Written questions by Whately.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason she called in the Highsted Park outline planning applications.

The decision to call in this application was made on the basis of the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. In line with the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2019, we do not give specific reasons for calling in planning applications.A public inquiry into the proposals will now take place, overseen by an independent Planning Inspector. Once the inquiry has concluded, the Inspector will prepare a report and recommendation for Ministers. A target date for determining the applications will be set when that report is received in MHCLG.No discussions or meetings have taken place with the developers. Correspondence which outlined the scheme, and requested a meeting, but which did not seek call in of the applications was received. In addition, among a number of written requests to call in these applications, one was received from a project director of the developers, and one from their planning consultants.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to decide on the proposed (a) M2 motorway junction and (b) Highsted Park outline planning applications.

The decision to call in this application was made on the basis of the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. In line with the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2019, we do not give specific reasons for calling in planning applications.A public inquiry into the proposals will now take place, overseen by an independent Planning Inspector. Once the inquiry has concluded, the Inspector will prepare a report and recommendation for Ministers. A target date for determining the applications will be set when that report is received in MHCLG.No discussions or meetings have taken place with the developers. Correspondence which outlined the scheme, and requested a meeting, but which did not seek call in of the applications was received. In addition, among a number of written requests to call in these applications, one was received from a project director of the developers, and one from their planning consultants.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has had discussions with the developers of the Highsted Park outline planning applications.

The decision to call in this application was made on the basis of the policy set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012. In line with the Written Ministerial Statement of 26 March 2019, we do not give specific reasons for calling in planning applications.A public inquiry into the proposals will now take place, overseen by an independent Planning Inspector. Once the inquiry has concluded, the Inspector will prepare a report and recommendation for Ministers. A target date for determining the applications will be set when that report is received in MHCLG.No discussions or meetings have taken place with the developers. Correspondence which outlined the scheme, and requested a meeting, but which did not seek call in of the applications was received. In addition, among a number of written requests to call in these applications, one was received from a project director of the developers, and one from their planning consultants.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2024 to Question 4038 on Pension Credit: Expenditure, what estimate she has made of the additional cost to the public purse of the associated allowances for Pension Credit if all people eligible for claiming it did.

No estimate has been made by the department as the requested information is not available. We are unable to quantify the value of all passported benefits.

What the cost to the public purse was for Pension Credit in the latest year for which information is available.

The total government expenditure in nominal terms for Pension Credit awards was £4.9 billion in 2022/23. This figure does not include other operational and administrative costs, such as the government’s campaign to increase take-up of Pension Credit, as well as supporting customers and sending letters. Source: outturn-and-forecast-tables-spring-budget-2024.xlsx

What work (a) has been undertaken and (b) is planned on the creation of a long-term strategy for rolling stock.

As part of our reforms to the railway, the Government will develop a long-term strategy for rolling stock promoting a longer-term, whole-system approach. This strategy will seek to provide a strong and steady pipeline of orders, supporting British manufacturing and ending the volatility in demand that we have seen over recent years. It will also consider the best financing structures for future orders in partnership with private capital. Officials are working to develop this strategy alongside the creation of Great British Railways.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Ministerial Code to specifically include (a) commercially sensitive statements and (b) personal boycotts.

I refer the Honourable Member to PQ 9328 of 22 October 2024.

Whether the motor insurance taskforce will review postcode insurance pricing.

This Government committed in its manifesto to tackle the high costs of motor insurance. To deliver on this commitment, the UK Government formed a cross-government Taskforce on motor insurance, co-chaired by the Department for Transport and His Majesty’s Treasury, which met for the first time on 16th October. This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. The Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and by the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The Taskforce is supported by a separate Stakeholder Panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. The Taskforce will evaluate the impact of increased insurance costs on consumers and the insurance industry, including how this impacts different demographics, geographies, and communities.

What progress Network Rail has made on the access charge discount scheme.

