Written questions by Wild.

With reference to the (a) UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, (b) UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, updated 19 May 2025 and (c) UK-EU security and defence partnership, published 19 May 2025, what his planned timetable is to agree arrangements enabling information exchange between the UK and the EU Drugs Agency on drug-related threats.

On 19 May, the Government published a renewed agenda for UK-EU cooperation. The Government agreed with the European Commission to proceed swiftly with the commitments and will keep Parliament updated on significant developments.

With reference to the (a) UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, (b) UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, updated 19 May 2025 and (c) UK-EU security and defence partnership, published 19 May 2025, what his planned timetable is to agree arrangements for UK participation in EU electricity trading platforms.

On 19 May, the Government published a renewed agenda for UK-EU cooperation. The Government agreed with the European Commission to proceed swiftly with the commitments and will keep Parliament updated on significant developments.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, when (a) fresh sausages and burgers, (b) certain shellfish from domestic waters and (c) seed potatoes will be able to resume trade to the EU.

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone to reduce delays and paperwork at the border. British products that were banned under the last Government’s Brexit deal can resume trade to the EU once the common SPS area is in place. Trade in products such as fresh sausages and burgers, some shellfish from domestic waters, and seed potatoes will be able to resume, increasing markets for these goods and stimulating jobs. Our aim is to start talks straight away and we want to remove barriers as soon as possible.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the UK-EU Summit - Joint Statement, updated 19 May 2025, when routine checks on (a) agri-foods and (b) imports from the EU of (i) milk, (ii) dairy, (iii) eggs and (iv) other products will end.

As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on May 19, 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Zone to reduce delays and paperwork at the border. Once the agreement is in place, routine SPS border checks for goods in scope will be eliminated, so fresh produce can hit supermarket shelves more quickly, with less paperwork and fewer costs. Our aim is to start talks straight away and we want to remove barriers as soon as possible.

How many and what proportion of matured Child Trust Funds that are unclaimed belong to people who lack capacity.

Providers of Child Trust Funds are financial organisations who are independent of government.As a result, my Department does not hold information on volumes of matured, unclaimed Child Trust Funds belonging to people who lack capacity, or information on the number of providers who have allowed carers of young people without capacity to access Child Trust Funds up to £5,000 without legal authority.

What proportion of matured Child Trust Funds have not been claimed.

HMRC assists young people in accessing their matured CTFs through its online tracing service and through targeted communications appropriate to the age group. It will continue its work with providers, industry representatives and other stakeholders, exploring ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.HMRC encourages anyone unsure about their situation to get in touch with their account provider. If people don’t know their account provider, they can easily locate their Child Trust Fund accounts online by using the “Find my CTF” page on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fundInformation on Child Trust Funds is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2024

What information her Department holds on the number of providers that have allowed carers of young people without capacity to access Child Trust Funds up to £5,000 without legal authority.

Providers of Child Trust Funds are financial organisations who are independent of government.As a result, my Department does not hold information on volumes of matured, unclaimed Child Trust Funds belonging to people who lack capacity, or information on the number of providers who have allowed carers of young people without capacity to access Child Trust Funds up to £5,000 without legal authority.

What steps HMRC is taking to improve communication with Child Trust Fund beneficiaries.

HMRC assists young people in accessing their matured CTFs through its online tracing service and through targeted communications appropriate to the age group. It will continue its work with providers, industry representatives and other stakeholders, exploring ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.HMRC encourages anyone unsure about their situation to get in touch with their account provider. If people don’t know their account provider, they can easily locate their Child Trust Fund accounts online by using the “Find my CTF” page on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fundInformation on Child Trust Funds is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2024

How many matured Child Trust Funds are unclaimed.

HMRC assists young people in accessing their matured CTFs through its online tracing service and through targeted communications appropriate to the age group. It will continue its work with providers, industry representatives and other stakeholders, exploring ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.HMRC encourages anyone unsure about their situation to get in touch with their account provider. If people don’t know their account provider, they can easily locate their Child Trust Fund accounts online by using the “Find my CTF” page on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fundInformation on Child Trust Funds is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2024

Pursuant to Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 42858 on Child Trust Fund, whether her Department has taken recent steps to (a) update and (b) publicise the guidance entitled Making Financial Decisions for young people: parent and carer toolkit, published on 9 June 2023.

