Written questions by MacCleary.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support Openreach to provide fibre to the premises connections in (a) Alfriston Road, Berwick and (b) other rural areas in Lewes constituency.

This government is committed to delivering nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032 and we have created a regulatory environment that incentivises private investment, including from Openreach, in areas where deployment is commercially viable.Additionally, CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across East and West Sussex. This contract currently includes approximately 7,800 premises in the Lewes constituency, the vast majority of which are in rural areas. Premises on Alfriston Road, Berwick, are currently included within the scope of this contract.

Whether his Department plans to implement the recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry Report.

As I set out in my Oral Statement to the House on 21 July, the Government will be bringing forward a further set of regulations as soon as Parliamentary time allows to implement the recommendations we have already accepted. The Government will be consulting the infected blood community on the remainder of the recommendations before making any further changes to the Scheme. The Government would like to provide the community with sufficient time to consider and share their views on the Government’s proposals in response to the Inquiry’s recommendations. The consultation is expected to open in October. Any changes will require further regulations. We expect this second, more substantial set of regulations, to be brought before Parliament in 2026.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of spousal visa processing requirements on British citizens with EU spouses who need to travel frequently between the UK and the EU for family or caring responsibilities.

Customers applying for a spouse visa inside the UK who wish to have to have a quicker decision can use the Super Priority Visa (SPV) service. Customers who choose to use the SPV service should get a decision by the end of the next working day after attending their biometrics appointment. This service is available to all customers including those whose spouses are EU citizens. Further information can be found on GOV.UK: Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application: Applying for a faster decision - GOV.UK’’ In exceptional circumstances, requests to expedite UK Family Visa applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and take a range of factors into consideration.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the digital tax system on small businesses.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) modernises the tax system and will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier. Through a diverse market of accessible, intuitive software, MTD encourages businesses to embrace digital solutions boosting productivity, streamlining operations, and supporting sustainable growth. The latest published assessment of MTD for Income Tax impacts is available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/extension-of-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax-self-assessment-to-sole-traders-and-landlords

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS surgery waiting time information published on the NHS My Care Portal in the context of reports that these timeframes differ from those provided by NHS hospital trusts.

Patients in England can choose the hospital for their first outpatient appointments via the NHS e-Referral Service and the NHS App, allowing them to view and choose from available appointments across different hospitals within the same region.The National Health Service is a large, decentralized system, and individual NHS hospital trusts are responsible for managing their own patient portals, resulting in different systems and features. Each trust may set its own policies and internal delays before results are displayed in the portal, rather than linking them directly to the patient. A delay in displaying results is a common practice for sensitive test results linked to conditions such as cancer, to give doctors an opportunity to review them with the patient first.The NHS ensures adequate data for My Planned Care by employing a multi-faceted approach, including centralised data collection and curation, implementing shared records for better data integration across systems, establishing robust data quality checks and reporting, adhering to strict information governance and security standards, and actively working to link diverse data sources. These processes support the provision of timely and accurate information on the My Planned Care website to help patients and healthcare professionals.The NHS continues to invest heavily in the NHS App and in the past two years we have been implementing digital integration between acute hospitals and the NHS App, meaning that patients can now view their clinical pathway and appointments via the NHS App. We continue to work with hospital trusts to maximise the opportunities available to update patients via the NHS App, which is a key part of the 10-year plan to reform the NHS.The NHS App has now been adopted by 88% of acute trusts, up nearly 20% since July 2024, which enables patients to view and manage their hospital appointments.Analysis shows that hospitals that make the changes to plug their systems and processes into the NHS App key app features have improved elective care waiting times.

If she will review (a) legal protections for victims of fraud in civil courts and (b) the effectiveness of those protections against defendants who do not engage with court.

A range of legal protections are available for victims of fraud in the civil courts. These include the ability to bring claims for misrepresentation, fraudulent representation/deceit, unlawful means conspiracy, unjust enrichment, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, breach of trust, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of funds. Where defendants do not engage with the court, a range of options are available to claimants. These include the ability to apply to the court for a freezing order, which may also be served on a third party to prevent assets being dissipated. Claimants can also seek an order for defendants to attend court to provide information to assist enforcement, or a receivership order to manage the respondent’s assets. Committal proceedings can be initiated for deliberate breaches of an injunction. The Government has asked Jonathan Fisher KC to undertake work on Part Two of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. The terms of reference for this review include considering whether there should be a greater role for civil penalties in tackling fraud committed against individuals and businesses. This review has been asked to report by December 2025 and the Government will respond thereafter.

If he will make an assessment of the accuracy of the classification of stage 4 breast cancer as moderate in severity.

Neither the Department for Health and Social Care nor the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have classified stage 4 breast cancer as moderate in severity.In developing guidance on whether new medicines can be recommended for routine use in the treatment of NHS patients, NICE is able to apply a weighting that recognises the additional value that society places on treatments for severe conditions. The weighting that is applied is calculated for each appraisal based on information on the expected shortfall in life expectancy and quality of life of people with the condition, taking into account existing treatment options. NICE has concluded for several appraisals of medicines for late-stage breast cancer that a weighting should be applied based on the severity of the condition.

What the threshold is for the number of appeals that can be made in a family court hearing.

There is no statutory limit on the number of oral requests that a party can make at any hearing for permission to appeal.Appeals of family decisions to the family court and the High Court are governed by Part 30 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Directions 30A and 30B, which set out the legal and procedural requirements. This includes a clear process that must be followed if a party wishes to appeal a decision and sets out that most decisions will need permission to be appealed. Part 30 and the relevant Practice Directions ensure that only appeals with a real prospect of success, or other compelling reasons, are given permission to appeal.

