Written questions by Dillon.

Communities and Local Government, what metrics his Department will use to assess whether the Renters' Rights Act 2025 is achieving its stated objectives and its impact on the housing market more broadly.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 88657 on 21 November 2025.

What plans her Department has to end the for-profit system of housing people seeking asylum.

The Home Office is undertaking reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels. This work will help inform the future operating model, currently being developed as part of the Asylum Support Accommodation Programme, which is leading on plans for the replacement of the current Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC).

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a new right to kinship care leave.

The government has launched a review of the parental leave system, which represents a much-needed opportunity to consider the department’s approach to the system of parental leave and pay. This will consider whether the support available meets the needs of working families, such as kinship carers.In 2023, the department published ‘Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kinship-carers-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers. This sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including how to adapt internal policies, signpost existing entitlements and create a culture of support to meet the needs of kinship carers. The department has since implemented our own Kinship Leave and Pay offer and we encourage all organisations to review their guidance and explore what changes they can make.

Whether her Department has considered providing sun-safety education in schools.

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81731.

Communities and Local Government, what support he is providing to local authorities to ensure they receive additional dedicated funding for homelessness services.

The Government has increased funding for homelessness services this year to over £1 billion, including a £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant announced on 11 December 2025. You can find allocations here. We are also investing £3.5 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, through more flexible multi-year funding arrangements that enable councils to invest more in prevention.

Communities and Local Government, what immediate steps his Department is taking to help reduce levels of homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Government has increased funding for homelessness services this year to over £1 billion, including a £50 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant announced on 11 December 2025. You can find allocations here. We are also investing £3.5 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years, through more flexible multi-year funding arrangements that enable councils to invest more in prevention.

What steps his Department is taking to tackle health inequalities affecting women.

The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain, to ensure people can live well for longer. Our reimagined National Health Service will tackle inequalities in both access and outcomes, as well as give everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from, the means to engage with the NHS on their own terms. This financial year the Department has invested approximately £53 million in direct research awards on research to support the health of women. This includes conditions that are unique to women, such as endometriosis, and health topics that are relevant to women, such as violence and abuse.Significant progress has been made towards delivering the ambitions in the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy, for example improving women and girls’ awareness and access to services and driving research to benefit women’s health, but we know there is more to do.That is why we are renewing the Women’s Health Strategy, to assess the progress that has been made so far, and to continue progressing delivery.The renewed strategy will update on the delivery of the 2022 Women’s Health Strategy and set out how the Government is taking further steps to improve women’s health as we deliver the 10-Year Health Plan. It will also address gaps from the 2022 strategy and drive further change on enduring challenges, such as creating a system that listens to women and tackling health inequalities.

What steps she plans to take to support schools and colleges in Newbury in the transition to V Levels.

The department is currently consulting on post-16 pathways, including the introduction of V Levels. The consultation closes on 12 January 2026.All schools and colleges, including those in Newbury, will be supported through the transition to V Levels by access to a comprehensive package of guidance and resources. Dedicated online information will provide timely updates and practical materials to help providers 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 steps he is taking to reduce gynaecology waiting lists.

Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029.We are making good progress, with waiting lists cut by over 230,000 since the Government came into office, including nearly 14,000 fewer waits for gynaecology treatment.We also delivered 5.2 million additional appointments between July 2024 and June 2025, exceeding our pledge of two million. However, we know there is more to do, and have confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment to expand capacity across diagnostics, electives, and urgent care. This includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. As of November 2025, over half of the 123 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services.The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, also committed to:increasing the relative funding available to support gynaecology procedures with the largest waiting lists;ensuring that independent sector providers play a greater role in providing support for the most challenged specialities, such as gynaecology; andreforming and optimising clinical pathways across a number of specialities. In gynaecology, this includes supporting the delivery of innovative models offering patients care closer to home and piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding.

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

T Levels are providing fantastic opportunities for young people to progress into skilled jobs and careers, and 96% of students completed their industry placement last year.The department supports employers to host high quality placements through guidance, workshops and direct support. The department’s 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 areas, 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.The national ’Skills for Life’ campaign raises awareness of skills development and promotes T Levels, ensuring businesses and learners understand their value, and our network of over 1,000 T Level Ambassadors builds T Level understanding and engagement in the business community.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Fair Funding Review 2.0 on West Berkshire Council, with regards to their capacity to sustain statutory services and meet local demand.

On Thursday 20 November, we published the government response to the Fair Funding Review 2.0, which sets out the government’s plan to introduce a fairer and evidence-led funding system. The government is making good on long overdue promises to fundamentally update the way we fund local authorities, realigning funding with need and deprivation. We are delivering fairer funding and targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade from 2026-27, and giving local authorities greater flexibility and certainty by streamlining over 33 funding streams worth almost £47 billion. We expect that the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement. We will publish provisional local authority allocations at the upcoming provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.

Whether he has plans to increase GP dispensing fees to bring them in line with community pharmacies.

General practices (GPs) are valued independent contractors who provide over £13 billion worth of National Health Services. Every year we consult with the sector both about what services they provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract, taking into account the cost of delivering services. The Department and NHS England will begin consultation with stakeholders on the 2026/27 GP Contract shortly. Further information will be announced in due course.

