Written questions by Sollom.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the percentage of applications cleared by the Child Maintenance Service within six weeks.

In the year to June 2024 there were 138,000 new applications to the Child Maintenance Service, an increase of 10% since June 2023. The Department’s most recently published statistics show that 76% of applications received were cleared within 6 weeks (up to the quarter ending March 2024). The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service. Please see tables 1 and 2 of the national tables for more information on applications. Additional resources have been deployed to process new applications in order to meet increased customer demand. Service Modernisation improvements have been made to processes and systems to increase automation and allow both receiving and paying parents to manage their application online. This allows us to serve them faster as well as freeing up resources to help customers who need greater support.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to help ensure safe dining in restaurants for people with food allergies.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a statutory role in leading government policy on food safety, including in gathering evidence and advising the government. Following the FSA Board decision in December 2023, FSA officials are progressing a programme of work to evaluate and appraise the options for improving the provision of allergen information for non-prepacked foods, such as food served in restaurants. The FSA has agreed to keep Defra looped in on this work and any recommendations emerging from it. It would not be appropriate for Defra to comment on any proposals prior to the FSA completing its evaluation and appraisal of policy options. Any new legislation needs to be carefully considered, taking into account the views of all stakeholders and the balance of costs and benefits.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening a jobcentre in St Neots.

The Department for Work and Pensions continually keeps under review the location of Jobcentres across Great Britain to balance customer demand and the range of services required, while also providing value for money for the taxpayer. There are no plans to expand the Jobcentre Plus network at this time. When shaping Jobcentre services, DWP uses local insights to develop plans which account for the needs of communities to access employment support. Support for St Neots is currently available from Huntingdon and Cambridge Jobcentres, both of which are located nearby.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid™ COVID-19 Vaccine.

All vaccines in the United Kingdom must be authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they can be placed on the UK market. The MHRA assesses all applications for authorisations of vaccines promptly, to ensure their safety, quality, and efficacy.The updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine has not been authorised by the MHRA. We are unable to confirm whether the MHRA has or has not received an application for Novavax's updated 2024-2025 Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine, as this information is considered commercially sensitive.Pharmaceutical companies can decide to make information regarding the status of their Marketing Authorisation Applications publicly available, and the MHRA advocates that companies publish information on medicines in their pipelines, where and when it is reasonable to do so.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of opening a driving test centre in St Neots.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is committed to providing its customers with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.

If she will carry out an assessment of the impact of the regulatory changes to volumetric concrete mobile plants in 2018 on the construction industry.

The Department ran a call for evidence from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for VCMs. Any potential changes to the current policy position on VCM weight limits will need to consider the implications for road safety, infrastructure, the environment, and maintaining fair competition in the market. The Department is currently reviewing the outcomes and will publish its findings in due course.

If she will make the temporary duty easement for wines permanent from 1 February 2025.

In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume. The reforms aimed to modernise and simplify the system, to prioritise public health and incentivise consumption of lower strength products. To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the current, temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume. The current temporary duty easement for wine is due to end on 31st January 2025.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of delaying the outcome of her short review of post-16 qualification reforms until December 2024 on (a) schools’ ability to provide effective information and (b) plan for the 2025/26 academic year.

In July, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a short review of qualifications reform. The rapid review is focused on Level 3 qualifications currently scheduled to have funding removed on 31 July 2025.The department understands the need to provide certainty to the sector, students and parents about what qualifications will be available in the 2025/26 academic year.The department is working as quickly as possible to provide clarity to the sector, which is why we moved immediately to pause the defunding due to happen from August this year and will conclude and communicate outcomes of the review by the end of the calendar year. This will enable schools and colleges to reflect the outcomes of the review in their delivery planning and marketing materials in the new year.It is also worth noting that large portions of qualifications are unaffected by the review and provide certainty to the sector. These include A levels and T Levels, new alternative academic qualifications, new technical occupational qualifications, and the qualifications in the subjects, routes and qualification types not covered by the defunding lists, including further applied general qualifications.