Written questions by Stainbank.

What steps she is taking to encourage bus manufacturers to produce zero-emission buses.

The full transition to zero emission buses (ZEBs) is a vital part of the Government’s plan to make buses better for passengers and to realise the benefits of lower running costs, cleaner air and smoother, quieter journeys. The Department has supported the bus sector with almost £500m in direct funding support for ZEBs in recent years, including £38m announced in April to deliver an additional 319 ZEBs through the ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas) programme. We also continue to support the sector with funding. The recent announcement of £15.6bn over five years, to improve local transport in some of our largest city regions, allows local leaders to play a more active role in the delivery of local bus services and allocate some funding toward decarbonising their local fleets. To support the domestic ZEB industry, the Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, was launched earlier this year. This Panel regularly brings industry experts and local leaders together to discuss ways to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. A key Panel outcome will be the development of a pipeline of future bus orders to give better planning certainty to the sector.

What estimate she has made of changes to annual revenue received from a single Remote Betting and Gambling Duty.

In the financial year 2023-24, betting and gaming duties raised around £3.4 billion in tax revenue.The Government is currently consulting on a single remote betting and gaming duty and we welcome responses to the consultation.Should the government proceed with these reforms, the rate of the new tax will be set as part of the Budget process, and the OBR will update its forecast then, based on the final policy design.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Soft Drinks Industry Levy thresholds on business competitiveness.

The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) is globally recognised as a transformative health intervention. After SDIL was announced, the average sugar content of soft drinks in scope of the levy fell 46% between 2015 and 2020. These positive health impacts have been achieved without a negative impact on soft drink sales, with sales of drinks subject to the levy increasing by 21% between 2015 and 2020. Given SDIL’s success, the Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget 2024 her intention to review the levy to enhance its impact. The ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, published on 28 April 2025, follows this commitment. Specifically, it sets out proposals to reduce the minimum sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5g to 4g sugar per 100ml, and to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks with added sugar.The government takes potential business impacts seriously, continues to engage with businesses, and welcomes further feedback as part of the consultation, which is open until 21 July 2025.The government expects to confirm any changes to the levy at the upcoming Budget, and will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) alongside the confirmed policy. This will set out the expected impact of any changes on businesses and civil society organisations.The Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for investigating anti-competitive practices. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.

What estimate she has made of the potential cost per year of universally restoring the Winter Fuel Payment.

Paying Winter Fuel Payments on a universal basis in England and Wales is estimated to cost an additional £1.3 billion in 2025/26 and £1.4 billion in 2026/27.

With reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published 12 May 2025, whether her Department's proposed changes to the qualifying period for settled status will apply to people who have acquired settled status but have not yet lived in the UK continuously for ten years.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at the time.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Thousands of Civil Service roles moved out of London in latest reform to the state, published on 14 May 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of relocating civil service jobs from London to (a) Glasgow, (b) Edinburgh, and (c) Aberdeen on Scottish cities.

Places for Growth published a formative evaluation report in October 2024, which outlined that the programme is on track to deliver an estimated £729m in local economic benefits to cross Government locations between 2024 and 2030. Further details on the programme will be set out in the Spending Review after which an assessment will be undertaken. Places for Growth is committed to ongoing programme evaluation.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to suspend the remaining arms licences to Israel, in the context of remarks by Prime Minister Netanyahu on control of Gaza made on 19 May 2025.

The Government's position is clear. This conflict has had a devastating impact on civilians and more bloodshed is in no-one's interest. One of our first actions in government was to review and suspend export licences which might be used by the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza. As the Foreign Secretary set out in Parliament, that was a complex decision, which the Foreign Secretary took extremely seriously and stands by.

What recent discussions his Department has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) industry representatives on supporting the growth of Scotland’s offshore wind supply chain; and what steps he is taking to ensure Scottish businesses can gain from UK offshore wind deployment targets and associated manufacturing opportunities.

The Department ensures Scotland benefits from our world-leading offshore wind deployment by supporting the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero with the Contract for Difference’s Clean Industry Bonus, which awards developers who invest in sustainable supply chains. The Energy Secretary has already increased the bonus from an initial £200m to £544m to support clean energy growth, including in Scotland’s industrial heartlands and coastal communities. We are also supporting the delivery of Great British Energy’s £300m grant funding to secure investment in domestic supply chains, including in Scotland.The Department regularly engages with Scottish Government and industry representatives. For example, UK and Scottish Governments participated in a roundtable in Edinburgh to discuss clean energy supply chains, including floating offshore wind.

When she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide for a fully trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.

Conversion practices are abuse. Such practices have no place in society and must be stopped. As outlined in the King’s Speech, this Government is committed to bringing forward a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices. We continue to work cross-government on this important issue with a view to publishing our draft Bill later this session.

When his Department plans to complete its consideration of the relevant Project Willow recommendations.

We are working as quickly as possible to understand what we can do to support investors interested in developing projects at Grangemouth, including what policy or regulatory support is needed to enable investment. The inaugural Grangemouth Investment Taskforce, jointly chaired by the HMG and the Scottish government took place on May 21, 2025, to drive forward potential investment propositions. The National Wealth Fund stands ready, and we encourage investors to come forward to join us in this major opportunity to secure a long-term industrial future in Grangemouth.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the awareness of small businesses of the change in eligibility for Employment Allowance announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.

Since announcement at Autumn Budget 2024, HMRC have undertaken a wide range of stakeholder engagement and employer communications through a variety of channels in advance of the significant increase to the Employment Allowance to £10,500 and removal of the threshold which prevented some larger employers from claiming. This includes webinars highlighting important changes for the new tax year for employers, and written articles in numerous editions of HMRC’s Employer Bulletin, Agent Update and Stakeholder Digest. In addition, HMRC has a range of channels to raise awareness of changes in tax policy. These include communications issued directly to stakeholders or published on gov.uk, and engagement with stakeholders through established forums such as the Employment and Payroll Group, which the Federation of Small Businesses attend.

