Written questions by Trickett.

Whether he plans to reconsider the criteria for covid vaccination eligibility, in the context of levels of prevalence of new variants.

The Government’s policy on the groups eligible for vaccination programmes is based on the advice of the independent expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to prevent serious disease, meaning hospitalisation and/or mortality, arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity, following recovery from infection, and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant.The JCVI carefully considered the latest evidence on the risk of hospitalisation and mortality in specific groups to provide the Government with advice on the autumn 2025 programme. A more targeted vaccination programme aimed at individuals with a higher risk of developing serious disease was advised for autumn 2025.On 13 November 2024, the JCVI published advice on who should be offered vaccination in autumn 2025. On 26 June 2025, the Government decided, in line with this advice, that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in autumn 2025 to the following groups:- adults aged 75 years old and over;- residents in a care home for older adults; and- individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables three or four in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Green Book.The UKHSA advises that currently, XFG and its sub lineages, sometimes called the ‘Stratus’ variant, are the most prevalent in England. This lineage is closely related to previous variants that circulated in the United Kingdom. At this time there is no indication that XFG causes more serious disease, or that the vaccines being used in the autumn 2025 campaign will not be effective against it. The UKHSA will continue to monitor both COVID-19 outcomes and variant prevalence as we enter the winter season.This means that while the JCVI keeps the available data under regular review, there are no plans to offer vaccination through the national programme outside these JCVI advised groups for autumn 2025. All those individuals who are eligible are encouraged to take up the offer of vaccination.

What discussions she has had with the Bank of England on the use and reliability of stablecoin in the last 12 months.

The Treasury and Bank of England are maintaining a close and ongoing dialogue on the legal and regulatory treatment of stablecoins in support of the Government's objective to make the UK a global destination for digital assets.

Whether she has had any discussions with the Bank of England on the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority proposal to reduce data reporting for banks.

The Chancellor and I meet regularly with the leadership of the Bank of England to discuss a range of topics, including its work to streamline data reporting requirements for banks and other firms regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).The government has today published an update on the Regulation Action Plan which welcomes actions the PRA has proposed or implemented to reduce some of the requirements on the firms it regulates.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the additional costs disability payment proposal from the Commission on Social Security; and whether he has had discussions about the ACDP proposals with relevant authorities.

I am aware of the Commission’s report and welcome its contribution to these important discussions. The Commission’s paper is one of many proposals which the Timms Review will be able to consider. Once the Review’s core leadership group is in place, it will have the ability to set its focus and to draw on evidence from diverse perspectives. As part of this work, the Review will seek input from the diverse views and voices and consider a wide range of evidence and sources.

Media and Sport, how much her Department has given the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield in grants in the last five years.

DCMS has not provided any funding directly to the National Coal Mining Museum for England (NCMME) in the last five years. The Department provides funding to the Science Museum Group (SMG) with agreement that SMG in turn provides an annual grant payment to NCMME. This provision of grant funding is managed directly between SMG and NCMME and the annual amounts are published as part of the SMG accounts.

What information his Department holds on levels of budget deficits at NHS trusts in Yorkshire in 2024-2025; and what estimate he has made of levels of funding for each NHS trust in Yorkshire in 2025-2026.

There are three integrated care boards (ICBs) in Yorkshire: the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB; the NHS South Yorkshire ICB; and the NHS West Yorkshire ICB. All trusts in these ICBs are projecting to deliver their plan or surpluses, apart from the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust and the Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, which have provisional overspends against their plans of £19.6 million and £7.5 million respectively. Final figures for all trusts and ICBs will be published in due course, following external audit and validation. ICB allocations for 2025/26 were published on 30 January 2025, with further information available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/allocation-of-resources-2025-26/The three ICBs have agreed balanced plans across their systems, including providers. Routine in-year reporting data on progress against the plans by organisation is not yet available. The following table shows the total allocation for all three ICBs:ICBTotal allocationNHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB£3,646,033,000NHS South Yorkshire ICB£3,108,129,000NHS West Yorkshire ICB£5,266,745,000

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025, to Question 38543 on Water Companies: Infrastructure, if he will publish his calculations on the savings by delivering the scheme through DPC.

