states; and what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of such cables.

The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and I have had a number of discussions with our European counterparts on threats to underwater infrastructure. The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs discussed this most recently at the UK-Netherlands Strategic Dialogue in December 2024. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works closely on this issue with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is the lead government department for telecommunications and is responsible for developing policies to help ensure the security and resilience of underwater telecommunications cables.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) promote and (b) fund nature-based solutions to reduce flooding risks along rivers.

Defra’s Environmental Land Management schemes will provide payments for managing land and water in a way that reduces flood risk. For example, the Sustainable Farming Incentive standards include actions to support waterbody buffering and soil health on farm woodland and hedgerows. Countryside Stewardship currently provides payments for actions that slow down surface runoff and also mitigate flooding from rivers, and we have recently announced a significant expansion of the flood and drought resilience offer within Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier. One of the 2 themes for first wave of Landscape Recovery pilot projects was “Restoring England’s streams and rivers: improving water quality, biodiversity and adapting to climate change.” Many of the actions undertaken to restore England’s streams and rivers will provide flood risk mitigation benefits as well. Tree planting along rivers can help slow water flow and temporarily store water as part of natural flood management. The England Woodland Creation Offer provides financial support for tree planting and incentivises woodland creation that reduces flood risk through supplementary payments. In addition, the floods investment programme delivers a range of schemes, including natural flood management. The Government inherited an outdated funding formula for allocating money to proposed flood defences. Established in 2011, the existing formula slows down the delivery of new flood schemes through a complex application process, and neglects more innovative approaches to flood management such as natural flood management. A consultation will be launched in the coming months which will include a review of the existing formula.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of farm diversification projects in rural areas.

The Government recognises that rural areas offer significant potential for growth and is taking steps to support the development of farm diversification projects in rural areas. As the Secretary of State announced in his Oxford Farming Conference earlier this year, he understands that the focus of the department should be on boosting profitability on primary income, whilst also supporting its diversification.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) the governance structures in men's rugby union and (b) their alignment with the requirements for government funding allocations.

The governance of rugby union is a matter for the Rugby Football Union (the national governing body for rugby union), which is independent of government.The revised Code for Sports Governance sets out the levels of transparency, diversity and inclusion, accountability and integrity that are required from sporting governing bodies, including the RFU, who seek – and are in receipt of – DCMS and National Lottery funding from UK Sport and/or Sport England (DCMS’ arm’s-length bodies). This is kept under review.We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and government money. Sport England has awarded the RFU £13,859,000 for the period 2022-27 as one of Sport England’s long-term system partners to support grassroots rugby union.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of supermarket supply chain practices on the financial stability of farmers; and what steps he is taking to help farmers receive equitable prices for agricultural produce.

Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists. Using the 'Fair Dealings' powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 we can introduce regulations, applying to businesses who purchase agricultural products from farmers, which increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices. These regulations could mandate that contracts include certain information such as payment terms, pricing information and set parameters around these, increasing transparency for producers. A sector-by-sector approach has been adopted, with the first use of these powers leading to Dairy Regulations, which came into force for new contracts in 2024. We will lay regulations in spring 2025 to improve fairness in the pig sector and are making progress on eggs and on fresh produce. Where farmers sell directly to retailers, their agreements will be covered within the scope of the sectoral regulations that we are introducing through powers in the Agriculture Act 2020.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating separate funding for (a) oral hygiene education and (b) toothbrushing schemes in schools located in areas with high levels of tooth decay.

The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to help promote and deliver supervised toothbrushing programmes for 3 to 5 year-olds in the most deprived communities.We recognise that prevention is better than cure. For this reason, we will be targeting the areas of highest need in order to have the greatest impact on young children’s oral health.Further information on the implementation timetable will be confirmed in due course.Currently all state-funded schools in England are required to teach about good oral hygiene as part of the statutory health education set out within relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage schools to implement supervised toothbrushing programs in West Dorset constituency.

We are committed to introducing a national supervised toothbrushing scheme in England. This will be targeted at three, four, and five year olds in the communities with the highest needs. Further information on the timing of the implementation of the national supervised toothbrushing programme will follow in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of agricultural input costs on the financial viability of small farms.

We publish regular statistics on agricultural input and output prices in the UK and other data related to farm businesses. For example, we publish monthly statistics on Agricultural price indices (Latest agricultural price indices - GOV.UK).

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) barriers to accessing the Sustainable Farming Initiative and (b) the removal of the Basic Payment Scheme on farmers who remain in legacy EU environmental schemes.

Evaluation has shown that improvements like the simplified Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) application process have reduced barriers to scheme access. Clearly stated requirements and proportionate, regular payments are also viewed positively by participants. With uptake of SFI meeting expectations, ongoing evaluation will ensure we understand and address any further barriers to participation. We are aware of challenges for some farmers trying to move from existing HLS agreements to new SFI agreements and working to resolve this over time. We publish regular statistics on farm income in England and other data related to farm businesses. For example, on 14 November 2024, we published our Farm Business Income statistics (Farm business income - GOV.UK), which looked at how farm business income has changed in 2023/24, including the contribution of Direct Payments and agri-environment payments to farm incomes. Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance (Farming statistics evidence packs - GOV.UK). These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK. We will continue to carry out appropriate and timely assessments of our interventions to inform policy development.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with South West Water on steps to upgrade the sewage processing facilities on the River Lim.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. In October 2024, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Government launched an Independent Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, into the water sector and its regulation, in what is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. These wide-ranging recommendations will form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good. As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels of investment: £104 billion over the next five years. This includes South West Water delivering £749 million of investment over the next five years in storm overflows, continuous water quality monitoring and event duration monitoring.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the threat posed to underwater cables by foreign states; and what steps are being taken across Government to protect this infrastructure.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office works closely on this issue across government, in particular with the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which is the lead department for developing policies for the security and resilience of underwater energy infrastructure and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which is the lead government department for telecommunications and is responsible for developing policies to help ensure the security and resilience of underwater telecommunications cables.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of untreated sewage discharges into the River Lim on the environment.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. In October 2024, the Secretary of State and the Welsh Government launched an Independent Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, into the water sector and its regulation, in what is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation. These wide-ranging recommendations will form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good. As part of Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025–2030, water companies will be delivering record levels of investment: £104 billion over the next five years. This includes South West Water delivering £749 million of investment over the next five years in storm overflows, continuous water quality monitoring and event duration monitoring.