Written questions by Roome.

What progress his Department has made on the recruitment of the new Armed Forces Commissioner; and when he expects they will begin in post.

Recruitment for the Armed Forces Commissioner is progressing with the role expected to be advertised by June 2025. The recruitment process will be through fair and open competition and subject to a full public appointment process regulated and overseen by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. It is anticipated that the Armed Forces Commissioner will be in post in early 2026, following the pre-appointment scrutiny process.

What progress his Department has made on improving the time taken for new UK armed forces recruits to receive a formal job offer.

The Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and we are focused on improving Armed Forces recruitment. Defence is committed to reducing the time taken for candidates to pass through Armed Forces recruitment processes and enter Service. Recent policies have included setting an ambition to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days, and a provisional training start date within 30 days if they desire it. The median time taken to pass through recruitment and enter Service has been significantly reduced from a peak of 475 days in 2022 down to 290 days in 2024, a reduction of 39 per cent, with the individual Services pursuing options to reduce further. These activities and their impacts will inform the development of the Armed Forces Recruitment Service which is being implemented to further improve the speed with which highly motivated and capable people can join our Armed Forces.

Which medical conditions his Department considers categorised under the term Gulf War Syndrome.

Gulf War Syndrome is an umbrella term which refers to a cluster of medically unexplained chronic symptoms reported by veterans of the 1991 Gulf War conflict. These symptoms vary widely between individuals and therefore there is no prescribed list of medical conditions/and or symptoms categorised under this umbrella term. The following link provides the background which sets out the history and research into the matter: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gulf-veterans-illnesses

Whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the adequacy of the defence procurement process in (a) the UK and (b) other countries.

The Ministry of Defence is reforming its acquisition system to deliver defence capabilities at greater pace, secure the best possible value for money and support growth in the UK.We continue to learn from other Governments on how they best manage their procurement systems. This includes engagement with allies as part of the Strategic Defence Review which provided useful feedback on procurement processes. Whilst differing national priorities and procurement systems make direct comparisons across the international landscape challenging, this government is committed to an acquisition system that supports British based businesses and UK growth and want to learn from international examples to achieve that.Where comparisons are possible, the performance of Defence Equipment and Support in delivering capability programmes has been found to be broadly in line with that of partner nations.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of market competition in the consumer credit rating sector.

The government recognises the significant role of healthy competition in markets in giving consumers access to services and products of high quality, supporting business growth and the wider economy. Responsibility for investigating individual and market-wide competition concerns falls to the Competition Markets Authority (“CMA”), the UK’s independent competition authority. The government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers to investigate and act to ensure markets remain competitive, and consumers are protected from unfair or exploitative market practices.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure consumers are aware of rights regarding personal financial products.

The Department of Business and Trade provides funding to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to deliver advice to consumers, including on debt and money matters. In addition, the Consumer Protection Partnership delivers an annual scams awareness campaign. Last year’s campaign focused on financial scams: fake debt advice; friend in need scams; pension scams; investment scams; and parking QR Codes. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets standards for consumer protection for regulated financial services products, and holds to account any firms that don’t meet those standards. The FCA’s Consumer Duty sets high standards of consumer protection across financial services, and includes a principle requiring firms to act to deliver good outcomes for customers. Good outcomes include consumers being given the information they need, at the right time, and presented in a way they can understand. Additionally, the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is supported by the Government to provide comprehensive guidance for each stage of consumers’ financial lives. Its MoneyHelper website offers a range of tools to support consumers with money matters, including information on everyday financial products and letter templates to help consumers raise complaints with their providers.

Whether his Department plans to publish the New Hospital Programme review’s scoring of each hospital’s full business case.

The review into the New Hospital Programme (NHP) did not assess schemes on the basis of full business cases, and not all schemes in the programme have reached this stage of development. Schemes were assessed based on a variety of factors, as set out in the Plan for Implementation, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcomeSchemes were banded and prioritised into upper, middle, and lower thirds, and were then stress tested to generate a delivery schedule for the programme, in compliance with the NHP’s funding envelope.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of ownership of illiquid assets on Universal Credit eligibility.

No assessment has been made. Universal Credit broadly follows the capital rules from legacy means-tested benefits, e.g. income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance. The treatment of capital in any benefit that assists with living expenses is not a straightforward matter. Whilst it is important to encourage saving, it has never been thought right for substantial amounts of capital to be ignored. Departmental guidance is available to assist our decision makers to determine the value of capital assets at the point of review. Disregards are in place for some illiquid assets that customers hold, such as personal possessions and their main home.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) people in farming and (b) other people who are unable to demonstrate consistent monthly income figures are able to apply for Universal Credit.

Universal Credit is available to eligible people who are out of work or on a low income. This includes people who are self-employed. We recognise that some self-employed customers, including those in the farming industry, are likely to report large monthly fluctuations in their earnings. Steps have been taken to account for this, such as allowing self-employed losses to be carried forward into future assessment periods. Wherever possible, employed earnings are received through the Real Time Information (RTI) system used by employers to report Pay As You Earn (PAYE) data to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). RTI enables a customer’s Universal Credit award to be automatically adjusted to reflect their fluctuating earnings, which eases the reporting burden on customers. If earnings are not reported through RTI for any reason, the customer will need to self-report their earnings and provide evidence of these. We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to, to make work pay and tackle poverty. The review will include consideration of the support in Universal Credit for customers with fluctuating incomes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of new Sustainable Farming Incentive of agreements on the rural economy.

