Written questions by Robertson.

For what reason her Department funds electric vehicles through the Motability scheme.

The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and whilst we are responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme, we do not fund vehicles, be they electric or otherwise. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department does not hold data on the Motability fleet of cars. Questions about the operations of the Motability Foundation should be addressed to the Foundation.

Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department quantifies compliance costs for new regulations.

‘’Compliance costs” are the costs of complying with government regulation. These will typically include familiarisation costs, costs relating to monitoring or data reporting, and costs related to inspections where relevant. When analysing impacts on businesses of any new or amended policy, Defra complies with the Better Regulation Framework alongside HMT’s Green Book and Magenta Book principles.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to conduct a review of environmental compliance obligations.

Defra complies with the Better Regulation Framework alongside HMT’s Green Book and Magenta Book principles. Where required, Defra will conduct post implementation reviews (PIRs) of legislation.The Chancellor’s Action Plan, published 17 March 2025, is supported by Defra. In that plan we have already committed to take actions relating to environmental and planning regulation, amongst other things. We want to ensure our regulatory system becomes more flexible, coherent and innovation-friendly to support new infrastructure and development, whilst upholding our protections for the environment and local communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department includes indirect business losses when estimating compliance costs.

“Compliance costs” are the costs of complying with government regulation. When analysing impacts on businesses of any new or amended policy, Defra complies with the Better Regulation Framework alongside HMT’s Green Book and Magenta Book principles. We do not routinely consider indirect costs to business as this is not a requirement of the Framework.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department maintains records of compliance costs for agricultural regulations.

Costs of compliance for regulations are assessed through Impact Assessments when regulations are introduced according to the Better Regulation Framework. Defra regulators carry out regular monitoring and evaluation of regulations to understand their effectiveness.

Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department validates estimates of compliance costs provided by regulated industries.

“Compliance costs” are the costs of complying with government regulation. These will typically include familiarisation costs, costs relating to monitoring or data reporting, and costs related to inspections where relevant. When analysing impacts on businesses of any new or amended policy, Defra complies with the Better Regulation Framework alongside HMT’s Green Book and Magenta Book principles. Where required, Defra will conduct post implementation reviews (PIRs) of legislation.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce compliance costs for agricultural subsidies.

“Compliance costs” are the costs of complying with Government regulation. Our Environmental Land Management Schemes provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security, support productivity and build resilience to climate change. Participation in these schemes is discretionary, and so they do not of themselves carry compliance costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) monitor and (b) reduce compliance costs for fisheries regulations.

Costs of compliance for regulations are assessed through Impact Assessments when regulations are introduced according to the Better Regulation Framework. Defra regulators keep all regulations under review to understand their effectiveness. We are also mindful of the desire of the fishing industry to have bespoke regulation, appropriate for the stocks and circumstances. This can add complexity and costs, something we are considering as we develop and implement Fisheries Management Plans.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department maintains accurate records of compliance costs for agricultural regulations.

Costs of compliance for regulations are assessed through Impact Assessments when regulations are introduced according to the Better Regulation Framework. Defra regulators carry out regular monitoring and evaluation of regulations to understand their effectiveness.

What the total expenditure on electric vehicles through the Motability scheme was in the most recent year for which data is available.

The Department works closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. Motability Foundation is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations. The Department does not hold figures on the expenditure on electric vehicles provided through the Motability Scheme

Whether the review of postgraduate medical training will be carried out in full.

The postgraduate medical training review announced by the Chief Medical Officer for England and National Medical Director of NHS England is underway and on track. NHS England launched an extensive engagement and listening exercise to consider the future of postgraduate medical training in February 2025. This engagement exercise will run through to June, with findings evaluated and reported in the summer.

Whether she plans to amend local housing allowance rates to reflect actual rental market costs (a) on the Isle of Wight and (b) in other areas.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed annually, usually at an Autumn fiscal event. Rates are set based on the area of the country a person lives and their bedroom entitlementThe Secretary of State’s decision at last year’s Autumn Budget to maintain LHA rates at current levels for 2025/26 considered a range of factors including: rental data in areas across the country, the impacts of LHA rates, the challenging fiscal environment and the rate increases the previous April which cost an additional £7bn over 5 years.Any future decisions on the LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the fiscal context. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.

