Written questions by Brown-Fuller.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the support available to schools for hockey provision.

Schools play a vital role in giving many pupils their first experience of playing sport, including hockey, in a structured and inclusive environment. This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that every child can access high quality physical education and school sport.That is why, in June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced a new approach to PE and school sport, focused on building strong partnerships between schools, local clubs and National Governing Bodies of sport, such as England Hockey, to support greater participation and physical activity.National Governing Bodies provide valuable resources, workforce development and teacher support to help schools deliver high‑quality sporting opportunities, both within the PE curriculum and through enrichment activity. The department is preparing to procure a national partner to lead the new PE and School Sport Partnerships, which will provide an opportunity to regularly assess the adequacy of support available to schools across PE and school sport, including hockey provision.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the feasibility and ecological impact of reintroducing the Eurasian lynx to woodland areas in England.

Defra has not undertaken any formal assessment of the feasibility and ecological impact of reintroducing the Eurasian lynx to woodland areas in England.

With reference to SEND reforms, what assessment she has made of the potential administrative burden on teachers under the new system.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Whether his Department has explored the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in electrocardiogram (ECG) diagnostics.

Most modern electrocardiogram (ECG) machines already include algorithm-based decision support to assist with interpretation and to generate an automated report. As with all diagnostic tests, any automated output must be interpreted by a suitably qualified clinician in the context of the individual patient’s clinical presentation. The Government is engaging with partners developing enhanced ECG technologies, to support wider adoption as evidence and readiness allow.

With reference to SEND reforms, what provisions will be made for home-educated children with SEND and children with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA).

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

In the context of SEND reforms, how her Department plans to implement identification of special education needs in children younger than five years old; and how early intervention will be enacted.

We are consulting on proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities system, including strengthening early identification and support in early years settings. We also propose introducing a fast track for a Specialist Provision Package for children under 5 whose needs are complex and identified at an early stage and to work with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England on these proposals, including improving information sharing between health professionals and local authorities.We have already made the commitment that Every Best Start Family Hub will have a Best Start Inclusion Practitioner, who is a dedicated professional who works across hubs and outreach sites to support early identification and support children with emerging needs, particularly those aged 0 to 5.Together, these reforms will mean children’s needs will be identified earlier, gaps will be closed sooner, and more children will make strong progress in line with our Best Start in Life ambition.

Whether support is available to rural households and businesses reliant on LPG in addition to the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) is available in England to support low-income households reliant on LPG who are facing a crisis and need immediate financial support. It is for local authorities to determine individual need and the most appropriate form of support, using a person centred, needs based approach in line with the Fund’s guidance. The CRF does not offer business support.

What assessment he has made of the impact of the Steel Strategy on the wider UK steel supply chain, including downstream manufacturers and fabricators.

This Government recognises the distinct value of downstream users, including in the manufacturing supply chain, alongside the importance of maintaining a resilient domestic steel sector.We continue to engage extensively with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade measure on 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of empty properties in Chichester constituency.

Statistics on empty properties in England are published annually and can be found on gov.uk. Data on vacant homes is not broken down by constituency. Housing policy is a devolved matter, so information for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is held by the respective devolved administrations.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of empty properties there are in the UK.

Statistics on empty properties in England are published annually and can be found on gov.uk. Data on vacant homes is not broken down by constituency. Housing policy is a devolved matter, so information for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is held by the respective devolved administrations.

What estimate she has made on the cost of removing VAT on the renovation of unoccupied properties.

The Government recognises the importance of reusing existing housing stock to deliver new homes. To support this, residential renovations are subject to a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent if they meet certain conditions. These include the renovation of properties that have been empty for two or more years. HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs where possible in its annual tax reliefs publication. The latest tax relief statistics publication and further information about how HMRC estimate the cost of tax reliefs can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs/tax-relief-statistics-january-2026.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of properties that have had planning permission for over six months yet no building work has yet commenced.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 122315 on 1 April 2026.

Whether her Department plans to expand supported internships to further education students on individual support plans.

The department is consulting on proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, and you can access the consultation here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/. We are considering the impact of the proposed reforms on specific programmes including supported internships.We are already piloting supported internships for young people with SEND who do not have education, health and care plans. We have seen positive outcomes from the pilot and have recently announced that we are investing £9 million to continue this for a further year. The pilot is being evaluated and this learning will inform future policy development.Supported Internships remain a proven pathway to employment for young people furthest from the labour market, with thousands of high-quality opportunities now available across the country with a range of employers, following significant investment.