This Government is proud to have secured the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history, with £5 billion being spent to support farmers over a 2-year period. SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package - across England, 50,000 farm businesses and over half of farmed land are already in agri-environmental schemes. The department publish regular statistics on Farm Business Income. Farming evidence packs have been recently updated including key statistics and farm performance. These set out an extensive range of data to provide an overview of agriculture in the UK. On the 11th of March 2025 we published forecasts which suggest that average Farm Business Income has risen in 2024/25 across all farm types with the exception of cereal farms.

What changes her Department plans to make to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessments for claimants suffering from longer-term degenerative conditions.

Award reviews are an important feature of Personal Independence Payment to ensure people receive the correct level of benefit, both for those whose needs will increase and those whose needs may decrease. People who receive the highest level of PIP and whose needs will not improve, receive a PIP award for a continuous period with a light touch review at the 10-year point. In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we outline plans to consider changes to improve the experience for people who receive these ongoing awards in PIP. These include improving the information we provide when we write to people about ongoing PIP award decisions, what support is offered between ‘light touch’ reviews and reviewing the length of time between ‘light touch’ reviews.

Whether the upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will consider the potential impact of US trade tariffs against UK companies.

The United States remains the United Kingdom's foremost defence and security partner. The UK has a strong and balanced trading relationship with the US worth £315 billion which supports 2.5 million jobs across both countries. This Government is seeking to negotiate an agreement with the US to deepen our economic relationship, while ensuring all options are considered in response to tariffs.

What steps his Department will take to assess the job performance of the National Armaments Director.

The parameters and performance targets for the National Armaments Director will be agreed in line with the salary approval from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury as part of the recruitment process.

With reference to the oral statement by the Prime Minister of 25 February 2025 on Defence and Security, Official Report, column 634, if he will list the reviews relevant to national security that are taking place across the Government that will be included in the development of a new National Security Strategy.

As announced by the Prime Minister, a new national security strategy will be published in June, ahead of the NATO Summit. There are several reviews and strategies being developed across government that will be taken into consideration. This includes the Strategic Defence Review, Defence Industrial Strategy, AUKUS Review, Industrial Strategy, and Trade Strategy. The Strategy will also take into account other ongoing national security policy development.

What process his Department used to determine the advertised prospective salary of the new National Armaments Director.

The salary for the National Armaments Director was benchmarked against Defence industry best practice and standards to offer a competitive remuneration package to attract the right candidate with the right skills.

With reference to the press notice entitled Major defence reforms launched, with new National Armaments Director to tackle waste and boost industry, published on 25 October 2024, what steps he is taking to (a) harmonise procurement and (b) streamline his Department’s governance and processes.

The new National Armaments Director will ensure our Armed Forces are properly equipped to defend Britain, will build up the British defence industry, and will reduce waste. Key to success will be harmonising procurement, which includes driving forward common procurement guidelines and processes to reduce inconsistencies; greater transparency for suppliers; international cooperation, notably with NATO allies; bulk purchasing, leading to better pricing and reduced costs; spiral acquisition; and, increased use of digital platforms for efficiency. This will be delivered by taking a Defence wide approach to procurement that breaks down previously vertical structures that do not allow cross Services procurement ways of working, and prioritises activity at Departmental level. The Ministry of Defence will work closely with wider Government, industry, academia, and international partners to deploy best practice and optimise investment.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending business rate relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses beyond March 2026.

Retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) relief has been extended year-by-year by previous governments since the pandemic. It has been a stopgap measure, and we recognise that businesses need longer term certainty on their liabilities. Without any government intervention, RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to provide a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26, ahead of introducing permanently lower rates for RHL properties, with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27.

What steps his Department is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in deprived communities.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care, and work is underway to ensure that patients can access the 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments, with integrated care boards (ICBs) asked to make these available from 1 April 2025.The most common reason children aged five to nine years old are admitted to hospital is for tooth decay. We have confirmed an investment of £11 million to rollout a national supervised toothbrushing programme for three to five year olds. This will reach up to 600,000 children in the most deprived areas of England.The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the ICBs across England. For the North Devon constituency, this is the NHS One Devon ICB.ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.

When her Department will review the results of funding given to local authorities for road repairs under the Plan for Change.

For the 2025/26 financial year, the Government is providing nearly £1.6 billion for highway maintenance, an increase of £500 million compared to 2024/25. It is the responsibility of individual highway authorities to maintain and improve their networks, based upon their local knowledge, circumstances, and priorities. Funding is not ringfenced, and it is a matter for local authorities to determine how the money is best spent. As of Monday 24 March, the Department has written to all local highway authorities advising them that 25% of their uplift in maintenance funding is contingent on them demonstrating to Government that they are complying with certain criteria aimed at driving best practice and continual improvement in highways maintenance practice. All authorities will have to publish information online by the end of June, and share further information with the Department by the end of October. This will allow local people to hold their councils to account for their performance in maintaining their highway networks. The Department will also review the information provided by local highway authorities when it is submitted and will say more on this in due course.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Digital Services Tax.

The UK remains committed to reaching a global solution on the taxation of the digital economy through Pillar 1 of the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework project. It is the UK’s intention to repeal our Digital Services Tax (DST) when this international solution is in place.