Written questions by Dillon.

What steps his Department is taking to support research in the pharmaceutical sector in Newbury.

The Department funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research across the United Kingdom, through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).Development and delivery of research in the pharmaceutical sector is supported and enabled nationwide through NIHR infrastructure, including the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN), the NIHR Clinical Research Facilities (CRFs), the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), and the newly designated NIHR Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDCs). These all support the delivery of clinical research through facilities, staff resource, collaborations, and funding.In Newbury, pharmaceutical research benefits from the South Central RDN, as well as the Oxford and Southampton-based CRFs and BRCs, and from April, a new CRDC in Southampton, all of which support a range of pharmaceutical studies in the region.In order to maximise our potential to be a world leader and develop a more competitive, efficient, and accessible clinical research system, the Department is committed to implementing the recommendations from Lord O'Shaughnessy’s independent review of commercial clinical trials in full. We expect these efforts to attract more commercial investment in clinical research and yield a broad and diverse portfolio of clinical trials in the United Kingdom, to provide innovative treatment options for patients.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing measures to prevent households that have chosen not to install smart meters from higher energy tariffs.

The mechanism for protecting consumers from disproportionate energy prices is the Price Cap, which ensures default tariffs are priced efficiently. This protects households who are on their supplier’s default tariff. The level of the price cap is the same for both smart and non-smart meter default tariffs.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing separate inheritance tax thresholds for (a) agricultural land and (b) business equipment for farmers.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected in 2026-27 by the changes to APR and BPR, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to ensure that the Lifelong Links programme can be extended to all children in care.

The department is committed to helping children thrive and wants the best for every child and family. We know that a stable support network and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and care leavers to thrive.To support this, the department is currently funding 50 family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes, being delivered by 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives and create safe, stable loving relationships. Of the 45 local authorities, 23 are delivering Lifelong Links as their family finding programme.The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is being evaluated and this will inform decisions about the future of the programme.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing measures to reduce the hope value of land.

The government recently brought into force regulations that provide for the removal of ‘hope value’ from the assessment of compensation in compulsory purchase cases, where there is justification in the public interest. Guidance and a fact sheet on the measures was published on 3 October 2024 and can be found here.We have made clear our intention to further reform the compulsory purchase process and land compensation rules to enable more effective land assembly that will speed-up and lower the costs of the delivery of housing and critical infrastructure in the public interest. The reforms will be subject to consultation which will be published shortly.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department's timescales are for bringing forward secondary legislation in relation to the Leasehold Act 2024.

I refer the Hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

Whether he has had discussions with energy suppliers on continuing the Voluntary Debt Commitment after winter 2023-24.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have had regular discussions with suppliers on a range of issues, including the Voluntary Debt Commitment. Following these discussions, the Government and industry have worked together to deliver a £500m Winter Support Commitment for customers, and we applaud suppliers stepping up on this matter.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2024 to Question 11698 on Sports: Children, what steps she is taking to help ensure the adequacy of access to grassroots sports facilities for children under 12.

Our mission-led Government puts children and young people at the heart of our priorities. This includes breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child to access high-quality sport and physical activity, especially those who are less likely to be active. The Government’s clear ambition is for all children and young people to have the opportunity to get active in a way that suits them.This Government recognises that grassroots sports facilities are central to communities up and down the country and is acting to support more children to get active wherever they live through the delivery of the £123 million Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2024/25.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to secure a Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement with the EU to facilitate the movement of thoroughbred horses across borders.

The Prime Minister and President of the European Commission met on 7 November at the European Political Community in Budapest, where they discussed the strength of the UK-EU partnership and the need to work together to tackle the challenges facing Europe. The Government will now work with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit. The Government will seek to negotiate a veterinary/Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement to help boost trade and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. The Government is ambitious and wants to move forward at pace, but delivering new agreements will take time. It is too early to provide an update on specific elements of any agreement at this point.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce unemployment among people aged 50 to 65 in Newbury constituency.

Improving employment outcomes for people of all ages will play an important part in the government’s economic growth and opportunity missions. We are reforming jobcentres, so they match people, including older workers, to the right job and combine employment skills and career focused support. This new jobs and careers service will transform our ability to support people into work and help people get on at work across Great Britain. We will set out more details about this and other labour market reforms through our forthcoming White Paper to Get Britain Working.The Government is delivering a package of support to help older workers, including those in Newbury, to remain in and return to work.Our jobcentres provide tailored support for older workers, including a review of health, finances and skills. In addition, over seventy 50Plus Champions are working in Districts across Great Britain, to drive local activity for older workers.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to allow social landlords to access the (a) Building Safety Fund and (b) Cladding Safety Scheme.

