Written questions by Reynolds.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that automated or AI-supported decision-making relating to sponsorship licences is transparent, fair, and subject to human oversight.

AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Sponsorship Management System (SMS) and automated renewals of annual allocations of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), where Sponsors have demonstrated a track record of compliance.For organisation and key personnel changes, whilst details are updated automatically in SMS to ensure that licence details are up to date, appropriate checks and case working still takes place.For the automatic renewal of annual allocations of CoS, renewed allocations are calculated using the sponsor’s usage in the previous allocation year. Where an increase in that allocation is required, the sponsor is required to submit a request, stating the reason for the increase, for consideration.

What security protocols are in place to protect sensitive personal and commercial data submitted by sponsor employers as part of visa and sponsorship compliance processes.

The Home Office routinely requires additional evidence from sponsors. The evidence requested is proportionate to the purpose of its use.The Home Office has appropriate technical and organisational safeguards in place and applies a sensible, risk-based approach in line with Article 32 of the GDPR.Inbound data is received to secure gov.uk accounts, managed by security cleared persons. Teams are assigned to manage only certain application strands to reduce risk of data integrity compromise, with data being uploaded onto immigration systems promptly.

What assessment he has made of the impact on Feed-in Tariff scheme participants of changing the indexation of payments from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index from April 2026.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent changes to mortgage rates, including those influenced by recent global economic conditions, on housing market activity.

The Government keeps the economic outlook, including the housing market, under close review. The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation, and the government is fully committed to supporting the Bank of England get inflation back down to the 2% target. The pricing and availability of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. Despite recent global developments, the mortgage market remains open, resilient, and competitive across all major product types and segments, and the average offered mortgage rates on 2-year, and 5-year fixed rates remain below their peaks in 2023. The Government remains committed to addressing the cost of living and helping more people to own their own home. We do not yet have official data on housing market activity covering the period following the start of the conflict in Iran. The latest HMRC statistics on the number of UK property transactions covering up to and including February 2026 show that transactions increased by 6% compared to January 2026.

Whether he plans to introduce updated clinical (a) guidance and (b) training for healthcare professionals on the identification and management of Topical Steroid Withdrawal.

Topical corticosteroids are an important and effective treatment for inflammatory skin conditions, including eczema, when used appropriately. It is essential that healthcare professionals are aware of both the benefits and potential risks associated with their use, particularly where treatment is prolonged or involves higher‑potency products.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has taken steps to strengthen awareness of topical corticosteroid safety, including public drug safety updates and clearer product information to highlight the risk of adverse effects, including withdrawal reactions, when use has been prolonged or inappropriate. These measures are intended to support informed discussions between clinicians and patients and safer prescribing practice.Clinical guidance for healthcare professionals is already in place through National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical knowledge summaries, which set out best practice on the appropriate potency, duration, and frequency of topical corticosteroid use, and emphasise the importance of regular review. Decisions about diagnosis and management, including recognition of adverse reactions, remain clinical matters for individual healthcare professionals, who are expected to apply this guidance alongside their clinical judgement and the patient’s circumstances.The Department will keep emerging evidence under review and will work with regulators, the National Health Service, and professional bodies to support ongoing education, promote safe use of medicines, and improve awareness of potential adverse effects among clinicians, including general practitioners and dermatologists.

Whether his Department is working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to introduce a stand‑alone clinical rule for suspected bowel cancer, including for patients under 50, to allow timely referral for (a) further investigation and (b) a second opinion at first presentation.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for making decisions on whether its published guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence or emerging issues not in the scope of the original guideline. NICE maintains surveillance of new evidence that may affect its published guidance, and decisions on whether guidelines should be updated are taken by a prioritisation board chaired by its Chief Medical Officer.NICE has no current plans to update the guidance it has issued on Suspected cancer: recognition and referral, code NG12, or to introduce a standalone clinical rule for suspected bowel cancer, including for patients under 50 years old, to allow timely referral for further investigation and a second opinion at first presentation.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential financial impact of school transport costs on families in areas outside London; and whether she has plans to review school transport policy to address regional disparities in costs.

