Written questions by Hayes.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set targets for the reuse of digital devices in the extended producer responsibility regime.

We do not currently set targets for the reuse of digital devices in the waste electricals producer responsibility regime. The Circular Economy Taskforce will consider evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate which interventions are required as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England.

Innovation and Technology, if he will update the 2014 Digital Inclusion Strategy to promote the redistribution of digital devices, in the context of tackling exclusion and reducing e-waste.

Government announced on 26 February in our Digital Inclusion Action Plan a device donation pilot. We are working with the Digital Poverty Alliance to refurbish end-of-life laptops from DSIT, DESNZ and DBT and distribute them to those who need them most. We are ensuring no unsuitable devices are donated but instead are stripped for parts and recycled according to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) guidelines.We are also working with industry on a device donation charter to encourage more organisations to set up device donation schemes. We hope to publish the charter in Spring 2025.

Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps to standardise data security protocols for digital device donation, in the context of tackling digital exclusion and reducing e-waste.

The Government announced a device donation pilot on the 26th February, running to August 2025. We will be working with Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) to refurbish end-of-life laptops from DSIT, DESNZ and DBT and distribute them to those who need them most. The Government uses an accredited partner with ADISA certification to sanitise devices, meaning each is wiped securely before being collected. DPA conducts additional verification for recipients of devices, including offering Data Erasure and Data Destruction Reports for processed devices. We are looking into solutions for standardising protocols for disposal of data to encourage device donation by industry.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate his Department has made of the total level of funding allocated by the Medical Research Council into specific research on the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of lobular breast cancer in each of the last five years.

The Government does not ringfence funding for specific cancers. DSIT invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, including the Medical Research Council (MRC). The average annual funding awarded by UKRI to breast cancer research (including diagnosis and treatment) between 2018 and 2022 was approximately £10 million. The MRC invests approximately £125 million into cancer annually. DHSC spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research infrastructure funding supports Biomedical Research Centres and the NIHR Research Delivery Network, which has enabled the delivery of 10 lobular breast cancer studies.

What the total amount of research funding spent on lobular breast cancer research was in 2022- 2023.

The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.We are proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. Wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer. On 4 February 2025 the Department announced that nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test how cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. The Early Detection using Information Technology in Health trial is backed by £11 million of Government support via NIHR. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lobular breast cancer.

What the total amount of research funding spent on lobular breast cancer research was in 2023- 2024.

The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority.We are proud to have invested £29 million into the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NIHR Biological Research Centre in 2022, supporting their efforts to strengthen research into cancer, including lobular breast cancer. Wider investments into breast cancer research include a £1.3 million project to determine whether an abbreviated form of breast magnetic resonance imaging can detect breast cancers missed by screening through mammography, including lobular breast cancer. On 4 February 2025 the Department announced that nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test how cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools can be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. The Early Detection using Information Technology in Health trial is backed by £11 million of Government support via NIHR. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including lobular breast cancer.

When does he plans to publish allocations of the Public Health Grant for 2025-26.

The Government published the 2025/26 Public Health Grant allocations to local authorities on 7 February. Further details are available on the GOV.UK website.

With reference to his Department's press release Home upgrade revolution as renters set for warmer homes and cheaper bills, published on 23 September 2024, when he plans to consult on new EPC requirements for the private rented sector.

The Government will consult shortly on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will include proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030.

What estimate she has made of the number of Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum who were not in school in each of the last five years, broken down by gender.

Information on the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were not in school is not collected or held by the department. Data collected by the department on children not in school does not indicate whether children are asylum seekers.The department published a response to the public call for evidence, ‘Improving support for children missing education’, in December 2024. This response outlines current best practice approaches and next steps for how local authorities, schools and others can be empowered to go further to identify and support children missing education (CME) and to tackle the pattern of children falling through the cracks. The response can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6749c6faebabe47136b3a25b/Children_missing_education_-_call_for_evidence_response.pdf.The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, includes proposals for compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, to enable authorities to better identify all children not in school in their areas and, where these children are not receiving a safe, suitable education, to take action to support them. The department is also committed to introducing a single child identifier, so all children can get the right support from education, health and care services.The department’s annual published children looked after data shows that only 4% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are girls and that 89% of all UASC are aged 16 and over.All UASC will be looked after by their local authority. All state-funded schools are required to give relevant looked after and previously looked after children top priority for admission once their corporate parent, the local authority, applies for a place.As looked after children, local authorities have the same duties to UASC as all other looked after children, which includes support received in school.The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to an excellent education. Where children are not on a school roll or receiving suitable education elsewhere, the department has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outlining their duty to make arrangements to identify and support into education all CME. The guidance specifically references that children of new migrant families may be at particular risk of missing education. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf57a4dcb0757928e5bd39/Children_missing_education_guidance_-_August_2024.pdf.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the funding gap for London councils in the next four years.

