Written questions by Robertson.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the introduction of meat-free Mondays in public sector canteens.

Defra welcomes innovations that increase customer choice around food served in public sector settings. Defra is responsible for the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services (GBSF) which apply to Government Departments and Agencies, Hospitals the military and prisons. These include rules for varying the types of food included on menus to ensure the nutritional needs of customers are met. However, we do not believe it is helpful to impose blanket menu restrictions on caterers: local canteen managers are better placed to decide what to serve, and when, based on local demand.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 19918 on Waste: Codes of Practice, if he will publish the responses to the consultation on making the Code of Practice statutory.

At this stage, the Government has not yet made an assessment of how it can further support local authorities to tackle litter. Any decisions or updates will be communicated in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 18950 on Planning Permission: Air Pollution, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) equality impact and (b) environmental principles assessments made in relation to the new interim guidance on the consideration of the Environment Act PM2.5 targets in planning decision.

The interim guidance on the consideration of the Environment Act PM2.5 targets in planning decisions aims to provide developers and planning authorities with clarity while Defra develops substantive technical guidance. As it is interim guidance, environmental principles assessments and full equality impact assessments were not required at this stage.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 14343 on Litter, if he will publish each response to the consultation on statutory litter enforcement guidance that closed in April 2024.

At this stage, the Government has not yet made an assessment of how it can further support local authorities to tackle litter. Any decisions or updates will be communicated in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 19922 on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, whether the Government has issued guidance on the issuing of fixed penalty notices for householders who leave items by the curtilage of their property to be given away and re-used.

We are considering whether further guidance is necessary with regards to fly-tipping enforcement. Any announcements on this will be made in the usual way.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 19922, on Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal, if he will take steps to ensure households are not fined for leaving items by the curtilage of their property to be given away and re-used.

We are considering whether further guidance is necessary with regards to fly-tipping enforcement. Any announcements on this will be made in the usual way.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of (a) 20 December 2024 to Question 19918 and (b) 3 January 2025 to Question 19918 on Waste: Codes of Practice, for what reason his Department has not issued the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse's enforcement guidance as statutory guidance.

At this stage, the Government has not yet made an assessment of how it can further support local authorities to tackle litter. Any decisions or updates will be communicated in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department holds data produced by WRAP on the number of containers required for waste and recycling collections by each waste collection authority.

No, Defra does not hold this data. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) collect local authority-reported data on dry recyclable and organic waste stream collection models, which is publicly available on WRAP’s local authority data portal.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department issues guidance to local authorities on the size of (a) household rubbish and (b) recycling bins.

No, Defra has not issued guidance on the size of household rubbish and recycling bins. Local authorities are best placed to determine the effective delivery of local services. Through Simpler Recycling, Government is providing the framework in which they do this and ensure that there is consistency in what is collected. The Government’s priority is ensuring that households’ needs are met, and we expect local authorities to continue to provide services to a reasonable standard, as they do now. Building on existing and new legal duties, Defra recently published non-statutory guidance on ensuring good waste collection services for households, which includes certain factors local authorities should consider when they review services, to ensure that reasonable standards are maintained. We are also working with sector specialists WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) to provide additional (non-statutory) guidance on best practice.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the policy paper entitled Simpler Recycling in England: policy update, published on 29 November 2024, what the evidential basis is for the statement that he inherited legislation that could have required households to have up to seven bins.

The Environment Act 2021 created a requirement for the six recyclable waste streams to be collected separately from each other and be re-collected separately from residual waste for all households in England. The Government has now laid regulations to streamline waste disposal so that all areas have the same rules to tackle the avalanche of rubbish communities are facing and clean up our streets for good.

What discussions he has had with (a) charitable organisations and (b) community groups on helping to (i) reduce pressure on mental health services and (ii) ensure comprehensive mental health support.

Ministers and departmental officials hold discussions regularly with stakeholders in the mental health sector on a range of mental health issues.

What steps he is taking the reduce the time taken for people to receive urgent mental health care.

It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. We are determined to change that.As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment which will also help ease pressure on busy mental health services.We are also committing £26 million in capital investment to open new mental health crisis centres, reducing pressure on busy emergency mental health and accident and emergency services and ensuring people have the support they need when they need it.Additionally, anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis can now to speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through a new mental health option on NHS 111.

What recent progress his Department has made on meeting the Mental Health Investment Standard; and how this is reflected in the funding allocated to mental health services in the NHS.

All integrated care boards met the Mental Health Investment Standard for 2023/24, meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Information for 2024/25 is expected to become available later this year. NHS England publishes new waiting time metrics in line with the clinical review of mental health access standards. These are published monthly via the mental health services data set, which delivers robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent, and comparable person-based information for children, young people, and adults who are in contact with mental health services. This dataset is also used to inform the NHS Mental Health Dashboard and provides transparency in assessing how National Health Service mental health services in England are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

What steps his Department is taking to measure the potential impact of the (a) amount and (b) distribution of funding for mental health services on the (i) quality and (ii) accessibility of those services for patients.

