Written questions by Kirkham.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling Holiday Activities and Food programme providers to make their programmes open access if they are located in areas of high deprivation.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.

What is her Department's policy on the renewal of the holiday activities food programme beyond the 2025-26 financial year.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.

How many civil legal aid firms there were in Cornwall in each year for which data is available.

The information requested can be found in the below table:201068201168201285201384201478201584201686201784201877201981202081202182202276202370202475202573 The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid. For civil contracts, the LAA aims to ensure supply across designated procurement areas, as opposed to specific towns or counties. The LAA aims to ensure each procurement area in each category of law has at least the minimum amount of contracts to ensure adequate provision. The commissioning standard for the Southwest, which encompasses Cornwall, is currently met across all categories.

How many civil legal aid offices with a civil legal aid contract started less than 10 cases by each (a) local authority and (b) area of law in the (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25 financial year.

Regarding the number of civil offices starting zero cases, I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 11 March to Question 35876.The number of civil legal aid offices with a civil legal aid contract which started fewer than 10 cases can be found in the attached table.

What data her Department holds on the number of civil legal aid firms in Truro and Falmouth for each year data is available.

Data regarding the number of civil legal aid providers in Truro and Falmouth is set out in the below table:YearFalmouthTruro2011 82012 42013 82014 62015 62016 52017 92018 10201915202015202115202215202315202416202517 The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid. For civil contracts, the LAA aims to ensure supply across designated procurement areas, as opposed to specific towns or counties. The procurement areas may be different for different categories of law and the LAA aims to ensure the commissioning standard for each procurement area in each category of law is met throughout the life cycle of its contracts. The commissioning standard for the Southwest, which encompasses Truro and Falmouth, is currently met across all categories. Generally, the LAA has changed its approach to commissioning for legal aid services. Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This is a significant change from the previous approach where firms could only bid to join at the initial tender of what typically was a five-year contract term. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach, removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services. Further, the Ministry of Justice has undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which when implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish the Government’s response in due course.

How much funding the Government has allocated to legal aid in England and Wales in each financial year since 2010.

The previous Government left the legal aid system under significant strain following years of neglect. This Government has begun to put legal aid back on a sustainable footing by investing up to £92 million in addition per year by the end of this Parliament in criminal legal aid and £20 million additional each year in immigration and housing legal aid. We have also announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation from 2024. That confirmed we are uplifting the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel time in certain circumstances. Together, these changes will provide a £24 million boost for criminal legal aid providers. The Lord Chancellor has a duty to ensure that legal aid is made available in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, for cases where the relevant eligibility criteria are met. The Ministry of Justice works within HM Treasury allocations as shown in the Main and Supplementary Estimates (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-main-estimates) each year. However, the nature of legal aid funding means that it is demand led, and as such the Ministry of Justice ensures sufficient allocation is made to cover the incurred costs. Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here, and includes expenditure up to 31 December 2024.

How many civil legal aid offices with a civil legal aid contract started zero cases by each (a) local authority and (b) area of law in the (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25 financial year.

Regarding the number of civil offices starting zero cases, I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 11 March to Question 35876.The number of civil legal aid offices with a civil legal aid contract which started fewer than 10 cases can be found in the attached table.

What steps she has taken to increase provision of legal aid in the south west of England.

Data regarding the number of civil legal aid providers in Truro and Falmouth is set out in the below table:YearFalmouthTruro2011 82012 42013 82014 62015 62016 52017 92018 10201915202015202115202215202315202416202517 The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid. For civil contracts, the LAA aims to ensure supply across designated procurement areas, as opposed to specific towns or counties. The procurement areas may be different for different categories of law and the LAA aims to ensure the commissioning standard for each procurement area in each category of law is met throughout the life cycle of its contracts. The commissioning standard for the Southwest, which encompasses Truro and Falmouth, is currently met across all categories. Generally, the LAA has changed its approach to commissioning for legal aid services. Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This is a significant change from the previous approach where firms could only bid to join at the initial tender of what typically was a five-year contract term. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach, removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services. Further, the Ministry of Justice has undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which when implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish the Government’s response in due course.

Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the funding criteria for the Museum Renewal Fund to include museums that are independent charities.

The Museum Renewal Fund, delivered by Arts Council England, will invest an additional £20m in our treasured civic museums across England, and is now open to applicants.Museums run by independent charities are eligible to apply, where they have links to Local Authorities, which can be evidenced in a number of ways, as set out in the guidance: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-open-funds/museum-renewal-fund-2025-26.This government is committed to supporting museums to continue doing what they do best: serving communities, caring for and sharing Collections, and telling our national story at a local level. The government operates several tax and grant schemes for museums, including the Museum Estate and Development Fund, Museums VAT Refund Scheme, and Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax relief, to support large numbers of museums all over the country.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using the Child Maintenance Service on the (a) mental health and wellbeing of its users and (b) relationships between separated parents when inaccurate awards are made and not amended.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring it delivers a safe service which is sensitive to the needs of all customers that use it. We recognise that some customers may face difficult circumstances particularly at a time of separation and the need to handle customer cases sensitively and accurately, particularly around calculations. We introduced a Customer Experience Strategy and an Implementation Plan which aims to fully equip caseworkers with the tools, skills and support required to deliver service excellence. We are well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if we become aware that the mental health and wellbeing of any customer is at risk. Caseworkers have received extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps, support tools and procedures to support vulnerable parents experiencing financial or emotional crisis. This includes the National District Provision Toolkit and Affordability Hub which provides invaluable information to allow caseworkers to signpost to national and local support organisations for debt help and mental health assistance across the UK. To ensure calculations are accurate the department continues to build on its already proportionate and cost-effective controls, such as:use of verified income from HMRC and benefit systems as outlined in legislation and a principal part of service design.use of child benefit systems to verify qualifying child(ren).procedures and policy to request additional verification.a dedicated Financial Investigation Unit which addresses allegations of misrepresentation and fraud.a robust mandatory reconsideration and appeals process. Where a single accidental error relating to the maintenance calculation is made, a challenge can be raised by a parent or their representative within time, and corrections can be applied by a caseworker without the need for a mandatory reconsideration (MR). We have introduced a robust 3 Tier Quality Framework to rigorously monitor accuracy as part of our service ambition to further reduce error and increase our accuracy levels. The National Audit Office set a target of monetary value errors under 1%. CMS accuracy consistently meets this, remaining above 99% accuracy. The government has also committed to reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s trends. Any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the NHS Find a dentist website in relation to information on accepting new NHS patients to remove the selectable option of When availability allows and instead replace it with options of either Yes or No.