The provisional Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The final Settlement will increase further, to incorporate the £515 million of funding announced for National Insurance Contributions.The Department works closely with local government and other government departments to understand specific demand and cost pressures facing local government on an ongoing basis. This involves looking at a range of cost and demand data, as well as regular engagement with local authorities.The government is making good on the promise to reform the local government funding system. We are committed to pursuing a comprehensive set of reforms for public services to fix the foundations of local government, in partnership with the sector and on the principle of giving councils early certainty. From 2026-27, we want to fundamentally improve the way we fund councils and direct funding to where it is most needed through the first multi-year settlement in 10 years. We are inviting views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation (18 December – 12 February).

What steps he is taking to ensure early identification of cardiac problems in young people.

NHS England has published a suite of national service specifications and standards for Paediatric Cardiac Services, which define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England, to support and improve the diagnosis and treatment of congenital cardiac problems in young people, with congenital heart disease constituting the bulk of paediatric cardiac cases. The specifications and standards cover all Paediatric Cardiac activity, including surgery and cardiology, taking place in the Specialist Children’s Surgical Centres, Specialist Children’s Cardiology Centres, and Local Children's Cardiac Centres, including activity undertaken by the Specialist Centres on an outreach basis where it is delivered as part of a provider network, with the aim of ensuring all patient care is of a consistent high quality. NHS England has also published a national service specification for Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICC), which covers young adults. The aim of ICC services is to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of patients with inherited cardiac conditions. NHS England is currently reviewing this service specification, working with a broad range of stakeholders as part of the review, including clinical experts in the National Health Service, the Association of Inherited Cardiac Conditions, Cardiomyopathy UK, Heart Valve Voice and the British Heart Foundation. The Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme also sets out standards for antenatal screening by ultrasound of serious congenital abnormalities, including which abnormalities should be screened for and expected detection rates, with 68% of serious abnormalities detected antenatally.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of rolling out cardiac screening to young people.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed screening for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under 39 years old in 2019 and concluded that screening should not be offered. More information on the review is available at the following link:https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/ Research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use in young people without symptoms, and that treatments and interventions were not based on good scientific evidence to prevent SCD.To stop SCDs in young people, the current consensus is to focus on rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD due to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.NHS England has published guidance for inherited cardiac conditions which requires services to investigate patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease, suggestive symptoms or from families with sudden unexplained deaths. Where a genetic variation is identified, cascade testing is offered to relatives based on risk.We are aware that the UK NSC has received a submission via its annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged between 14 and 35 years old engaging in sport. The UK NSC is currently reviewing all annual call proposals. More information on the annual call process is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that the funding model for inner London boroughs meets local demand.

The provisional Settlement for 2025-26 makes available £69 billion for local government, which is a 3.5% real terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The final Settlement will increase further, to incorporate the £515 million of funding announced for National Insurance Contributions.The Department works closely with local government and other government departments to understand specific demand and cost pressures facing local government on an ongoing basis. This involves looking at a range of cost and demand data, as well as regular engagement with local authorities.The government is making good on the promise to reform the local government funding system. We are committed to pursuing a comprehensive set of reforms for public services to fix the foundations of local government, in partnership with the sector and on the principle of giving councils early certainty. From 2026-27, we want to fundamentally improve the way we fund councils and direct funding to where it is most needed through the first multi-year settlement in 10 years. We are inviting views on our principles and objectives for funding reform through a consultation (18 December – 12 February).

What steps she is taking to improve the central data collection on access to education for unaccompanied children seeking asylum.

Information on the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were not in school is not collected or held by the department. Data collected by the department on children not in school does not indicate whether children are asylum seekers.The department published a response to the public call for evidence, ‘Improving support for children missing education’, in December 2024. This response outlines current best practice approaches and next steps for how local authorities, schools and others can be empowered to go further to identify and support children missing education (CME) and to tackle the pattern of children falling through the cracks. The response can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6749c6faebabe47136b3a25b/Children_missing_education_-_call_for_evidence_response.pdf.The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, includes proposals for compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, to enable authorities to better identify all children not in school in their areas and, where these children are not receiving a safe, suitable education, to take action to support them. The department is also committed to introducing a single child identifier, so all children can get the right support from education, health and care services.The department’s annual published children looked after data shows that only 4% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are girls and that 89% of all UASC are aged 16 and over.All UASC will be looked after by their local authority. All state-funded schools are required to give relevant looked after and previously looked after children top priority for admission once their corporate parent, the local authority, applies for a place.As looked after children, local authorities have the same duties to UASC as all other looked after children, which includes support received in school.The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to an excellent education. Where children are not on a school roll or receiving suitable education elsewhere, the department has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outlining their duty to make arrangements to identify and support into education all CME. The guidance specifically references that children of new migrant families may be at particular risk of missing education. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf57a4dcb0757928e5bd39/Children_missing_education_guidance_-_August_2024.pdf.