Children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, will be eligible for free travel if they attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or the safety of the route. Extended rights to free travel support low-income families to exercise school choice. The department does not currently have any plans to change the existing statutory framework.Central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement. From the 2026/27 financial year, it includes a new specific relative needs formula for home-to-school travel which estimates each authority’s relative need to spend based on pupil numbers and home-to-school distances. This ensures funding reflects real journeys to school including in areas outside London.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the she is taking to fulfil to help ban the importation of foie gras; and whether he has set a timeline for doing so.

I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given to Ruth Jones on 17 March 2026 to PQ UIN 119441.

What steps are being taken to ensure patients prescribed topical corticosteroids are informed of potential risks, including withdrawal reactions.

Clinicians are expected to work with patients to make decisions about their care and treatment as part of shared decision-making, including discussing risks, benefits, and possible consequences of different options through information-sharing. Further information on shared decision-making can be found on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s website:https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/our-programmes/nice-guidance/nice-guidelines/shared-decision-making

What timetable Network Rail has set for the clearance of construction and maintenance waste from lineside land across the rail network.

When work is being undertaken, how any waste will be removed is part of Network Rail’s plan for the works and, in general, waste is removed at the end of works. At times, material will be left lineside for forthcoming works in the same area.On occasion, it may be difficult for Network Rail to remove material at the end of works due to availability of appropriate equipment, for example a specific recovery train may be needed. Depending on the location, it may be more cost effective to leave materials lineside for some time until the required logistics can be planned. There is no specific timeframe for this, but Network Rail is aware there is value in all its materials either via reuse internally, for onward sale, or recycling, so materials will not be left lineside if cost efficient recovery is feasible. Network Rail’s track materials currently have a reuse rate of almost 80% with 19.9% recycled and less than 1% sent for recovery (generally contaminated material).

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that publicly funded electric bus procurement schemes support domestic manufacturing supply chains.

DBT works closely with DfT, the Cabinet Office and Crown Commercial Service to ensure publicly funded electric bus procurement supports UK manufacturing where possible, within procurement and trade rules. This includes through setting up the DfT UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, the recent publication of a zero emission bus order pipeline and promoting stronger, more consistent use of social value to reflect UK jobs, skills and supply chain resilience.

What steps his Department is taking to improve awareness and clinical recognition of Topical Steroid Withdrawal among GPs, dermatologists and other healthcare professionals.

Topical corticosteroids are an important and effective treatment for inflammatory skin conditions, including eczema, when used appropriately. It is essential that healthcare professionals are aware of both the benefits and potential risks associated with their use, particularly where treatment is prolonged or involves higher‑potency products.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has taken steps to strengthen awareness of topical corticosteroid safety, including public drug safety updates and clearer product information to highlight the risk of adverse effects, including withdrawal reactions, when use has been prolonged or inappropriate. These measures are intended to support informed discussions between clinicians and patients and safer prescribing practice.Clinical guidance for healthcare professionals is already in place through National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical knowledge summaries, which set out best practice on the appropriate potency, duration, and frequency of topical corticosteroid use, and emphasise the importance of regular review. Decisions about diagnosis and management, including recognition of adverse reactions, remain clinical matters for individual healthcare professionals, who are expected to apply this guidance alongside their clinical judgement and the patient’s circumstances.The Department will keep emerging evidence under review and will work with regulators, the National Health Service, and professional bodies to support ongoing education, promote safe use of medicines, and improve awareness of potential adverse effects among clinicians, including general practitioners and dermatologists.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to deliver Disabled Facilities Grant adaptations where the property requiring adaptation is owned by a social landlord but communal (a) grounds, (b) footpaths and (c) parking areas are held by (i) private developers and (ii) managing agents.

