Written questions by Morris.

If she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the availability of Buvidal for people released from prison.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, which includes the provision of Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine (LAIB), known under the brand name Buvidal. LAIB is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and for those who have been released from prison. It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice.The Government has no current plans to ring-fence funding specifically for the provision of LAIB, and the Secretary of State for Justice has not held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of LAIB for people released from prison. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to working with health partners to support access to clinical interventions appropriate to individual needs, and MoJ and DHSC work closely to ensure that people leaving prison receive continuity of care. We have a range of interventions to prepare prison leavers to continue their recovery journey in the community, including Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide, who strengthen links between prisons, probation and treatment providers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 31856 on Buprenorphine, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of ensuring Buvidal is made available on release from prison to all people who have received Buvidal whilst in prison.

Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice have discussed the issue. The Department of Health and Social Care advises local areas that they can use the funding given to them to deliver drug and alcohol treatment to enable prescribing of buprenorphine long-acting injection in their areas, and advises and supports local areas to establish, maintain and grow this provision and this includes for those who leave prison.It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice. Buvidal is available in all regions in England; the following table shows its availability in community structured treatment as a proportion of the overall population in treatment for opiate use, broken down by region, for the fourth quarter of 2023/24, the latest period for which data is available:RegionAdults in treatment for opiatesBuprenorphine long lasting injectionBuprenorphine long lasting injection (%)East Midlands116191841.58%East of England108862262.08%London176306863.89%North East101213293.25%North West241169393.89%South East144852821.95%South West133712882.15%West Midlands166663422.05%Yorkshire & the Humber183555292.88%England13724938052.77%Source: National Drug Treatment Monitoring System March 2024

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of ringfencing funding for Buvidal for people released from prison.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) funds local authorities to deliver drug and alcohol treatment services. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need, which includes the provision of Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine (LAIB), known under the brand name Buvidal. LAIB is available in all regions in England, including in County Durham and Easington, and for those who have been released from prison. It is a clinical decision whether to offer this treatment, based on an individual assessment and personal choice.The Government has no current plans to ring-fence funding specifically for the provision of LAIB, and the Secretary of State for Justice has not held discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of LAIB for people released from prison. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to working with health partners to support access to clinical interventions appropriate to individual needs, and MoJ and DHSC work closely to ensure that people leaving prison receive continuity of care. We have a range of interventions to prepare prison leavers to continue their recovery journey in the community, including Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide, who strengthen links between prisons, probation and treatment providers.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to improve the traceability of horses in Great Britain.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine traceability. Defra is engaging with industry stakeholders to consider improvements to the current regime. Defra also regularly engages with officials in the devolved governments to discuss matters of equine identification and traceability. Officials also share data on equines located in the UK with the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland and with the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the Republic of Ireland. The majority of equine movements into and out of GB take place between the island of Ireland and GB.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Border Inspection Post at Stansted Airport on the British horseracing industry; and whether he plans to take steps to ensure that horses are able to continue travelling to and from the UK by air.

Defra is aware that Stansted has signalled an intention to relocate its Border Inspection Post to another site and that the timing of this remains uncertain. This is a commercial decision for the airport’s owners. No application to de-designate the existing site or designate a new site has been received. The Department stands ready to help progress such applications when received.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on reducing barriers to cross-border travel for thoroughbred horses since 6 February 2025.

There have been no changes to the rules for importing thoroughbred horses into Great Britain since 6 February 2025. Imports of thoroughbred horses from the European Union do not currently need to enter Great Britain via a Border Control Post and are not subject to physical checks at the border. Guidance on importing horses into Great Britain is available on gov.uk.

What estimate she has made of the amount of time off in lieu that was accrued by probation officers in each year since 2021; and how much and what proportion of this time was (a) taken and (b) rolled over.

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

What the capacity of accredited probation programmes is in each region.

A regional breakdown of staff in post vs target staffing has been provided below.Probation RegionTarget Staffing (FTE)Staff in Post (FTE)Staffing Level (%)PS East Midlands82.152.964%PS East of England161.9122.476%PS Greater Manchester68.966.597%PS Kent, Surrey & Sussex78.649.463%PS London134.410679%PS North East6454.485%PS North West104.192.889%PS South Central82.862.575%PS South West136.6110.381%PS Wales107.2103.196%PS West Midlands113.573.164%PS Yorkshire & the Humber9679.283%Overall79% NotesStaff in Post data have been taken from Workforce Planning Tool returns for December 2024.Workforce Planning Tools are subject to inaccuracy as a result of the manual nature with which returns are completed.Targets have been taken from the December 2024 Target Staffing figures as reflected in the Workforce Planning Tools.Data shows the average position across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers within month.Data includes Internal functions, 'PS Accredited Programmes', 'PS Sexual Offending Programmes' and 'PS Structured Interventions'.

If she will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by prison officers in each year since 2010.