What steps she is taking to ensure young girls who are unaccompanied children seeking asylum are (a) able to access education and (b) supported to stay in school.

Information on the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were not in school is not collected or held by the department. Data collected by the department on children not in school does not indicate whether children are asylum seekers.The department published a response to the public call for evidence, ‘Improving support for children missing education’, in December 2024. This response outlines current best practice approaches and next steps for how local authorities, schools and others can be empowered to go further to identify and support children missing education (CME) and to tackle the pattern of children falling through the cracks. The response can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6749c6faebabe47136b3a25b/Children_missing_education_-_call_for_evidence_response.pdf.The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, includes proposals for compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, to enable authorities to better identify all children not in school in their areas and, where these children are not receiving a safe, suitable education, to take action to support them. The department is also committed to introducing a single child identifier, so all children can get the right support from education, health and care services.The department’s annual published children looked after data shows that only 4% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are girls and that 89% of all UASC are aged 16 and over.All UASC will be looked after by their local authority. All state-funded schools are required to give relevant looked after and previously looked after children top priority for admission once their corporate parent, the local authority, applies for a place.As looked after children, local authorities have the same duties to UASC as all other looked after children, which includes support received in school.The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to an excellent education. Where children are not on a school roll or receiving suitable education elsewhere, the department has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outlining their duty to make arrangements to identify and support into education all CME. The guidance specifically references that children of new migrant families may be at particular risk of missing education. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf57a4dcb0757928e5bd39/Children_missing_education_guidance_-_August_2024.pdf.

What steps she is taking to review the rates of the Local Housing Allowance to reflect housing costs in inner London boroughs.

The decision at Autumn Budget to maintain Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates at current levels for 2025/26 considered a range of factors such as rental data,the Government’s missions and wider fiscal context.LHA rates were last increased in April 2024 at a cost of £7bn over 5 years. The national maximum caps, which apply in London, were also increased. These caps protect taxpayer costs for exceptionally high rental prices.Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help councils reduce the (a) need for and (b) costs of temporary accommodation.

Local authorities in England report revenue and expenditure on an annual basis. Data on council spending on temporary accommodation is contained in the Revenue outturn housing services (RO4) tables, accessible here. The drop down can be used to access data for each local authority, as well as for groups of local authorities including London Boroughs. The net current expenditure column contains data on the net cost of temporary accommodation to local authorities, after they have accounted for income such as from housing benefit.The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Government is looking at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings the total spend on homelessness and rough sleeping to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26, a record level of funding.In December, MHCLG also announced the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million in overall funding to work with 20 local authorities with the highest use of bed & breakfast (B&B) accommodation for homeless families, to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives to reduce the use of B&Bs.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including:delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament; andabolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

When her Department plans to respond to the consultation entitled Limitation law in child sexual abuse cases, which closed on 10 July 2024.

The consultation on limitation law in child sexual abuse cases was held between 15 May 2024 and 10 July 2024. Ministers are currently considering responses to the consultation and a Government response will be issued shortly.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the cost of temporary accommodation for London councils in each of the last four years.

Local authorities in England report revenue and expenditure on an annual basis. Data on council spending on temporary accommodation is contained in the Revenue outturn housing services (RO4) tables, accessible here. The drop down can be used to access data for each local authority, as well as for groups of local authorities including London Boroughs. The net current expenditure column contains data on the net cost of temporary accommodation to local authorities, after they have accounted for income such as from housing benefit.The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and that this can have a devastating impact on those involved, as well as placing financial strain on councils. We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Government is looking at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country to get us back on track to ending homelessness once and for all.We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings the total spend on homelessness and rough sleeping to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26, a record level of funding.In December, MHCLG also announced the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million in overall funding to work with 20 local authorities with the highest use of bed & breakfast (B&B) accommodation for homeless families, to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives to reduce the use of B&Bs.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including:delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament; andabolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2024 to Question 5227 on Wood-burning Stoves, what recent estimate he has made of when his Department will complete its assessment of options to (a) reduce the impact of wood burning stoves on people’s health and (b) meet statutory targets for this pollutant.

Officials are currently evaluating a number of options to reduce emissions of air pollutants, in particular fine particulate matter, from domestic burning, which I anticipate will be completed in spring this year. The Government launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to revise our plan for significantly improving the environment and deliver legally binding targets including for Air Quality and PM2.5. The Government concluded the review of the EIP at the end of last year and will publish a summary of findings in early 2025. This will be followed by publication of a revised EIP.