Bill impacts will be considered as part of Ofwat’s DPC approval process. In providing its consent to a water company to enter into a DPC contract, Ofwat will take into consideration the impact on customer interests, including the impact on bills. For example, through its pathfinder DPC project for United Utilities' Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project, Ofwat included the estimated bill impact during the AMP8 period in United Utilities published Price Review 2024 Final Determination. Ofwat will share future estimated bill impacts when projects have progressed, and the estimations have been made. Ofwat's initial indication based on pathfinder is that there could be savings for customers of between 6% and 40% through delivering a scheme as a DPC. The full programme of all major projects is listed in PR24 Final Determinations: Major Projects Development and Delivery, but bill impacts will not be known until companies have finished the procurement process and final bids are received and approved.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2025 to Question 38543 on Water Companies: Infrastructure, whether he has made an estimate of how much DPC schemes costs will increase household water bills.

Bill impacts will be considered as part of Ofwat’s DPC approval process. In providing its consent to a water company to enter into a DPC contract, Ofwat will take into consideration the impact on customer interests, including the impact on bills. For example, through its pathfinder DPC project for United Utilities' Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Project, Ofwat included the estimated bill impact during the AMP8 period in United Utilities published Price Review 2024 Final Determination. Ofwat will share future estimated bill impacts when projects have progressed, and the estimations have been made. Ofwat's initial indication based on pathfinder is that there could be savings for customers of between 6% and 40% through delivering a scheme as a DPC. The full programme of all major projects is listed in PR24 Final Determinations: Major Projects Development and Delivery, but bill impacts will not be known until companies have finished the procurement process and final bids are received and approved.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2025 to Question 36586 on Water Companies: Infrastructure, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of each Direct Procurement for Customers scheme on the annual cost of water bills for households in Yorkshire.

Prior to entering into a DPC arrangement, Ofwat considers the value for money of delivering the project as a DPC and also the impact on customer bills. The impacts on customer bills are unlikely to be known until a procurement for a scheme has been run, when the capital and operational costs of the project will be better understood. Currently the estimates provided through the price review are not mature estimates and are likely to change as the projects develop. Our initial indication based on pathfinder projects is that there could be savings for customers of between 6% and 40% by delivering a scheme through DPC.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2025 to Question 32929 on Cabinet Office: Palantir, whether his Department has seconded staff from Palantir between 4 July 2024 and 11 March 2025.

Secondments are part of a range of ways of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and have been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and must follow the processes as set out in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, however based on the information held centrally, there is no record of any secondees from Palantir.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Since July 2024, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has had no staff seconded from Hakluyt.

How many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

No staff in my Department have been seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Innovation and Technology, how many staff his Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Secondments are one way of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and has been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and data is held at Business Unit Level.Since July 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has had no secondees from Hakluyt.

How many staff her Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

The Department has no record of staff having being seconded from “Hakluyt” since July 2024.

How many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Secondments is one way of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and has been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and data is held at business unit level.No officials in the Scotland Office have been seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

How many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

No staff have been seconded from Hakluyt into the Ministry of Defence or its Executive Agencies since July 2024.

How many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

The Department has seconded no staff from Hakluyt since July 2024.

How many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Secondments is one way of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and has been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and data is held at Business Unit Level. There have been no staff seconded into DWP from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, how many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

Secondments is one way of bringing talent and experience into the civil service for short periods of time and has been used by successive governments. Secondments are arranged at a business unit level and data is held at Business Unit Level. There have been no secondments from Hakluyt into the Department since 5th July 2024.

How many staff their Department has seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.

The Northern Ireland Office has had no staff in the department seconded from Hakluyt since July 2024.