The government recognises the importance of timely Disabled Facilities Grant adaptations to help disabled people live independently and safely. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations to eligible people, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this £723 million will be available for the Disabled Facilities Grant in 2026-27, an increase of £12 million on 2024–25. The government’s Disabled Facilities Grant guidance, which can be found on gov.uk here, encourages local authorities to work closely with landlords and other relevant parties such as private developers and managing agents, and work towards good practice timescales to reduce delays in the delivery of adaptations. MHCLG funds a national body, currently, Foundations, to support local authorities with delivery of Disabled Facilities Grants. Foundations can provide advice, including on complex cases involving communal areas and multiple owners, to help local authorities deliver adaptations efficiently and on time. Further information is available on their website: https://www.foundations.uk.com.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Chinese state export subsidies, including the export VAT rebate applied to zero-emission vehicles, on the competitiveness of UK bus manufacturers.

DBT keeps the impact of overseas state support for zero emissions vehicles under close review and engages regularly with UK manufacturers to understand effects on competitiveness. While reports include mechanisms such as export VAT rebates, only the independent Trade Remedies Authority can formally investigate whether such measures constitute countervailable subsidies and have caused injury to UK industry, based on evidence from producers. DBT will continue to monitor the position closely.

What steps she is taking to hold local authorities accountable for meeting the statutory 20-week timeframe for issuing education, health and care plans.

The Schools White Paper sets clear expectations for the quality and timeliness of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision delivered by local authorities, supported by significant investment to drive system transformation.In March 2026, the department commissioned local authorities, working with Integrated Care Boards, to develop SEND reform plans and will hold them to account for delivering strong outcomes for children and young people with SEND, intervening decisively where progress stalls and using our full intervention powers where failure persists.The department publishes annual SEN2 data on education, health and care (EHC) plans and assessments, including timeliness, which informs performance monitoring. Where this highlights a concern around local authority failure to meet statutory duties on EHC plan timeliness, we take action that prioritises children’s needs. Support and challenge is delivered through expert improvement advisers, commissioners and managed support programmes to drive sustained improvement.Where a council does not meet its duties, the department can take action that supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement, including the issuing of Improvement Notices or Statutory Directions to drive urgent improvements.

What assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator's existing confidentiality protections in encouraging smaller and harder-to-reach suppliers to report concerns about potential code breaches.

The Government's Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022-2025 published on 14 April 2026. The Statutory Review invites the operationally independent GCA to consider recommendations about its existing confidentiality protections, transparency of enforcement activity and the potential publication of practical Code examples.On 7 April 2026 the Government announced that responsibility for the GCA would move from the Department for Business and Trade to Defra to strengthen fairness across the UK's grocery supply chain, streamline oversight of the supply chain and to strengthen links to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).

How many speech and language therapists and educational psychologists will be required to deliver the Experts at Hand service set out in the SEND White Paper.

I refer the hon. Member for Maidenhead to the answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 121419.

Whether he has had discussions with the Groceries Code Adjudicator on (a) improving the transparency of its enforcement activity and (b) the potential merits of publishing practical examples of how the Code is applied.

The Government's Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022-2025 published on 14 April 2026. The Statutory Review invites the operationally independent GCA to consider recommendations about its existing confidentiality protections, transparency of enforcement activity and the potential publication of practical Code examples.On 7 April 2026 the Government announced that responsibility for the GCA would move from the Department for Business and Trade to Defra to strengthen fairness across the UK's grocery supply chain, streamline oversight of the supply chain and to strengthen links to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to SEND tribunal powers on the ability of parents and carers to secure named school placements for children with education, health and care plans.

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

What steps the Government is taking to ensure coordination between the Groceries Code Adjudicator and the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator to provide a coherent regulatory framework for the food supply chain.

The Government's Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) 2022-2025 published on 14 April 2026. The Statutory Review invites the operationally independent GCA to consider recommendations about its existing confidentiality protections, transparency of enforcement activity and the potential publication of practical Code examples.On 7 April 2026 the Government announced that responsibility for the GCA would move from the Department for Business and Trade to Defra to strengthen fairness across the UK's grocery supply chain, streamline oversight of the supply chain and to strengthen links to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).