To date, under Network Rail’s Access Charges Discount Policy for Control Period 7, two applications have been approved. The first, which has commenced operations is a five day per week service between Tilbury and Manchester. The second is a twice a week service from Southampton to London Gateway that will be starting in the coming weeks.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6166 on East Anglia Rail Franchise, what are the contractual conditions for termination of rail operator contracts.

The events under which an operator would default on its National Rail Contract with the Secretary of State, and events under which termination of the contract would be applicable, are set out in the National Rail Contracts, in particular in Chapter 9.4.1. National Rail Contracts are published as part of the Public Register of Rail Passenger Contracts and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-register-of-rail-passenger-contracts

Whether she has had direct discussions with her Welsh counterpart since July 2024.

The Secretary of State has had direct discussions with her Welsh counterpart since July 2024.

Whether she has had direct discussions with her Scottish counterpart since July 2024.

The Secretary of State has had direct discussions with her Scottish counterpart since July 2024.

Whether her Department has met with representatives from GoAhead Ltd.

The Secretary of State visited GoAhead in July, and plans to meet representatives again in the near future.

What steps he is taking to ensure adequate healthcare provision in areas with high (a) housing targets and (b) population growth.

The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and this means we require world class NHS infrastructure across the entire NHS estate. Beyond hospitals, we know we need the right infrastructure in the right place to deliver on our commitment of creating a Neighbourhood Health Service and ensuring that patients receive the care they deserve.We recognise the challenges facing local areas of rapid housing and population growth, including the challenges such growth can place on health care infrastructure. Whilst the Government has big ambitions to further boost house building, we recognise it must be sensitive to local need.The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government to determine how the local authority and developer contributions from new housing developments can support the vision for health services and infrastructure locally.The relevant integrated care board is responsible for deciding how the NHS budget for its area is spent, and allocates funding according to local priorities. Any further support for NHS organisations will be set out at the Autumn Spending Review.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve (a) (i) basic and (ii) general literacy and (b) (A) times tables and (B) general numeracy rates.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The government knows that increases in mathematics and English skills also benefit family life, children’s development and education, civic participation, and have a positive impact on relationships between employees and employers.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18. This is chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, an expert in education policy, including curriculum and social inequality. The review will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve. In particular, children who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disabilities.To support basic literacy from the early years, we are investing over £20 million in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme. This programme targets reception aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, and seven months of additional progress for those eligible for free school meals.Additionally, programmes such as the English Hubs and Maths Hubs aim to improve the teaching of literacy and mathematics, as the department knows that the quality of teaching is the biggest educational factor in determining children’s outcomes. All eligible year 4 pupils in England are required to take the multiplication table check which is an on-screen assessment testing pupils' ability to fluently recall their knowledge of multiplication tables up to 12 x 12. 29% of eligible children scored full marks in 2023 and the average attainment score was 20.2 marks out of 25.The department’s ‘essential skills’ legal entitlements funded through the adult skills fund provide the opportunity for fully funded study for eligible adults who do not have essential literacy and numeracy skills, up to and including Level 2.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that there are sufficient school places to meet demand in new housing developments in the countryside; and whether she is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure that there are sufficient buses to enable children in rural areas to travel to school.

Local authorities are responsible for providing enough school places for children in their area. The department engages with local authorities on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional primary and pre-16 secondary school places, and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, the department offers support and advice.The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. Nearly £1.5 billion of allocations have been confirmed to support local authorities to create school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.Developer contributions are also an important way of helping to meet demand for new school places when housing developments are increasing pupil numbers. It is for the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to secure developer contributions through section 106 agreements or through the Community Infrastructure Levy, and to decide on the local infrastructure needs that this contribution should support. The department would encourage LPAs to secure significant contributions for new school places and to work closely with colleagues planning school places in their area, including county councils when the local authority responsible for education is not the LPA.Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities and provide access to schools and other services. This government has set out an action plan to deliver better bus services and drive opportunity across the country-served regions. The government will introduce the Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of the communities who rely on them.

Whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on improving the support available for people seeking a fit note.

As part of our Get Britain Working plan, more disabled people and those with health conditions will be supported to enter and stay in work, by devolving more power to local areas so they can shape a joined-up work, health, and skills offer that suits the needs of the people they serve.We launched a Call for Evidence to seek views on how the current fit note process works and the support required to facilitate meaningful work and health conversations to help people start, stay, and succeed in work. It closed on 8 July 2024, and we received approximately 1,900 responses that are now being reviewed.

What steps she is taking to improve support to young carers in schools.

The government is committed to helping children and young people, including young carers, thrive and wants the best for every child and family. This department, the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England work closely together, along with other government departments and key stakeholders, to ensure support is provided for young carers across all aspects of their wellbeing, education and development and are currently giving careful consideration to the recently published report by the Carer’s Trust: ‘Caring and classes: the education gap for young carers’. This report can be accessed here: https://carers.org/downloads/young-carers-in-education-reportfinal.pdf.Young carers as a specific group within the education system were added to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year. Ofsted has committed to developing and consulting upon a revised schools’ inspection framework for September 2025. This will support the new school report card, which will also be in place from that time. A consultation on the framework and report card is scheduled to launch early in the new year.The department and Ofsted are engaging closely to take this forward and will consider how schools are to be assessed in the future in terms of their contribution to inclusion, bearing in mind the government’s mission to ensure that all children, including young carers, can achieve and thrive at school.The Children’s Social Care National Framework, issued in December 2023, is statutory guidance for local authorities. It provides clarity on the outcomes that leaders and practitioners should achieve when supporting children, young people, and families, including young carers. Safeguarding partners, and other relevant agencies including education, should read and engage with the National Framework as they have an important role in supporting positive outcomes and improving access to opportunities.The department is clear that everyone working within children’s social care should use the National Framework to understand how they can improve the outcomes and breakdown barriers for opportunity for children, young people, and families. Specific expectations have been included in the framework for practice for senior leaders, practice supervisors and practitioners to draw on the range of expertise from virtual school heads, designated safeguarding leads or designated teachers when providing help to children, young people and families, including young carers.

What steps he is taking to help ensure ambulances are not delayed outside hospitals waiting to hand over patients.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including ambulance response times.As a first step, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September 2024 and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities/

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on improving the support to young carers in schools.

The government is committed to helping children and young people, including young carers, thrive and wants the best for every child and family. This department, the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England work closely together, along with other government departments and key stakeholders, to ensure support is provided for young carers across all aspects of their wellbeing, education and development and are currently giving careful consideration to the recently published report by the Carer’s Trust: ‘Caring and classes: the education gap for young carers’. This report can be accessed here: https://carers.org/downloads/young-carers-in-education-reportfinal.pdf.Young carers as a specific group within the education system were added to the school census in the 2022/23 academic year. Ofsted has committed to developing and consulting upon a revised schools’ inspection framework for September 2025. This will support the new school report card, which will also be in place from that time. A consultation on the framework and report card is scheduled to launch early in the new year.The department and Ofsted are engaging closely to take this forward and will consider how schools are to be assessed in the future in terms of their contribution to inclusion, bearing in mind the government’s mission to ensure that all children, including young carers, can achieve and thrive at school.The Children’s Social Care National Framework, issued in December 2023, is statutory guidance for local authorities. It provides clarity on the outcomes that leaders and practitioners should achieve when supporting children, young people, and families, including young carers. Safeguarding partners, and other relevant agencies including education, should read and engage with the National Framework as they have an important role in supporting positive outcomes and improving access to opportunities.The department is clear that everyone working within children’s social care should use the National Framework to understand how they can improve the outcomes and breakdown barriers for opportunity for children, young people, and families. Specific expectations have been included in the framework for practice for senior leaders, practice supervisors and practitioners to draw on the range of expertise from virtual school heads, designated safeguarding leads or designated teachers when providing help to children, young people and families, including young carers.