Written questions by Riddell-Carpenter.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to Landfill Tax on the competitiveness and viability of the UK foundry sector; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that any changes do not disproportionately affect small and medium-sized foundries.

The Government recognises the importance of businesses in the foundry sector, which employ thousands of people across the UK and support critical supply chains. The Government has listened to concerns from businesses and announced at Budget 2025 that it will not proceed with the plan to converge towards a single rate of Landfill Tax. Instead, the Government intends to prevent the gap between the two rates from widening further over the coming years. The Government has also decided not to remove key exemptions to Landfill Tax including the water discounting scheme and Qualifying Fines regime, and is committed to continuing to work with businesses to develop new solutions that enable them to recycle more of the waste they produce.

With reference to Section 159 of the Energy Act 2023, when he plans to launch the consultation on technical issues for the proposed renewable liquid heating fuel obligation.

The government has published a consultation on alternative heating solutions which seeks to gather evidence on the role that these technologies could play in ensuring that every household has a low-carbon option that is right for them. The consultation will run until 10 February and can be found here: Exploring the role of alternative clean heating solutions - GOV.UK. The government will consider the evidence from this consultation before making any decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels in heating, including through an obligation.

What recent assessment he has made of the impact of underage access to vape products on young people’s health.

The health advice is clear, that whilst vapes can be an effective quit aid for adult smokers, children and young people should never vape. The leading health risk to children and young people from vaping is nicotine addiction, and evidence suggests that young people may be more susceptible to the effects of nicotine. There are also potential health risks associated with the other ingredients in vapes which when overheated may produce toxic compounds. Vaping is associated with health problems such as asthma, coughing, and poor mental health, and is linked to other risky behaviours, such as drug use. Evidence on the longer-term health effects of vaping are still emerging. To address this, the Government is progressing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill through Parliament, which includes a package of measures that will protect young people from the known and emerging harms of nicotine and vaping products. To better understand the longer-term effects of vaping on young people, the Government has commissioned a significant package of research including a £62 million research project funded by UK Research and Innovation.

What steps his Department is taking to strengthen trading standards enforcement against rogue high street traders.

Trading Standards are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government and make enforcement decisions according to local need. The department continues to engage with Trading Standards and supports their efforts and work in tackling rogue high street traders.

Whether her Department has considered amending the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to allow county councils to issue closure notices and apply directly for closure orders.

The closure power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, enables police or local councils to quickly close premises which are causing or likely to cause nuisance or disorder.County councils may already issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area.This Goverment keeps all legislative options under review.

What steps he is taking to improve coordination between NHS mental health services and criminal justice agencies.

Together with NHS England, we are committed to continuing to work in partnership to improve services to ensure that people in contact with the criminal justice system have access to timely and effective mental health care that is tailored to their needs. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in February 2023 and is supported by robust governance and regular ministerial engagement between Departments.The National Partnership Agreement sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care that improves health outcomes for people in prison and those subject to supervision by the probation service in the community. This ensures a coordinated approach between health and justice partners to improve health outcomes for those in contact with the justice system.To improve continuity of care and swift access to treatment on release, we have recruited over 67 Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators who strengthen healthcare pathways and bolster support, including for those on Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs), by building partnerships between prison, probation and treatment providers. NHS England’s RECONNECT service also supports prison leavers with identified health needs, to engage with the right health services in the community. Services work with people up to 12 weeks before release, and 6 months post-release.Our ongoing partnership with NHSE has achieved an increase in the number of MHTRs, with the number of people sentenced to MHTRs now more than five times higher than it was a decade ago, up from 960 in 2014 to 4,880 in 2024.We are committed to continuing to work with our health partners to provide effective, coordinated services for those with a mental health need.

What specialist mental health support is available to children experiencing parental alienation.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country and deliver timely, efficient care for children and young people, including children affected by parental alienation.As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating.

Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing councils to take more rapid action to shut down shops repeatedly found to be trading illegally.

