Written questions by Dillon.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a householder exemption to the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Householders building residential extensions and residential annexes to their homes can obtain an exemption from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), subject to completing the procedural process for obtaining the exemption within required timescales. The CIL guidance, which can be found on gov.uk here, sets out all the criteria that must be met and procedures that must be followed to obtain an exemption. I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 105228 on 21 January 2026.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of reforms to integrated care boards, including staffing reductions, on their role in SEND commissioning.

The department will continue to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care as well as NHS England to ensure that special educational needs and disabilities reforms are co-ordinated across education and health, and local leaders are supported to manage the transition effectively.The government is also providing substantial, targeted investment to help local areas grow and strengthen their specialist workforce. Over the next three years, £1.8 billion will be made available to local area partnerships to develop and roll out the Experts at Hand offer.We have also announced over £40 million to expand the specialist workforce, including £15 million for new advanced speech and language therapy practitioner roles, and £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of tax changes on high street businesses in Newbury.

The Government has announced a support package worth £4.3bn to support high street businesses with their business bills, including new, permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses. Every pub and live music venue will also get 15% off its new bill.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of being charged commercial electricity tariffs where the supply account is held in the name of a business on residential leaseholders.

The Government is committed to support domestic households with a non-domestic energy supply with their energy costs, and are very clear that resellers such as landlords should not profit from the act of reselling energy to consumers. Ofgem’s Maximum Resale Price (MRP) rules protect consumers from being overcharged by limiting the price of energy charged to consumers to the price paid by those procuring the energy. This includes tenants who pay their landlord for their energy. To ensure that businesses, are not being overcharged for energy, Ofgem is monitoring contracts in the non-domestic energy market.

Communities and Local Government, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a right for leaseholders to manage their own electricity supply arrangements.

The rights of leaseholders in respect of electricity supply arrangements are governed by the terms of their leases. The government is committed to implementing measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 to make enfranchisement cheaper and easier. The Act sets the method for calculating the price of a statutory lease extension or freehold acquisition, known as the valuation process. It removes the requirement for marriage value to be paid, caps the treatment of ground rents in the valuation calculation at 0.1% of the freehold value, and allows government to prescribe the rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium. Valuation rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium will be set by the Secretary of State in secondary legislation. We will consult on valuation rates and commence the relevant provisions as soon as possible. As per my Written Ministerial Statement of 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), primary legislation will be required to rectify a small number of specific flaws in the 2024 Act before the Act’s enfranchisement provisions are commenced. Once brought into force, these measures, together with the already implemented removal of the two-year qualifying rule for enfranchisement, will mean leaseholders will be able to buy their freehold at any time, at a fair price. This will allow them to manage the electricity supply in their building.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of consumer and small business protections when parcels are lost or delayed by couriers; and whether he plans to review the refund and reimbursement processes between couriers, sellers, and consumers in such cases.

When a consumer purchases a product, the contract is with the seller, not the delivery company. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the seller is responsible for delivery of goods bought online until they are in the consumer's possession. This removes the burden of the consumer having to raise the issue with both the delivery company and the retailer. My department currently has no plans to review this process.

Whether his Department plans to require parcel delivery companies to publish regular data on a) delivery success rates, b) complaints volumes, c) compensation claims and d) average resolution times.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector. The government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions. Ofcom last reviewed postal regulation in 2022 and considered extending the requirement on Royal Mail to publish complaints handling reports to the wider parcels sector. It concluded the market, then, was working well. Following recent market developments, Ofcom is gathering evidence of operator’s compliance levels with their applicable Consumer Protection Conditions.

Whether he has had recent discussions with Ofcom regarding its monitoring and enforcement activity in respect of Evri.

Ministers have regular discussions with Ofcom in its capacity as the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services. The government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions. Following market developments, Ofcom are gathering evidence of operator’s compliance levels with their applicable Consumer Protection Conditions.

