Written questions by Mierlo.

If her Department will take steps to (a) increase (i) frequency and (ii) reliability and (b) decarbonise services on (A) the Henley branch line and (B) other branch lines.

The Department and operators continually review demand when assessing the need to increase frequency going forward. There are currently no plans to increase frequency on the Henley line. The Department also monitors reliability closely as operational performance is a key focus for the Secretary of State. Great Western Railway is developing plans that would decarbonise services on branch lines in the Thames Valley and these are currently being discussed with the Department.

If her Department will work with local authorities to ensure Education, Health and Care plans are updated post annual review for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to take into account the potential impact on the transition to KS3 and post-16 education.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The SEND code of practice is clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood. All local authorities must set out the support available to help children and young people with SEND move into adulthood as part of their local offer. This should be co-produced with children, young people and their families to ensure it meets local needs. The department expects activity to support effective preparation for adulthood to be embedded within provision across every age and stage of education, starting as early as possible.If a local authority issues an education, health and care (EHC) plan, it has a statutory duty to review the plan as a minimum every 12 months. This is to review the child or young person’s progress towards achieving the outcomes specified in the plan and to consider whether the outcomes and supporting targets remain appropriate.For children and young people with an EHC plan, there must be a focus from year 9 onwards on preparing the young person for adulthood as part of their plan’s annual review. This focus must continue until the young person’s EHC plan ceases.An EHC plan must be reviewed and amended in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning for and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution.

What steps she is taking to help support families with the costs of raising (a) twins and (b) children of multiple births; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of her maternity pay policies for families with multiple births.

There are two types of maternity pay available to pregnant working women:Statutory Maternity Pay paid by employersMaternity Allowance paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to eligible women (including the self-employed and women in employment who are not eligible for SMP). Maternity pay is primarily a health and safety provision for pregnant working women providing a measure of financial security to help them take time off work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth. It is not, and has never been, intended to replace a woman's earnings completely nor is it intended to help with the cost of having a baby. As such, maternity pay is paid for each pregnancy, not in respect of each child. Additional financial support is available depending on individual circumstances, such as Universal Credit and Child Benefit. The Sure Start Maternity Grant (a lump sum payment of £500) may also be available with additional payments for those having a multiple births in certain circumstances. For more information about benefits and financial support available to pregnant women and their families can be found on www.gov.uk via the Childcare and Parenting link on the home page.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect British wool businesses.

We have a proud tradition of wool production in this country. We recognise the sheep sector’s immense contribution to rural life, local economies, and iconic landscapes across the different countries of the UK. British Wool is a public body that works on behalf of farmers to collect, grade, market and sell British wool to the wool textile industry. As a natural, versatile, and durable textile, which is renewable, biodegradable, and environmentally sustainable, wool from Britain is already used in flooring, furnishing, apparel and indeed insultation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support British sheep farmers.

The Government has committed to support the farming sector, including sheep farmers, through a farming budget of £5 billion over two years, including £2.4 billion in 2025/26. Our environmental land management schemes, such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive, include a comprehensive offer to support the management of a wide range of different grassland and moorland types that exist in England. They include actions to support the inclusion of sheep within an arable rotation, as well as actions to promote sustainable grazing management on moorlands and grasslands. The full list of actions available can be found on GOV.UK. Eligible sheep farmers in England can also access support to continually improve the health, welfare and productivity of their animals through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Furthermore, the Government is taking action to ensure fairness across the food supply chain to ensure producers receive a fair price for their livestock by bringing forward legislation to mandate sheep carcase classification and price reporting, bringing the sheep sector in line with the beef and pork sectors.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department took to support the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in August 2024; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the non-attendance of the UK ambassador on relations between the UK and Japan.

We have consistently been represented at the Nagasaki peace ceremony by our Ambassador or a senior diplomat since 2010. Last year was no different: the British Embassy's Minister Counsellor Political, our second most senior diplomat in Japan at the time, attended the ceremony in Nagasaki on 9 August 2024. Our Ambassador attended a separate Buddhist ceremony to mark the anniversary on the same day at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo. The UK-Japan relationship is the strongest it has been for decades. The Prime Minister and I have affirmed the UK's continued commitment to the UK-Japan Global Strategic Partnership.