The government is committed to taking further action against illicit activity on high streets. There has already been a significant crackdown on illegal working, raising enforcement activity to the highest levels in recorded history. The 2025 Budget provided £15 million per year for a range of additional interventions, including an uplift in funding for Trading Standards and a cross-government taskforce to better understand and disrupt criminality on our high streets. Alongside this, our Pride in Place Programme will give local communities greater control to influence the make-up of their high streets, and support communities to take ownership of shops and key assets. These measures build on existing powers to ensure that high streets remain safe, vibrant, and welcoming for consumers and legitimate businesses.

How many retailers have been prosecuted for the sale of non-compliant or illegal vaping products in each of the last five years in (a) Suffolk Coastal, (b) Suffolk and (c) East Anglia.

The Home Office does not hold information on prosecutions for the sale of illegal vaping products as the prosecuting authority for such offences is primarily local authority Trading Standards departments.

What steps he is taking to improve the identification of mental health needs among people entering the criminal justice system.

We are committed to diverting offenders with mental health, substance misuse, and other vulnerabilities away from prison or out of the criminal justice system altogether, where appropriate.NHS Liaison and Diversion services identify people who have mental health, learning disability, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants or offenders.Mental health screening also takes place when someone is detained in prison, as set out in the National Health Service service specification for health care in prisons. As part of the formal prisoner induction process, all prisoners must undergo health screening that incorporates a mental health assessment. This is an essential standard under the specification.

What steps she is taking to support local police forces to tackle illegal traders on high streets across Suffolk Coastal.

Trading Standards services are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government. It is for those local teams to work together with local partners, including operationally independent police forces, to decide how they can work together most effectively to tackle illegal trading.The Government continues to prioritise boosting visible local policing. As part of this Government’s Safer Streets Mission, we are restoring neighbourhood policing. We are also ensuring that every community has named, contactable, officers dedicated to tackling the issues facing their communities, strengthening the connections between the police and the local communities they serve.Against the ambitions set out in the Plan for Change, we expect the growth of neighbourhood policing personnel by up to 3,000 full-time equivalent by March 2026 and a further 1,750 FTE in 2026-27, bringing total neighbourhood policing growth to 4,750 FTE by March 2027. For Year two of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant in 2026-27, £363 million has been ringfenced to incentivise forces to grow their neighbourhood policing teams. Suffolk Constabulary will be expected to deliver their share of the national target. Their target figure will be confirmed in due course.Total funding to police forces in England and Wales will be up to £18.4 billion in 2026-27, an increase of up to £796 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. Suffolk Police will receive up to £192.9 million in 2026-27, which is an increase of £8.6 million (4.7%) on the previous year.

How many trading standards inspections of high street shops took place in the last 12 months in (a) Suffolk Coastal, (b) Suffolk and (c) East Anglia.

The Department for Business and Trade does not hold this information. Trading Standards inspections are the responsibility of individual Local Authorities.

What steps he is taking to ensure timely access to mental health support for children and parents affected by family breakdown and parental alienation.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including for children and parents affected by family breakdown and parental alienation. This includes transforming mental health services into 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres, improving assertive outreach, expanding talking therapies, and giving patients better access to 24/7 support directly through the NHS App. The 10-Year Health Plan will build on the work that has already begun to bring down waiting lists. This includes providing mental health support for almost one million more young people in school this year and an extra £688 million in Government funding this year to transform mental health services, specifically to hire more staff, deliver more early interventions, and get waiting lists down. This plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by continuing to roll out mental health support teams in schools and colleges, to reach full national coverage by 2029. We are also expanding NHS Talking Therapies so that 915,000 people complete a course of treatment by March 2029, with improved effectiveness and quality of services. We will also expand Individual Placement and Support for severe mental illness so that 73,500 people receive access by March 2028.

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on recognising parental alienation as a form of emotional harm to children.