Whether he has held discussions with relevant stakeholders on the adequacy of the operations of major parcel delivery operators during seasonal demands.

Ministers have regular discussions with Ofcom in its capacity as the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services. The government wants to see all operators provide a good level of service, including during peak seasons. However, parcel delivery companies are independent businesses, and the government has no role in their operational decisions.

Whether he has had discussions with Evri on measures to support frontline delivery staff, including a) training, b) working conditions and c) pay.

All businesses must comply with relevant laws and employers must comply with their legal obligations to ensure that their workforce receive the rights and protections to which they are entitled. Evri, and other parcel delivery operators, are independent businesses and the government does not have a role in their operational decisions. Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services, does not regulate the employment or remuneration models of Evri or other parcel delivery companies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to accelerate WINEP/AMP upgrades for chalk stream catchments given their protected status.

Chalk streams are incredible source of national pride. As one of Britain’s most nature-rich habitats, they support some of our rarest wildlife. Water companies will invest £2 billion over the next 5 years to deliver more than 1,000 targeted actions for chalk stream restoration through the Price Review 24 (PR24) Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). Additionally, chalk streams will be prioritised as part of the record £10.2 billion of investment to improve over 2,500 storm overflows in England.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her department has plans to mandate real time, publicly available MCERTS certified data for all storm overflow and treatment flows by Thames Water.

The Environment Act 2021 requires all water companies, including Thames Water, to publish near real time Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) data for all storm overflows. EDM installation follows specifications set out in the CIWEM (Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management) Event Duration Monitoring Good Practice Guide to ensure robust data quality.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken in response to spills into the Kennet, Pang, and Lambourn chalk streams from Thames Water sewage treatment works between 2021 and 2025.

The Environment Agency (EA) has led the Water Industry National Environment Programme, which sets out a wide range of improvement schemes that Thames Water must deliver, including investigations and actions to reduce discharges from storm overflows, with priority given to sensitive sites such as chalk streams. Groundwater infiltration into the Thames Water sewer system is a leading cause for storm overflow spills in the Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments. The EA has required Thames Water to produce Groundwater Impacted System Management Plans to set out how the company plans to reduce groundwater infiltration. Since April 2025, the EA has completed inspections of sewage treatment works on the Rivers Kennet, Pang and Lambourn as part of its increased programme of inspecting over 800 Thames Water wastewater assets. Any permit breaches identified are assessed on a case-by-case basis for their environmental impact. Confirmed serious permit breaches are investigated and enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending business rates relief o community pharmacies providing NHS services.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon on 23 February 2026 to Question 113205.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Thames Water on preventing early and dry discharges at Newbury, Hungerford, East Shefford, Compton, and Hamstead Marshall sewage treatment works.

The Secretary of State meets with water companies to discuss a range of issues, including the need to reduce sewage discharges into our rivers, lakes and seas. The Environment Agency (EA) has had regular engagement with Thames Water on the issue of early and dry discharges. In the Rivers Kennet, Lambourn and Pang catchments, a leading cause is groundwater infiltrating the Thames Water sewer network. The EA requires Thames Water to produce Groundwater Impacted System Management Plans to set out how the company plans to reduce groundwater infiltration. Across all water companies, the EA continues to progress its largest ever national criminal investigation into potential breaches of environmental permit conditions at wastewater treatment works. When its investigation is complete, the EA will consider all available options under its Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, State what assessment she has made of the potential environmental impact of Thames Water’s decision to defer upgrades at sewage treatment works impacting the River Kennet, Pang, and Lambourn until 2030.

The Environment Agency (EA) is clear that delays to any water company schemes, required under the Water Industry National Environment Programme are unacceptable as they will delay environmental improvement and risk failure of statutory requirements. The EA is issuing new environmental permits in line with regulatory deadlines and is assessing compliance against these. The EA has completed inspections of sewage treatment works on the Rivers Kennet, Pang and Lambourn as part of its increased programme of inspecting over 800 Thames Water wastewater assets since April 2025. Any permit breaches identified are assessed on a case-by-case basis for their environmental impact. Any confirmed serious permit breaches will be investigated and enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential compliance risks caused by erroneous monitoring data at Thames Water sewage treatment works, including East Shefford, Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall, and Hungerford.