What steps his Department is taking to support people with Niemann-Pick disease type B.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as Niemann-Pick disease type B. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community. These include: helping patients get a final diagnosis faster; increasing awareness of rare diseases among healthcare professionals; better coordination of care; and improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We published the annual England Rare Diseases Action Plan in February 2025, where we report on the steps we have taken to advance these priorities.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of enforcement mechanisms for small claim judgements.

The civil courts offer several different enforcement methods that a judgment creditor may apply for to recover money owed on a court judgment. The Government is committed to ensuring that these processes are effective and fair. The Government welcomes the Civil Justice Council’s report about enforcement processes, which made a number of recommendations to make them more accessible and streamlined. The Government is considering these findings and will respond in due course.

How many super-injunctions were in place on 15 August 2025.

The Government does not routinely publish or hold centralised data on the number of super-injunctions currently in place, due to the sensitive and often confidential nature of such orders.Where such orders are made, they are typically issued by the High Court under strict judicial oversight and may include provisions that prevent disclosure of their very existence.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an age restriction for riding an electric scooter.

Until changes are made, private e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements, irrespective of age. Rental e-scooters can only be used as part of the Government’s rental e-scooter trials and users in the current trials are already required to have a provisional or full driving licence and therefore the minimum rider age is 16. In the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, which is part of the Industrial Strategy, the Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles, including e-scooters, when parliamentary time allows. Setting a minimum age will be considered, and consulted on, as part of any future regulations on e-scooters.

What guidance her Department provides to police forces on the treatment of fuel theft incidents under the Theft Act 1978; and what steps she is taking to ensure that small independent retailers in the Lewes constituency receive appropriate police support in response to such offences.

This Government is committed to tackling the theft of fuel from forecourts.A new service has been developed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) allowing fuel retailers and their agents to request information to allow civil recovery of costs when motorists drive away from fuel stations without paying for the fuel taken.The service will allow the contact details of the registered keeper of the vehicle concerned to be provided via secure electronic links. This offers improvements over the existing manual service, providing a quicker and more efficient service to help recover costs. This change has been driven by the police-led National Business Crime Centre and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (PCPI), working closely with the DVLA.The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses. This will be supported by the delivery of up to an additional 3000 officers into neighbourhood teams by Spring next year, as part of our ambition to deliver 13,000 neighbourhood officers into police forces across England and Wales by the end of this parliament.Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable access to fibre broadband in older houses in rural areas.

The Government is committed to ensuring at least 99% of premises receive gigabit broadband coverage by 2032.To ensure equitable broadband access, through Project Gigabit we are delivering broadband to UK premises (typically via fibre connections) that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. These premises predominantly fall in rural areas.To inform Project Gigabit delivery, we collect and analyse supplier information on completed and planned build to identify premises in need of public subsidy. Eligibility is based on this information rather than the age of the premises.

What steps her Department is taking alongside the Teachers' Pension Scheme to ensure retired teachers (a) receive their pensions in a timely manner and (b) are informed of the timeline for this.

As part of the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy, affected members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) have the option to choose either final salary or career average benefits for the remedy period (April 2015 to March 2022). Members who had not taken TPS benefits before the remedy took effect on 1 October 2023 make that choice immediately before retirement. As calculations of the options are complex, TPS members are advised to apply six months before their intended retirement date to ensure there is sufficient time to receive and respond to their Remediable Service Statement which will set out that choice.The need to apply six months in advance is clearly set out on the Teachers’ Pensions website and in related member guidance, which can be found here: www.teacherspensions.co.uk/members/planning-retirement/how-to-apply.aspx.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing Part 6 paragraph 6.2 of the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax manual.

The VOA do not provide estimated Council Tax bands on request because it would need to undertake a full band assessment of a property to provide an accurate estimate, and because it does not have a statutory obligation to do so. As its policy on providing estimated Council Tax bands has not changed, and is accurately reflected in the Council Tax manual, it is not considering removing Part 6, paragraph 6.2

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take legislative steps to ensure that all small (a) businesses and (b) charities can have commercial waste collection under the new Simpler Recycling legislation, allowing for waste collection by domestic waste narrow access vehicles where necessary.

We can confirm that all small businesses and charities are in scope of Simpler Recycling. The Simpler Recycling legislation does not specify the type of vehicles that must be used for collection, provided they comply with existing standards on waste vehicles. Where commercial services are provided by local authorities, they can utilise waste vehicles that serve household collection routes.

What steps her Department is taking to support (a) blind and (b) partially sighted young people to access Further Education.

​​Support for people with visual impairments in further education is guided by legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, with tailored provisions depending on the needs of the individual.All education and training providers, have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities, including those with visual impairments, so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.​Reasonable adjustments can include things such as adapting teaching methods (providing materials in accessible formats), using assistive technology (such as screen readers and magnifiers, speech synthesizers, accessible computers and tablets) modifying assessments (offering extra time or alternative formats), and offering personalised support services (including note-takers, interpreters, or mental health support).​From year 9 it is mandatory for education, health and care plan reviews to support learners in preparing for the transitions to further education and/or employment.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help secure the safe return of Craig and Lindsay Foreman from Iran.

We are deeply concerned by Craig and Lindsay's detention in Iran. We are providing them with consular assistance and remain in close contact with their family members. We continue to raise the case directly with the Iranian authorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to help secure the release of Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

The Government is committed to securing Mr El-Fattah's release so he can be reunited with his family. We continue to engage actively in pressing for his release at the highest levels of the Egyptian government. The Prime Minister raised the case with President Sisi on 26 June. The former Foreign Secretary has also raised the case regularly, most recently in a call with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 31 August. I most recently raised Mr El-Fattah's case with Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 28 July and with the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK on multiple occasions.