All integrated care boards met the Mental Health Investment Standard for 2023/24, meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Information for 2024/25 is expected to become available later this year. NHS England publishes new waiting time metrics in line with the clinical review of mental health access standards. These are published monthly via the mental health services data set, which delivers robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent, and comparable person-based information for children, young people, and adults who are in contact with mental health services. This dataset is also used to inform the NHS Mental Health Dashboard and provides transparency in assessing how National Health Service mental health services in England are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that increased funding for mental health services is (a) improving patient outcomes and (b) reducing waiting times.

All integrated care boards met the Mental Health Investment Standard for 2023/24, meaning that their investment in mental health services increased in line with their overall increase in funding for the year. Information for 2024/25 is expected to become available later this year. NHS England publishes new waiting time metrics in line with the clinical review of mental health access standards. These are published monthly via the mental health services data set, which delivers robust, comprehensive, nationally consistent, and comparable person-based information for children, young people, and adults who are in contact with mental health services. This dataset is also used to inform the NHS Mental Health Dashboard and provides transparency in assessing how National Health Service mental health services in England are performing, alongside technical details explaining how mental health services are funded and delivered.

What steps he is taking to ensure access to mental health services in (a) England, (b) areas with fewer mental health services and (c) rural areas.

Waiting lists for those referred for support are too high all across England, especially in areas with fewer mental health services, including for those in rural communities. People with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve or need, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health, so that people can be confident in accessing high quality mental health support when they need it.Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also introduce access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call 111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission. It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards to commission care to meet the needs of their local population.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations of the report entitled Our Future Homes: Housing that promotes wellbeing and community for an ageing population, published on 26 November 2024.

The government are giving careful consideration to the recommendations in the final report of the Older People’s Housing Taskforce. We are committed to enhancing provision and choice for older people in the housing market and we will continue to consider this issue as we develop our long-term housing strategy

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 20097 on Environment Agency: Motor Vehicles, whether livery expenditures are classified as (a) essential and (b) non-essential modifications; and how these classifications are determined.

The Environment Agency does not specify a colour for wheel lug nuts on its vehicles and does not cosmetically alter them. All wheel nuts on the Environment Agency’s commercial vehicles have plastic wheel nut indicators attached, which act as a safety feature to indicate if any wheel nuts have come lose. These plastic caps are yellow as standard but can be found in green or orange. Very occasionally, the Environment Agency uses red wheel nut indicators to indicate when a wheel has been changed but has not yet been torqued. All vehicles owned by the Environment Agency have Chapter 8 markings to comply with Department for Transport codes of practice. The Environment Agency logo is also added to owned vehicles; this is regarded as essential for any public serving organisation, particularly for vehicles being used to respond to incidents where the Environment Agency needs a physical presence. The Environment Agency cannot provide a breakdown of the costs of applying chapter 8 markings and logos. The Environment Agency does not have a specific budget allocated solely for vehicle branding.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 20098 on Environment Agency: Motor Vehicles, whether wheel lug nuts on Environment Agency vehicles are (a) painted and (b) otherwise cosmetically enhanced.

The Environment Agency does not specify a colour for wheel lug nuts on its vehicles and does not cosmetically alter them. All wheel nuts on the Environment Agency’s commercial vehicles have plastic wheel nut indicators attached, which act as a safety feature to indicate if any wheel nuts have come lose. These plastic caps are yellow as standard but can be found in green or orange. Very occasionally, the Environment Agency uses red wheel nut indicators to indicate when a wheel has been changed but has not yet been torqued. All vehicles owned by the Environment Agency have Chapter 8 markings to comply with Department for Transport codes of practice. The Environment Agency logo is also added to owned vehicles; this is regarded as essential for any public serving organisation, particularly for vehicles being used to respond to incidents where the Environment Agency needs a physical presence. The Environment Agency cannot provide a breakdown of the costs of applying chapter 8 markings and logos. The Environment Agency does not have a specific budget allocated solely for vehicle branding.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2024 to Question 20098 on Environment Agency: Motor Vehicles, what colour wheel lug nuts are standard for vehicles purchased by the Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency does not specify a colour for wheel lug nuts on its vehicles and does not cosmetically alter them. All wheel nuts on the Environment Agency’s commercial vehicles have plastic wheel nut indicators attached, which act as a safety feature to indicate if any wheel nuts have come lose. These plastic caps are yellow as standard but can be found in green or orange. Very occasionally, the Environment Agency uses red wheel nut indicators to indicate when a wheel has been changed but has not yet been torqued. All vehicles owned by the Environment Agency have Chapter 8 markings to comply with Department for Transport codes of practice. The Environment Agency logo is also added to owned vehicles; this is regarded as essential for any public serving organisation, particularly for vehicles being used to respond to incidents where the Environment Agency needs a physical presence. The Environment Agency cannot provide a breakdown of the costs of applying chapter 8 markings and logos. The Environment Agency does not have a specific budget allocated solely for vehicle branding.