The Environment Agency (EA) has undertaken inspections of Thames Water sewage treatment works at East Shefford, Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall and Hungerford. It has also assessed Event Duration Monitoring data from these sites and completed Event Duration Monitoring flow data assessments. Winterbourne, Hamstead Marshall and Hungerford sewage treatment works had no permit breaches caused by erroneous flow monitoring data. East Shefford sewage treatment works had a breach relating to flow monitoring systems and missing flow data which will be enforced against in line with the EA’s Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Local Housing Allowance levels on (a) Personal Independence Payment claimants, (b) Universal Credit claimants and (c) households placed in temporary accommodation.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) sets the maximum level of support for people living in the private rented sector and is administered through Universal Credit Housing Element or Housing Benefit. The current LHA rate does not apply to households living in temporary accommodation. Their housing costs are covered in full by their local authority, and DWP then subsidises the local authority through Housing Benefit. At Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State reviewed LHA and decided not to increase rates for 2026/27. A range of factors were considered, including cross-government impacts on homelessness and impacts on protected characteristics, such as disability, in line with equality duties. This Government has taken important steps to support people with their living costs such as the Universal Credit Act, which legislates to rebalance Universal Credit by bringing in, for the first time ever, a sustained above inflation increase to the standard allowance for all claimants. Renters facing a shortfall in meeting their housing costs can apply for discretionary housing support from local authorities.

What steps he is taking to improve out-of-hours support for people at the end of life.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people approaching the end of life receive high-quality, compassionate care whenever it is needed.Urgent community response (UCR) services play a key role in this. UCR provides a two-hour community-based response to adults experiencing a sudden deterioration in their health and helps avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. People at the end of life are among those who can be referred into UCR services for urgent crisis, for symptom control and/or pain relief, in line with a person’s wishes.We are committed to improving the consistency, capacity, and availability of UCR services across England. The Urgent and Emergency Care Delivery Plan 2025/26 includes actions to expand urgent care delivered in the community, including UCR, and the National Health Service 10-Year Health Plan further commits to increasing access to urgent care at home and in the community as part of the new Neighbourhood Health model.Additionally, NHS England’s published statutory guidance on palliative care and end-of-life care states that integrated care boards, as commissioning authorities, must define how their local service providers meet population needs on a 24/7 basis.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, NG142: End of life care for adults: service delivery, also recommends that adults nearing the end of life have access to a healthcare professional 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as well as an out-of-hours advice line and access to essential medicines for symptom management.Although NICE guidance is not mandatory, there is an expectation that commissioners and service providers take the guidelines into account when making decisions about how to best meet the needs of their local communities.Furthermore, to strengthen provision for people at the end of life, we will publish a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) later this year. Through our MSF, we will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end-of-life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, including strengthening out-of-hours community health support, dedicated telephone advice, and overall consideration of 24/7 provision.

What plans he has to make training in palliative and end-of-life care mandatory for health and care professionals.

There are no current plans to make training in palliative care and end-of-life care mandatory for health and care professionals.We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. To ensure the health and social care workforce is equipped and well supported to deliver personalised care to people at the end of life, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, hosts the End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme, which includes nine modules on improving care for people at the end of life.Independent statutory regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council have the general function of promoting high standards of education and coordinating all stages of education to ensure that health and care students and newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice.The training curricula for postgraduate specialty training, including palliative care and end-of-life care, is set by the relevant royal college and have to meet the standards set by the GMC.For general practitioners (GPs), the Royal College for General Practice has established the GP with Extended Roles (GPwER) in Palliative and End of Life Care Framework. The GpwER framework sets out standards, capabilities, training requirements, supervision and governance for GPs working beyond core practice, including in palliative and end-of-life care.