Written questions by Robertson.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher business rates multiplier on larger stores.

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 steps her Department is taking to provide longer-term support for local services via the Household Support Fund.

This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty across the UK. That is why we are providing £742 million in England to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will enable Local Authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience. To support Local Authorities, we have clarified what is meant by both crisis and preventative support, updating the schemes’ objectives to include both types of support, and providing definitions and examples of each eligible spend category in the guidance. We encourage Local Authorities to consider how their provision of crisis support could have a longer-term, sustainable impact, and to offer some level of preventative support to stop vulnerable households from falling into, or falling further into, crisis.

How frequently performance management statistics are (a) reviewed and (b) reported in the civil service.

Departments are responsible for collating, and monitoring their performance management. For Senior Civil Service, this is normally collated annually. For grades below the Senior Civil Service (SCS), each department has delegated responsibility for monitoring and reporting via their internal governance arrangements. The Civil Service People Survey, which is reported annually, captures data on civil servants’ views on the performance management systems in their department. In March, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced that the Government will be strengthening performance processes for the SCS.

What data his Department collects on the outcomes of performance management procedures.

Cabinet Office staff, except those on career breaks or new joiners, are allocated a performance marking at mid-year and end of the year. All line managers are instructed to upload these performance markings onto our HR system, which is called SOP. In March, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also announced that the Government will be strengthening performance processes for the SCS.

Whether she plans to extend universal free school meals to children in (a) Isle of Wight East constituency and (b) other areas of high child poverty.

The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child, having inherited a trend of rising child poverty. That is why the government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. Additionally, the government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to set children up for the day and ensure they are ready to learn, while supporting parents and carers to work.The department spends around £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school pupils under benefits-based free school meals, over 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education, and around 1.3 million infants under universal infant free school meals. On the Isle of Wight, 24.7% benefit from free school meals.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) the sparsity factor and (b) other elements of the national funding formula in supporting small rural schools.

The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.Schools attract sparsity funding through the NFF if they are both small and remote. In this calculation, the size of the school is calculated on the basis of the average year group size in the school. To measure a school’s remoteness, the department uses data on the pupils for whom that school is their nearest ‘compatible’ school, in terms of, for example, the correct phase of education. We then look at how far each of those pupils lives from their second nearest compatible school. Further details on this calculation are published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/674ed7f48b522bba9d991a75/Schools_block_NFF_technical_note.pdf.Eligible primary schools will attract up to £57,400, and all other schools will attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26.All small schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2025/26, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £145,100. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.

How the sparsity factor in the national funding formula is (a) calculated and (b) applied to small rural schools for 2025-26.

The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.Schools attract sparsity funding through the NFF if they are both small and remote. In this calculation, the size of the school is calculated on the basis of the average year group size in the school. To measure a school’s remoteness, the department uses data on the pupils for whom that school is their nearest ‘compatible’ school, in terms of, for example, the correct phase of education. We then look at how far each of those pupils lives from their second nearest compatible school. Further details on this calculation are published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/674ed7f48b522bba9d991a75/Schools_block_NFF_technical_note.pdf.Eligible primary schools will attract up to £57,400, and all other schools will attract up to £83,400, in sparsity funding in 2025/26.All small schools have benefited from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2025/26, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £145,100. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is unrelated to pupil-led factors. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the closure of small village schools on the sustainability of rural communities.

The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the particular challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor. This recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools, and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve.There is a presumption against the closure of all rural maintained schools and departmental guidance states that both the department and the local authority need to agree the closure of a rural academy. Rural schools are at the heart of their communities, and we expect all proposers to have regard to alternatives to closure first.The presumption against closure does not mean that rural schools will never close, but it does ensure that the case for closure is strong and that the proposals are clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area. Even in a rural authority, there will be cases where redeploying resources currently allocated to a small school is judged appropriate to provide a richer educational experience for all young people in the area. Nevertheless, the case must be clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.