Whether she plans to (a) review and (b) adjust the national funding formula to reflect additional (i) staffing, (ii) maintenance, (iii) transport and (iv) other costs for small rural schools.

The 2025/26 schools national funding formula (NFF) uses the same factors as the 2024/25 NFF. This continuity from the previous year minimises disruption to local authorities and schools.The government is undertaking a review of the schools NFF to consider potential changes for 2026/27 and future years, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed. The department will consider the operation of the ‘sparsity’ factor, which targets revenue funding for small and rural schools, as part of that review.Funding for capital expenditure sits outside of the NFF. The department expects responsible bodies, such as local authorities, multi-academy trusts, and dioceses, to ensure that their schools are well maintained. In addition to the schools NFF, responsible bodies, such as local authorities and academy trusts, have access to capital funding each year to improve the condition of their buildings through either a school condition allocation or the Condition Improvement Fund. Schools are also directly allocated devolved formula capital funding which allows schools to invest in small-scale capital projects. Capital funding to improve the condition of the school estate is increasing to £2.1 billion for the2025/26 financial year, up from £1.8 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.Funding for pupils’ home to school transport is also outside of the schools NFF, which is funded through the local government finance settlement, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s allocations to local authorities.

What steps he is taking to reduce the use of temporary care environments in patient care.

The Government recognises that long waits in accident and emergency departments are unacceptable and lead to worse patient outcomes. Patients should expect and receive the highest standard of service, and we are determined to tackle the issue of corridor care.NHS England published guidance in September 2024 regarding the use of temporary escalation spaces, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/principles-for-providing-safe-and-good-quality-care-in-temporary-escalation-spaces/In January 2025, the NHS England mandate and operational planning guidance for 2025/26 were published. These set out the priorities and actions to be taken to reform and improve urgent and emergency care services. This includes increasing the proportion of patients admitted, discharged, and transferred from emergency departments within 12 hours across 2025/26 compared to 2024/25.We will shortly set out the further improvements and actions to be taken to support urgent and emergency care services this year.

What estimate she has made of the number of shops with increased business rates under proposed reforms to that system.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What (a) financial and (b) other support her Department provides to local authorities to help maintain small rural schools.

I refer the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 40354.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the Autumn Budget 2024 and (b) Extended Producer Responsibility on inflation in 2025.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publish their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) where they assess inflation, including the impact of policy. In their October 2024 EFO they assessed policies announced at Autumn Budget 2024. Since then, they have released an updated forecast on 26th March, this forecast takes Government policy, regulation, and external factors into account as well. There is an impact assessment of the Extended Producer Responsibility system published, where the systems impact on inflation can be found. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/623efc968fa8f5276d1f9ec0/epr-final-impact-assessment.pdf

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of publishing year-round data on the number of patients treated in temporary care environments.

We continue to keep the data which is available and published to support improvements to urgent and emergency care services under review.NHS England has been working with trusts since last year to put in place new reporting arrangements related to the use of temporary escalation spaces, like corridors, in order to drive improvement. Subject to a review of data quality, this information will be published later this year, and we will consider how this data could be published on a more regular basis.

If she will ensure that the proposed higher business rates multiplier for properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more is index-linked.

The Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.

If his Department will conduct a value for money assessment of the funding provided as part of the Motability Scheme.

The Motability Scheme is open to claimants who are in receipt of an eligible benefit. If a claimant elects to join the Scheme, the Department directly transfers the mobility allowance to Motability Operations on behalf of the eligible claimant. The Motability Scheme does not receive any direct funding from the Department for Work and Pensions. A range of external bodies scrutinised the Scheme between 2018 and 2020, and the Government responded to each of the reports. The Motability Foundation is independent of government, and regulated by the Charity Commission, so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme. The department does however work closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. Department officials have regular meetings with Motability and will continue to do so.As the Minister for Social Security and Disability, I met with Motability Foundation in November 2024 to discuss the Scheme and its strategic objectives.