Written questions by Morgan.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to stocking density regulations on production levels in chicken farms.

No recent changes have been introduced to on farm poultry stocking density regulations. We are aware that many poultry producers are switching to lower stocking densities in response to a retailer led voluntary initiative as part of the industry’s Better Chicken Commitment. We continue to monitor the poultry market but have yet to see any significant fall in poultry production since the industry’s adoption of lower stocking densities.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the press release titled Record investment to protect thousands of UK homes and businesses, published on 4 February 2025, how much of the £2.65 billion of funding announced for flood defences will be allocated to (a) projects along the River Perry, and (b) protecting housing and businesses in Gobowen.

a: The Environment Agency is developing the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme. This will provide a strategic holistic approach in the Upper Severn catchment, including the River Perry, to manage flood risk and explore how natural processes can be delivered at scale, complimented by traditional engineering approaches. The total value of this strategy within the announcement (24/25-25/26) is £4.3m million. In addition, £290k is being invested in a Demonstrator project in Oswestry, North Shropshire, to ‘de-pave’, and create new, water absorbing greenspaces. This will improve drainage and slow the flow of water in the built environment. Also £450k is being invested to investigate the rewetting of lowland peat in the Perry catchment. b: Shropshire Council have secured £50,000 from the English Severn and Wye Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to investigate a flood scheme to protect approximately 100 properties and rail infrastructure in Gobowen.

Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will carry out a risk assessment on the impact of the Environment Agency ceasing maintenance of the River Perry.

On the River Perry, the EA has not ceased maintenance activities. The EA continues to carry out critical maintenance work, focussing on significant obstructions, like fallen trees blocking the river channel. The EA’s maintenance approach on the River Perry is to focus on specific communities at risk of flooding as this is found to offer the greatest benefit in reducing flood risk. The primary responsibility for river maintenance rests with individual landowners. The Environment Agency (EA) prioritises its public funded maintenance activities on main rivers, focussing efforts where they have the greatest benefit.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of jury service expenses on jury members’ finances.

Jury service is an important civic duty, and the Government is committed to ensuring jurors feel supported throughout their service. Jurors can claim subsistence and travel expenses, as well as a loss of earnings allowance from the court. The jury summoning process provides for applications for deferral or excusal from service based upon financial hardship. All support for jurors is kept under review to ensure it remains appropriate and accessible.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 84368 on UK Prosperity Fund, what steps he is taking to support rural areas outside of mayoralties with the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The government will provide long-term local growth funding to support regional growth across all of the UK, completing the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Pride in Place strategy sets out how this government will support places throughout the country, with communities given new tools and powers to shape their neighbourhoods in a way that is truly reflective of local need. Our allocation methodology targets need everywhere (regardless of type of community) and includes a number of rural communities. This includes communities in Wiltshire, East Lindsey, Somerset, amongst others. Funding is allocated based on a robust methodology, using established data to measure deprivation and community need across the country.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) accountability at parish council level.

Under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, parish councils are required to complete and publish an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) to support transparency in council spending and enable the local electorate to hold them to account. To strengthen public confidence in parish council finances, the government committed to reviewing the AGAR process in its response to the Local Audit Strategy consultation published in April 2025. In addition, parish councils with an annual turnover under £25,000 are subject to the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities, which requires the publication of key financial and governance data to promote accountability. Councils with a gross income or expenditure over £200,000 must comply with the Local Government Transparency Code, which includes broader requirements for publishing information on spending, assets, organisational structure, and decision-making. These measures ensure that local residents can easily access information about how public money is used.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of unoccupied shop buildings in North Shropshire.

The Government is fully committed to revitalising our high streets and tackling vacancy, in North Shropshire and across the country. To help reduce the number of unoccupied shop units, the Government is empowering councils through High Street Rental Auctions, enabling them to bring long-term vacant properties back into use. This is supported by wider national measures, including banning upwards-only rent reviews in commercial leases and introducing lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors from 2026. Additional powers such as the community right to buy and streamlined compulsory purchase orders will further support local revitalisation and help create more vibrant, accessible high streets.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to ensure the sufficiency of their trading standards enforcement teams.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 80438 on 20 October 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that projects funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will continue to receive support when that programme ends.