The cumulative length of service, in years, held by band 3-5 prison officers in public sector prisons is given in the following table. Figures are given as of 31 December each year. Although national staffing levels have improved, we are focusing on retaining the new intakes of staff. As of December 2024, 39.2% of Band 3-5 prison officers have less than 3 years of experience. As the figures show, over the last 14 years of Conservative Government, experience of prison officers was allowed to decline. The loss of experienced staff has left the Service with a relatively inexperienced workforce, and we are improving our learning and development offer to upskill these newer colleagues. We launched The Enable Programme, which is a dedicated HMPPS workforce transformation programme. It aims to transform prisons over the medium term, through a series of workforce and regime changes that will transform how HMPPS trains, develops, leads, and supports prison staff. This includes new training foundation training and upskilling packages for prison officers at the beginning of their service, and a strengthened succession planning and talent pipeline for prison Governors. We have already began rolling this programme out focusing on the most inexperienced staff, first. Table 1 – Cumulative length of service(1) of band 3-5 prison officers(2) in public sector prisons in England and Wales, as at 31 December each year from 2010 to 2024(3)DateNumber of prison officers in postCumulative length of service of all prison officers (Years)(Full Time Equivalent)31/12/201024,501329,35331/12/201123,054326,56331/12/201221,841326,66031/12/201318,731287,92131/12/201417,795278,25431/12/201518,235272,08631/12/201617,887261,60731/12/201719,901253,41531/12/201822,681247,74131/12/201922,116246,08331/12/202021,501242,47331/12/202122,072239,97031/12/202221,562226,62031/12/202323,198220,22731/12/202423,062215,994Notes1. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. 2. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.3. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year.4. Data may not match previous releases as we are now excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts.

How many incidents of (a) attrition, (b) sickness absence and (c) work-related stress there were for probation officers in each region in the most recent period for which data is available.

Number of leavers, sickness absences and stress-related sickness absences for probation officers in the 12 months to end of December 2024 by region: LeaversSickness absencesOf which, Stress sickness absences1Approved Premises07~East Midlands Probation Service2442450East of England Probation Service4146945Greater Manchester Probation Service1727639Kent, Surrey and Sussex Probation Service1726536London Probation Service7856986North East Probation Service1623930North West Probation Service3344261South Central Probation Service2034347South West Probation Service3035150Wales Probation Service3032268West Midlands Probation Service4746076Yorkshire & the Humber Probation Service4751777Other parts of HMPPS2110~Probation officers total4014,694669 1) There is a sickness reason in the MoJ HR system called 'Stress' but this does not show whether it is work-related or not.2) Includes probation officers working outside of the Probation Service but still within HMPPS.3) ~ Denotes suppressed values of 2 or fewer or other values which would allow values of 2 or fewer to be derived by subtraction. Low numbers are suppressed to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 2018.

If she will make an estimate of the cumulative number of years of experience held by probation officers in each year since 2021.

The cumulative length of service, in years, held by all band 4 probation officers is given in the following table. Years’ figures are given as of 31 December each year from 2021 to 2024.The service of Probation Service staff in Probation Trusts prior to the creation of the Probation Service on 1 June 2014 is not included and thus the figures presented here are an underestimate, and do not represent the full cumulative experience of Probation Officers.DateNumber of probation officers in postCumulative length of service of all probation officers (Years)(Full Time Equivalent)31/12/20214,61337,10531/12/20224,64838,33231/12/20234,94841,08831/12/20245,28345,667The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS.The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year.Data may not match previous releases as we are now excluding all staff who were not an active member of the workforce and receiving pay on the relevant date from our staff in post counts.Data are extracted from large administrative data systems and are based on HR records.

How many applications for (a) Navigational Watch Rating certificates, (b) Engine Room Watch Rating certificates, (c) Electro-Technical Watch Ratings Certificates, (d) Able Seafarer Deck Certificates of Proficiency and (e) Yacht Rating Certificates, were received by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2014-15; and how many were issued by the MCA in each of those years.

The MCA received the following applications and awarded the following Certificates in the years since 2014/15. Applications Received Annually YearNavigational Watch Rating Certificate (NWRC)Engine Room Watch Rating Certificate (ERWRC)Electro-Technical Rating Certificate (ETRC)Able Seafarer (AB) - DeckYacht Rating Certificate (YRC)Total 14/1524637-109392 15/1620227-126355 16/1719334-157384 17/1819727-133357 18/199622-104222 19/209718-95210 20/2112922-122273 21/2210421-121246 22/2322835-140403 23/2425240-134426 24/2522856-158442 Total1972339 13993710 NBAug 2020 received data for ratings data wiped due to a retention policy on the file Certificates Issued Annually YearNavigational Watch Rating Certificate (NWRC)Engine Room Watch Rating Certificate (ERWRC)Electro-Technical Rating Certificate (ETRC)Able Seafarer (AB) - DeckYacht Rating Certificate (YRC)Total 14/15Non-Digital until April 2016Non-Digital until 06/2016N/A-Non-Digital until April 2016- 15/16Non-Digital until April 2016Non-Digital until 06/2016N/A-Non-Digital until April 2016- 16/17138244-126292 17/18187293-122341 18/19133233-63222 19/20156191-140316 20/21159186-145328 21/22144211-117283 22/23145242-122293 23/24215363-128382 24/252052813-116362 Total148222236 10792819 This data comes with the following commentary:ERWRCs and ETRCs are not historically discriminated between in our records of received applications and are combined in the received application table.Able Seafarer Deck applications are issued and recorded regionally by MCA Marine Offices, and can be obtained using a face to face service. We do not have centralised data on the number of applications they receive annually or the dates of issue in a centralised record. If required we can provided this given time to review and collate this data.Records of NWRC, ERWRC and YRCs issued in 14/15 and 15/16 are recorded in physical locations and not held digitally or are retained within legacy systems. If required we can provided this given time to review and collate this data.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34603 on Rolling Stock: Northern, what information her Department holds on the number of train cars in good working order but not in use by Northern.