What assessment he has made of the level of support available to children with situational mutism in Chichester constituency.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

When self-referral to community audiologists will be enabled on the NHS app.

The Government is committed to enabling patients to access digital health and care services to manage their health. As part of its work to support self-referral services for National Health Service patients in the musculoskeletal community, the Government is assessing how to develop these services for other communities, including those of audiologists. Work is expected to take place this financial year and will consider whether the NHS App is the best mechanism for self-referral.

What steps her Department is being taken to accelerate the Priority Service for employers and employees using the Certificate of Sponsorship Scheme.

Priority Service decisions are typically made within five working days once payment is received, significantly faster than our current service level agreement for standard applications.This expedites requests for additional undefined certificate of sponsorship (CoS) allocations and annual CoS allocation changes and we have already this year increased the availability of the priority service by 20% with a view to increasing further throughout the financial year.

What steps she is taking to ensure that card payment processing fees do not disproportionately burden small and independent traders.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all. There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/ The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs. This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.

What assessment he has made of whether current guidance provides sufficient detail to ensure consistent interpretation of Special Rules for End of Life eligibility criteria across clinical settings.

The Government undertook a comprehensive review of the Special Rules for End of Life in 2020. Following that review, legislation was amended in 2022 and 2023, with cross party support, to extend eligibility so that people who might have 12 months or less to live can access fast tracked support. This replaced the previous 6-month definition and is aligned with the approach used in current NHS practice for defining end of life. Guidance was updated alongside these legislative changes to support consistent interpretation across clinical settings and to ensure clinicians are supported by a definition that reflects established NHS practice. Aligning the definition with the NHS helps provide greater clarity and confidence for clinicians when providing evidence, while recognising the inherent difficulty of providing precise prognostic estimates Clinical evidence to support a claim under the Special Rules for End of Life is usually provided through the SR1 form (which can be found by searching for ‘Send an SR1 medical evidence form’ on GOV.UK). The SR1 is a short medical evidence form which can be completed by an approved clinician and provides clinical confirmation that a person is likely to have 12 months or less to live, which allows the Department to apply the Special Rules for End of Life The Department keeps the operation of the Special Rules under review and is committed to continuous improvement. We work closely with clinicians and stakeholder organisations to gather feedback on guidance and processes. Current work is focused on reviewing and improving the SR1 digital portal to make it easier and quicker for clinicians to submit evidence, supporting timely and consistent decision making for people nearing the end of life.

If she will support the emerging wine and wine tourism industry in Chichester by reducing taxes on produce sold to visitors on site.

The Government has no current plans to make changes to the alcohol duty system that was introduced in 2023 following extensive public consultation. The Government will progress its existing commitment to evaluate the impacts of the 2023 reforms and, as with all taxes, alcohol duty will be kept under review as part of the Budget process.

What assessment he has made of the impact of mandatory Advice and Guidance requirements on ensuring that appropriate referrals for endometriosis are not delayed or blocked.

The GP Contract does not mandate the use of Advice and Guidance (A&G) in all circumstances. Instead, as per the Medium-Term Planning Framework published in October 2025, providers are expected to prioritise A&G prior to or in place of a planned care referral for at least ten specialties, selected locally for greatest overall benefit and to shape delivery of elective pathways. General practice should be involved in discussions to decide on which ten specialties are the most appropriate. This does not take away a GP’s right to refer, which remains a matter of clinical judgement. This reflects longstanding planned‑care referral practice and does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks for GPs.A&G is designed to support quicker, clearer clinical decision making, by enabling GPs and specialists to discuss and agree the most appropriate next steps for a patient, including those with or suspected to have endometriosis. Where the outcome of advice is for care management in the community, we expect patients to be seen more quickly, closer to home, benefiting from earlier specialist input. In these cases, the GP may still subsequently refer their patient at any point if they have concerns.The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy commits to speeding up diagnosis and access to treatment for women with endometriosis. The strategy announces a new programme to improve education for girls about their menstrual health, investing an additional £1 million to support targeted work in schools and community settings to support girls’ knowledge about menstrual health and when to seek healthcare. This is an important factor to delays in diagnosis and treatment for endometriosis.