The government is providing targeted, long-term local growth funding to support regional growth across the UK, completing the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.This includes establishing a new local growth fund, for specific mayoral city regions in the North and Midlands; providing financial investments to capitalise a new recyclable mayoral growth fund for mayors in the North and Midlands with an integrated settlement; and launching the Pride in Place Programme, which represents one of the largest investments in deprived neighbourhoods for a generation - up to £5 billion over 10 years to support up to 250 places.This is in addition to increases in council’s Core Spending Power and the upcoming reforms to the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) moving to a more up-to-date assessment of each council’s needs and multi-year allocations.

If she will take steps to reduce the number of illegal tobacco and vaping products on sale in North Shropshire.

The Government is committed to reducing the number of illicit tobacco and vaping products on sale nationally. For tobacco, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a robust strategy to tackle the illicit tobacco trade. HMRC works closely with Trading Standards to disrupt the illicit tobacco trade at retail level – known as Operation CeCe. In its first three years, more than 46 million illegal cigarettes and 12,600kg of hand-rolling tobacco were seized. In July 2023, HM Revenue and Customs introduced a strengthened sanctions regime for breaches of the UK Tobacco Track and Trace System to combat illicit tobacco sales. New powers were also given to Trading Standards to make referrals to HMRC where they find evidence of high street retailers selling tobacco products that do not comply with the UK Tobacco Track and Trace System. In January 2024, HMRC and Border Force published their latest illicit tobacco strategy, ‘Stubbing Out the Problem’. This sets out the Governments’ continued commitment to restrict the trade in illicit tobacco with a focus on reducing demand, and to tackle and disrupt organised crime groups. This strategy is supported by £100 million of new smokefree funding allocated over 5 years to boost existing HMRC and Border Force enforcement capability. As with tobacco, there is a cross-government approach to reducing the number of illegal vapes. The vaping equivalent of Operation CeCe, Operation Joseph, led to the seizure of over 1 million illegal vapes in 2023-24, the last full year for which statistics are available. HMRC are also working closely with both Trading Standards and Border Force to develop a robust compliance approach for the introduction of Vaping Products Duty (VPD) on 1 October 2026. VPD is a new excise duty on vaping products, which will introduce additional compliance powers and controls across the vaping supply chain. This includes the introduction of a Vaping Duty Stamps (VDS) scheme, which will require highly secure stamps to be placed on all duty paid goods, supporting enforcement agencies and customers to identify illegal products. HMRC are recruiting over 300 staff to strengthen this compliance approach and deliver VPD.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage economic growth in market towns in North Shropshire constituency.

Economic growth and raising living standards is the number one mission of this government. Everywhere has an important role to play in driving growth and this government recognises the contribution that market towns, such as those in North Shropshire, make to the national economy and their surrounding communities. Subject to consultation, we will fundamentally improve the way we fund local authorities, providing greater long-term certainty through the first multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement in 10 years, from 2026-27. This will enable local government to focus on its priorities, including driving growth. With core funding provided by DBT and delivered in partnership with local government, the Marches Growth Hub provides local businesses across Shropshire with access to advice and support for any stage of their business journey and is part of a network of 41 Growth Hubs across England. We continue to work across government to support high streets, often the focal point of market towns, and we look forward to working with local partners to support continued momentum on economic development.

What steps he is taking to increase levels of employment in North Shropshire constituency.

From a JCP perspective, North Shropshire forms part of the Marches collective and we have been working with key stakeholders to develop the Marches Get Britain Working plan. This is currently going through final sign off before being presented to the SoS. Three jobcentres support the North Shropshire region, as well as a youth hub, working alongside Shrewsbury Town FC Foundation, supporting Young People aged 16 -18 NEETS and 18 - 24 Universal Credit, along with Youth Employability Coaches who support young people with complex needs. The sites offer several initiatives, alongside key partners to support customers into work – WEX, MTW, Apprenticeships, SWAPs, Job Fairs.

If she will review the (a) age and (b) quality of school buildings in North Shropshire constituency.

Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.The department collects consistent data on the condition of the school and college estate, which helps inform capital policy and programmes. The full set of Condition Data Collection (CDC) 1 data is presented at school or regional level and can be accessed here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details. A summary of the CDC1 data can be accessed in the CDC1 key findings report, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme. Individual reports are also shared with schools.CDC1 ran from 2017 and 2019, covering government funded schools in England. The successor programme, CDC2, will provide an update on the condition of the government funded school buildings. It does not yet cover all schools in scope and is due to complete in 2026.