Social landlords can already apply to the Cladding Safety Scheme and the Building Safety Fund (BSF) where the cost of remediating a building would threaten the financial viability of the landlord or to cover costs which - without the protections of the Building Safety Act - could have been passed on to leaseholders and shared owners.Under the BSF, the Government has committed £239 million to date to support social landlords to remove and replace unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres.The Cladding Safety Scheme for buildings between 11 and 18 metres is open to providers of social housing on the same basis as the BSF.The budget on 30 October 2024 committed to new investment to begin to speed up remediation of social housing. We will shortly publish a strategy to accelerate remediation in all buildings, including social housing.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that education, health and care plan assessments are (a) progressed and (b) issued promptly.

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 26 November to Question 14834.

What steps he is taking to ensure the provision of adequate (a) palliative and (b) end-of-life care in Newbury.

Palliative care services are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs), including Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB, which covers the Newbury constituency, must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.NHS England has also developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of those their local population, thereby enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.I met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. Additionally, we have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, as part of which we will carefully be considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan. More information about how they can input into the 10-Year Health Plan is available at the following link: https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the cleanliness of rivers.

For too long, sewage and pollution have contributed to the uncleanliness of our rivers, lakes, and seas. The Water (Special Measures) Bill will deliver on the Government’s commitment to put water companies under special measures. It will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. The Secretary of State has also commissioned a full, independent review of the water sector to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works and clean up rivers, lakes and seas for good. Defra and its Arm’s-Length Bodies continue to work with farmers to tackle agricultural pollution through a suite of regulations, advice and incentives; this includes the rollout of Environmental Land Management schemes.

What steps his Department is taking to support the Pharmacy First campaign.

There is a targeted public communications campaign with associated media materials, running from 11 November 2024 until mid-December 2024 as well as coordinated communications across the healthcare system and sharing best practices where the service is already working well.Action is also being taken to drive further engagement and referrals from general practice, with targeted engagement through regional and integrated care board (ICB) channels and regular data to support managing performance. In addition to this, funding has been provided to ICBs to recruit primary care network engagement leads who will be well placed to support practice teams to refer into the service.Additionally, NHS England is improving digital systems to make the referral process better integrated, including further development of electronic referral systems. Most pharmacies can now also receive Pharmacy First referrals from general practitioners straight into their NHS England assured pharmacy IT systems.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of designating thoroughbred horses as high health animals.

On 25 November 2024 we announced that physical checks at Border Control Posts for live animals imported from the European Union, including horses and other equines, and goods and live animals arriving at west coast ports from Ireland, will not begin in 2024, and we committed to a further update on timelines for these controls in summer 2025. During this period, we will work closely with stakeholders across all sectors on the planned implementation of further border controls, including the most appropriate way to assure the health of imported equines.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to introduce digital equine identification.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification and traceability. Digital enhancements are unlikely in the near future, though Defra is considering other improvements in the meantime.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to provide additional support to local authorities to prepare for flooding in winter 2024-25.

We set up the first ever Floods Resilience Taskforce on 12 September. The Taskforce sets out a new approach to preparing for flooding, and working cohesively between national, regional and local government, including the devolved administrations and flood risk partners. This Taskforce will ensure that the UK’s preparedness for, and resilience to, flooding is reviewed regularly and robustly. It will ensure we continuously improve to ensure optimum protection to people, homes and businesses. The Environment Agency has also completed briefing sessions with the Local Resilience Forum chairs group, providing an overview of winter preparedness activity and the likely scenarios for this winter.

If he will conduct a review of the decision to delegate the power to hold leases for GP premises to integrated care boards.

NHS England currently accepts ICBs holding leases only as a last resort or by exception due to the significant capital required. While we know that is not the most effective use of ICB resources, it is an important safeguard. We are committed to fixing the front door of the NHS by supporting GPs and ICBs through, for example, the £100 million of capital funding announced at the Budget for GP estate upgrades.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the pupil premium for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Every child, regardless of background, deserves the opportunity to progress and succeed in school and beyond. This government is committed to breaking the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success. That is why removing barriers to opportunity and raising school standards are at the heart of the department’s mission to transform life chances and ensure all children can achieve and thrive.The department is providing over £2.9 billion of pupil premium funding in 2024/25 to improve the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils in England.The department is taking time to consider the various funding formulae going forward, recognising the importance of establishing a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed. We will consider the pupil premium as part of that process, and decisions on pupil premium funding for 2025/26 will be taken later this year.The department will continue to support schools to achieve maximum impact from the pupil premium.