Written questions by Lam.

With which businesses in Kent his Department held discussions on the Employment Rights Bill prior to its introduction.

Since August 2024, the Department for Business and Trade has held discussions on the Employment Rights Bill with over 180 stakeholders from across Great Britain. This covers a range of businesses that have a presence in Kent, including Greene King, McDonalds, John Lewis, British Telecom, Co-op, DHL, MACE Group, Mars, Sainsburys, Whitbread, Burger King, Deliveroo, Fuller’s, Lucky Saint, Turtle Bay, Centrica, and Wilkinson Construction Consultant. The Government remains committed to working in partnership with businesses, trade unions and other stakeholders to deliver the Plan to Make Work Pay.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of her Department’s proposed 1.5 million homes will be built in rural areas.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 includes a new Standard Method for assessing housing needs that is aligned to our Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new safe and decent homes in England by the end of this Parliament.The standard method provides a starting point for local councils to inform the preparation of their local plans. The indicative annual housing need figures for all local authorities under the new standard method can be found on gov.uk here.Whilst the standard method is used to identify the total number of homes needed in an area, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that it is for local authorities to identify the size, type and tenure of homes needed for different groups in the community and reflect this in planning policies.The revised NPPF is clear that in rural areas, planning policies and decisions should be responsive to local circumstances. This includes ensuring that housing is located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities and support local services.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the Official Development Assistance budget has been reallocated to meet asylum-related costs since July 2024.

The Home Secretary is committed to ensuring that asylum costs fall and has already acted. The Government has taken measures to reduce the asylum backlog and reform the asylum accommodation system to end the use of expensive accommodation in the next Spending Review period to ensure more of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget is spent on our development priorities overseas.The aid spent in the UK on refugee and asylum costs fell by a third last year and the Home Office is working to bring it down further. The provisional Statistics on International Development show that in 2024, £2.8 billion was spent on support to refugees or asylum seekers in the UK, a £1.4 billion or one third reduction on the previous year. This reduces the share of ODA spent on asylum costs in the UK to 20 per cent, down from 28 per cent.We report on ODA spend annually as part of the Statistics on International Development publication. Provisional figures for 2025 will be available in spring 2026.

Whether her Department has provided guidance to police forces on tackling antisemitic (a) chants and (b) slogans at universities.

i refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 15 May 2025 to Question UIN 51023.

Communities and Local Government, how much agricultural land has been converted for solar panel use in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Weald of Kent constituency in the last 10 years.

The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should recognise the benefits of the Best and Most Versatile Agricultural Land (land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (ALC) system). Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality. As of the end of September 2024, ground-mounted solar PV panels covered an estimated 21,200 hectares. This amounts to around 0.1% of the land area of the UK. The government does not hold information on the number of ground-mounted solar projects that have been permitted and built on different agricultural grades, or the number of acres of grade 1 and 2 land which has been built on since 2020.

What proportion of food procured by schools for (a) the free breakfast club trial and (b) free school meals is imported.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on tourism businesses in (i) Kent and (ii) the Weald of Kent.

The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department published an Impact Assessment for the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, which includes a breakdown of the expected impacts by sector and region.We recognise the importance of manufacturing and the tourism sector to local economies such as Kent and the Weald of Kent, where many businesses (particularly SMEs) are sensitive to changes in employment costs. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to work closely with industry stakeholders and across departments to monitor the health of the visitor economy and to ensure that tourism voices are reflected in wider policy discussions.

What proportion of food under the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is procured from British farms.

The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme sources the fruit and vegetables used by the scheme from a number of different countries. 18.9% of the produce used by the scheme is sourced from the United Kingdom, and this is the highest proportion of any country supplying produce to the scheme.

Whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

Costs relating to the Chagos agreement will be incurred from financial year 2026-27. These are being considered as part of the wider Government engagement on the second phase of the Spending Review, which concludes on 11 June 2025. The deal secures the unrestricted control of the Diego Garcia military base for the coming century and beyond. The deal is backed by our US, Canadian, Indian, Australian, New Zealand and NATO allies.

What proportion of food procured by schools for (a) the free breakfast club trial and (b) free school meals is from the South East.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

The Agreement will be underpinned by a financial package which will consist of: an annual payment; a Development Framework underpinned by UK grant funding; and a Trust Fund to benefit Chagossians.  Costs and other aspects of the Treaty can be found at the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukmauritius-agreement-concerning-the-chagos-archipelago-including-diego-garcia-cs-mauritius-no12025

What proportion of meat procured by schools is (a) Halal and (b) slaughtered at sites which predominantly employ non-stun slaughter.

The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustainably, and to cater to religious dietary requirements based on the needs of their local communities. The department does not hold the requested information, owing to the freedoms that schools have. However, details about the UK’s overall sources of food are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-2-uk-food-supply-sources#overall-sources-of-uk-food.

Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the food procured by public sector bodies in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Weald of Kent constituency is from British farms.

The previous Government did not hold information about where the food served by public bodies comes from. However, at January’s Oxford Farming Conference, it was announced that, for the first time ever, the Government would monitor just that. The initial phase of the work to better understand the data available across public sector food supply chains is near completion. It will inform further work to develop a mechanism via which the Government is able to better understand how much of the food bought by the public sector is from British suppliers.

Whether her Department holds data on the number of people who have illegally arrived in the UK via small boat crossings having previously been deported.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 March to Question 35056.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing employer National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage on manufacturing businesses in (a) Kent and (b) the Weald of Kent.

The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department published an Impact Assessment for the 2025 National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, which includes a breakdown of the expected impacts by sector and region.We recognise the importance of manufacturing and the tourism sector to local economies such as Kent and the Weald of Kent, where many businesses (particularly SMEs) are sensitive to changes in employment costs. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) continues to work closely with industry stakeholders and across departments to monitor the health of the visitor economy and to ensure that tourism voices are reflected in wider policy discussions.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and the (b) National Minimum Wage on dental practices in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of Kent constituency.

We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise and National Minimum Wage rise was implemented in April 2025.The National Health Service’s planning guidance for 2025/26 has now been published, and sets out the funding available to integrated care boards (ICBs), including the dental ringfence. Dental practices are businesses and decide how they operate themselves, providing they remain compliant with the appropriate regulations. It is up to dental practices to set employee pay and conditions.The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on hospices in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of Kent constituency.

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, enabling the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.The employer National Insurance contribution rise was implemented in April and the planning guidance, published on 30 January, sets out the funding available to integrated care boards and the overall approach to funding providers during this next financial year. It takes into account a variety of pay and non-pay factors and pressures on providers of secondary healthcare, including charitable hospices. Further information on the planning guidance is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/2025-26-priorities-and-operational-planning-guidance/Regarding the national minimum wage, independent organisations, such as charities and social enterprises, including hospices in Kent, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales. It is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face if they choose to utilise the terms and conditions of NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on care homes in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of Kent constituency.

The Government has considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social care, the Government has made available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.The additional funding available to Kent in 2025/26 means that they have seen an increase to their core spending power of up to 7% in cash terms.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on GP practices in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of Kent constituency.

We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ National Insurance rise and National Minimum Wage rise was implemented in April 2025. General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the profession about what services GPs provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking account of the cost of delivering services. We are investing an additional £889 million into GPs to reinforce the front door of the NHS, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.2 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on pharmacies in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of Kent constituency.

We took the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement.The Department considered the increases to employer National Insurance and the National Living Wage as part of the funding arrangements for community pharmacy in 2024/25 and 2025/26. We have increased funding for community pharmacy to £3.073 billion from April 2025. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future as well as a commitment to rebuilding the sector.