Whether external (a) firms and (b) individuals were hired for the Great British Energy logo redesign.

Great British Energy’s branding and logo were developed in-house with government resources.

How many applications for project licences to use animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were approved on average in each week in 2024.

In 2024, on average 17 applications for project licences to use animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were approved each week.The Government publishes extensive guidance for the regulated sector on applying for project licences. Applications are internally reviewed by an establishment’s Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body before being submitted to the Regulator for assessment. Licence applications are then assessed by Inspectors; this includes conducting a harm-benefit assessment to determine whether the programme of work is favourable and meets the requirements of ASPA. A licence is only granted where this is deemed to be the case.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 31403 on Animal Experiments: Licensing, when that project licence application was refused; for what reason it was refused; and what the intended purpose of the project licence was.

The project licence refused by the animals in science Regulator in November 2024 was for training and educational purposes. It was refused due to the existence of a scientifically satisfactory alternative.The structuring of the application process means that the number of applications refused is not an indicator for the robustness of the regulatory regime. The Government publishes extensive guidance for the regulated sector on applying for project licences.

What the cost was of redesigning the Great British Energy logo (a) in total, (b) for design, (c) for consultancy and (d) for legal fees.

Great British Energy’s branding and logo were developed in-house and with government resources. The only external costs were for legal advice and fees to trademark the branding. This was £10,710 plus VAT.

How many (a) inspectors were responsible for assessing project licence applications and (b) project licence applications were approved for licences to use animals under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 in 2024.

The number of staff that are employed to process and issue project licences in the Home Office Regulator, under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, are published in the Regulator's annual report accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports.In 2024, the Regulator had 12 Inspectors and 472 project licence applications were approved.The Regulator is currently undertaking a structured programme of reforms. This will increase the total number of Inspectors to 22 by end of 2025. The Regulator will then operate a flexibly resourced licensing function and allocate resource according to demand.

What guidance he has issued on publishing (a) details of individual helicopter flights under £25,000 in value on gov.uk and (b) the total annual spend on helicopter flights by (i) each Department and (ii) all Departments.

As was the case under the previous administration, data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings-july-to-september-2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34448, on Ministers: Helicopters, how much of the post-4 July Ministerial expenditure to date relates to helicopter travel (a) before 1 January 2024 and (b) after 1 January 2025.

All expenditure relates to the period 4 July to 31 December 2024. There has been no Ministerial expenditure on helicopter transport since 1 January 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of (a) 28 February 2025, to Question 31166 and (b) 5 March 2025 to Question 34449, on Ministers: Aviation, if he will list the number of individual journeys that aggregates to the £4,282 cost.

Between 5 July and 31 December 2024 there were 36 tasks relating to Ministers who travelled on the RAF Envoy.It has been the practice of successive administrations not to publish granular information relating to the official movements of Ministers and those accompanying them within the United Kingdom. Information about official overseas Ministerial travel is published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.

Pursuant to (a) the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34453 on Prime Minister: Aviation and (b) his letter to the hon. Member for Isle of Wight East of 13 March 2025 on helicopter travel, if he will publish an aggregate figure for the total cost of the Prime Minister’s domestic air travel since 4 July 2024 that does not reveal granular movements.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 6 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 34453.

What information his Department holds on the number of civil service employees under performance management procedures.

Performance management is managed by individual departments, meaning this information is not held centrally. In March, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced that the Government will be strengthening performance processes for the SCS.

What data his Department holds on the average duration that civil service employees remain under performance management before a resolution is reached.

Performance management is managed by individual departments, meaning this information is not held centrally. In March, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced that the Government will be strengthening performance processes for the SCS.

Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on the number of pensioners who (a) are in poverty and (b) rely on free terrestrial television to watch TV.

The department does not currently hold data that combines TV distribution method, age and poverty. DCMS is currently undertaking a project to evaluate the future distribution of television over the next decade. This project will continue to consider the impact of any decision on potentially vulnerable groups.