National Health Service dentists are required to update their NHS website profiles at least every 90 days to ensure patients have up-to-date information on where they can access care. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. The NHS.UK website was updated in April 2024 to include the ‘when availability allows’ option to reflect that the availability of appointments may change over time, which is more reflective of the way NHS dentists work.Integrated care boards can review which practices in their area have not updated their profile in a 90-day period, and work with practices to ensure that their websites are up to date.Patients in England are not registered with an NHS dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing listed building owners to install uPVC double glazing to improve energy efficiency.

Changes to improve the energy efficiency of a listed building need to be sensitive to the character, appearance and specific characteristics of the building depending on individual circumstances. Listed buildings are generally exempt from energy efficiency requirements where compliance would unacceptably alter the character or appearance of the existing building. Further guidance on improving the energy efficiency of windows of listed buildings can be found on the Historic England website. Accompanying link: https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/retrofit-and-energy-efficiency-in-historic-buildings/modifying-windows-and-doors-in-historic-buildings/

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on the number of producers switching from glass to plastic packaging.

We have considered feedback from all material sectors, which has included including feedback from the glass sector on the risks of material switching towards plastic and fibre-based composite packaging. We have received limited evidence of decisions to investigate or implement switching. The evidence received indicates expected lead time for major products of at least one to two years to implement any decisions. We continue to engage with the glass sector on reuse which will bring environmental benefits and a reduction in EPR liabilities.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department undertook research on Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in other countries during the design of the proposed weight-related fee structure for his proposed scheme.

Defra has engaged with and sought to learn from a range of schemes in Europe and further afield in the design of our pEPR scheme, both in the development of policy and implementation of the scheme. As a result, our approach limits producers’ costs to those of efficient and effective collection systems and apportions these between materials based on the costs of their management using appropriate weight and volume-based metrics. This is in line with international good practice.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last raised the case of Alaa Abd El-Fattah with the Egyptian Government; and how often he has raised the case of Mr El-Fattah with that Government.

The UK Government continues to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian government. We have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access. The Prime Minister raised the case in a phone call with President Sisi on 28 February 2025 and previously wrote to President Sisi on 26 December 2024 and 8 January 2025. The Foreign Secretary has raised this case regularly with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, most recently on 23 January 2025. I raised the case with the Egyptian Ambassador to London on 18 February 2025. The National Security Adviser also raised the case with Foreign Minister Abdelatty in a phone call on 2 March.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of managed realignment in the shore management plan on coastal (a) businesses and (b) facilities.

We are committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood and coastal erosion risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future. Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) are developed and owned by the local councils and coastal protection authorities. These provide long-term strategic plans which identify approaches for managing the flood and coastal erosion risks at every stretch of coastline. SMPs have recently been refreshed with updated action plans. This follows several years of collaborative work between the Environment Agency and coastal groups. The recently updated National Coastal Erosion Risk Map for England (NCERM) provides the most up to date national picture of current and future coastal erosion risk for England. This is based on a further ten years of coastal monitoring data, the latest climate change evidence and technical input from coastal local authorities. It will support and inform local decision making.

If she will take steps to ensure that funding allocated through the National Wealth Fund provides effective support to different port requirements.

I refer the member to the answer given to UIN 38914 on 20 March 2025.

What steps she is taking to ensure that funding for port infrastructure through the National Wealth Fund is allocated according to the needs of each region.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has financial capacity totaling £27.8 billion, of which at least £5.8 billion will be committed over this Parliament to the five priority sectors that the Chancellor announced at the International Investment Summit, including ports. This capital will be targeted into investable projects that meet the NWF’s investment criteria and mandate – driving growth, clean energy and creating the jobs of the future. The NWF will support regional and local strategies with advisory and lending support throughout the investment cycle to deliver on local priorities. In doing so, the NWF will act in partnership with central government, local government, and other public bodies, to help identify and deliver the right support for projects.

What her Department's timeline is for the allocation of funding to ports through the National Wealth Fund.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has financial capacity totaling £27.8 billion, of which at least £5.8 billion will be committed over this Parliament to the five priority sectors that the Chancellor announced at the International Investment Summit, including ports. This capital will be targeted into investable projects that meet the NWF’s investment criteria and mandate – driving growth, clean energy and creating the jobs of the future. The NWF will support regional and local strategies with advisory and lending support throughout the investment cycle to deliver on local priorities. In doing so, the NWF will act in partnership with central government, local government, and other public bodies, to help identify and deliver the right support for projects.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to reconstitute the Islands Forum.

My department is continuing to work closely with other UK Government departments to determine the future of the forum, which we will communicate in due course.