When she plans to publish the reforms to allow a limited pool of UNHCR recognised refugees and displaced people living overseas to apply for employment through existing sponsored worker routes.

Refugees who have had to leave their home country because of persecution often lack the opportunity to apply for jobs and skilled worker visas in the UK, even where they have the talent and training to do so.The Home Office’s Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot ended on 1 November 2024. Its findings will inform consideration of further efforts to enable skilled refugees and displaced people to work in the UK.Further details of all the measures announced in our Immigration White Paper will be set out in due course.

What proportion of Short-Term Student (English Language) Route Visa applications refusals were due to belief that the applicant was applying to use the route without the intention to study.

Published data on short term student visas can be found here, Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK including refusal volumes.Visa applications can be refused for a variety of reasons, and we do not publish data detailing these. Short term student visa applications must meet the criteria as published here; Short-term students caseworker guidance (accessible) - GOV.UK.

What engagement she has had with the Federation of Small Businesses on small businesses awareness of the change in eligibility for employment allowance announced in the Autumn Budget 2024.

Since announcement at Autumn Budget 2024, HMRC have undertaken a wide range of stakeholder engagement and employer communications through a variety of channels in advance of the significant increase to the Employment Allowance to £10,500 and removal of the threshold which prevented some larger employers from claiming. This includes webinars highlighting important changes for the new tax year for employers, and written articles in numerous editions of HMRC’s Employer Bulletin, Agent Update and Stakeholder Digest. In addition, HMRC has a range of channels to raise awareness of changes in tax policy. These include communications issued directly to stakeholders or published on gov.uk, and engagement with stakeholders through established forums such as the Employment and Payroll Group, which the Federation of Small Businesses attend.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the eligibility of feedstocks in the SAF mandate to include dedicated energy crops.

We have been clear that fuel supplied under the SAF Mandate must have the highest sustainability credentials. This is why SAF derived from biomass must be made from wastes or residues, as these offer high greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential, whilst also minimising negative environmental impacts. This means that SAF produced from food, feed or energy crops are not eligible under the Mandate. We are continuing to examine the direct and indirect impacts of non-food crop use, including impacts on the environment and on food production.

Innovation and Technology, how much funding his Department provides for solar radiation management experiments.

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s (ARIA) ‘Exploring Climate Cooling’ programme, backed by £56.8 million, has been designed to build an evidence base which will enable scientists to better understand and properly assess whether or not Earth cooling approaches could help to mitigate climate change safely.ARIA is an independent research body, and they are conducting cautious, controlled research aimed at improving understanding of the risks and impacts of Solar Radiation Modification. This will produce important information for decisions around the world.ARIA have put in place an independent oversight committee, made up of international experts, to support effective governance of outdoor experiments and communication of their findings. Projects with field trial components will be subjected to risk and impact assessment by an independent team of experts and subjected to a degree of co-design with local communities; the results of both exercises will be publicly available prior to any outdoor experiment taking place. An independent assessment will also take place on completion of any outdoor experiment, also to be made publicly available.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to end animal testing; and what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of progress towards the (a) development and (b) adoption of non-animal testing methods.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing, which is a long-term goal. Progress has been made towards the development and adoption of non-animal test methods within the OECD’s Environmental Health and Safety Programme. The UK leads on and supports numerous projects producing internationally harmonised tools and guidance for ‘New Approach Methodologies’ based regulatory chemical assessment across a number of working groups. This includes the Test Guidelines Programme, where the UK recently contributed to the development of the first internationally harmonised guideline to describe a non-animal defined approach that can be used to replace completely replace animal tests to identify skin sensitizsers and predict potency. In line with the Government’s Manifesto commitment, Defra, along with partners from sectors with interests in animal science and on a cross-Government level are currently engaging with DSIT to develop a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods to animal testing. We expect the publication of this strategy later this year.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to consult farmers prior to the commencement of Aria Solar Radiation Management experiments.

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s (ARIA) ‘Exploring Climate Cooling’ programme, backed by £56.8 million, has been designed to build an evidence base which will enable scientists to better understand and properly assess whether or not Earth cooling approaches could help to mitigate climate change safely.ARIA is an independent research body, and they are conducting cautious, controlled research aimed at improving understanding of the risks and impacts of Solar Radiation Modification. This will produce important information for decisions around the world.ARIA have put in place an independent oversight committee, made up of international experts, to support effective governance of outdoor experiments and communication of their findings. Projects with field trial components will be subjected to risk and impact assessment by an independent team of experts and subjected to a degree of co-design with local communities; the results of both exercises will be publicly available prior to any outdoor experiment taking place. An independent assessment will also take place on completion of any outdoor experiment, also to be made publicly available.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the ranking of the use of municipal solid waste to produce sustainable aviation fuel in the waste hierarchy.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 May 2024 to Question 49143.

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on proposed changes to the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) cap.

There are no proposals to change the HEFA cap which forms part of the SAF mandate scheme introduced on January 1 this year. It is recognised that HEFA will play an important role in the global SAF sector, particularly in the early years of the scheme. To this end there is no cap on HEFA supplied under the SAF mandate this year or next, and thereafter the cap is applied gradually decreasing the contribution of HEFA to 71% in 2030. The SAF mandate does not cap the production of SAF in the UK. It enables more advanced sustainable aviation fuels to be developed whilst supporting a UK market for HEFA in a way which recognises sustainable feedstocks used to produce HEFA are finite. Any proposals to amend or remove the cap would require legislation. They would be subject to public consultation and cabinet committee clearances.