Whether she will have discussions with Ofqual on the potential merits of requiring exam boards to give special consideration to students who are absent from school during the academic year due to exceptional circumstances.

Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness, injury, or other event outside of their control, which significantly affects their ability to either take or demonstrate what they can do in an assessment.Special consideration can only be given for things that happen immediately before or during an exam or assessment. To be eligible for special consideration, students must have been fully prepared for the assessment and have covered the whole course. Special consideration does not apply where students miss a course due to absence, if they enrolled part way through, or if their education was disrupted.As the exams regulator, Ofqual is clear that qualifications must represent what a student knows, understands, and can do. This is important so that qualifications maintain their value and users of qualifications, including universities and employers, have trust in the grades awarded.

Whether her Department will make an assessment of the level of contingency capacity of (a) schools and (b) colleges in the event of other school settings being forced to close.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The department engages with councils on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, we support them to find solutions as quickly as possible.As with schools, the duty is also with local authorities to have a strategic overview of the 16-19 provision available in the area and to identify and resolve gaps in provision so that each young person receives an offer of a suitable place.

Whether she plans to include Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in the National maternity and neonatal investigation; and whether she plans to include bereaved families in Shropshire in the investigation.

The Chair of the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, Baroness Amos, has removed the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust from the list of local National Health Service trust investigations for the Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation following recent discussions with West Mercia Police about the details and schedule of their ongoing investigation.The call for evidence will launch in November, and families from Shrewsbury and Telford have been encouraged to participate.

What steps her Department is taking to support St Martins School in North Shropshire constituency following the recent fire.

St Martin’s School is a member of the department’s risk protections arrangement for schools (RPA). Regular stakeholder meetings, involving the RPA, Regions Group, and Education Estates officials, the loss adjuster, school, and trust are taking place. The RPA claim is progressing quickly, with primary pupils having been returned to face-to-face learning from 7 October.St Martin’s School then began a phased reopening for secondary pupils following the securing of temporary accommodation to ensure a safe return to face-to-face education. The school has now undertaken the necessary repairs required to ensure the school site is safe to reoccupy.Following the half-term break, 3 November was a planned inset day, and 4 November was dedicated to staff preparation to ensure classrooms were ready for the return of pupils. No pupils were on site either day. On 5 November, year 8 and 9 pupils returned to site, with year 10 pupils having returned on 6 November. From 7 November, all year groups were back in face-to-face education on the school site.The school continue to work alongside the appointed loss adjustor and are being supported via the RPA.

What steps his Department is taking to support (a) autistic people and (b) their families affected by claims that acetaminophen causes autism.

The Department recognises that recent claims suggesting a link between acetaminophen and autism may have caused concern among some individuals. The Government, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and I have provided clear reassurance through traditional media and social media channels that there is no evidence to link the use of acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol, by pregnant women to autism in their children. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency swiftly published a press release confirming that taking paracetamol during pregnancy remains safe and there is no evidence it causes autism in children. The press release is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-confirms-taking-paracetamol-during-pregnancy-remains-safe-and-there-is-no-evidence-it-causes-autism-in-children

What steps his Department is taking to support the public in (a) recognising and (b) rejecting health misinformation.

The Department takes the challenge of health misinformation seriously and recognises its potential impact on public health outcomes. We focus on delivering consistent, clinically assured messaging that builds public trust and confidence, positioning the Department and the National Health Service as reliable sources of health information and advice.

If he will work with (a) autistic people, (b) their families and (c) experts to ensure that public health messaging on autism is (i) accurate, (ii) accessible and (iii) trustworthy.

The Department recognises the importance of providing the public with accurate health information and preventing misinformation. We are also committed to working with people with lived experience of autism to ensure that policies are designed to meet the needs of autistic people and makes their lives better.The Department regularly rebuts factual inaccuracies when they appear in traditional media and undertakes extensive planning, engagement, and strategic work to ensure accurate public health information is available on social media channels to mitigate misinformation. In addition, the Department strives to ensure that the information it publishes is accurate, clear, and accessible to a variety of audiences, including using easy read versions.