Northern currently has 954 carriages that operate according to train service requirements set by the Department. Train operators are responsible for ensuring that they meet the needs of customers by deploying the appropriate number of vehicles into service to deliver train services. The Department does not hold information in respect of the number of vehicles that are available for service but not in traffic, this is a matter for the operator who must make effective use of their fleet by balancing demand against maintenance, refurbishment and overhaul tasks.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31832 on Coalfields Regeneration Trust, if she will meet with the hon. Member for Easington to discuss (a) the impact of the work of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust in coalfield communities and (b) the potential merits of reinstating government funding to the CRT.

I recognise that the proud history of our coalfields communities must be matched with a proud future. The work done by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust with over 850 community organisations to tackle the social and economic challenges facing coalfield communities has made great progress towards this. We are committed to working in partnership to invest in and empower the nation’s former coalfield locations, so that they can kickstart growth in their area, and increase living standards. That’s why we have already announced planning reforms, devolution, our plans to make work pay, and a settlement to fix the foundations of local government. This will support coalfields to build their future. We remain committed to the Government's mission to kickstart economic growth. The Government will set out its long-term vision for local growth at HM Treasury’s 2025 multi-year spending review.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31832 on Coalfields Regeneration Trust, whether she has considered the correspondence from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust dated 22 January 2025 on their request for capital funding.

I recognise that the proud history of our coalfields communities must be matched with a proud future. The work done by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust with over 850 community organisations to tackle the social and economic challenges facing coalfield communities has made great progress towards this. We are committed to working in partnership to invest in and empower the nation’s former coalfield locations, so that they can kickstart growth in their area, and increase living standards. That’s why we have already announced planning reforms, devolution, our plans to make work pay, and a settlement to fix the foundations of local government. This will support coalfields to build their future. We remain committed to the Government's mission to kickstart economic growth. The Government will set out its long-term vision for local growth at HM Treasury’s 2025 multi-year spending review.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31822 on Public Holidays, if he will make an estimate of the (a) cost of introducing an additional annual bank holiday on a permanent basis and (b) financial impact on each sector of the economy.

Under the Better Regulation Framework, the Department would be expected to produce an Impact Assessment estimating the costs of an additional, permanent bank holiday if the Government proposed one. However, since the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and widely accepted, the Government has no such plans.The best available indication at present is from the impact assessment undertaken by the previous Government in 2022, estimating the cost of the one-off Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.

What information her Department holds on the number of train cars that were in use by Northern in January 2025.

On 1 January 2025, Northern had 954 carriages available for use.

What discussions she has had with bidders for prison education contracts on the New Fair Deal for pensions.

Guidance to bidders on the application of the New Fair Deal was included in the Invitation to Tender. Further information can be found using the following links: Prisoner Education Services Panel (Inc. Core Education) - Find a Tender (find-tender.service.gov.uk) and Procurement for the Provision of Prisoner Education Services (Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG)) - Find a Tender. Successful bidders will be supported to mobilise new services, including addressing any questions relating to New Fair Deal.

What discussions her Department has had with public sector pension scheme boards on ensuring that public sector workers who transfer to a private sector prison education provider retain access to their teachers’ pensions.

The department has been consulting on proposed changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) regulations in view of the recent reclassification of further education colleges as public sector by the Office for National Statistics. The extension of the Fair Deal provisions will allow those workers who are covered by the regulations to retain access to the TPS where that work is transferred to a private sector provider. That may include prison education providers. The consultation process involved discussion with the TPS Advisory Board.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a mine water heating grant scheme for community heat networks.

The water from coal mines shows good potential as a renewable source for heat networks. The government’s capital schemes for heat network construction, the Heat Networks Investment Project and its successor, the Green Heat Network Fund, have supported heat networks that use mine water. To date, the Gateshead District Energy Scheme and the Seaham Garden Village network in County Durham have both received funding. The ninth application round of the Green Heat Network Fund is currently open and projects which aim to use mine water are welcome to apply.