If she will take steps to allow Hartley pension holders to transfer their pensions funds to other administrators.

The Government is actively monitoring the situation of Hartley Pensions and offers our sympathies to the affected customers. Hartley Pensions is a self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) provider and is therefore the responsibility of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to regulate. The FCA are working with the administrators to ensure the affected customers achieve the best possible outcome and the Government is working with the FCA as part of this process. Unfortunately, the Government cannot comment on any issues relating to an ongoing administration or court case.

If she will bring forward proposals to finalise the care placements for children in care to align with applications to post-16 education.

The department recognises the critical importance of continuity and stability throughout a looked after child’s life. Under the ‘Care planning, placement and case review’ guidance and regulations, the child’s allocated social worker should do everything possible to minimise disruption to their education. School changes should be minimised, and any necessary transitions well planned and supported.All looked after children must have a Personal Education Plan (PEP), which is an ongoing record of their education and training which should describe what needs to happen to enable them to reach their full potential. The PEP should set out arrangements in place to minimise disruption to the child’s education and training where a change in their educational arrangements is unavoidable.Local authorities have a number of duties to accommodate eligible care leavers and to support them to pursue education or training. This includes contributing to expenses incurred by the young person in living near the place where they will receive that education or training.Further education (FE) and higher education (HE) play important roles in giving care leavers the skills they need to succeed in life. To ensure care experienced students are supported to gain the qualifications needed to access these destinations, we have rolled out post-16 funding which can be used for raising attainment through interventions such as additional tutoring or mentoring. The department is also making the virtual school head role for children with a social worker statutory, enabling earlier intervention to address the educational barriers these children can face.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s social care final report (MacAlister,2022), published on the 23rd of May 2022.

Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the best start in life. This government has already moved quickly to set out its plans for a whole-system and child-centred approach to reform and our actions are informed by the findings of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.In November, the department published its ambitious, wide ranging plans in ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, setting the wheels in motion to break the cycle of crisis intervention and rebalance the system back towards earlier help for families. In addition, in December the department introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This is a landmark piece of legislation, introducing a series of measures with a focus on delivering a joined up system to stop vulnerable children falling through cracks in services.

Innovation and Technology, what steps is he taking to ensure that all villages are included the rollout of broadband infrastructure.

The Government is committed to the rollout of fast, reliable broadband to all parts of the UK. So far we have over 30 Project Gigabit contracts in place, filling in gaps that are not being met commercially, predominantly in rural areas. This includes a contract across South Oxfordshire which will provide approximately 3,500 premises in the Henley and Thame constituency with access to gigabit-capable broadband.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support provided to (a) the River and Rowing museum in Henley-on-Thames and (b) other museums outside London.

We have made no such specific assessment about the River and Rowing museum, but we are keen to see museums outside London flourish. Funding is tight, but DCMS oversees the £86m Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), which invests in museum infrastructure nationally and the Chancellor announced a package of new cultural infrastructure funding at the Autumn Budget, to build on existing capital schemes. The Budget also recommitted to the cultural tax reliefs, which provide important revenue support for museums and arts organisations.

If he will make it his policy to extend Start for Life and Family Hub funding to include Oxfordshire.

The Prime Minister’s Plan for Change outlined that there will be investment to continue to build up the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. In 2025/26, this investment will fund the 75 local authorities in England with high levels of deprivation that are part of the existing programme.Family Hubs funding is the responsibility of the Department for Education, with Start for Life funding sitting with the Department of Health and Social Care. Due to the challenging fiscal context, we have had to make difficult decisions for 2025/26, and only those areas currently in the scheme will receive funding. We will continue to evaluate the programme and assess evidence to support wider rollout in future financial years.

Whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of NICE methodology in appraising innovative medicines for licensed for Alzheimer's Disease.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for the methods and processes it uses to develop recommendations on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. The NICE develops those methods and processes independently and in consultation with stakeholders.The NICE keeps its methods and processes under review to ensure that they are fit for purpose and are appropriate to emerging new treatments, and has a Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Lab that enables the NICE to develop creative solutions to complex problems in HTA. The HTA Lab produced a report in November 2023 on issues and challenges in the evaluation of disease-modifying dementia treatments. The report concluded that the NICE’s current approach and methods are considered appropriate for evaluating these treatments.The NICE has recently consulted on its draft guidance on the use of two new disease-modifying treatments for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The NICE’s guidance says that the benefits of these treatments are too small to justify the significant cost to the NHS. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently on the basis of the available evidence of costs and benefits.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Christmas toys sold through online retailers are safe.

Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold. Under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, all toys placed on the market must meet essential safety requirements. The Office for Product Safety and Standards runs the national Online Marketplaces Programme, to reduce the risk of non-compliant products sold online. Through monitoring marketplaces, including purchasing and testing products, we assess the prevalence of unsafe toys and take appropriate enforcement action. While regulations are clear that toys must be safe, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will enable regulations to be updated to better reflect modern online supply chains.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14870 on National Landscapes and with reference to section 245 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, for what reason that Answer states that local authorities should have regard to rather than seek to further the purposes of national landscapes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer, as corrected, given to Question UIN 14870 on 26 November 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2024 to Question 11126 on National Landscapes: Environment Protection, what steps the Government is taking to make National Landscapes wilder and greener.

This Government is committed to making Protected Landscapes greener, wilder and more accessible. We have just announced our intent to strengthen legislation, when parliamentary time allows, and this will form part of a wider package of tools and resourcing. We look forward to developing this package with our partners. We are also publishing new guidance for relevant authorities to make expectations clear in relation to their duty to seek to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes.

How many patients were in receipt of Givinostat through the Early Access Programme on 10 December 2024; and if he will make an assessment of the potential barriers to accessing the Early Access Programme by patients.

The information on how many patients were in receipt of givinostat through the Early Access Programme (EAP) on 10 December 2024 is not held centrally, as the scheme was set up by the manufacturer.We have made no assessment of access to the EAP for givinostat, which must be through one of the 23 NorthStar Centres in the United Kingdom. However, participation in the EAP is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level, and a North Star Centre will not be able to provide givinostat if its local trust has not approved participation. Under the EAP, givinostat is free to both patients taking part in it and to the NHS, but the NHS trusts must still cover the cost of administering it to patients. Only Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinicians can make requests for givinostat for their patients. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for individual named patients aligned to the eligibility criteria.

What steps he is taking to support NHS Trusts to speed up access to innovative therapies before MHRA approval through Early Access Programmes.

NHS England has issued national policy guidelines on free of charge schemes, which are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/free-of-charge-foc-medicines-schemes-national-policy-recommendations-for-local-systems/The only free of charge schemes supported by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and NHS England are those through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme. Other, company led early access programmes operate under the unlicensed medicines scheme, but these are not approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, nor supported by NHS England nationally. Participation in such programmes is decided at an individual National Health Service trust level, in the form of an agreement between the trust and a pharmaceutical company.

What steps she is taking to reduce (a) delays and (b) complexities in obtaining the necessary information to purchase additional years of National Insurance contributions to maximise their state pension (a) faced by women and (b) generally.

To support customers, HMRC and DWP enhanced the online Check your State Pension forecast service in April 2024. New functionality enables the majority of working age customers to self-serve by viewing their State Pension forecast, see payable gaps and make payments online. The Future Pensions Centre and the National Insurance helpline remain in place for customers who are unable to use the online service, as well as customers who prefer that route or who need additional assistance. Both departments are putting in place measures to manage the expected demand in the run-up to the 5 April 2025 deadline, including managing the deployment of resources, the use of callbacks, digitising and improving forms for overseas individuals, interactive voice response messaging and directing customers to the digital service.

When she plans to publish the independent review of her Department’s language services.

We have been considering the findings of the independent review to help inform the development of new tender specifications. This is a complex process and covers a wide range of agencies within the Ministry of Justice. Once all internal governance has been completed the review will be released, we expect to publish the outcome by 31 December 2024.