The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not believe it is capable of diagnosis.The Family Justice Council has published guidance on “responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour”. The guidance provides a clear framework for assessing whether alienating behaviours are present. The guidance is clear that where the court finds that domestic abuse has occurred then the child’s rejection of the parent is appropriate and justified.Cafcass practitioners receive mandatory training on alienating behaviours. Cafcass’ training programme includes training on the domestic abuse practice policy (introduced in 2024) and on indicators of understanding why a child does not want to spend family time with a parent guide, including due to alienating behaviours. The training policy and guide make clear that the first step in assessing the reasons for a child not wanting to see a parent is to consider whether domestic abuse is a factor so that Cafcass practitioners can explore the pattern of behaviours in the safest context.

What funding his Department has allocated to mental health services for people in the criminal justice system in the current financial year and the previous five financial years; and how that funding has been distributed in (a) England and (b) Suffolk and Norfolk.

The information requested is not held centrally. NHS England commissions healthcare services in every prison in England, and funding for mental health services for individuals within the criminal justice system is embedded within wider service contracts. These include services such as RECONNECT and Liaison and Diversion, and the specific expenditure on mental health within these services is not collected.

Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative changes to strengthen local enforcement powers before the introduction of unitary local government arrangements.

Local authorities currently exercise a range of enforcement powers across different functions, reflecting the services they deliver. The Government has no plans to amend these powers in connection with local government reorganisation. Where councils are reorganised, continuity regulations made under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 ensure that all existing powers transfer to new unitary authorities.

(a) whether he is aware of reports that some motor insurers refuse cover to individuals on joining the Armed Forces and (b) what steps he is taking to address this.

Under the Armed Forces Covenant, organisations are encouraged to make voluntary pledges to support Service personnel, Veterans and their families. However, insurance provision is a matter for private companies, and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not have the authority to direct or mandate their commercial decisions. The MOD continues to engage with industry and promote best practice through the Covenant framework of voluntary pledges and the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, encouraging businesses to remove barriers and ensure fair treatment for the Armed Forces community. The MOD does not provide financial or legal advice, and neither can we take responsibility for individual financial decisions. Personnel who require such advice are directed by their Unit HR staffs to a list of Services Insurance and Investment Advisory Panel (SIIAP) approved independent financial advisers. However, personnel are, of course, free to use the services of any independent financial adviser.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the fairness and proportionality of penalty charges issued for non-payment of drop-off fees at UK airports; and whether she plans to review the current 24-hour payment window.

Most airports in the UK are managed and operated as private businesses, and the provision and charging of car parking at airports (including payment windows) is a matter for the airport operator as a commercial business to manage and justify. Any issue relating to car parking charges should be raised with the airport operator directly.However, the Department expects car parking at airports to be managed appropriately and for consumers to be treated fairly, which could include providing information on choices for parking, along with information on how to access them.

What assessment she has made on whether current enforcement powers available to county council Trading Standards services are sufficient to tackle illegal and illicit trading linked to organised crime on high streets.

The Government recognises the crucial role Trading Standards services play in tackling illegal and illicit trading on our high streets, including activity linked to organised crime.At the recent Budget, the Chancellor committed £30 million over the next three years to strengthen our response to high street criminality and ensure Trading Standards and partners have the tools and resources needed to identify and dismantle organised criminal networks operating on our high street. This includes establishing a cross-government taskforce to disrupt money laundering and related criminality, boosting Trading Standards capabilities, and funding at least 45 law enforcement officers.The taskforce will design systemic interventions to disrupt the threat and consider whether further legislative or operational changes – including in relation to local authorities – are necessary to further protect consumers and legitimate businesses.

Whether her Department is considering changes to postgraduate research funding eligibility for older learners as part of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

The lifelong learning entitlement (LLE) will deliver transformational change to the current student finance system by broadening access to high quality, flexible education and training.From January 2027, all undergraduate higher education courses, including integrated master’s courses, will be funded through the LLE. Tuition fee loans will be available for people up to the age of 60.The government will continue to provide a dedicated loan package for postgraduate study. The postgraduate master’s loan, administered by Student Finance England, currently provides up to £12,858 for tuition fees and living costs for eligible students.