Although the parent and carer toolkit ‘Making Financial Decisions for young people’ is almost two years old, the information it contains is still current.The Ministry of Justice regularly considers how to publicise the tool kit and raise awareness of the Mental Capacity Act.

What the market value is of matured Child Trust Funds that are unclaimed.

HMRC assists young people in accessing their matured CTFs through its online tracing service and through targeted communications appropriate to the age group. It will continue its work with providers, industry representatives and other stakeholders, exploring ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.HMRC encourages anyone unsure about their situation to get in touch with their account provider. If people don’t know their account provider, they can easily locate their Child Trust Fund accounts online by using the “Find my CTF” page on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fundInformation on Child Trust Funds is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2024

What proportion of matured Child Trust Funds that have not been claimed were opened by HMRC on the child’s behalf.

HMRC assists young people in accessing their matured CTFs through its online tracing service and through targeted communications appropriate to the age group. It will continue its work with providers, industry representatives and other stakeholders, exploring ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.HMRC encourages anyone unsure about their situation to get in touch with their account provider. If people don’t know their account provider, they can easily locate their Child Trust Fund accounts online by using the “Find my CTF” page on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fundInformation on Child Trust Funds is available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2024

With reference to section 2 of the policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, what the annual operating cost is of the British Hallmarking Council .

The British Hallmarking Council currently employs one part time member of staff.In 2024 the annual operating cost of the British Hallmarking Council was £112,650.

With reference to section 2 of her Department's policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, what the estimated saving is from merging the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies and Companies House.

The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies (“CICs”) (“the Regulator”) plays a crucial role in maintaining the CIC model as an effective form of social enterprise. By exploiting the considerable overlap between the Regulator and Companies House, and the close working relationship that already exists between the two, the Government intends to fully integrate the Regulator’s functions into Companies House as part of wider plans to streamline the UK’s regulatory environment. Both organisations are funded by fees, and there are no expected direct savings.

With reference to section 2 of her Department's policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, when the administrative costs of regulation baselining exercise will conclude.

The government has committed to cut the administrative costs of regulation to business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. To do this, we must determine the cumulative administrative costs of regulation which has not been done for 15 years. At that time, the exercise took approximately 18 months, which was consistent with efforts of other countries that have undertaken similar exercises.We are working in partnership with businesses to understand their real-life experiences of regulatory compliance to establish a robust regulatory baseline. We will publish an update on this baseline exercise and our expected timelines in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 2.1 of her Department's policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, what progress she has made on the development of the model to support the sustainable funding of statutory consultees.

A new clause (NC39) was tabled by my Department as an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and has been incorporated into it in PBL Committee.This will allow the government to set a surcharge on planning fees to fund the costs incurred by key statutory consultees in England of advising on planning applications.Details of its operation will be set out in regulations, following consultation.

Whether her Department plans to agree a multi-year public transport settlement with Norfolk County Council from 2026.

This government is committed to providing greater stability to local government by giving councils multi-year funding settlements and ending wasteful competitive bidding. Funding to local authorities, including for transport in future years will be confirmed through the ongoing Spending Review.

With reference to section 2 of the policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, how many people are employed by the British Hallmarking Council.

The British Hallmarking Council currently employs one part time member of staff.In 2024 the annual operating cost of the British Hallmarking Council was £112,650.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to section 2.1 of HM Treasury’s policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, which new initiatives have been launched to support priority sectors.

Defra, jointly with Welsh Government are currently consulting on proposals to streamline the process for setting and amending exemptions within the environmental permitting framework, empowering regulators to operate in an agile and outcome-driven fashion in support of both economic growth and environmental protections. The regulations the Environment Agency (EA) implements spans aspects of sectors, such as advance manufacturing and clean energy, in the priority list. In April the EA launched a pilot priority tracked service for significant infrastructure and major housebuilding projects, ahead of launching a full service later in the year, to allow developers to work with a dedicated team on their permits and track progress. On 31st March, the EA launched a “standard rules” approach to support research and development activities at industrial installations, this will make it easier to trial and scale-up new technologies and processes to boost investment and productivity.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to section 2.1 of HM Treasury's policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, updated on 31 March 2025, how much the Environment Agency's priority tracked service cost.

The Environment Agency launched the priority tracked service on 1 April 2025. The priority tracked service is an optional service paid for by service users. The service will fully recover its costs and scale up to reflect uptake. Currently, charges are £100 per hour.