When the Government will publish its guidance to local authorities on Neighbourhood Health Plans.

Neighbourhood health will move care out of hospitals and into communities, with more personalised, proactive, and integrated services starting from where and how people live their lives. This will involve building stronger links to wider local government services such as housing, family hubs, and programmes such as Pride in Place, as well as links with wider civil society including the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sector.The Planning Framework for the NHS in England, published on 8 September, reiterates the commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, that place partners develop a local neighbourhood plan, which integrated care boards will bring together into a population health improvement plan. These local plans will be drawn up by local government, the National Health Service, and its partners at single or upper tier local authority level under the leadership of the Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWBs).We will be publishing further guidance to support local areas to develop neighbourhood health plans in due course. This will set out how the NHS, local authorities, and partners should work together under the leadership of HWBs to develop and implement plans.

Communities and Local Government, whether he is considering a 4% minimum annual increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities.

This Spending Review provides over £5 billion of new grant funding over the next three years which includes £3.4 billion of new grant funding which will be delivered through the Local Government Finance Settlement within financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29. The £3.4 billion, when taken together with a 3% core council tax referendum principle and a 2% adult social care precept, results in a 2.6% real terms average annual increase in Core Spending Power over the Spending Review period. We expect that the vast majority of councils with social care responsibilities will see their Core Spending Power increase in real terms over the multi-year Settlement and by 2028-29 and that the 10% most deprived authorities will see a significant increase in their Core Spending Power per head compared to the least deprived. The government wants to move decisively to a reformed system, but we have heard clearly that we need to implement funding reform in 2026-27 with transitional arrangements to allow others time to adjust. We will therefore phase in allocations over the multi-year Settlement, and protect the income of authorities which would see losses from funding reform using a range of funding floor levels appropriate to specific groups of authorities’ circumstances. Further details can be found here: Local government finance policy statement 2026-27 to 2028-29 - GOV.UK. We will publish provisional local authority allocations at the upcoming provisional multi-year Settlement in December. Proposals and allocations will be subject to consultation and the usual Parliamentary process.

What steps her Department is taking to improve cycling connectivity between rural towns and villages.

The Spending Review in June 2025 allocated £616 million for Active Travel England to support local authorities to build and maintain walking and cycling infrastructure from over the years 2026/27 to 2029/30. This comes on top of £222.5 million announced in February 2025 for local authorities over 2024/25-25/26, which can be used by authorities to improve cycling connectivity between rural towns and villages. Active Travel England’s Rural Design Guidance (RDG) is currently in its final development stages and is expected to be published by the end of the year. The RDG will support authorities in delivering active travel routes both within rural settlements and between them by providing tailored guidance and support. Active Travel England currently works with local authorities during the design stage of active travel projects to increase design standards and embed guidance.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect swans from harm caused by catapults in Newbury constituency.

The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously, including those involving the use of catapults to cause harm to swans, in Newbury or anywhere else in the country. Although catapults are not listed as prohibited weapons in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, within this legislation there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wild birds. The Government therefore believes sufficient legislation is already in place to protect them from targeted use of catapults. Defra is also a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations. However, Defra recognises the misuse of catapults is causing great concern to some local communities and are working with the Home Office to find solutions to this problem with the aim of increasing protection to our wildlife from crimes involving these weapons.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that all school children receive adequate first aid training.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries. Pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

What assessment he has made of access to ear wax removal services for patients in Newbury constituency.

The Department has made no specific assessment of services in Newbury because it is for integrated care boards to commission cost-effective healthcare to meet the needs of their local populations. Guidance for patients on ear wax build-up, including when to seek advice from a pharmacist or general practitioner, is available at the following link:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/earwax-build-up/

What directions his Department has given to the Atomic Weapons Establishment on changes to its Distinguished Scientist cohort.

AWE notified the Ministry of Defence last year of its intent to conduct a reorganisation to strengthen the company as it embarks on the challenge of designing and manufacturing the next generation of the UK’s sovereign nuclear warhead.The ongoing restructuring will not reduce the overall number of employees, as the company will continue to hire appropriately qualified skilled professionals, including scientists and engineers. This activity will ensure AWE has the right people with the right skillsets in place to deliver defence outputs, both now and in the future.The precise nature of the reorganisation is an operational matter for AWE. AWE will work closely with the trade unions throughout the consultation period and are committed to approaching the process with fairness, care and respect for its employees.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of reports of redundancies on the Atomic Weapons Establishment’s ability to recruit and retain scientists and engineers.

AWE notified the Ministry of Defence last year of its intent to conduct a reorganisation to strengthen the company as it embarks on the challenge of designing and manufacturing the next generation of the UK’s sovereign nuclear warhead.The ongoing restructuring will not reduce the overall number of employees, as the company will continue to hire appropriately qualified skilled professionals, including scientists and engineers. This activity will ensure AWE has the right people with the right skillsets in place to deliver defence outputs, both now and in the future.The precise nature of the reorganisation is an operational matter for AWE. AWE will work closely with the trade unions throughout the consultation period and are committed to approaching the process with fairness, care and respect for its employees.