Written questions by Dillon.

What safeguards he plans to include in the Growth and Skills Levy to protect funding for small and medium-sized enterprises.

This government recognises the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises who are responsible for around 40% of apprenticeship starts and provide valuable opportunities for young people. That is why we have said that we will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged under 25 from the start of the next academic year. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships across the country by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. Small and medium-sized enterprises also benefit from a £1,000 payment when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks. These networks provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.

What steps he will take to ensure that apprenticeship opportunities for young people are protected under the Growth and Skills Levy.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people at the beginning of their careers. In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities, and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year. The government also facilitates the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN), comprising around 2,500 employer and apprentice volunteers who go into schools and colleges to share their compelling stories and experiences of what apprenticeships can do for young people.

What steps she is taking to encourage businesses to offer work placements for 16 to 18 year-olds within and outside the T Level programme.

T Levels give young people a strong route into skilled employment, with 96% of completing students completing their industry placement last year. The Skills for Life campaign raises awareness of T Levels and other training, ensuring businesses understand their value. Our network of over 1,000 T Level ambassadors strengthens understanding and engagement with businesses. The Careers & Enterprise Company provides resources to help employers engage with schools and colleges. Local careers hubs coordinate employer encounters such as work experience placements, career talks and mentoring. The department is delivering a targeted small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) campaign to increase awareness of T Level industry placements and encourage more employers to take part. The government is investing £6.3 million through the employer support fund to encourage SMEs and key‑sector employers to host T Level placements supporting with hosting costs. As part of the construction skills package, the government has committed £100 million to support 40,000 industry placements each year for level 2 and 3 construction learners.

What steps she is taking to increase employer awareness of training programmes available beyond apprenticeships.

The government’s Skills for Life campaign promotes the wide range of range of training options available to employers, including apprenticeships, T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications. This includes digital advertising, public relations, social media, trade press partnerships and collaboration with business organisations. We offer support, events and guidance to T Level providers to develop and implement effective employer engagement strategies. Our network of over 1000 T Level Ambassadors builds T Level understanding and engagement in the business community. 1,390 businesses of all sizes are using our Employer Standards framework to assess and report on the impact of their employer engagement, helping to open new pathways and opportunities in their sector for young people.Local Skills Improvement Plans bring together local employers, leaders and training providers to identify and address skills needs, giving employers a strategic voice in shaping skills provision and support to recruit/train skilled workforces.

What steps she is taking to improve the quality and availability of industry placements for T Levels.

T Levels are providing excellent opportunities for young people to progress into skilled jobs and careers, and 96% of students in receipt of a T Level result completed their industry placement last year. The national Skills for Life campaign raises awareness of skills development that includes T Levels, ensuring businesses and learners understand their value. Our network of over 1,000 T Level Ambassadors builds T Level understanding and engagement in the business community. The department supports employers to host high-quality placements through guidance, workshops and direct support. Our digital Connect service supports local providers and employers to connect with each other and our updated delivery approaches allow greater flexibility for providers to design a high-quality placement experience. We provide targeted support for industry placements in specific sectors and localities, with seven industry placement coordinators currently in local NHS integrated care systems, and an employer support fund supporting small and medium sized enterprises and priority sectors with the essential costs of hosting a placement.

What plans she has to increases levels of emphasis on the development of work-related skills in schools and colleges.

A reformed national curriculum will provide pupils with a broad range of knowledge and skills that prepares them for adult life. The department will prepare young people for life and careers in a changing world, embedding vital applied knowledge skills in financial, media and digital literacy in the revised curriculum, improving climate and sustainability education. We will make citizenship compulsory in key stages 1 and 2 and will explore a new level 3 qualification in data science and artificial intelligence. We are also setting out a new enrichment framework for every pupil, which will help them play, explore, create, and develop wider life skills. We will develop ‘V Levels’ as the pathway of vocational qualifications at level 3 for young people. These will be linked to occupational standards. This will be complemented by sharing best practice between 16-19 providers to ensure students develop the important applied knowledge and transferable skills for adulthood.

What plans she has to increases levels of emphasis on the development of essential life skills in schools and colleges.

A reformed national curriculum will provide pupils with a broad range of knowledge and skills that prepares them for adult life. The department will prepare young people for life and careers in a changing world, embedding vital applied knowledge skills in financial, media and digital literacy in the revised curriculum, improving climate and sustainability education. We will make citizenship compulsory in key stages 1 and 2 and will explore a new level 3 qualification in data science and artificial intelligence. We are also setting out a new enrichment framework for every pupil, which will help them play, explore, create, and develop wider life skills. We will develop ‘V Levels’ as the pathway of vocational qualifications at level 3 for young people. These will be linked to occupational standards. This will be complemented by sharing best practice between 16-19 providers to ensure students develop the important applied knowledge and transferable skills for adulthood.

What steps he is taking to ensure adequate supporting services to enable swift discharges from hospital in winter 2025-26.

The Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 identifies reducing delays in hospital discharge as a key priority. Hospitals are expected to eliminate discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by in-hospital issues, to work with local authorities to tackle the longest delays, starting with those over 21 days, and to profile discharges by pathway to support local planning. Further information on the Urgent and Emergency Care plan for 2025/26 is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/urgent-and-emergency-care-plan-2025-26/In addition, the 2025/26 policy framework for the £9 billion Better Care Fund requires the National Health Service and local authorities to jointly agree local goals for reducing discharge delays. This can include intermediate care and reablement support services which primarily focus on providing individuals with a short-term period of rehabilitation or reablement to maximise independence. These services can either follow a discharge from hospital, known as step-down, or provide an alternative to hospital or care home admission, known as step-up. Further information on the Better Care Fund policy framework is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-care-fund-policy-framework-2025-to-2026

What steps he is taking to reduce the number of patients waiting for longer than 12 hours in A&E.

The Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance has fallen short in recent years. We are committed to restoring accident and emergency waiting times to the NHS Constitutional standard.Provisional NHS England data for November 2025 shows that 7.2% of patients in England waited over 12 hours from arrival, an improvement from 10.8% in November 2024. Please note that these figures are provisional and may be subject to revision with finalised data published the following month. Both provisional and finalised data can be accessed at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2025-26/Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26 sets out a fundamental shift in the approach to urgent and emergency care, aiming to reduce the number of patients waiting over 12 hours for admission or discharge to less than 10%. This is supported by nearly £450 million of capital investment to expand urgent and emergency care services across the country.

What steps his Department is taking to promote UK-manufactured hydrogen technologies in international markets.

As a frontier Industrial Strategy sector, the government has committed to targeted support to boost exports of hydrogen sector goods and services by showcasing UK capabilities through our global network, providing greater access to international supply chains and — as outlined in the Trade Strategy — by expanding clean energy sector agreements, like the UK-Germany Hydrogen Partnership.To support these opportunities, the UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance aims to deliver £10bn in clean growth financing by 2029, alongside options to support overseas sales, including loan guarantees for foreign buyers, and working capital, insurance and bond support products to assist UK suppliers.

If she will take steps to review the effectiveness of her Department's policies on reducing road accidents.

On 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by 65% by 2035. This target will focus the efforts of road safety partners across Britain, with measures to improve road design, protect vulnerable road users, and review motoring offences. All of this will be supported and monitored by a new Road Safety Board chaired by the Minister for Local Transport.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed shotgun licensing reforms on rural employment.

The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns to bring them more into line with the controls on other firearms in the interests of public safety. We intend to publish this consultation shortly.We will carefully consider all of the views put forward during the consultation once it is completed, including from those who live and work in rural communities, before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. We will also provide an assessment of the impact of any changes that we bring forward after the consultation, including to the business community in rural areas.

Whether it is her policy to introduce longer-term fiscal devolution.

The United Kingdom Government regularly considers how fiscal devolution arrangements are working in practice, taking into account the views of a range of stakeholders.

Whether the Council of Nations and Regions’ programme of work will consider fiscal devolution.

The United Kingdom Government regularly considers how fiscal devolution arrangements are working in practice, taking into account the views of a range of stakeholders.

What steps she is taking to support schools and colleges in the transition to V Levels.

We are currently consulting on post-16 pathways, including the introduction of V Levels. The consultation closes on 12 January 2026.Schools and colleges can expect to be supported with the transition to V Levels through access to a comprehensive package of guidance and resources. Dedicated online information will provide timely updates and practical materials to help prepare for delivery. Clear guidance will set out the structure and requirements of the new qualifications, supporting staff understanding and effective implementation. Exemplar pathway documents will assist providers in planning learner routes, while study programme guidance will explain how V Levels can be used to develop meaningful programmes of study.In addition, we expect awarding organisations to supply specifications, sample assessments and training materials to support accurate delivery and assessment. Together, these measures will provide schools and colleges with the clarity and confidence needed for the successful implementation of V Levels.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of setting a phase-out date for fossil fuel heating systems.

We remain committed to delivering net zero and are clear this will require us to decarbonise virtually all heat in buildings. The previous Government planned to end the installation of new and replacement oil, LPG and coal heating systems in homes in England from 2035. This government has been clear on several occasions that we will not force anyone to rip out a working boiler, instead we will make use of all available data to inform future decisions on heat decarbonisation. We will soon publish our Warm Homes Plan which represents the biggest ever public investment in home upgrades. This will include support for clean heating technologies like heat pumps and heat networks.

What plans he has to support low-income households with decarbonisation of homes in the context of the end of the Energy Company Obligation scheme by March 2026.

The Government has committed to additional grant funding of £1.5bn which will be directed towards upgrading low-income households, benefiting those in fuel poverty. Details of this will be included within the Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan. The Government is also developing a new fuel poverty strategy for England to ensure that more households can afford to heat their home at a reasonable cost, slash fuel poverty and improve their quality of life. This will include funding energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating for social housing residents, lower income households, and renters, via the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant schemes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recreational shooting on the economies of rural areas.

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are important to our economy, contributing over £259 billion a year to England alone. Defra has not made a formal assessment on contribution of recreational shooting to the rural economy; however, we know the rural economy is diverse with 86% of rural businesses unrelated to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the list of energy-saving materials eligible for VAT relief beyond heat pumps, including heat batteries.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. The list of qualifying ESMs, which includes but is not limited to heat pumps, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-energy-saving-materials-and-heating-equipment-notice-7086.The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following tests: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; relieving the technology of VAT must be a cost effective lever for encouraging installations; and it must be practical for business to operate and for HMRC to administer.

Whether her Department carried out an impact assessment on the introduction of an affirmative statutory instrument to amend the Public Order Act 2023.

On Thursday 27 November 2025, the Home Office laid an affirmative Statutory Instrument in Parliament to amend Section 7 and Section 8 of the Public Order Act (POA) (2023). This will amend the list of key national infrastructure within Section 7 of the POA, to add the life sciences sector and define the life sciences sector in Section 8 of the POA.A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument. However, the Economic Note makes frequent use of the original Impact Assessment produced for the Public Order Bill in 2022. The Economic Note also contains a specific impact test for statutory Equalities Duties in which it assesses there to be no expected impacts on any protected characteristics as an outcome of these regulations.An Explanatory Memorandum and an Economic Note are available alongside this instrument at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348277029/resourcesThe Impact Assessment conducted for the Public Order Bill in 2022 is available here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0008/Impact%20Assessment%20-%20Public%20Order%20Bill%20-%2017May22.PDF